Do Not Order "Free Trials"!!!

[M3mph1s]

Excellent post to be stickied, especially in the newb forum. I'm new to the world of vapor and had not heard of these scams. I am trying to get other friends into the hobby though, and now I know to insist that they stray away from practices like these.

 

[tdlauro]

Almost got me. Thanks for the warning!

 

[gabhayes]

almost got me too.thanks very much.

 

[cnhauf]

I will try to refrain from using specifics but this e-gig company also has a famous diet using pretty much the same name
It always shows up as one of the top five companies when you do a google search for "best e-cigs".
Please do not get lured in like I did.
For what I spent on their deluxe starter kit (which is totally worthless) you can pick up a complete Indulgence V3 kit for about the exact same price.
The Indulgence blows their kit away by leaps and bounds.
Then you can decide when to go ahead and buy the real BIG DADDY of them all out there, The Provari !!!

 

[undeadzombie47]

Im glad I discovered this site before i invested a lot of money in to those.

 

[JennyS]

If it wasn't for my sister I would have done a free trial. I'm so glad she stopped me. She's been vaping a lot longer than me.

 

[CigSwitcher]

Wish I've read this before... a friend of mine was ripped about $200 for a "free" trial a couple of months ago...
Its a long story... but the only way he was able to stop the charges on his credit card was by closing it... I would say very bad luck and crappy bank customer service...

 

[izelian]

that is always the question. Great post thanks

 

[dburnhamd]

To all new members that are thinking about getting into the world of PV's (e-cigs)...

Do not order "free trial" offers. Most of these companies offering so-called free trials are thought of as scams by most members of this forum.
I use the word 'scam' loosely, as they are operating under all the policies and conditions laid out in the fine print of their contract, so they are a legal operation. However, the shady practices they use qualify them as scams to me.

They will suck you in with the offer of free goods. Then, once they have your credit card number, you're hooked. After the 'trial period' expires they will charge your card for the device. Usually charging way more than the device is selling for elsewhere.

They will also start you on a plan to send you a supply of prefilled carts each month and automatically charge your account.

Many of these are selling inferior models at triple (or more) the cost that they can be purchased from one of the many suppliers listed on this forum. Do some research on this forum, and determine what model suits your needs best. Then make an informed purchase from a reputable supplier.

If you have already purchased and received one of these 'free-trial' offers, return it immediately! The trial period typically starts when they ship the product not when you receive it, so you don't have much time to act once it's in your hands.

Moderators: Can we get a sticky on this subject? It doesn't have to be this post, but this warning should be one of the first things prospective new users see. These scammers are giving the whole industry a bad name.

Edit Note: To anyone wishing to reply to this post and share their experiences, that will be helpful to others as well. However, please refrain from calling out any company by name. I would hate to see this much needed information have to be taken down due to posts that break any forum rules. I think just mentioning a company as a "free-trial supplier" is enough to cover all such companies. There are many of these companies out there now, and some even seem to change their name on a regular basis. The one that advertises on my local radio station has altered their name twice in the last 6-8 months, yet have the exact same script in their commercial (with just the name changed).

I fell for this scam initially, but quickly realized these were toys. I persisted until I found something that worked (more or less) and actually got off analogs.

 

[crazyaxl]

thanks for posting!

 

[Barto]

Remember that freebies should not ask for a credit card.

 

[Freeality]

indeed.. i sure am glad the whole autobill thing for "replacement" prefilled cartos didnt catch on-- one of the things i love about vaping is all the customization that is possible.

 

[ScottUSMC]

Would this include companies with 30 money back guarantees?

 

[Penru]

Would this include companies with 30 money back guarantees?

Yes, they will also auto bill ... but if you use a prepaid card with no overdrafts and only 5$ on it...

 

[BruceRH80]

Great post. I signed up for one of those "free" offers, and after giving my email address, read that I was about to be automatically charged $49.95 / month unless/until I manually canceled. Of course, I backed out, and so far so good for not being continually spammed for the attempt. I have been smoke free for 79 days now, on over the counter kits, one "mod", and online refill eliquid.

 

[Pathfinder]

Thanks for the info. I generally never respond to free offers for products of any kind. I always believed you get what you pay for, and nothing is really free.

 

[Takoda]

Thanks for the info!

 

[LilBoab]

I'm the newest of newbies and my mate who's also vaping wanted to get a skycig free trial that looked dodgy as hell, talked him out of it and bought an E-Lite instead...

 

[kookycole]

Would this include companies with 30 money back guarantees?

I have to disagree with Penru on this one. I have personally used two companies with 30 day money-back guarantees on starter kits (Moderated) and neither of them auto billed. I'm sure there are companies that do it, but not all.

 

[tiberius_claud]

Keep with the "shut up and take my money" approach, everybody.