TV channels are flooded with commercials that are trying to sell you gadgets that will do something amazing. The gadget normally costs $10.95 or $29.95. They’ll send you another one FREE, plus a special carrying case, if you call right now. Then, in a quiet voice the announcer says “processing and handling separate.”
Ninety percent of the time they do not tell you how much processing and handling will cost you; it can cost anything they want it to. Why don’t they tell you in the commercial what it will cost? Because they fear you would not call to buy the product.
Here is how the price of the $10.95 item jumps almost 400 percent: Processing and handling is $10 for each of the three items. So the final cost on your credit card is about $40.95 cents. One California customer who ordered a product for just $29.95 got a bill for $173.00. She was charged $143.05 for “Processing & Handling.” When she complained, they said they had to right to charge any amount they wanted for processing and handling. What they are doing is misleading, and you should demand to know the cost before you give them your credit card.
The companies that do list these fees on the screen normally charge $7.99 for each item. Know the complete price before you give them your credit card number.