Companies are in business to make money. Hence, when you are being offered a free trial, a free item or a free service, the reality is that there is almost always a catch. In this article, you will discover three “free” things that actually aren’t free at all.
There's usually a catch when an item is free.
1. Free bank accounts
Not having to pay a monthly fee for your current account is very appealing to banking customers and should really be the industry standard. However, “free” can often come with a price. Free bank accounts are often only free if you maintain a specific minimum balance on your account and usually come with other fees such as ATM withdrawal fees or high overdraft fees.
Ask questions about the specifics of free trials.
2. Free trials
Companies love to lure you in with “free” trials for their product or service. The catch, however, is that once the free trial is over the monthly payment usually starts. If you have entered your credit card details to receive the free trial, the payments usually start automatically once the trial is over if you don’t opt out on time. Hence, free trials are something to be very wary about as a consumer as they can end up costing you.
3. Free gifts when you make a purchase
One of the oldest tricks in the books of retailers and another great example of “free” things that are not actually free is the “receive a free gift when you make a purchase” gimmick. Many shops entice customers to increase the value of their purchase to receive a small “free” gift upon making a purchase above a certain level, such as $50, for example. As you only receive the item after having already made a purchase, the item is not free at all and is actually already included in your overall purchase price.