Consumer Research Corporation "Free" can cost you hundreds of $$. Columbia South Carolina

I'm at fault. I really believed the "something for nothing" free offer. Yet, the folks at Consumer Research Corporation aren't angels. They were ready to take advantage of my stupidity and greed.

Consumer Research Corporation would appear to promise free merchandise -- in my case a digital camera. However, when I read the "terms and conditions" carefully (and too late), they did appear to state that I must purchase 6 items in 3 separate categories to obtain the "free" merchandise I really wanted. When I looked into these items, they were going to cost about $900 by my calculations.

Clearly, DO NOT buy or pay for ANYTHING from this web site/company until you have read ALL the (incredibly) fine print of their terms and conditions.

The web site teases with additional offers that do NOT count toward the minimum purchases. The site's language -- carefully crafted -- entices you to believe that you're getting free merchandise with only minimal purchases and that your free gift is just around the corner. Carefully "parsed", however, the languge doesn't really promise much -- so it's shy of being illegal.

I had to take a couple of hours out of my day to contact the merchants from whom I mistakenly ordered goods (thinking that I would get a "free" camera). Fortunately, all the merchants complied with my cancellation requests, but this was an incredible waste of time. Note that some of the merchants who do business with Consumer Research make it less than easy to determine how to cancel the product or subscription. DON'T BE PROUD. Admit your mistake and cancel the order.

I suspect that most people get caught by not cancelling their "subscription" to the site and the services/goods ordered immediately. Unless they try to actually complete their "free gift" right away, they may not realize the extent of the purchases and effort required. Waiting or piecemealing your attempt to win the free prize is a BIG MISTAKE -- since merchants are much less likely to cancel after they've shipped the product.

I observed no one on the "Ripoffreport" website claiming to actually have received the "free" gift at the end of the rainbow. I would hope that some government agency would really test Consumer Research Corporation's promises, and, if they don't deliver, sanction them accordingly or shut them down. Perhaps they really will deliver the promised "free" camera, compter, etc. after you make signficant purchases and wade through significant paperwork. But it ain't "free" by my way of thinking.

In my opinion, it is deceptive and unfair to promise "free" merchandise when you only get the goods if you spend hundreds of dollars. If there was a way on this site to get something free, I certainly couldn't find it.

If you feel you've been "burned" by this Consumer Research web site, your solution is to contact merchants immediately and cancel the orders. To their credit, most merchants will honor this if the request is made right away.

Joe average
Tallahassee, Florida
U.S.A.