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Not Reading Terms of Service Can Have Devilish Consequences

A few years ago, two professors conducted a study with over 500 students to see if they would take the time to read the privacy policy(PP) and terms of service(TOS) agreement of a fictitious social networking site they created called NameDrop.

To no one’s surprise, almost everyone spent no more than a minute or so reading each policy and then clicked the accept button. In fact, 97% accepted the PP and 93% agreed to the TOS.

Buried in the TOS were two devilish provisions, however:

*MOUSE PRINT:

3.1.1 NameDrop Data […] Any and all data generated and/or collected by NameDrop, by any means, may be shared with third parties. For example, NameDrop may be required to share data with government agencies, including the U.S. National Security Agency, and other security agencies in the United States and abroad. NameDrop may also choose to share data with third parties involved in the development of data products designed to assess eligibility. This could impact eligibility in the following areas: employment, financial service (bank loans, insurance, etc.), university entrance, international travel, the criminal justice system, etc. Under no circumstances will NameDrop be liable for any eventual decision made as a result of NameDrop data sharing.

This one said that NameDrop may share all the user’s information with the National Security Agency, other agencies, third parties, and possible employers.

*MOUSE PRINT:

2.3.1 Payment types (child assignment clause): In addition to any monetary payment that the user may make to NameDrop, by agreeing to these Terms of Service, and in exchange for service, all users of this site agree to immediately assign their first-born child to NameDrop, Inc. If the user does not yet have children, this agreement will be enforceable until the year 2050. All individuals assigned to NameDrop automatically become the property of NameDrop, Inc. No exceptions.

This provision provided that applicants would assign their first born-child to NameDrop.

As it turned out, 98% of the students missed these gotcha clauses. And aren’t we all likely just as guilty?

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At Target, The Price is  Right  Variable

Nothing is easy anymore. You go shopping in a real store, you see the price on the shelf, and you expect that is the price you will pay. But then reality intervenes.

MrConsumer had a $5 coupon from Target that he got when getting his COVID booster and it was about to expire. He finally found something he wanted to buy by checking Target.com on his home computer — four bottles of Market Pantry honey mustard dressing for $1.39 each.

Target honey mustard

So he went to his local Target, and found the salad dressing on the shelf, but it was $1.99!

Target Honey Mustard 1.99

Distressed, he went up to the aisle scanner to double-check the price.

Target honey mustard scanner

It said $1.79. So now we have three different prices: $1.39, $1.79, and $1.99. We know the middle price is what will be actually charged at the register, but that would allow MrConsumer to only get three of the dressing bottles instead of his planned four with his coupon. Grrr.

MrConsumer asked the checkout clerk to price match the $1.39 Target.com price, and he gladly did. (Here is Target’s price match policy.)

But the story doesn’t end there. Did the online price for this salad dressing vary depending on what store you chose as “your” store on the website?

Checking the online price at over a dozen different Target store locations within a 10-mile radius of Boston yielded shocking results.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Target Price Comparison

Target price comparison

The prices ranged from a low of $1.19 to a full dollar more — $2.19. How crazy is that? Supermarkets and drugstores are known for “zone pricing” (charging different prices in different neighborhoods factoring in local competition) but who knew that Target apparently engaged in that practice too? Of course, a sample size of one item says nothing about how Target prices all its other groceries and other merchandise. So we asked the company for details and an explanation.

A Target spokesperson sidestepped most of our questions but acknowledged:

Like many retailers, overall prices and promotions may vary by location and channel.

In further checking, we also learned that not all the Target locations in the chart above actually carry that item, but a shopper could order that product for delivery at the stated web price.

The bottom line is this. Target’s prices for at least some groceries vary store to store, as perhaps other categories of goods do. And since Target maintains a price match policy, including to the prices on its own website, it behooves shoppers to check there to see if the price is lower. Savvy shoppers might discover this is a new way to save money.

Please share your thoughts about the dramatic price differences brought to light in this story.

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AMEX Cash Back Offers: Too Good to Be True?

American Express is known for promoting very generous cash back offers such as ones that provide $10 back if you spend $10 or more at a small business. Here are some other recent examples, good deals for sure:

Amex typical offers

Last week, however, people on a bargain discussion board couldn’t believe their eyes when some of them found this offer in their AMEX account:

*MOUSE PRINT:

Amex 1000 off 1000

That’s right, spend $1,000 in one or more purchases and American Express will give you back a $1,000 statement credit. And you could do it three times! People couldn’t believe it. Then it got even crazier as other people checked their accounts. Most got nothing or a promise of bonus points. But others hit the jackpot, like this lucky cardholder.

*MOUSE PRINT:

AMEX 6000

Holy ****. Spend $3,000 and get back $6,000!? Keep in mind, this is on the genuine American Express website on a page of offers you see only after you log in to your account. People speculated that the company had been hacked, or there was a typo because the payback was probably meant to be “points” rather than “dollars,” or that some rogue employee decided to maliciously take revenge on the company. Others thought it was real, kept screenshots of the offer they signed up for, and hoped that AMEX would make good on it.

We asked the PR folks at American Express for an explanation. A spokesperson for the company told Consumer World:

“Due to a technical error, a small number of American Express Card Members were shown and subsequently enrolled in a statement credit offer for an incorrect amount. We quickly caught the error and removed the offer. American Express will honor this offer for the limited number of Card Members who enrolled.”

Wow! Hat’s off to American Express for honoring the erroneous offers. And merry Christmas to the several hundred cardholders who were lucky enough to get and enroll in them before they were pulled.