I oftentimes think a lot of the sales folks will out and out lie to get to make a sale.

I dread ever having to call any of them about anything. Sure nuff, I'm gonna get the ole sales pitch once they've helped me and b4 they let me go.

Often they try to reel you in by saving it is free for X amount of time, and then it can be canceled at anytime. I've found life is just easier to decline the 'free'(?) services in the first place, rather than having to cancel them later and get my $$ returned.

They just act 'got' that I would refuse something free. Hmmm...if it did not come with any strings attached, I might consider it.

Sue

Rule of thumb, business do not make money giving things away for free. Alls "free" means is there is an angle and probably some-kind of hidden agenda. When I hear free from any kind of sales person, I turn off immediately. Free just means, "I am going to try to trick you". Unless you are stealing what ever it is they are selling, there is no such thing as free.

And regarding telemarketers, especially from the companies you are already dealing with, the best way to get even with them is to tell them you are interested and ask them to hold on. Put the phone down and go watch TV. Come back in 15min and if they are still on, tell them no thanks, you don't buy from telemarketers.

If you want to have even more fun with them, tell them you are really interested and how excited you are and then tell them you have to take an incoming call, and just hang up. This will kill them, since when you hang up, the auto-dialer automatically calls the next person in the queue and they have to suffer through the next call knowing they just missed a sale.

You know it! I had the 'protection' for almost a year, and after the protection period is over (layoff) they tack on extra fees.

Also, when I cancelled, they had a fit! lol....you pay even when you don't use it..and when getting close to a limit, the protection plan is what put me over!!!!! I realize, I had came close but still maintained payments until the monthly plan is what ultimately made the fees all go up! Irony.

Same thing happened to me! Here's what i wrote their customer service. These companies are so wrong!!!!

Yesterday, 10/30/07, I called the Payment Protection department to discuss 2 charges on my statement for something that I never signed up for. The woman who helped me told me that she would put a stop to the charges and that in the future there would be no further charges (essentially cancelling my enrollment). After speaking to her for about 5-10 minutes, she finally told me that within 2 weeks both of the charges would be removed from my account. My point for writing this is that I NEVER SIGNED UP FOR PAYMENT PROTECTION. I was very frustrated at the notion that your company was hesitant to remove the charges. The rep was very rude and insisted that at some point I had either signed up verbally or via written correspondence. I received a phone call from a telemarketer a while back, but after declining the "protection" I eventually had to hang up on him. First of all, it was about 8:30 at night which I don't appreciate. I am on a NO CALL list and should not have been called in the first place.

Your business practices are without a doubt the most unethical treatment that I have ever received from a credit card company before. I researched it online only to find out that many other of your customers have also been taken advantage of.

I don't know what I expect from your company in the form of a reply...if you even respond or anyone in management finds out about what is going on, but I plan on continuiing my research and finding out legally if there is anything that I can do. It was totally wrong what your company did. You take advantage of unsuspecting customers. Let me ask you, what if this were to happen to one of your parents or grandparents who didn't have enough courage to say something was wrong--who knows how long they would be continued to be billed for a service that they never requested. Shame on you.

Please make sure that the charges are removed from my account and that any accrued interest charges are removed as well.

BTW, the Do Not Call list does not include companies you are ALREADY doing business with, such as credit card companies. If they call you, just politely say, "Please put me on your Do Not Call list" - in precisely those words - and they will not call you ever again. Unless the bank sells the account to another bank, in which case you will need to repeat that request again.

There is no need to be rude or nasty to the people who are just trying to do their job. Being nasty to them makes their lives miserable, and doesn't affect the credit card company management whatsoever.

The statement "I don't talk to telemarketers" means absolutely nothing legally. You have not specifically denied them the right to call you to market products. It is petty and mildly satisfying, but using the correct legal phraseology to activate your right to privacy would be much more effective, and you can still be nice about it.

