For the past 21 years, CBS has aired the reality show Big Brother during the summer months. In the program, 16 contestants called “houseguests” are secluded from the outside world in a TV-set house for about 100 days with all their activities recorded 24/7. The last houseguest remaining after a series of evictions wins the game.

As you might imagine, with millions of dollars of advertising revenue on the line for CBS and high production costs, they have to ensure that all the contestants follow a strict set of rules and waive most of their rights. To that end, when those who apply to be on the program enter the finalist stage of casting, they are required to sign a 39-page, one-sided agreement designed to protect the network and the producers and to warn the would-be participant what they have in store.

Here are some of the more unusual provisions of the “applicant agreement“:

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Contestants first have to agree to be recorded 24 hours a day, with or without clothing.

 
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The producers control all the utilities in the Big Brother house, including water.

 
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Contestants have to understand that they could be publicly humiliated and scorned.

 
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And besides waiving their rights to sue CBS and the producers, and releasing the show from all liability of any kind, contestants have to keep their mouth shut about what happens in the program. This is how CBS ensures that compliance:

And since “showmances” inevitably flourish during their three months in seclusion, all houseguests have to submit to testing for STDs.

So, why would anyone subject themselves to all this? Perhaps it is the lure of the $500,000 prize for the winner.

The TV airwaves have been flooded by a new advertising campaign from Green Dot. Mostly known for their prepaid cards, Green Dot is branching out into bank accounts with an almost too-good-to-be-true offer.

They are offering a 3-percent interest rate on your savings account, and 3-percent cash back when you make purchases with the debit card that comes with that account. Unheard of benefits on both scores.

Don’t get too excited however. Their fine print is sure to put a damper on your enthusiasm.

The deposit agreement for the Unlimited Cash Back account is full of goodies.

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The offer promises 3-percent interest on your savings up to $10,000. Well, how much is the interest rate on amounts over $10,000?

Answer:

So, you get no interest on larger deposits, and it is possible that the 3-percent interest rate could change.

That possible change in interest rate is an important disclosure because of the following additional disclosure:

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Interest is only credited once a year, and at the rate in effect at that time!

And the bank has fees for this account. If you make a deposit in cash at a retailer, you can be charged up $5.95. Here are two more fees.

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You have to pay $7.95 a month unless you spend $1,000 using their debit card. That seems pretty steep on both scores.

If you do spend any money with the card, you do get 3-percent cash back, but even that has some key restrictions.

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Only purchases made via an app or online qualify for the 3-percent back. And even certain of those purchases don’t count either, like airline tickets, person-to-person payments, bill payments, gift card purchases, etc. And to add insult to injury, the cash back you are entitled to is only credited to your account once a year.

With all these restrictions, you may not become green with envy of anyone using this card.

CORRECTION AND UPDATE:

Before our main story, I wanted to advise readers that the PayPal 2% Cashback credit card mentioned here two weeks ago as a good substitute for the Citi Double Cash card which is dropping almost all benefits soon does NOT have the benefits referred to on its website nor as confirmed by its customer service agents with whom I double-checked. That card only has one benefit – ID theft protection — but not extended warranty, price protection, return protection, CDW coverage, lost luggage coverage, etc. contrary to the link from the benefits section of its website states. I apologize to anyone who applied for this card as a result of the recommendation. I will be cutting up my card shortly. Synchrony Bank, the card’s issuer, just provided us with a response that basically says they are going to correct their link:

…we are taking some action to help further clarify the specific benefits of the PayPal Cashback Mastercard when a consumer is looking on the web. Already consumers can see the two key benefits including ID Theft Protection and Microchip technology. Additionally, we plan to post a specific version of the guide to benefits that you can find here.

Last week, Public Citizen, a Washington-based public interest consumer advocacy organization, sent a letter to the FTC asking them to crack down on websites that promote the sale of products from Amazon.com without clearly disclosing when they have a financial incentive to tout those items.

