STORM2K

Alright so have you ever been taken???????

Chad - I honestly don't think I have. I am so leeary of door to door salesmen. You know that wonder liquid that's clear, in a spray bottle that will clean anything? They try it on your doorknob......yeah right buddy I'm going to fork over 20 bucks for that product.

You see I won't even talk to them anymore, I don't even open the door. I shoo them away. Not cute little Girl Scouts or neighborhood kids selling the latest school fund raiser but those college kids selling magazine subscriptions.....well, they're just rip-offs IMO.

But my hubby got scammed twice.

Once he was talked into spending 15 bucks on a yellow magic rag. It was supposed to polish anything, and keep on polishing things around your home. I shook my head at him. It got shoved in a drawer somewhere, never worked and every now and then I pull it out. I love teasing him about that one.

And another time he renewed his Consumer Report's magazine subscription thru a college kid. They transferred the # and everything. First issue arrives in the mail and it's actually Consumer Digest! He was livid. Called the 800 # and got his money back.

He hasn't been talked into anything since and has finally listened to me!

Except those Thin Mints. We could buy a ton of those! I think of every product sold door to door Girl Scout cookies I predict sell the best.

Next.....

Mary

Oh, "they" have TRIED..but not successfully.

I was ripped off by that Pasta Pot hogwash. When you heat it up the black stuff peels right off.

I got shafted on my last car. I had to....my credit sucks the big one!

A long time ago - won of those phone calls saying that I "won" a vacation to Florida, though I had to pay some fee upfront ($75).

Lindaloo wrote:I was ripped off by that Pasta Pot hogwash. When you heat it up the black stuff peels right off.

The one with the holes in the lid? Dang, I wanted one of those.

Stephanie, sorry they got to you. I've been getting a lot of calls like that lately. "You won...blah blah blah" Yeah right, I didn't even enter anything, lol.

Yep that is the one SG. Big Big disappointment.

Steph, that kind of thing still goes on. They want you to buy a time share.

Yeah when I hear it's free I say oh no, nothing's free anymore! They hate to hear that. I just keep saying no, no, no.

Worst is when you get referred to a salesman by good friends! Some kid will call, I'm selling a set of knives and if I can come to your home, present a demonstration, no obligation, I get points.....blah blah blah. I did fall for that once. And only once but didn't buy the product. I did have to sit thru the one hour presentation. Now I just say oh Bob gave you my name and number? He shouldn't have done that. We're not interested. That's shuts them up big time! I'm so mean.....if I want a set of knives I'll run up to Target!

Another good friend of ours was hosting monthly parties - Tupperware, Pampered Chef, Stamping, etc. I went to one or two, b/c she's a good friend. I finally said this is wrecking our budget! So now when I get those postcards/invites in the mail, I RSVP right away - No Thank You, I can't afford home parties. It's the truth! But you don't have to buy anything....yeah, I've heard that before too. They give you a clipboard and order sheet the minute you walk in the door.

Like Bill, they try to sway me, all of them but I say NO!

Mary

Not in memory, if you don't count health insurance.

We get those emails purportedly from some official in a 3rd world country that needs our help in transferring a large sum of money out of that country. I usually forward them to the FBI.

When I first left home to move to Boston, MA. I grew up in a small farming town outside of DC (there ain't too many of those any more, this was in the 70's and 80's it is now a garden of $250K homes). I was 21, had been to DC, but was naive. Never been anywhere, especially north of the Mason -Dixon Line. New York seemed like a scary place. I took a bus and in the bus station, someone offered to ******* get to the connecting bus. When I got there, he said his fee was $20. I was shocked,but said, well , this is the big city, things must cost a lot.

Someone later told me that I was had, but hey, I didn't know.

My parents are very thrifty...rarely if ever do they get scammed or taken advantage of. And if they do...you bet you'll hear smthg about it. (as in they will complain)

Thanks Kelly and Lindaloo - I was about 23 at the time. I felt so embarrassed when I realized what happened. Oh well, live and LEARN!!!

Lindaloo wrote:I was ripped off by that Pasta Pot hogwash. When you heat it up the black stuff peels right off.

Oh tell me about it! I used mine like 3 times now they are totally rusted out and there is NO non stick left... I dont fall for scams, never have until the pot, just didnt think the pots would be a crock of, well... that!

Once when I was about 18 or 19, I received something in the mail saying that I had won a prize, but needed to send in some money to cover shipping and handling before I would receive the prize. I sent the money only to be told I had been automatically entered in another drawing and won a more significant prize. And I needed to send more money. Can't believe I was stupid enough to send money a 2nd time. Of course, I then received another letter asking for more money before I would receive any prize. Thankfully, I wised up (better late than never) and did not send another cent. But I lost close to $30.

There are a couple of things that I'll bet many of us see that we don't call "scams," but nevertheless can sure be misleading.

First...don't we all get credit card offers in the mail all the time? Offering to make life easier. Give us free checks to use. Even use one card to pay off the balance of another.

I personally believe the aggressive credit card industry is every bit as responsible for marriages gone bad, bankruptcies filed, and a whole host of crime from homicides to theft as the cigarette industry is to the link with lung cancer.

Now, no one makes you sign the card, use the check, or become a credit card user...but they sure seem to be an accomplice in getting people hooked.

One more thing...more of a question than a statement.

Interesting that you can see commercials on TV advertising 10,000 free air miles just for signing up for a card or spending money some other way.

Well...those of us who use air miles have learned, 10,000 air miles is worth about 1/3 of a ticket to anywhere...and it surely won't take you 10,000 miles on an airplane.

For most, it takes 25,000 air miles to get a free ticket...with each air mile resulting from a dollar spent. SO, to get a free $250 ticket, you have to spend at least $25,000 dollars.

Not a scam...but certainly not 25,000 free miles in the air either.

Hmmm. How do you define scam?