You know what I think is a scam that people don’t even really bat an eye at because it’s been so normalized?
How some banks charge a maintenance fee every month.
It’s total bulls**t!
But…we just accept it because that’s the way it is…
What are some more scams that are normalized?
Let’s see what AskReddit users had to say about this.
1. Yes.
“Fake reviews. They are everywhere now.
I don’t even trust Reddit or YouTube comments sometimes because I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s company plants commenting about how great their product is.”
2. Drives me nuts.
“Service fees are just an artificial way to pretend prices are lower than they really are.
‘That’s only $15! (Plus $10 in service fees)’ just say its $25!”
3. Sucks.
“Getting students/interns to work for free while treating them poorly.
Even better is when you have to intern for your major for free, and then you have to pay for the college credits on top of that.”
4. That’s disappointing.
“So many scams in dentistry.
I’ve been in the industry for 12 years and it’s amazing how common it is.
So easy to tell someone they need a bunch of treatment they don’t really need.”
5. Gotta be careful.
“Free trials that auto enroll you at the end.
Any free trial that needs my credit card I skip.
Free is free, if I like it I’ll buy it.”
6. Lame.
“Unpaid overtime.
Any work you can’t complete in your paid hours should be done by an extra employee the company pays for.
By doing unpaid overtime you are ‘paying’ for the cost of your time and donating that to your employer.
If a company can’t afford to pay its employees for all their time working and still remain profitable they are not a viable business and need to restructure their processes and/or pricing.
If they can afford to pay it but choose not to they are stealing from you.”
7. Bad news.
“I worked for a rent-to-own company for about a year in California. Our only customers were people who had no chance at buying a TV, VCR, stereo, or appliance outright or even on credit.
“We provide a service for underprivileged clients!” No, you prey on unfortunate victims who have no other recourse but come to you and pay 300% of the actual value.
Couldn’t stomach it and got out.”
8. More fees…
“Anything that charges an extra fee for DIGITAL processing.
Pay my HOA fee online via bank transfer? $3 fee.
Mail in a check? Free. Bonkers.”
9. Keep ’em coming back.
“Branded diets. No company that you pay to help you diet is invested in your success.
They make money when you fail and keep returning. They’re all a scam. You’re more likely to end up with an eating disorder than permanent weight loss.”
10. Better Business Bureau.
“The BBB.
It’s a private company that had a ridiculously successful marketing campaign in the 80’s and 90’s and somehow got people to believe that they are government affiliated and have power over companies.
Similar deceptive practices to Yelp.”
11. A lot of people are into it.
“Black Friday.
Amazon is the worst about this. Whenever they advertise what discount you’re getting for an item it’s ALWAYS from the MSRP. For example, a product could be $100 that they sell for $80 throughout the year but on “Prime day” or Black Friday they’ll list it at $70 and claim a 30% discount.
When in doubt with Amazon, check camelcamelcamel.com for the history of a product’s price.”
12. Ridiculous.
“The fact existing customers aren’t automatically moved to better deals once their contract ends.
They hope you won’t switch and pay the premium.”
What scams do you think are normalized?
Let us know what you think in the comments.
Thanks a lot!
