Last month I had to choose an ISP in Spain. The experience was painful. Every company has only "special offers" in the front page and I had to dig to the very deepest of their webs to find the real numbers and, even then, cut through a lot of BS, intentional poor phrasing, and all kind of misleading statements.
The provider I chose was not better than the rest. The real price was striked-out and a lower price, only valid for exceptional circumstances presented as the norm.
On the phone it's worse. They consistently scam people.
I spent several hours hating all them. But that's a recurring expense of forty euros a month, plus a hundred up front. If this scheme was imposed for small purchases, no way. Either I would choose a simpler retailer, even if more expensive, or wouldn't buy at all.
Same thing happens in the US. Time Warner Cable's web site was offering internet access for the "special offer" of $29.99 a month for the first year. I actually had to call them up on the phone to find out what the normal rate would be after one year -- it was nowhere to be found on their web site. Same type of thing happens with cell phone contracts. Are people really stupid enough to buy a monthly recurring service without knowing what it will cost after the first year? Apparently, the people selling these services think so.
Last month I had to choose an ISP in Spain. The experience was painful. Every company has only "special offers" in the front page and I had to dig to the very deepest of their webs to find the real numbers and, even then, cut through a lot of BS, intentional poor phrasing, and all kind of misleading statements.
The provider I chose was not better than the rest. The real price was striked-out and a lower price, only valid for exceptional circumstances presented as the norm.
On the phone it's worse. They consistently scam people.
I spent several hours hating all them. But that's a recurring expense of forty euros a month, plus a hundred up front. If this scheme was imposed for small purchases, no way. Either I would choose a simpler retailer, even if more expensive, or wouldn't buy at all.