Like they say, what goes around comes around.

same thing happened to me!! i was signed up for this payment protection plan, but i found TOO LATE! when i found it was 3 years later, i just pay and finally i looked into it and was like what is this?! it accumulated to couple hundred a YEAR! when i called them the customer service at payment protection plan was nice and then when she found out about my issue (i wanted them to refund me the charges because i did not agree to sign up for this, didnt use the services, nor was told the 30 day to cancel, or what it was) what 21 year old would go through "Involuntary Unemployment, Disability, Leave of Absence, Hospitalization) or a Life Event (i.e., your marriage, divorce, move to a new primary residence or birth or adoption of a new child)". A 21 year old in college, and working part time? i did not know what it was, people are just taken advantage of, so I had to mail them a letter (which i doubt they will follow through) and by the looks at this forum I could start a class action suit because NOTHING came good out of this protection plan for anyone.This was just not fair.

"i was signed up for this payment protection plan, but i found TOO LATE! when i found it was 3 years later, "

It is not their fault that you did not look at your statement!

You could have stopped it MUCH sooner if you read your statement every month... then you would not have to hope for a refund.

"what 21 year old would go through "Involuntary Unemployment, Disability, Leave of Absence, Hospitalization) or a Life Event (i.e., your marriage, divorce, move to a new primary residence or birth or adoption of a new child)""

Those can happen to anyone of any adult age.

I've never understood people who don't keep their credit card charge receipts and reconcile them against the statement each month. It's pure foolishness to blindly pay the minimum balance (or full balance for that matter) without reading/checking over the whole thing.

I agree w/ Kitchenshock. Companies don't do anything for free! My fiance & I purchased a new truck @ the beginning of 2007 & have been very dilagent (sp?) about making the payments in full & on time. Well, the other day we got a letter in the mail from the loan company saying that they wanted to "give us a break" for being a "valued customer". It said that we could skip either Dec. or Jan.'s payment w/ no late fees (b/c of holidays, etc.) if we'd only send this letter back w/ $25! I started thinking about this & what a rip off it is, b/c not only are you sending the loan company $25 for nothing basically, you are also getting that extra interest tacked on to the end of your loan & extending the length of your loan. I would guess you're getting screwed out of @ least $100 dollars (not good @ figuring interest) by doing this. Stuff like this really irritates me, b/c some ppl probably HAD to do this to buy Christmas for the kids & probably thought it was a good deal!

I guess there's no way to classify this as illegal, but I think it should be. There are a lot of vulnerable ppl out there that fall for stuff like this, then at the end have lost/spent a lot more b/c of the "great deal" they thought they were getting.

Sorry to ramble, just wanted to vent a little. :)

If the security of your account is ever compromised. Discover is more interested in selling you some sort of protection plan than finding the culprit.
In my case, the culprit changed my billing address. It was probably bogus, but they could have at least checked it out!

I just cancelled my personal protection also, I'm carrying a bbalance and they charge a certain percentage of the balance-I was paying 35-40 for that a month!How am I supposed to pay the card off with fees like that. The customer service person was really pressuring me not to quit it saying I wouldn't have to pay interest if I lost my job or even moved-I've moved 3X once 400miles and they didn't do it then.
However they did lower my interest when I asked them to, almost 4 %

I agree that about 90 percent of things sold through telemarketing are worthless, but I have found some decent things too, such as a good deal on a new credit card that I still use. The protection plans, "credit watch" schemes and other plans where you pay a recurring monthly fee for stuff that's available free elsewhere are not a good value.

But I do not agree with harassing or playing games with the people calling, such as setting the phone down and telling them to wait when you are only going to say no. Most of the people doing these jobs are poorly-paid and don't need the extra frustration of people going out of their way to be cruel to them. If not interested, just say no thanks and hang up, or don't answer the call in the first place.

