Over the last few years, you’ve probably ran across a dozen or more offers advertised as FREE trial offers…
From Fab Kids, to Stamps.com… to Graze, to Honest Diaper Company, even Dr. Seuss Books. We have mentioned a rare few on this blog but for the most part I really just can’t STAND these offers..
And I don’t dislike them because I don’t like the product – I’m sure they have something GREAT to offer, but they are (in the end) not truly free. Very rarely are they free I should say.
There could be minor purchases required for the free trial, there could be activation fees, and there could even be return shipping charges if you need to send the item back.
In most cases, these offers not worth the effort or risk you will be taking and in almost every case, you are opening up yourself to problems later on.
#1 — Difficult Cancellation Process
In almost every case, it’s SO difficult to cancel a free trial – you can sign up SO easily online. But I have found that many will not allow you to simply log in and cancel your service/subscription.
You have to call.
And the call takes forever.
You have to remember that they don’t want you to cancel so their motivation for making cancelation easier is NOT there.
I recently signed up for Thrive. I’m sure they have GREAT items for some, for me .. they seemed high. Terribly high. I’m all for eating great food but a monthly trip to Costco works well, and, well I don’t think $3 for dish soap would work well for my budget. Calling to reach them was hard, I could not find a number, they transferred me to several departments before I could even remotely talk to someone about ending my trial.
One tip, if you find yourself in this situation, is to take the name of the person with whom you spoke, the date and time you canceled, and any details and log it in a notebook – ensure that your trial IS canceled and your card is not charged after the date has passed. If you are, you can simply refer to your notes ( date, time person) to capture another refund.
Unfortunate that sometimes you have to do this, but it happens.
#2 — Personal Information
When you sign up for these trial offers you are sharing your personal information – a lthough you might cancel your trial, your information is still lingering in their database.
Even more, many companies sell their customer lists to others .. so now you run the risk of being on another list, and getting offers/email/mail that you don’t want.
#3 — You Just Forgot to Cancel
These trial offers might be a great deal but they know VERY well that you have a lot going on in your life and that you MIGHT just forget to cancel.
As crazy as it sounds, I’m guilty too… next thing you know, you are checking your bank and you notice a charge on your card. At that point you could probably kick yourself for not remembering to cancel your trial. Am I right?
If you want to avoid forgetting then you need to learn to write it on a calendar.
…..Some Trial Offers ARE Worth It
As much as I hate trial offers there are TWO that I think are incredibly worthwhile… Amazon Prime and Netflix.
Netflix is a pretty amazing service and has quite a lot of bang for your buck – a free trial can provide you insight that allows you to see how amazing their service is .. The same goes for Amazon Prime. We have been Prime Customers for a few years, and we started WITH the 30-day trial.
Although I intended to cancel, I forgot (imagine that!) – a few years later, it’s now a regular yearly purchase for us and one that I would never pass up. We order so much from Amazon it makes that membership so worth it.
Related posts:
15 Benefits of Having Amazon Prime (+ FREE Prime 30-Day Trial)