PITA and checkin' my credit!

I spent a good deal of my morning arguing with a customer service representation about an exercise DVD I bought back in January. Aurgh. I will say now...if you ever see a commercial for those Bender Ball Ab things...DO NOT...I repeat...DO NOT order it. You get charged more than you realized...they continue to charge you and send you DVDs each month without you knowing it...and then after you cancel, you still get charged. I don't think I am going to get my money back, but I am sure trying. I contested the charges with my credit card company and also filed a complaint with the BBB. Aurgh...again.

I wish I had read online a little more about them before I ordered. I should have known better. These days, if you put any product into google with the word review, it'll tell you a lot about what others customers thought of it. I read that this morning that close to 90% of people had the same problem I did and never got a refund. If I had read that prior to ordering, you can guess I wouldn't have ordered. It's a lesson in doing my research before buying something.

As similar thing that people should review is any product or pill or drink they are buying for weight loss. I can't tell you how many things I have bought from a late night informercial...where they SWORE that it worked and it would felt the pounds away. I often wanted to believe it worked so much that I didn't even consider researching it. And sometimes even if you do research it, you get some negative and some positive...so, which ones do you believe? An example, here is a review for a weight loss product called Akavar. It makes some pretty out there claims. It says that it is a product that everyone uses in Europe and just drinking it can cause you to lose weight and look great...without the addition of diet or exercise. It's interesting reading people reviews of it. I do feel bad for the people though because it shows they bought the product. They bought into the scam.

It's amazing to me the claims that companies can make...that are just bold faced lies. And, there seems to be no way to hold them accountable. It's especially disheartening when it comes to weight loss...since so many people are so desperate for a solution that is going to work for them. *sighs*

The only positive thing in my DVD fiasco...is that because I also read that the company has been known to sell your information to others, it got me concerned about my credit. So, I paid a little bit...but did a credit check with a fico score to see where I stand. I hadn't checked my credit in about a year, so it was about time anyways. Luckily...nothing seems out of the ordinary on my credit report AND my score has gone up a little bit. My credit score and healthy credit record is something I am really proud of. I've worked hard at it...and make sure everything is in order and paid on time. The documentation shows that I have a higher credit score than 98% of the population...so, go me!