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Porn Users Forum » Checked Boxes: A porn rant (Porn Post 2)
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11-25-18  10:02am - 2219 days Original Post - #1
merc77 (0)
Disabled User

Posts: 291
Registered: Apr 17, '16
Checked Boxes: A porn rant (Porn Post 2)

Once the average porn user like myself figured out why those odd charges were posting on the credit card account, we learned of those pesky pre-checked boxes. Many porn sites want us to join their sister sites so they check these boxes for us. It is then up to us to discover it before we send off payment. Otherwise, we are stuck eating a small charge and canceling a service we never asked for.

We wised up and made sure to look for those pre-checks and would find them. The sites wised up and made those checks smaller and hid them from us. Hiding in plain site is the word.

Westbill has gotten me several times lately. Sure, it is only $1, but those dollar charges add up to a nice little profit as most of us don't even go to the site and check it out.

I know it is up to us to really look all over the place for those sneaky little checks. They are there laughing at us all the way to the bank.

I do think we need to start making it known to the sites and pay sites which profit on this we are not pleased. It is sneaky and underhanded. Any other business caught doing this would be drawn and quartered by the public. Yet we allow this to happen in porn.

They won't listen or read our emails on this subject as they make too much money doing it. I also know it is up to us to be diligent, but I still have the right to rant about it.

I know I am not alone here in this great inconvenience. I also know the old saying: Fool me once, shame on you! Fool me twice, shame on me! I must be a huge fool as I have been fooled many times.

End of rant.


Have a happy and safe holiday season! "Dogs think people are Gods. Cats don't as they know better." - Kedi (2016)

Dogs have masters; Cats have staff.

11-25-18  12:28pm - 2219 days #2
Loki (0)
Active User



Posts: 395
Registered: Jun 13, '07
Location: California
Originally Posted by merc77:


It is sneaky and underhanded. Any other business caught doing this would be drawn and quartered by the public. Yet we allow this to happen in porn.


I don't really know if that's true. Internet companies are like Facebook and Google profit enormously off of people's private information, and there's nary a peep about it from the public. It just goes to show there's profit to be made by screwing over the little guy, and businesses are willing to do anything to make a profit. "A man talking sense to himself is no madder than a man talking nonsense not to himself."

11-25-18  06:49pm - 2219 days #3
mbaya (0)
Suspended



Posts: 891
Registered: Jul 07, '08
Location: new jersey
I have not noticed pre checked cross sells and got stuck with charges that were difficult to dispute.

When I see them I mention them in my reviews as a negative. I think we all should.

11-25-18  10:23pm - 2218 days #4
lk2fireone (0)
Active User



Posts: 3,618
Registered: Nov 14, '08
Location: CA
It's very difficult to dispute a pre-checked charge, because the the billing company says you agreed to the charge legally.

So, for most sites, you just have to eat the charge.

The only sites, off-hand, that I think that will reverse a pre-checked cross-sale are the MetArt sites, which seem willing to reverse those charges without a fight.

Which is why I take a long time reading the join pages of any porn site, looking for the pre-checked cross-sale.
I spend more time looking for the pre-checked cross-sale than I do filling out most of the rest of the forms.

But there are a very few sites that do not have a pre-checked cross-sale on the join page, and I spend even more time on those pages, because I don't want to get dinged.

LOL.

11-26-18  04:04am - 2218 days #5
jook (0)
Active User



Posts: 325
Registered: Dec 22, '13
Location: jersey city
Pre-checked charges, "free" trials, etc., are borderline legal - depending. If the purpose is to lure the consumer into a more costly offer unwittingly, then the charge won't pass the muster of the FTC. The few times I have disputed such charges with my credit card issuer, I prevailed. Most times, the porn site (or whomever) will credit the charge not wanting a dispute. However, my guess is that many, if not most people don't contest the charges for various reasons and that's what these sites rely on.

I agree that these sites are unscrupulous and one should be vigilant when joining porn sites to avoid any hassle. But sometimes one forgets, mea culpa.

11-26-18  04:06am - 2218 days #6
biker (0)
Active User



Posts: 632
Registered: May 03, '08
Location: milwaukee, wi
I've gotten some sites to refund my money if I contact them immediately. I've had better service from porn sites then most other so-called legitimate sites. Besides refunds, I've gotten some tech support. I still see the pre-checked as a scam. How many subscribers don't notice they've been billed when their notification Email comes through and they find their subscribing to something they don't want.

I just bought a DVD player and a cord to connect it to my flat screen was not included. I not only had to buy the cord but it took me a while to find a place that sold them. $12 later and a few hours driving to the shop where it was sold and I was back in business. Profit is the motive and we are the victims. Warning Will Robinson

11-26-18  07:00am - 2218 days #7
iknowwazzup (0)
Active User



Posts: 132
Registered: Jan 06, '16
Location: United States
Years ago I worked in customer service for a major online company that provided dial-up access to a huge number of subscribers. They would send popup ads for items in their online store that people would inadvertently agree to when they were simply trying to close the window.

