A Costly Lesson to Learn

Both Mr. Southern Aspirations and I work in some form or fashion related to the Retail world.  I am not one to bash companies- I recognize that there are some policies (return policies) that are silly or frustrating. For example, I am sad that RueLaLa changed their return policy to Merchandise Credit.  But, RueLaLa clearly states the policy and they probably had a justifiable business reason for doing it.  Intentionally misleading the consumer with tricky advertising is another matter entirely.  I managed to avoid falling for scams for most of life... until now.  

Not here to bash (entirely at least) but to warn-- Just Say NO! to Glow.  Responded to an offer for Free Hair Trial by Kronos hair, part of Glow.  I saw the asterisk next to Free Trial- it said, . "* Product is free to try for 30 days. Pay only a small $4.95 shipping & handling fee." I assumed that the asterisk indicated- it's not really free, it's $4.95.  OK, I'll bite.  Bad me, I didn't read the fine print on the order summary- I didn't think I had to since I read the asterisk.  Apparently, if you don't return the products within 30 days, Glow will bill your credit card $98.50.  And they did.

What really irks me is that they didn't disclose the $98.50 in the asterisk.  That would have been full and fair disclosure.  Is what they did perfectly legal? Sure.  Ethical or right?  I think not.

Rant over.