A friend is constantly annoyed by seeing help wanted postings on Craigslist where business people are looking for common folks to write and post favorable reviews about their products and services in return for compensation.

Since so many shoppers read and rely on product reviews written by actual purchasers when deciding whether to buy a particular product, no wonder sellers are eager to display positive reviews. The problem, of course, is that the reader cannot tell whether the review is genuine, fake, or possibly tainted because the reviewer has been paid for his or her comments.

Enter the Federal Trade Commission.

Under their revised testimonial guidelines, even bloggers are required to disclose in their reviews if they have been compensated for their review or received the product free that they are reviewing:

“When there exists a connection between the endorser and the seller of the advertised product that might materially affect the weight or credibility of the endorsement (i.e., the connection is not reasonably expected by the audience), such connection must be fully disclosed.” — 16 CFR 255.5

Now how often have you seen a blogger make such a disclosure?

Enter MrConsumer.

Last week, I received an email from the company that sells the bidet that I recently purchased from Amazon. (This bidet is an attachment you install on an existing toilet to rinse your heinie with a narrow jet of water.) They asked if I would write an “honest review” of the product and post it on Amazon. (Seriously, I was NOT asked to write a positive review, but rather an honest one.) In return, they would send me a second bidet free.

Since I was intending to write a review anyway (I love the product), this was the prompt I needed to actually do it. And of course, who wouldn’t want another bidet for nothing?

I wrote the review “So Long Toilet Paper”, and included the following disclosure that I dare to say no other poster has ever included in their review:

*MOUSE PRINT:

“NOTE: As required by Federal Trade Commission guidelines, I am disclosing that I was promised compensation for posting an honest review. And the review is just that — my honest opinion — something I would have written exactly as you see it irrespective of any future compensation that I might receive.”

Upon hitting the submit button, Amazon flashed up a notice that it may be up to 48 hours before the review is posted because they have to examine it first. Well, I said to myself, they will never approve this. Funny thing, later that night, they did.

I then notified the bidet company of its posting. Well, I said to myself, they will never send me the free bidet. Funny thing, almost immediately, they thanked me for my “wonderful review.”

I guess no one reads anything thoroughly anymore. In any event, at least shoppers who read the review will be put on notice, as required, that I was promised compensation in return for the review.

The Federal Trade Commission recently sued the maker of Pom Wonderful pomegranate juice contending that it did not have reliable evidence to back up the health claims it made.

A federal administrative law judge two weeks ago ruled in favor of the FTC, issuing a cease and desist order against the company because it did not have sufficient evidence to support its claims that its juice reduced the risks of heart disease, prostate cancer and impotence. (Full decision)

Turning their defeat on its head, the company took out full page ads in the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times like this:

Reading the advertisement, you’d think that the company won the lawsuit. What they did instead was cleverly excerpt out-of-context quotes from the judge that seemingly supported their case.

Look at the first claim in the advertisement above, where the company quotes the judge as saying that scientific studies support the claim that pomegranate juice supports prostate health including by slowing the rate of increase in a man’s PSA level. What they failed to tell you was the following, that the judge said immediately after that.

*MOUSE PRINT:

“However, the greater weight of the persuasive expert testimony shows that the evidence relied upon by Respondents is not adequate to substantiate claims that the POM Products treat, prevent, or reduce the risk of prostate cancer or that they are clinically proven to do so. Indeed, the authors of the Pantuck Study and the Carducci Study each testified that their study did not conclude that POM Juice treats, prevents, or reduces the risk of prostate cancer. And, as Respondents’ expert conceded, no clinical studies, research and/or trials show definitively that the POM Products treat, prevent, or reduce the risk of prostate cancer.” — Judge D. Michael Chappell, page 282.

Looking at the company’s third claim in the ad above about promoting erectile health, the company conveniently omitted the judge’s conclusion in the very next sentence:

*MOUSE PRINT:

“There is insufficient competent and reliable scientific evidence to show that pomegranate juice prevents or reduces the risk of erectile dysfunction or has been clinically proven to do so.” – page 188

What chutzpah this company has. It will be interesting to see if the FTC goes after Pom for the deceptive nature of these misleading ads.

While surfing around the Internet last week, MrConsumer came upon this banner ad from Comcast advertising up to a $500 Visa card if one signs up for their Xfinity service. (The ad appeared on a world time website, rather than a local website with a local target audience.)

