The Google Kit (and other kits) Marketing Scam
Please note, I am criticising the WAY in which this Google (and other kits) are marketed, NOT the kits themselves.
If you are happy to pay $50-$100 per month in subscription fees to these services, then by all means do so. Perhaps it’s even worth it.
What I am taking issue with here is the fact that SO many people buy these “kits” without having any idea they are a subscription service. Normally they don’t realise this until the money has already come off their credit card, at which point it is too late. The people who market these "kits" get very good commissions for each signup and will say and do almost anything to get people to enter their credit cards details and pay the $2.95 or whatever other small fee used to lure you in unknowingly.
My unfortunate experience all started when I saw an ad advertising a "Google Kit" for $2.95. I was curious what I could learn for $2.95 and clicked on the ad. I read the splash page and it clearly said all I had to do was pay $2.95 for "shipping and handling" (here is part of the deception). I followed the links to the page where I input my credit card details. Unfortunately I didn't scroll down to the bottom of the page where it states I am signing up to a subscription service for $59.95 per month.
This is what I take issue with. YES, they are stating on the payment page (at the very bottom, you need to scroll down to see it) that this is a subscription service. However, ALL the pages previous that are selling you this product make no mention whatsoever of this, nor do they give any indication that you are buying a subscription for access to a website with "tips" or whatever. ALL the sales pages COMPLETELY give the impression that something will be sent to you physically in the mail. However that doesn't happen, it's a deception.
I didn't realise this was a subscription service until I checked my "junk email" box. This is the email I normally give out on the net for these things as I expect it to be given to all kinds of people and therefore I rarely check this box. However when I did check, the $2.95 "shipping and handling" fee MAGICALLY changed into a SET-UP FEE. That's when I realised something was wrong. The email also told me about the subscription of $59.95. I was in total shock. I quickly went back to the website to see if I could find anything about this $59.95, and that's when I found it tucked away in small print at the bottom.
In the end I was able to call the Google Kit company and get the subscription cancelled (you have 7 days to do so) and they refunded the $59.95 fee they took out (before the 7 days cool off period I might add). However, if you search the internet you will find MANY people who weren't so lucky. Many people out there had no idea until the money had already left their card, at which point they were powerless to get it back. I also have heard many people reported their card lost or stolen to get the charges back, as credit card companies can't cancel subscriptions. You MUST cancel the subscription with the company themselves. I further read of these companies requiring the customer to send back "the kit", which was impossible since they never recieved one in the first place.
Although I got my money back, my heart goes out to the many others who didn't, and innocently fell for this trick as did I. Therefore I hope this blog helps spread the word about this scheme that is very effective. It may not necessarily be a "Google Kit" (which by the way has no affiliation with Google whatsoever. Google would never be deceptive or condone such deceptive marketing tactics). I have also read of an "eBay Kit" being marketed in the same way.
So just be very careful when buying anything on the internet for less than $5. It's very likely a trick just to get your credit card details to sign you up to one, or more, subscription services which are very troublesome to cancel.
I don't have the original link that I signed up with but here are some other people playing the same game :
This one in particular has a neat little scam. The city where he is "from" will always change depending on your IP, so it appears he is from the same city that you are in right now. It increases sales as you "feel a bond with him" - what a joke ! http://scottsmoneyblog.com/make-money.html
Here is almost the exact same site by a guy named "Steve" - he also has the little hometown changing thing based on your IP : http://www.aworkfromhomesite.com/durblogmey.html
Here is one I stumbled accross recently. Almost an exact copy of the "Scott" blog above except this "Kevin" guy doesn't change where he is from as instead he uses audio and he states where he is from in that audio, so he can't quite use the same method as "Scott" above.
http://www.kevinsmoneytree.org
http://www.kevinmakesdough.com
http://www.americajobsdaily.com/dinternetm.php# Another one I recently found. Yet another story about some guy who was broke and is now rich. There must be 1000s of these out there.
Here are some blogs of other people who were duped in the same way, and fared worse than me :
This person actually cancelled the subscription but kept getting charged, a complete nightmare for him : http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1399368
Another warning blog like mine :
http://electronplumber.com/kevins-road-to-riches-another-google-money-kit-scam/
http://bestworkingfromhomejobs.com/google-cash-kit-scam
More people discussing this scam :
Here is the same thing in another package. This is the "eBay Kit" - the monthly fees are little more obvious on this one once you get to step 4. I just filled in fake info to see if I "qualified", of course no matter what info you type in, you WILL "qualify" : http://www.eauctionsuccesssystem.com You can just skip straight to step 4 to see the small print http://www.eauctionsuccesssystem.com/step4.php - however the small print isn't as small as this next one.
Here is another "free offer" for 1 months supply of some sort of anti-aging pill, but have a look at the small print at the bottom of the site : https://www.vitalrezv-free-trials.com/checkout.php
Be sure to check out the other business opportunities that I tried and which actually worked. They are listed at the TOP of the page on the LEFT. This is an example of one of my worst experiences in my online marketing experiment. There are some one-time payment programs that are pretty easy, and also monthly payment programs that are a bit harder but also have good income potential.
Go to Business Opportunities Reviewed home page.
