Last month we got yet another $10 marketing check in the mail from Chase. This was like the 12th or 13th check we have received in the last 12 months. The checks always come with a letter that says something like this: “Depositing the check will enroll you in a trial membership to XYZ program. If you do not cancel within the trial period, you will be charged $ABC”.
Initially, we didn’t want to do anything with these checks and I must have shredded the first half dozen or so. But these checks just kept coming and never stopped. So, we gave up, started thinking about them as *passive income*, and started depositing them. I think we must have made between $100~$150 in a year’s time. We were always careful enough to cancel the membership within the trial period and there were no complications.
This time again, as usual, I deposited the $10 check and that enrolled us in some crap called “Great Fun” run by Trilegiant Corp. I called them after about 20 days to cancel my membership and was told that they don’t have any record by my name. They asked me to call back after receiving some kind of a welcome package. I waited and waited..and the 30 day trial membership was over, but the package never came. I was hoping that there was some error in my favor and that my name never got registered, but I was wrong. In the next couple of days, I saw a charge of $119.99 appear on my Chase credit card! Oops!
Fortunately, I received their welcome package (or whatever it was) on the next day and called back immediately to cancel the membership. Luckily, this time I didn’t hear the “Sir, you don’t show up on our system” and the cancellation was succesful. Phew. Almost lost $119.99 there.
In summary: Stupid Checks + My Greed + Great Fun = Great Scare.
Looks like I am going back to shredding those checks again.
Apparently, there have been other similar issues regarding this with Trilegiant, the company in question. Just a couple of months ago, there was an article on MSNBC titled “Don’t cash that check! It’s a scam” on this exact thing. Apparently, unlike me, some people were not lucky enough to get all their money back; plus, there are other legal issues with this kind of marketing. Here is an excerpt from the article:
Last year, California Attorney General Bill Lockyer filed a lawsuit against Trilegiant and Chase Bank, alleging they worked together to create and carry out a marketing scheme that, he says, “unlawfully deceived tens of thousands of California consumers†into paying for these membership programs.
So yeah…it’s free money, but the *Great Fun* can quickly turn into *Great Pain* if you are not careful. 
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Great post. Even if you are always successful in canceling before the trial period is over, you should see the $10 check as the price paid for your personal information. Your personal info — name, address, credit card number, etc. — should be worth much more than that!
TFB: Yeah…greed sort of blinds the rational part of the brain. I should have checked out these things long back, even before I deposited the first check…instead, I took the $10 and was happy about it.
Golbguru,
Thanks for the reminder on the reasons for not cashing these checks. I’ll keep tossing them in the trash.
Yes it’s called bait and switch and that is the reason I never cash these checks. There must be a catch! They’re in the top 10 scams of 2006 (I had a post about this somewhere). I hate these schemes — the pain of getting out of the deal is worth so much more than the money. Even a supposedly reputable company like Clark Pest Control did this to us in the past! For the life of us, we couldn’t get to cancel the monthly service fee even though we tried….it took a lot of documentation and many calls to do it!
Yeah…got baited and got switched
You know, I got two more such checks in the last few days. Chase is pouring crap in my mail box.
Ever since i got a cash back CC… i get more crap like that…. phone calls saying they are sending me free magazines… offers in the mail…
heck i was even sent a 1500 credit voutcher to Florida or the carribian…
I’ve never cashed those money checks… for some reason I’m too scared too… but at the same time, since i know my “free” cash back CC isn’t really free… i’m worried what will come from cashing those checks… they get shreaded.
Beware of Chase!!! They are chasing you and your money like crazy!!
I think this company is the worst ever…
an easy way out if you do see a charge is to call chase directly i just stopped working for them, tell them specifically that you remember talking to them and told them several times you did not want the service. another note the cancleation number is easy to geneate on your own. its at the bottom of the enrollment page right after the stmt “please keep these materials for your future reference.”
Looking for people who have been tracking their e-mail from banks/mortgage companies and other financial firms since the economic downtown. if you have been tracking and are willing to talk about it, please email me at huslina@washpost.com
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