When clicking the ad, you are taken to a Comcast page with this list of offers:

*MOUSE PRINT: (click graphic below for a larger version)

The only offers shown are for plans that provide Visa cards from $100 to $300. Where is the advertised $500 card? We asked Comcast to explain this discrepancy that looks an awful lot like a bait and switch scheme.

“[W]e did indeed have a limited-time online promotion, which offered up to a $500 Visa prepaid card. It was a geo-targeted campaign aimed at consumers in select markets.” – Peter Dobrow, Comcast Corporate Communications

I’m sorry, that doesn’t cut it. Advertisers can tell from your IP address roughly where you live, and can target ads accordingly on the fly. An offer for $500 back meant for one locale should never appear on a national website if the offer is not available to those who view it.

To the casual visitor, JewelMint.com seems like a conventional jewelry sales website with one difference. They only display jewelry pieces to you that they believe match the preferences you expressed when you first logged into their site. Every month they create a special list of items chosen just for you. And all jewelry items are only $29.99.

Here is how their system works:

They also have a minute-long video on their “how it works” page that says in relevant part:

“Each month, you’ll receive personalized selections to choose from. But if you don’t find that perfect piece, you can skip that month with no charge.”

To start shopping on this site, you sign up in order to get a customized selection of jewelry items that hopefully matches your taste.

Most people will just create a login and continue without clicking any additional links such as for the privacy policy or the terms and conditions statement.

Once signed up, you browse through the jewelry items as you would on any other site, and when you find something you like, you can add it to your cart.

When it comes time to purchase an item you want, the checkout screen is very standard — you fill in your address, credit card, etc.

In tiny print below the “purchase” button is something unusual, however.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Huh? What do they mean you’ll receive a credit for $29.99 each month. Are they giving you money? And what’s this about visiting the website before the 5th of the month business to cancel? Cancel what? If I don’t want to buy, I just don’t buy, no?

The truth is, this is a book of the month club of sorts for jewelry items. And you know how book clubs work: if you don’t want the book, you tell them you don’t want it, otherwise it is automatically shipped and billed to you.

In this case, they are not going to ship you anything automatically, but rather charge your credit card $29.99, whether or not you buy anything that month. If you don’t buy that month, the $29.99 you paid can be used toward a future purchase. And you only have five days to opt-out of being billed for that month.

How do you learn about this foolishness? It is buried in their “terms of service“:

*MOUSE PRINT:

Billing and Payments

Once you have provided your shipping and payment information and successfully made your first purchase, you are a Preferred Member. As a Preferred Member, you will be enrolled for free in our recurring membership program, subject to the following Terms:

…
•We hope you’ll find something you love when you visit your new showroom at the beginning of each month. If, however, within the first 5 days of the month, you have not yet purchased an item, you may choose to skip the month free of charge from your Account Settings page or by calling Customer Care. If you skip the month, your credit or debit card will not be charged for that month. If you do not notify us that you’d like to skip the month by the fifth day of the month, your credit or debit card will be charged the monthly membership rate and you will earn one (1) credit in your account to enjoy on a future purchase. . [Color added for emphasis.] Please refer to the FAQ’s for your membership rate.

•Credits resulting from the monthly charge are eligible for a refund up to 30 days past the billing date, at the sole discretion of BeachMint. After this period, credits can not be exchanged for any other form of currency and have no cash value.
•Unless otherwise prohibited by law, credits are valid for up to one (1) year after the date of issue. You can accumulate up to five (5) credits through the auto-charge function. Additional credits may be purchased through other functions, features, and offers on the Site.

Since most people probably would not normally find this provision, this company is likely to receive many complaints about their credit card being charged for something never ordered.

If a company has decided to run a jewelry of the month club… just say that, no? Why hide this critical information from the customer? Contrast JewelMint’s sneaky approach with DollarShaveClub.com that straightforwardly tells customers they will get a fresh package of shaving blades every month (and is getting a ton of favorable publicity).

As most of you know by now, CBS’ resident curmudgeon, Andy Rooney*, died last Friday. One of his classic pieces was on the nasty terms that companies hide in the fine print.

Here then, 17 years before Mouse Print* was born, is a few minutes with Andy Rooney*: [warning: CBS is embedding a commercial ahead of Andy's piece.]

*MOUSE PRINT: *rest in peace.

Thanks to Donna H. for the idea.