a word of advice on free trials

[houseofhhaos]

First off I don't claim to be a specialist or a know all guide to freebies but due to recent posts I have seen here on the forums I feel obligated to explain the way the freebies work.

Anytime you sign up for an offer or product trial that asks you for your credit card, you need to be aware that 99.999999999% of the time a hold will be placed on that card for the full amount of the product or service until the trial is either up or cancelled(sorry for swearing). Now the companies are not actually taking this money from you, they are simply insuring that you have the money available in your account to actually pay for the product/serive. It is not a scam, just insurance that they will actually get the funds fromyou that you had promised them.

This brings up another VERY important point, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THESE FUNDS IN YOUR ACCOUNT OR THE APPLICATION WILL BE DENIED!!!!!!!

I also advise that you make a note(yes I mean physically make it) of when the trial expires if you decide to opt out of the process.

Once again I cannot stress enough that I AM NOT a specialist in this field just a well imformed individual with a business background(3+ years of management experience) and an issue I face day to day when I am at work running customers and their cards are denied at my pumps when they only want a small amount of gas. I just hope that this helps any out there that possibly have any questions in regard to this issue or those that were just curious how the process works.

[torch71]

Thanks for the info. was unaware that company attempted to hold full amount of service/product cost when registering for trial...THANKS!!!!

[sudeepa]

Thanks a lot for sharing. Thats a whole lot of info, and I am sure many of us out here benefited. I usually keep away from free trial offers for the small amount of risk involved, but if I ever do I will keep these points in mind. Thanks a lot

[mrsbluesmith]

Thanks for sharing.  Do you know if your credited instantly for these offers, or does it take a few days?  I did one cc offer before and wasn't credited.  I know some do credit, but which ones? 

[bonskibon]

My experience has been that they hold 1.00 that is returned in a couple of days just to be sure the credit card is good.   That may be the exception rather than the rule though.

[cloudsoup]

this information is true, from what i've seen and
the "free" trials that i've taken part in. i don't try
them very often, but i ALWAYS read the terms &
agreements before putting my credit card number in
to any FC offer...

the terms &agreements (or "fine print") is very important
and needs to be read carefully. they describe, in detail,
how they will screw you over if they can! lol. be very
aware of this, and click any terms links you can find
pertaining to the offer...

good advice, houseofhhaos!

[houseofhhaos]

I figured with the rash of threads calling fc and these sites scams I got a littli irritated. Lol so I figured I would warn everyone on the dangers.

[wsydephatty]

I've lost too much money doing these cause I either forget to cancel or don't even remember signing up..I am not very organized.  One time when I did cancel, they kept asking me why and pushing to give me an extension and then I would forget again..I think that's what they plan on anyway.  I just don't do them anymore.

[janell07]

You should only sign up for the trials that are of real interest to you.  If you have read the TOS you would also know that.  The companies are here for business, just like we are here to make some money, so lets not ruin the relationships that FC has with these companies by only signing up because of the money and not because we are interested in the product/service.

[bessie1111]

I also do not do the free trials unless I am interested in the service.  I've done similar trials in the past and have totally forgotten about them and then it's a hassle trying to go back and cancel.  I've lost money doing these and forgetting so I stay away unless I'm seriously interested in the product. 

[2getherwewin]

That makes sense.