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What Are Grey Charges?

GREY CHARGES



CUSTOMERS SWIPING THEIR CREDIT AND DEBIT CARDS THIS HOLIDAY SEASON SHOULD BEWARE: ONE IN FOUR PEOPLE FELL VICTIM TO A DECEPTIVE OR UNWANTED CHARGE WITHIN THE PAST TWELVE MONTHS. WHILE SOME OF THESE CHARGES CONSTITUTE FRAUD, MANY ARE LEGAL. ハラヤ BUT UNWANTED ハラヤ GREY CHARGES HIDDEN IN FINE PRINT.



1 IN 4

PEOPLE ARE VICTIMS OF GREY CHARGES



9 OUT OF 10

PEOPLE DON���T CHECK THEIR BILLS, OR

MERELY SKIM THEM QUICKLY FOR LARGE PURCHASES



$356 - AVERAGE DOLLAR AMOUNT OF GREY CHARGES PER CONSUMER

3.5 - AVERAGE NUMBER OF CREDIT AND DEBIT CARDS IN US CONSUMER WALLETS



1 IN 10 - VERIFY EVERY TRANSACTION ON THEIR CARDS

8 IN 10 MERELY SKIM

1 IN 10 NEVER CHECK THEIR CHARGES



MOST GREY CHARGES ARE SMALL DOLLAR AMOUNTS RANGING FROM $12 - 18







TOP 6 TYPES OF GREY CHARGES



1. UNKNOWN SUBSCRIPTIONS



Consumer ���clicks��� to purchase without reading the fine print, and it's not until months Later that they realize they���re paying a monthly tee for something they had no intentions of buying.



2. RECURRING MEMBERSHIPS AND ZOMBIE SUBSCRIPTIONS

Subscriptions that just won���t go away even after you cancel them.



3. UNWANTED AUTO-RENEWALS

You inadvertently opted-in to get billed on a monthly quarterly or yearly basis. Most legitimate merchants will let you opt out simply by checking a box that says you don���t want to renew automatically when you sign-up for the goods/services you are purchasing.



4. NEGATIVE OPTION MARKETING

Sign up for a product but you inadvertently sign up for other things at the same time that you never intended to buy.



5. FREE-TO-PAID

A free trial that converts to a permanent subscription.



FREE



6. COST CREEP

Monthly fee creeps up slowly

$5.99, $6.99, $7.99





FRAUD VS GREY CHARGES



5% FRAUD

1% GOODS / SERVICES NOT DELIVERED

1% UNAUTHORIZED CHARGES

3% OTHER FRAUD TYPE





95% GREY CHARGES

5% HIDDEN FEES

4% FORGOTTEN CHARGES

2% DUPLICATE CHARGES

2% OVERCHARGES

1% BILLING ERRORS



Unknown Subscriptions

Recurring Memberships and Zombie Subscriptions

Unwanted Auto-Renewals

Negative Option Marketing

Free-To- Paid



34% UNRECOGNIZABLE CHARGES

47% UNWANTED SUBSCRIPTIONS





THE FINE PRINT



REAL LIFE EXAMPLES



ハラモThis website, and any page on the website, is based loosely off a true story, but has been modified in multiple ways including, but not limited to: the story, the photos, and the comments."



($) In other words: nothing on this website is true.





ハラモDelivery time is subtracted from Your Trial Period, and will reduce the number of days allocated to Your Trial Period.ハラン



($) So your 15-day free trial may only be 11 or 12 days...



"We do NOT honor refund requests by customers who have

purchased the same product in the past, and returned it for a refund.ハラン



($) A one-strike-you���re-out policy? Why bury that in the fine print?





���By clicking ���Send My Trial Order��� you agree to be charged $4.95(USD) for S&H,.. do nothing and 14 days from today... you will be charged an enrollment fee of $84.78 (USD).



($) First, you���re paying $5 for a ���free��� trial. Second, the clock starts when you click, not when you receive it. Third, the cost of the product is jaw-dropping.







IS IT LEGAL?

��� Companies know people are busy and don���t have time to read every page of the disclosure.



ハラᄁ Deep m the disclosure is buried the extra charge... never on the front page



��� So it���s not illegal.., but It���s sneaky and deceptive.





TIPS FOR MANAGING GREY CHARGES



ハラᄁ Look at your bills regularly and closely.

ハラᄁ You may consider using a credit card vs. debit card. Credit cards offer greater protection than debit cards due to the Fair Credit Billing Act.

ハラᄁ Read the fine print. If something sounds too good to be true, it is probably a grey charge.

ハラᄁ Sign-up for BillGuard.





BILLGUARD - SAFE TOGETHER

BillGuard is a personal finance security service that analyzes millions of consumer billing disputes to alert debit and credit card holders to deceptive, erroneous and unauthorized charges and facilitates direct-to-merchant online resolution.



