Do I Have Stupid Written On My Forehead?

I received something in the mail today that I just felt the need to share with you. I received an envelope from what originally appeared to be HSBC..the credit card folks. I do actually have an HSBC credit card that I use once in a great while. Upon opening up the envelope, the first thing that I noticed was that there were 2 real checks inside...one for $8.25 and the other for $9.75. Now these are actual checks made out to me. The 2nd thing that I noticed in the envelope was a "form" slip of paper and the top line was highlighted in yellow marker along with a line on another section below. The first highlighted line stated in bold lettering "RE: MONEY BACK ON YOUR HSBC PLATINUM CREDIT CARD PURCHASES". The lower highlighted line "BONUS! YOU CAN CLAIM AND ADDITIONAL 2% BACK". Both of these lines were boldly underlined too. After reading all of writing on the slip of paper it basically gave me this information- by cashing the $8.25 check, I would have joined a program called Just For Me. By cashing the check I could start earning 2% cash back on new purchases and receive up to $100.00 a year cash back. By cashing the $9.75 check, I would have joined a program called Buyers Advantage. With this program, I would receive an additional 2% back for my purchases and thus making it up to $200.00 that I could receive per year.
On the one last additional piece of paper that was in the envelope, there were further descriptions on what these 2 checks would provide to me via the 2 programs. Just For Me would provide me with 2% on my first $5,000 worth of new purchases up to the $100.00 yearly limit. The Just For Me Plan also provided me with a savings of up to 20% off for discounted facials, manicures at participating businesses along with a week of FREE Jazzercise Classes...That's right folks....1 FULL WEEK OF FREE JAZZERCISE CLASSES. I truly feel blessed by this particular perk....almost like the tooth fairy, after many decades of being a no show, returned for one last visit.
The Buyers Advantage would provide me with an additional $100.00 on purchases made through them. The Buyers Advantage program would also provide me with a Return Purchases plan, Automatic Warranty Extension and a savings of up to 50% when I repair most household and electronic items.

Of course there was a whole hell of a lot of fine print on the reverse side of this form letter but unfortunately I am still awaiting for my newly purchased quadrafocal glasses, from the optometrist, in order to read the little munchkin writing that is there.

Now here comes the "kicker".....at the end of the 30 day trail period, my credit card will be charged $59.99 for EACH program. And that charge is not done annually but SEMI-ANNUALLY. That comes to almost $120.00 semi-annually or almost $240.00 a year for the 2 programs and I have not even made 1 purchase so that I can cash in on the fantastic deal of getting my whopping 2% back.
Another thing about these programs is that they state that they are not affiliated with HSBC at all, which means HSBC provided these people with my highly guarded personal info.

Now, I know that I might not be the brightest bulb in the lot but I truly despise someone trying to put a red hot poker up this ole mans keester.

12 comments:

Sarah said...

you know, I bet a lot of people fall for it too, that's the sad part!

RobotMan said...

You are so right. Modern Day Snake Oil Salesmen. Really a crime. Nice Blog by the way.

Anonymous said...

Those checks are ridiculous. It's just another scam really. It's sad how many people probably fall for it though, that's why they do it, it works.

Reyjr said...

I've received numerous phonecalls from credit card companies about promos like discounted interest rates on Cash advances and stuff like that, and they even have a way of "hypnotizing" you (like repeating your name over and over again) so that you get distracted, and finally just saying "OK" to them means "YES" and they send u the cheque. :p Good thing to really listen and make it clear that you don't want the promo! Good post. :)

Concord Carpenter said...

Great writing style - nice blog! congrats. CC

Wendy said...

Oh I hate those. We get one all the time for a yellow pages ad and it looks JUST LIKE A BILL. My husband nearly paid it one time and asked me to look it over because he thought he'd already paid our YP bill. Argh. It said in little tiny letters at the bottom that you'd be signing up for an ad if you sent the bill in. Aggravating!

Terra said...

That cracks me up...My shredder loves those kind of offers.

Doreen said...

I receive this type of junk, yes I said junk mail all the time! The credit card companies do think we're stupid, they rely on it. It's sad but our government has given the credit card companies the license to steal from the consumer for so many years. It looks like now though the laws are being changed and some of they're power is being taken away. I love your blog it's great! Come by and visit mine and follow my blog.

Kathy's Klothesline said...

Love your blog....we use that particular mail to start fires in the wood stove. I hate waste!

Michelle said...

Still working my way through your older posts... loved this one, it actually cracked me up, since I too have received similar letters myself over the years. And yes, I do think 'they' think we have stupid written on our foreheads! :)

morrow said...

My pet peeve is sometimes I sign up for a trial offer for something and I miss the fact that they are going to renew it automatically, until I see my credit card bill and wonder why I am still getting charged for that 3 month trial offer six months later.

Might be time for reading glasses for me.

Lou said...

Do you have any legal recourse at the credit card company for 'sharing' your personal information?

In NZ we have a privacy ombudsman who would be very interested in hearing about such a thing happening here if we had not given express permission to share (sell more likely) the info.

Love the blog by the way.

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