The group pointed out dozens of instances of stories published two weeks ago on popular websites and through social media that spotlighted certain items as great deals during Amazon’s big Prime Day sale. In most cases, the affiliate relationship the publisher had with Amazon was either not disclosed at all or poorly disclosed. (We documented this very issue last December in this story.)

In an affiliate relationship, a publisher or even a person with just a social media presence can earn a small commission on the sale of products if a reader clicks a link from the website or post and actually purchases the item. Under the Federal Trade Commission’s testimonial and endorsement guidelines if there is a financial connection between an endorser and the product being touted, that fact must be clearly disclosed. Similarly under the FTC’s native advertising guidelines when advertising masquerades as editorial content, clear disclosure of a sponsorship relationship must be made.

As one example of what is going on, Public Citizen cited this story from the Today Show website:

The story recommended a couple of dozen items as “the best Prime Day deals.” What the reader didn’t know was that NBC had a financial interest in the sale of those items.

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Only if the reader clicked the “read more” link (and they would have no particular reason to do so based on the content that was already showing), would they learn NBC’s little secret).

The program makes a small commission if a reader buys any of the items featured through the links provided.

The problem here was that NBC hid that fact instead of openly disclosing it. At least their specific choice of which items to highlight was an independent editorial decision based on merit. This is how Consumer World selects its Bargain of the Week (which very rarely contains an affiliate link).

Last year, we called out ABC and others for an even bigger problem — running entire “deal” segments on their morning shows, where the network was getting a cut of the sale of each item featured, and not clearly disclosing that fact at the beginning of the segment. See our story.

Every so often you see offers that make you do a double-take, or promise a great deal but only disappoint you when the true facts are revealed. Here’s the latest crop.

Example 1:

While it still is summer, you might decide to buy new sunglasses. No brand is more famous than Ray Ban and the crooks that are marketing these knock-offs know it.

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Thanks for nothing (and trying to scam buyers). Photo credit:Reddit.

Example 2:

Just about now, despite the current heat wave, stores are starting to get in fall and winter clothing and accessories. Here’s an odd one:

These are heated insoles to keep your feet warm in shoes or boots. They are usb-powered, so they have to be connected to your computer. Just be sure to buy a really long extension cord for when you’re out in the cold. Thanks for nothing.

Example 3:

As we continue with the summer theme, sporting goods are big sellers this time of year. Here’s a kickball for your kids or grandkids, but there is a surprise safety warning in small print.

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Thanks for nothing, Gopher. Photo credit: Reddit.

Example 4:

On a hot day, nothing beats an icy cold beer (I’m told). And if the beer is free, all the better. This Connecticut bar and grill decided to offer just that. But there was an asterisk after the word “free.”

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Photo credit: Reddit

Thanks for … the chuckle, Wood -n- Tap.

Before we get to this week’s story…

UPDATE: A few weeks ago we told you that Citi was dropping most benefits from some of its credit cards including the very popular Citi Double Cash 2% cashback card. After searching for weeks, MrConsumer finally found an equivalent card, with 2% unlimited cash back AND virtually all the benefits like price protection, double the manufacturer’s warranty, CDW, lost luggage coverage, etc. It is the PayPal Cashback Mastercard. NOTE: Many consumer reviews of this card are negative concerning the bank’s customer service.

Let’s take a summer break this week from the nasty surprises that sometimes are buried in the fine print. Instead here’s the tale of MrConsumer’s recent purchase of sneakers from Kmart.com and its nasty surprise.

By accident a few months ago, MrConsumer found a pair of lightweight Everlast brand sneakers at Kmart that were the most comfortable ones he had ever worn. They soon became only available online and all the 9.5s were sold out. So I decided to bite the bullet and buy two pairs in size 10.

About 10 days after ordering, a bag arrived with four loose shoes inside:

It may not be obvious from the picture, but they sent three left shoes and one right one. And they weren’t even all size 10. Duh?

The folks at my local Kmart had quite the chuckle when I dramatically pulled three left shoes out of the bag one-by-one. But they said my order didn’t beat the record they had previously seen of all the kids shoes in an order being only for the same foot.