Read the Fine Print

"Read the Fine Print" is one of life's warnings for adults.  As children, we learned the expression "Look before you leap".  "Read the fine print" is simply the business version of the child's lesson.

The advertising industry seems to dominate our lives and is ever-present.  Newspapers, including the one you are reading now, rely almost completely on advertising revenue to survive.  Advertisers are searching out different media on which to paint their message.  Buses, trains and trucks are now plastered with advertising.  (Apparently, passenger cars are next.)

Advertisers are competing fiercely for consumers.  As a result, advertisers are desperate to attract you to their product and offer free trials, great deals and fancy terms.  Unfortunately, it seems there is always a catch.  In most cases, the catch is buried in the fine print.

A friend of mine was recently contacted by the local telephone service provider.  The phone company was offering a free 30 day trial on an additional service.  Somewhat reluctantly, my friend signed up for the 30 day trial.

About two weeks into the free trial, my friend realised that they had used the service all of two or three times.  They did not want to spend several dollars per month for something that was of little use to them.  So, my friend contacted the telephone company to cancel the free trial.  Here's where the fine print bites back with a vengeance!

My friend was advised that they could not cancel the free trial until the end of the 30 day trial period.  Of course, if you allow the service to stay connected for 31 days, you now have to pay for the second month.  In other words, the only way you can get out of the free trial and not have to pay is to cancel on exactly the 30th day.  My friend complained and pleaded that they wanted the service cancelled now, however, the telephone company explained that this could not be done and that the terms of service required that the service be connected for one month and that, if it was cancelled before the end of the month, they would be charged for the month.

My friend then obtained a copy of the terms of service, which was likely referred to in the fine print that accompanied the offer, where it has set out that service ordered is ordered for a minimum of one month.

In my opinion, the telephone company is behaving like an idiot.  They have now made it inconvenient for my friend, in that they have to remember which day the service was ordered and make sure that they cancel the service exactly 30 days after that.  They are now annoyed with the telephone company and are now much less likely to order any product or service from the company.

It seems that the phone company, in its rigorous enforcing of the fine print, has alienated the potential customer instead of reeling one in with the free offer.  In my opinion, it looks good on the company!