By Mark Huffman
ConsumerAffairs.com
June 23, 2009
Consumers looking for ways to make money at home are increasingly vulnerable to get rich schemes. Google Treasure Chest and Google Search Chest have produced a number of complaints lately from people who hoped to learn how to generate income from home.
"On May 27, I paid $1.97 for postage on an offer of Google Search Chest," Martha, of Georgetown, Kentucky, told ConsumerAffairs.Com. "On May 28 the company took $24.81 from my account. On June 4 Safelock took $38.84, from my account, then Search Chest took $72.21 on June 16."
Martha says the charges were unauthorized. All she agreed to do was pay nearly $2 to pay shipping for a "free" CD containing the supposed wealth-generating ideas. But once the company had access to her bank account, they could "sell" her an endless number of products and services.
Beth, of Blue Ridge Georgia, paid an identical $1.97 for a CD from Google Treasure Chest.
"One week later I was charged 72.21 on my debit card," she said. "I was told that it was for advertising with Google. I had not ordered or wanted this service. I contacted this company, which the name has still not been discovered, and canceled all association with them and asking for a full refund. It had now been three months and still no refund."
Martha, Beth and other consumers who find themselves in a similar situation may have felt comfortable in handing over their bank account numbers because they assumed the enterprise was associated with Internet powerhouse Google. But despite the name and the fact the company cleverly spells Google in the same type font as the Google logo, there is no connection whatsoever.
"As Google is not affiliated with these sites, we can't comment on individual claims," a Google spokesman told ConsumerAffairs.Com. "However, we recommend that users exercise the same amount of caution they would when evaluating other types of get rich quick claims. Our Legal team reviews them and takes appropriate action if necessary."
The spokesman said the only way consumers can generate income through Google is to own a Web site that participates in programs like Google AdSense and the Google Affiliate Network.
Unscrupulous businesses will sometime abuse "negative option" marketing to sell consumers products without their consent. They can do it because they already are in possession of the consumer's bank account information or credit card number.
Disputing the charge with the company is often very difficult and frustrating. If the consumer has unauthorized charges on their credit card, they should report the unauthorized charge to their credit card company and ask the card company to dispute the charge. Very often, when the abusive company can't provide a proof of purchase, the transaction is cancelled.
When the abusive company has a consumers debit card, it's more problematic. The consumer should report the disputed charge to the bank's customer service department, but probably should immediately close the account and open a new one, with a different number.
