If it sounds too good to be true...

...it probably is.

This post has nothing to do with spanking except that I should be spanked for being so gullible. It's also intended to be a warning to anyone tempted to try a "miracle product". Here's what happened.

Two months ago we had internet problems and contacted our provider for help. A technician came, internet was restored and all was well. A week later I received an email from the internet provider, with a short survey about their recent visit. If I completed it, I could choose two free products. I filled in the survey, indicating that the company had been helpful and had solved our problem quickly.

Then up came the list of products. Most didn't interest me, but one caught my eye. It was a "miracle, age-defying" face cream, worth $89, but I could have it for only the small shipping cost. Sure, why not? So I entered my name, address and credit card info (for the shipping cost, but can you see a tiny red flag?). I hit enter, then was given a chance to include, also at no cost other than shipping, a "miracle oil". Okay, I'll take one.

Two days later the package arrived. I stored the products in the cupboard for future use and thought that was the end. A month later we contacted our Internet provider with another problem, and soon after Ron received a survey from them.

"Hey, do you want some more face cream?" he asked. Why not? I completed the survey, ordered the "free" face cream, and it arrived two days later.

Fast forward to last week. A box arrived with more product.

"What's this? I didn't order more," I said to Ron after I opened the package.

"Better check your credit card account," Ron advised. I logged on and saw - EEK! $130 for each of the products.

We both panicked for a while. I logged on to the account that had been opened for me after I ordered, that I hadn't bothered with before. I saw that under Shipping I was signed up for "monthly autofill". I changed the frequency setting to "Never", clicked Save, and got an error. Yikes! This was getting worse. I sent an email to the company. No reply.

I had some coffee and thought for a while. then I picked up the phone and called my credit card company. The person I spoke to had heard it all before. These unscrupulous vendors hook their offers into all sorts of surveys sent out by reputable merchants like Walmart, Costco and my internet provider. He gave me the unpublished number for customer service and explained exactly what I had to say and do.

I called the face cream company and they agreed to cancel my account, and if I sent back the package I just received, I would be refunded in full. I got a cancellation number from them which I could provide to my credit card company if I had any further charges on my account. Whew!

Ron and I agree that neither of us would ever have fallen for this scam if it had been a popup on a web page, or an ad in a sidebar. But because it was attached to a survey from a reputable company, we fell for it. So be warned. Stay away from "free" offers. They aren't really free after all.

Who knows? Maybe it really does defy age and in just 90 days I will have the skin of a teenager again. Oh dear, does that mean will it give me acne?