Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Underhand Tactics Used By Companies
I've just received a renewal notification for my about-to-expire subscription to Linux Format, published by the Future Publishing megacorporation. I had subscribed for a year, and it's not a bad magazine, but I don't want to subscribe again.
This "renewal notification" is on red paper (similar to the kind of letters you get when you haven't paid your council tax on time and there is a danger of going to prison), has "Payment Due" in big letters, an "amount due", and lots of sentences starting with "Failure to pay will result in..." This is the kind of letter that, when you open it, your first thought is "s**t, what have I forgotten to pay now?" However, it's only further investigation that reveals it to be a cheap attempt to make it look like I owe them money and must pay immediately. In small faint writing on the back it admits that "my subscription has expired, and failure to pay this will result in magazines not being delivered". So that's all. Well, thankyou for the worry.
It's this kind of underhand tactic that is so typical of todays commercial culture; companies will stop as low as it takes to try and trick you into handing over money. I'm not re-subscribing, and now I'm not buying any more Linux Format magazines.
This "renewal notification" is on red paper (similar to the kind of letters you get when you haven't paid your council tax on time and there is a danger of going to prison), has "Payment Due" in big letters, an "amount due", and lots of sentences starting with "Failure to pay will result in..." This is the kind of letter that, when you open it, your first thought is "s**t, what have I forgotten to pay now?" However, it's only further investigation that reveals it to be a cheap attempt to make it look like I owe them money and must pay immediately. In small faint writing on the back it admits that "my subscription has expired, and failure to pay this will result in magazines not being delivered". So that's all. Well, thankyou for the worry.
It's this kind of underhand tactic that is so typical of todays commercial culture; companies will stop as low as it takes to try and trick you into handing over money. I'm not re-subscribing, and now I'm not buying any more Linux Format magazines.