Off topic:
Ky114, you touched on a pet peeve of mine about telemarketers. I think people should use telemarketers as a training ground for setting boundaries, for learning to say a polite but decided NO. I"m sure some can make an argument for a "Do Not Call" list, but I see that as a list for those who can"t muster a firm NO, and want Daddy government to "make it go away". You can stay civil and say NO. You can cut them off politely and say NO. You don"t have to listen to a spiel; you can say NO and hang up. I"ve not yet been harrassed by a telemarketer when I"ve said NO.

I have found that a firm "I am sorry, but we do NOT give ANY business to telemarketers" gets the job done!

We just interrupt their spiel and firmly say, 'we're not interested. Please take us off your list." and then we hang up immediately; we don't wait for a response.

It has several advantages, not the least of which is, we don't spend our EMOTIONS getting mad, fuming, etc. Maybe other folks enjoy that, but I don't. (an extension, I think of trying to apply Philippians 4:8 to my life)

And it saves us tons of TIME. Because we're off the phone in less than 10 seconds.

And, since we've started this, the volume of calls has dropped, and we're not even on the do-not-call list.

Stuff like this really irritates me, b/c some ppl probably HAD to do this to buy Christmas for the kids & probably thought it was a good deal!

If indeed someone HAD to do this because they couldn't make ends meet, then it IS a good deal. $25 now plus future interest ramifications is probably cheaper than missing a payment and the hassles associated.

There are a lot of vulnerable ppl out there that fall for stuff like this, then at the end have lost/spent a lot more b/c of the "great deal" they thought they were getting.

Agreed. The problem is that irresponsible people might go for the deal you mentioned even if they don't need to. I have no idea how to solve that problem. You can outlaw all you want but better scammers will come along and legitmate deals will probably suffer as an unwanted side effect.

Kitchenshock - I LOVE your method for dealing with phone solicitors. I do something similar, only I don't come back to the phone until I hear the irrirating "off-hook screech." This works particularly well when the caller is a gas-bag reading a long-winded script off a computer screen. THey read the whole thing, and nobody is listening. (WHO would even want to be a telemarketer? I don't think I could take the abuse.)

3 TIMES HERE!!!!
I just opened another account and a month later....there it is!
$52.41
This is the third time. Its been added to my Wifes acct, our joint and now mine! I am glad we have caught it every time. I feel for those who missed it and have paid hundreds of dollars.
Can you even imagine how BIG this is? It reminds me of Office Space when they set up a ghost account to pick up the 10ths of pennies and it builds to thousands overnight!
This is millions, Im guessing!!!!

SCAM ! ! ! This is CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT material.

If you're pressed for time, just read the last paragraph . . .

I moved money owed from other cards to the Discover card because I got a great interest rate ON THE MONEY I MOVED.
If I use the card for ANYTHING else, the new charge goes on at a much higher rate and does not get paid down until the 'moved' money is completely paid off.
I clearly recall getting the call from Discover and telling the agent that, no, I was not interested in this program.
I got my "Welcome" letter today. (It would be incredibly stupid to put ANYTHING on this card.)
The Discover Payment Protection Plan office is open M-F, 8-8. (Today is Saturday.)
I called 800-DISCOVER and a nice agent (Dave) told me to call the Protection Plan office, and gave me their direct line - 877 883-1959. I told him they were closed; there was nothing more he could do.

I asked for a Supervisor, spoke with Kathy, who assured me that:
. 1. The charge would not show up on my statement.
. 2. She would send my issue to corporate headquarters.
. 3. She gets quite a few calls on this issue.
. 4. THE CALLS THEIR SALES STAFF MAKES ARE RECORDED, AND THEY CAN TELL WHO TRIED TO CHEAT ME. (Yeah, like that's gonna happen. This is what happens when corporations 'police themselves.')

Where are all the class-action attorneys when we need them?

Since their phone message said the call may be recorded, I recorded it. I'll be recording any calls I get from Discover in the future.

