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You've seen the Internet ads: Click here to get your
free laptop, iPod, trip to Bermuda ... Ever wondered what
would happen if
you tried to claim the freebie?
Generally, you'd end up earning the reward by answering
surveys, completing product offers or referring friends. To
find out if the process still proved worth the effort, we polled our newsletter
readers for a week and asked about their experience with answering ads for free
merchandise. Most responded that the freebie turned out to be anything but free. Here
is a sampling of the letters we received.
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| Are freebies really free? | ![]() |
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| According to our readers, getting free products ends
up costing money and wasting time trying to comply with the site's rules. It can
also bring on spam and unwanted credit card charges. | |
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The
free iPod that cost me
"I responded to a free iPod ad. After
several requests to sign up for various services, I realized that the free iPod
was not free at all. The killing part is, I actually did commit to a few services
and have been billed for them, but because I got caught in a loop of pop-up windows
and surveys, I became frustrated and did not follow through to get the free iPod.
I keep saying that I am going contact someone about it, but being the procrastinator
that I am, I just haven't gotten around to it yet."
Rhonda
Free cell phone! What
free cell phone?
"Free stuff, what a joke. "After
going through 11 questionnaires and saying no to all, you finally get to the last
and they say you must at least pick two items in order to be able to get whatever
they are giving away.
"For instance, I answered a free
cell phone ad and went through 11-12 questionnaires and at first it says no obligation
to buy anything, but when I got to the last I must at least try magazines for
30 days and they're hoping I will forget to cancel before the 30 days. And the
kicker was once I agreed to the free trial of magazines they never ever mentioned
the free cell phone again and I will be watching and waiting to see what they
do to my credit card and if I get the phone and then that's when I will sue
the company for 100 times the amount of the phone and the magazines.
"By the way, once you give one company your credit card number you get charged
$1 to $4.95 on your card, for other items I never heard of before and have to
take the time to call them and get them to remove it. "There
should be a law against this thing."
Bob | 
