Checks Unlimited Ad offered checks for $20...we paid by credit card...checks were received along with an invoice for an additional $48. An angry customer service rep threatened us with a bad credit report if we didn't Internet

I worked for this company for six months.  It was not an enjoyable experience in part because it seemed every single customer wanted to talk their way into the most advantageous deal possible for themselves, or in other words pay as little as possible.  This confused me because the basic service and prices were not anything that we hid.  We explain everything.  The introductory flyers clearly state that they're for first time customers only.  You can easily call if you suspect you may have used this deal before.  There's no way for me to confirm this, but I suspect most of the people who fall into the predicament described in this complaint are habitual intro flyer users, company after company, in the very pursuit of the "best possible deal."  The "best possible deal" in flyers of this nature are specifically priced outside of normal costs because they're meant to demonstrate the quality of the product.  If you like the quality, then the value should outweigh all other concerns in subsequent orders.  

Many of the callers were downright hostile throughout the whole process, and the more successful representatives merely had a reassuring tone of voice.  It's hard not to sound at the very least desperate when you receive call after call of people who won't listen to anything that doesn't sound like it's the least they can pay for their checks.  It was baffling, because this is not some random thing being bought.  These are legitimate financial documents, which the caller will happily use and not even give a second to once they start using them.  They will certainly not take the risk of losing them, yet at any other point, they don't really seem to care.

I'm not a shill.  I did not enjoy working there.  If your banking institution gives them to you for free, then be thankful, because most of the time the bank is doing this at a loss, which is great for you but bad for them, unless they've somehow managed to figure out a financially agreeable deal for both of you.  If you are ordering checks from anyone, it is not an acceptable bargaining chip to say you will look elsewhere, especially since the commercial checking industry is shrinking as much as the customer base itself.  By attempting to pay as little as possible, you are only hastening the inevitable.  When you demand that $20 order, regardless of whether or not you remember ordering from this specific company (and I never understood if even some of these people were legitimate in their confusion, why they didn't have some kind of record, because most of the time if they've stopped ordering from a company they've been getting free checks from their bank, which as discussed doesn't seem to last forever, and then some people switch banks for the same reason), you have to remember that this is because you did in fact order from it before, and you had the chance to confirm this before placing the order.  For whatever reason, the company won't do that.  

Lettering tends to be small on these intro flyers, but that's true of the entire flyer, and for all flyers, regardless of whether or not they're for checks.  You should always scrutinize these things anyway.  It's like checking the expiration date on a coupon.  Why take an unnecessary chance?  Again, this is a transaction that directly impacts your financial information.  It's not always the company's fault.