And when you get ANY offers from anyone like this, you'll find they often charge a rate "per month per $100 owed" -- do the math! If the rate is 99 cents per $100 (sounds pretty cheap, eh?), you just raised your annual interest rate by 12% ($1 is 1% of $100, times 12 months is 12% annually). In other words, it will cost you an extra $11.88 for every $100 you owe, every year.
So, if your current rate is 13%, you just raised it to 24.88%! If you ask the salesman for your new rate, they won't tell you. They just stick with their "99 cents" routine.

I may sound like real jerk when I say this but I don't care. I don't get ANY of those offers. It probably has something to do with the nasty way I treat anyone that calls me to sell me anything. I am nice until they tell me who they are or who they work for or what they are selling, then my tone changes into monster man. There isn't a foul word I will not use to get my message across. My goal is to ruin their day and make them wish they had never ever called my number. It is sad that in this day and age you have to adopt such extreme behavior to be left alone but it seems to be the only trick that works. I have developed a great skill at talking over them when they try to fast talk me with high pressure. I usually say things like "I never give out any information over the phone" or " I never buy anything over the phone" or even "sounds great! send me a packet in the mail and I will look it over..." When all that fails I get nasty and mean. In the old days I would just set the phone down and walk away from it but cussing them out works quicker and has longer lasting effects. Way back when I was in my twenties I got caught up in a land swindle being run by a corrupt lawyer. The man was taking advantage of very poor people (he deserved a bullet to his head but ended up dying in a car accident instead). In all my dealings with lawyers and bankers and the court system I learned a hard hard lesson - acting like crazy person moves you to the top of the line. They will do anything to get you away from them including cutting their losses.

I know it won't work for just anyone but it has sure kept me out of trouble. I know a woman with a very strong personality and a harsh tone to her voice that makes money solving problems like this for people - she does their dirty work on the phone for them.

DISCOVER CARD RULES!! ahhahahah,... seriously some of you suck in decision making! once you commit yourself (small or big)BE RESPONSIBLE, check things twice..and within "30days to cancel" spiel and recordings of your affirmative responses wont get them into any trouble when you file...

Dudes and Dudettes prevention is better than a solution. Not all the calls of discover have strings attached. They give out a good deal. Dont sign up for plans though (its where they get there extra revenue for christmas eheheh). Just be contented not upgrading anything, to keep everything in a "Fixed" basis.

take it from a guy that calls you..
(NOT in the Payment Protection Acct. though)
cheers

hrajotte-"Kitchenshock - I LOVE your method for dealing with phone solicitors. I do something similar, only I don't come back to the phone until I hear the irrirating "off-hook screech." This works particularly well when the caller is a gas-bag reading a long-winded script off a computer screen. THey read the whole thing, and nobody is listening. (WHO would even want to be a telemarketer? I don't think I could take the abuse.)"

While I have to say I admire the remedies listed above, I find that the best solution for us is to let our answering machine do the work. We don't pick up until someone starts to leave a message. If someone doesn't want to leave a message then how important can the call be? Family/friends know to do this. We will pick up as soon as they start to speak. If we aren't home, we call back later or they call us on our cell.

We don't bother with Caller i.d. on our landline either. Its such a scam. Telemarketers are able to block their number so what good is it?

The phone company makes money providing you with your service, but that isn't enough for them. They have to 'thank you' for your business by selling your number to strangers (or charge extra for an unlisted number). Why reward them twice for selling you out?

"some can make an argument for a "Do Not Call" list, but I see that as a list for those who can"t muster a firm NO, and want Daddy government to "make it go away". "

How about not wanted to be annoyed by the phone ringing with unwanted calls several times every evening? I'm quite capable of saying no, but don't want to have to answer all those unwanted calls to do so.

I was told there would be no charge to those who pay their balance in full each month, but, son of a gun, there was a charge. I don't bother using the card anymore.

There is a bit of misleading I.go there. But I was told that it charges .89/ $100 on your month end statement balance. Then I asked what if I don't have a balance. And the person stated that it would be free. So I pay my charges before my cycle date. That why I have it free