They would then bill the credit card that was on file for internet access and ship so quickly that people's only option was to refuse the parcel at their door. They counted on some folks not being comfortable with saying "no" to the delivery person in person or not being around when the item arrived to refuse it. So scams by big companies are almost as old as the internet itself.

I will say though that what really blows my mind with porn sites is that I've noticed some sites list one of the included bonus sites as pre-checked cross sales. That seems especially sketchy because it's pretty hard to argue that any consumer would want to pay for a site they can already access!

11-26-18  09:30am - 2218 days #8
merc77 (0)
Disabled User

Posts: 291
Registered: Apr 17, '16
The only time I contested a charge was when one site charged me $4.95 (I lost and had to eat the charge.) I have been diligent and look all over the join page but for some reason I have missed it these last few times. Perhaps it is old age or old eyes on my part.


I now go over everything very slowly to make sure they don't make an easy buck off of me. "Dogs think people are Gods. Cats don't as they know better." - Kedi (2016)

Dogs have masters; Cats have staff.

11-26-18  11:56am - 2218 days #9
exotics4me (0)
Active User



Posts: 664
Registered: Jan 12, '07
Location: USA
There could be a history of pre-checked cross-sales on porn sites.

The worst of the worst, I remember Brazzers using it a few times and maybe Bang Bros and Reality Kings, too. They would reverse the wording on it. It would say, "No, I don't want to get more porn for cheap". It would be checked, so your instinct was to uncheck it. They got me 2-3 times with that one.

Then there was the "bottom of your page" pre-checked cross-sale that was two to three full scrolls down from the submit button. That one got me once.

Even now, I still see that one with Brazzers, Reality Kings that lists a nearly identically-named site with "yes" selected, like this:
Join Brazzers Unlimited for $19.95.

I already thought I was joining Brazzers Unlimited? So, you run into the question of if you mark "no" is it going to cancel your membership request.

Not to forget the painfully drawn out cancel processes those sites used to have:
Cancel my account: Yes or No (Clicked yes)
Are you sure you want to let go of the best porn in the world? Yes or No (Clicked yes)
What if we offer you a special discounted price of $24.95? (Had paid $9.95 a month for it). Yes or No (clicked No)
This is the last time you will ever see this offer! A full month for $24.95? Accept? Yes or No (Clicked No)
Tough loss, friend, on the next screen, confirm your cancellation request or remember what you're going to be missing and keep your account! (Next screen, filled with me cussing the monitor)
Confirm that you DON'T want to be a member anymore. Yes or No.

That isn't a joke or exaggeration. I think I still have a comment on here about Brazzers doing that back in 2009. They would reverse their wording, make yes mean no, no mean yes and it would be pages of it. My first time I jacked off, I thought I'd invented it. I looked down at my sloppy handful of junk and thought, This is going to make me rich. - Chuck Palahniuk

11-26-18  05:00pm - 2218 days #10
jook (0)
Active User



Posts: 325
Registered: Dec 22, '13
Location: jersey city
Originally Posted by merc77:


The only time I contested a charge was when one site charged me $4.95 (I lost and had to eat the charge.)


It's not worth fighting but I would probably stop doing business with that credit card issuer and make sure they knew why. The same thing may happen next time you have a legitimate dispute.

I don't think my credit card issuer even contacts the merchant in the event of small disputes. It seems they refund my money immediately with no questions asked. It's probably cheaper for them to credit a small charge rather than go through the time and effort of contacting the merchant.

11-27-18  02:04pm - 2217 days #11
biker (0)
Active User



Posts: 632
Registered: May 03, '08
Location: milwaukee, wi
The new one I've been running into is the so-called premium subscription. I found the subscription I purchased only has stream and if I want to download I need to pay extra. I know I need to read the subscription agreement much more carefully. I just never ran in to this new twist before and was blindsided. Now I'm aware and will learn just what I'm getting with future subscriptions. As soon as I get smart about a scam another one is introduced. I've started writing off certain sites because of this and stay with sites that work with me when I do make a mistake with my subscription. Warning Will Robinson

11-27-18  05:58pm - 2217 days #12
Loki (0)
Active User



Posts: 395
Registered: Jun 13, '07
Location: California
So-called "premium" memberships are a bane to the porn consumer, but probably the wave of the future. Sites wouldn't charge extra for downloads if they weren't profiting off it, or if people weren't buying premium memberships. "A man talking sense to himself is no madder than a man talking nonsense not to himself."

11-27-18  07:16pm - 2217 days #13
biker (0)
Active User



Posts: 632
Registered: May 03, '08
Location: milwaukee, wi
"premium", like they are doing us a favor. Warning Will Robinson

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