Internet – Page 77 – Mouse Print*

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Exterior House Painting — Only $899?

June 20, 2011 by Edgar (aka MrConsumer)

Everyone seems to be getting in on the Groupon-like “deal of the day” promotions. The latest is home improvement contractors. Here is one for an unbelievable deal on having your house painted.

Only $899 to paint a whole house? How is that possible when it costs thousands to paint most homes? For one, they limit the size of the home that can be painted for that price to those that are 1600 square feet or less. That disclosure is very clear.

There is, however, a surprising catch in the fine print.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Nothing like promoting a price for a paint job that doesn’t include the paint!

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Asterisk-Free Checking!?

June 13, 2011 by Edgar (aka MrConsumer)

Huntington Bank has a clever new advertising campaign promoting “Asterisk-Free Checking”. So many banks promise what sound like great accounts, but then you find all kinds of hidden charges and minimums buried in the fine print.

Not with Asterisk-Free Checking, they say:

[wposflv src=https://www.huntington.com/free/video/HuntingtonBank_AsteriskFree_Rev.flv previewimage=http://www.mouseprint.org/wp-content/avert/huntingtonasterisk1.jpg width=425 height=250 title=”Asterisk Free”]

A whole host of services are provided with this account, including “Free Online Banking and Bill Pay”. However, if you are planning to use Quicken to do online banking and pay bills, it is not free.

*MOUSE PRINT:

There is a $2.95 a month charge for “PC Banking”, which apparently is different from “Online Banking and Bill Pay”. That fact is buried in their FAQs which are not accessible from the detailed description page for Asterisk-Free Checking. And true to the name of this account, unfortunately, there is no asterisk leading the reader to this qualification and distinction.

When asked why they don’t disclose that charge upfront, and would they now consider doing so, a spokeperson for the bank replied:

“PC Banking is not actively promoted and is offered only to customers who contact us requesting services not provided through Online Banking. The monthly $2.95 fee applies only to customers using the extra services offered directly through QuickenÂ® and QuickbooksÂ®. Therefore, our Online Banking and Bill Pay services as the vast majority of our customers use them are indeed free.”

MrConsumer is not trying to beat up on Huntington Bank. In fact, it was selected as a refreshing change from how other banks advertise by hiding costly things in asterisked footnotes. However, if they talk the talk, they should walk the walk. No one put a gun to their head and forced Huntington to advertise “asterisk-free checking” and “isn’t it time you switched to a bank that believes in no surprises.” But having gone down that road, shouldn’t they have been a little more forthcoming about the actual cost of “free online banking and bill pay” for those who use Quicken?

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Congratulations, You’ve Won… Nothing

May 25, 2011May 23, 2011 by Edgar (aka MrConsumer)

While visiting a news site recently, a pop-up appeared notifying MrConsumer that he had a chance to win one of four or five valuable prizes, including an Ipad 2, a Dell laptop, an iPhone, etc.

Scrolling down further on the page were three testimonials from previous winners, including one who lives in my home town — Somerville, Massachusetts. What a coincidence!

MrConsumer googled the local winner, Jason Meeks, and discovered a person in Boston by that name was jailed in 2008 for manslaughter and sentenced to 17 years. I don’t think he’s been busy entering too many contests.

Doing a bit of further research using part of Jason’s quote, turned up a host of other websites where the apparently very lucky Jason was also winning iPads. But, apparently he must have transferred prisons.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Now Jason Meeks appears to be from California. Looks like he and Jennifer Layton, the person pictured first above, swapped homes because she is now in Somerville instead of Los Angeles. And the guy in the middle, Mr. Wong, maybe is also wanted by the law, because he changed his name from Jason to Jesse. Well at least he won’t have to throw out his monogrammed towels.

As it turns out this trio was indeed very lucky, because on yet another site, they were also big winners.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Now it appears that Jennifer Layton has settled down in the Boston area, but her name is now Jennifer Louie. Maybe she got married. And our friend, Mr. Wong, has once again taken on a different first name — this time, it’s Jeff. He really seems to like the “J” names. Lastly, our jailbird Jason Meeks seems to have transferred prisons once again, this time to New York. And now he is known by a different name as well. Maybe he doesn’t want the other prisoners to catch on to all the iPads he’s won.

Under FTC guidelines, testimonials presented as being made by real people must be real and represent their honest opinions. Clearly, what the research uncovered suggests otherwise.