Copyright 2012 BillGuard Source: BillGuard.com







Designed by AID:6O GREY CHARGES CUSTOMERS SWIPING THEIR CREDIT AND DEBIT CARDS THIS HOLIDAY SEASON SHOULD BEWARE: ONE IN FOUR PEOPLE FELL VICTIM TO A DECEPTIVE OR UNWANTED CHARGE WITHIN THE PAST TWELVE MONTHS. WHILE SOME OF THESE CHARGES CONSTITUTE FRAUD, MANY ARE LEGAL - BUT UNWANTED-GREY CHARGES HIDDEN IN FINE PRINT. 1N4 9 OUT OF 10 PEOPLE DON'T CHECK THEIR BILLS, OR MERELY SKIM THEM QUICKLY FOR LARGE PURCHASES $356 AVERAGE DOLLAR AMOUNT OF GREY CHARGES PER CONSUMER PEOPLE ARE VICTIMS OF GREY CHARGES VISA mOESS VERIFY EVERY TRANSACTION ON THEIR CARDS 1m10 8IN10 1м10 MOST GREY CHARGES ARE SMALL DOLLAR AMOUNTS RANGING FROM 3.5 MERELY SKIM $12-18 NEVER CHECK THEIR CHARGES AVERAGE NUMBER OF CREDIT AND DEBIT CARDS IN US CONSUMER WALLETS TOP 6 TYPES OF GREY CHARGES 1 UNKNOWN SUBSCRIPTIONS 2 RECURRING MEMBERSHIPS AND ZOMBIE SUBSCRIPTIONS 2 UNWANTED AUTO-RENEWALS You inadvertently opted-in to get billed on a monthly, quarterly or yearly basis. Most legitimate merchants will let you opt out simply by checking a box that says you don't want to renew automatically when you sign-up for the goods/services you are purchasing. Consumer 'clicks' to purchase without reading the fine print, and it's not until months later that they realize they're paying a monthly fee for something they had no intentions of buying. Subscriptions that just won't go away even after you cancel them. E FREE-TO-PAID COST CREEP NEGATIVE 4 OPTION MARKETING Monthly fee creeps up slowly $5.99, $6.99, $7.99 A free trial that converts to a permanent subscription. Sign up for a product but you inadvertently sign up for other things at the same time that you never intended to buy. FREE FRAUD VS GREY CHARGES 5% FRAUD 95% GREY CHARGES 1% 60ODS /SERVICES NOT DELIVERED 5% HIDDEN FEES 1% UNAUTHORIZED CHARGES 4. FORGOTTEN CHARGES OTHER 37% FRAUD TYPE 36% UNRECOGNIZABLE 04% CHARGES 2% DUPLICATE CHARGES 2% OVERCHARGES 1% BILLING ERRORS Unknown Subcriptions 47% UNWANTED SUBSCRIPTIONS Recurring Memberships and Zombie Subscriptions Unwanted Auto-Renwals Negative Option Marketing Free-To-Paid THE FINE PRINT IS IT LEGAL? 1 Companies know people are busy and don't have time to read every page of the disclosure. REAL LIFE EXAMPLES I Deep in the disclosure is buried the extra charge... never on the front page "This website, and any page on the website, is based loosely off a true story, but has been modified in multiple ways including, but not limited to: the story, the photos, and the comments." - So it's not illegal.. but it's sneaky and deceptive. In other words: nothing on this website is true. TIPS FOR MANAGING GREY CHARGES "Delivery time is subtracted from Your Trial Period, and will reduce the number of days allocated to Your Trial Period," So your 15-day free trial may only be 11 or 12 days... "We do NOT honor refund requests by customers who have purchased the same product in the past, and returned it for a refund." $ A one-strike-you're-out policy? Why bury that in fine print? I Look at your bills regularly and closely. 1 You may consider using a credit card vs. debit card. Credit cards offer greater protection than debit cards due to the Fair Credit Billing Act. "By clicking "Send My Trial Order" you agree to be charged $4.95(USD) for S&H... do nothing and 14 days from today... you will be charged an enrollment fee of $84.78 (USD)." I Read the fine print. If something sounds too good to be true, it is probably a grey charge. First, you're paying $5 for a "free" trial. Second, the clock starts when you click, not when you receive it. Third, the cost of the 1 Sign-up for BillGuard. product is jaw-dropping. BILLO GUARD BillGuard is a personal finance security service that analyzes millions of consumer billing disputes to alert debit and credit card holders to deceptive, Copyright 2012 BillGuard Source: BillGuard.com erroneous and unauthorized charges and facilitates direct-to-merchant online resolution. SAFER TOGETHER Designed by AD:60

What Are Grey Charges?

shared by BillGuard on Dec 05
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Five percent of unwanted charges are considered fraud. The other 95 percent are comprised of legal but sneaky tactics, such as hidden fees, unwanted subscriptions, overcharges and unrecognizable charg...

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