The Green Millionaire : Buyer Beware!

* Update - 4/16/12 - FTC orders Green Millionaire founder has to pay 2 million in damages!
I recently had a friend and reader suggest I check out this great new free book he found called The Green Millionaire. He said I could get a free copy at the website (I'm not even going to link to their site because it's too close to a scam for my taste). When I went there, I saw something that looked very "scammish". Anything promising "free" anything immediately sets off my alarm signals. So I did a little digging (a.k.a. google) and found this article from Fibomercials and Scams.

Basically, you sign up for the "free" book and they need your credit card for the $1 "shipping and handling" charge. But the devil is in the details! The fine print says:

*Start your free trial today and we will also send you a free 14 day subscription to The Green Millionaire eMagazine. Just pay a $1.00 processing fee. You will have 14 days to try The Green Millionaire eMagazine and discover how to become wealthier while saving the planet. If you like the simple, powerful solutions presented in the program, do nothing. At the end of your free trial period you will be charged the discounted price of $29.95, and every 60 days thereafter.

And then gives you the number to call to cancel your subscription. I wonder how hard it is to get through to a live person?

After doing my research I asked my friend to check his credit card bill and guess what? Here was his reply:

Argghh!!! Looks like I’m in the scam wheel. I didn’t even know it was from an infomercial (which I never watch). I think I found the link through another referral.

Well I got the book, and it’s OK. Nothing earth shattering, but some good ideas. I’ll give you my copy if you want it… I’m too pissed to hold on to it. They did charge me $29.95. I will dispute with my CC company, and maybe cancel my card.

So, if you need some green tips then go ahead and get your "Green Millionaire" book, pay $29.95 every 60 days or take the trouble to cancel your "subscription". Or you can read this blog and the other great resources that are out there that cost you nothing. I won't say it's free though because I do "force" you to glance at ads. Hey, a guy has to eat (I just bough some nice grass-fed steaks) doesn't he?

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Education

Comments

Anonymous (not verified) Sun, 03/06/2011 - 05:32

I BOUGHT THE BOOK, READ THE FINE PRINT, CALLED TO CANCEL THE EMAILS AND NO PROBLEM! I DID CALL WITHIN THE TIME FRAME! NO ADDN'L CHARGES TO MY CARD!

Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 03/07/2011 - 14:26

Does anyone know of any lawsuits against this con-artist?

Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 04/07/2011 - 05:32

ifish4eyes, You can't sue someone because you didn't read the fine print. The article above clearly shows excerpts from their website that says it is a trial. If you order the book and don't cancel before the 14 days are up YOU GET CHARGED $29.95. So what is the scam or grounds for lawsuit. Just to be clear, I think it is a rip-off too because most of the info in the newsletter is verbatim what is already in the book. I didn't receive the e-zine until a week after I ordered the book. FYI, the 14 day trial if for the e-zine, not the book. You pay $1 for the book, that's it. Even if you cancel, you keep the book. Anyway, I called customer service and told them I didn't receive the newsletter for a week, so I actually only got a 7 day trial. So, they gave me an additional 14 days trial. So, I received a total of 3 newsletters before the end of the trial. I ended my trial BEFORE the trial ended and was NEVER charged. So again, I ask where is the scam? They were very helpful and accommodating and dealt very honestly with me. There is a big difference between a rip-off and a scam. It is perfectly legal to sell worthless information if people are willing to pay for it. It is a whole different matter to promise someone something and not deliver what was promised.

ckmapawatt Thu, 04/07/2011 - 11:59

Good point. I agree it's not a scam, they're just preying people they knowingly mislead (they bury the fine print below the scroll bar on the page). Now the good news. If you look at the top right of this page, you can get a truly FREE ENERGY SAVING GUIDE from Mapawatt! There is a catch though: Just sign up for our newsletter list! But there is absolutely no cost and I guarantee you the information in our energy saving guide is much better than Green Millionaire's!

Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 12/27/2010 - 17:12

You can get your money back if you used a credit card. Just call the credit card company's number listed on the back of your card and tell them you want to dispute the bill.

Anonymous (not verified) Sat, 12/11/2010 - 17:39

They charged me for the price of 88 dollars. Then when I called them to say that I wanted my money back they said, "we have a strict no refund policy." They ended up giving me a 44 dollar refund, because there was some special offer going on at that time But I didn't have that 88 dollars in my bank account to begin with, so I got hit with an over draft fee as well.

Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 12/03/2010 - 15:29

Got me too, they have cancelled the phone #! Cancelled my card and they said they'd reimburse the THREE 29.95 Charges....

Anonymous (not verified) Sat, 11/27/2010 - 22:16

I also fell for this "free" offer. I ordered the book back in December 2009. I paid off my credit card and just happened to want to look through all my past tranactions. I was shocked when I saw 4 charges for $29.95 each for green millionaire. There was a four-month gap in 2010 when they didn't charge me; probably because my credit card had expired. Of course they managed to pick up where they left off when I was issued another credit card. Anyway, I didn't notice this mess until today! I called Green Millionaire, spoke with a very nice woman who immediately apologized for the misunderstanding and will refund the $120.00. I thought I was going to have for fight for the refund. Anyway, these days I'm much more careful and always read the fine print first on anything I do online.

Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 11/24/2010 - 12:34

Today is November 24, 2010. My first reply to this forum was August 25, 2010 (see above). So far 92 days has passed since then, more if you count from the exact day I was scammed. NO BOOKS YET.

Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 11/17/2010 - 13:53

thank you so much, this is great and so helpful we actually CANCELED the debit card and somehow 60 days later they are STILL doing it, bank says thats too bad....

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