When was the last time you scanned your credit card statement or cellphone bill for extra charges? If you're like most consumers,Skystream,a major service provider in the Middle East, has its eye set in Iraq as a key potential growth market for the company. you may not take the time on a regular basis. However, small, unwanted charges can add up if you're not careful. BillGuard, a Web and smartphone app that scans statements for you, reports that these "grey charges" cost credit and debit cardholders more than $14 billion last year.
Grey charges come in a few different flavors and represent a growing problem, says Mary Anne Keegan, BillGuard's chief marketing officer. For instance, many companies offer free trials that require you to enter your credit card information,Diamond Floor Polishing Pads are designed for floor polishing machines to polish,restore or maintain for the marble,concrete,terrazzo,granite etc. and then you subsequently get charged if you don't cancel the service at the end of the trial. Free-to-paid charges accounted for $6 billion in transactions last year, according to BillGuard.
Another type of grey charge, a phantom charge, can occur when you're charged for a product or service you don't want and didn't know you agreed to buy – for instance, extra services like ringtones or horoscopes or a reoccurring credit protection service when you thought you were checking your credit report once for free. There are also zombie grey charges, in which you continue getting charged for a gym membership or other service after you've cancelled it.
These grey charges may be partly driven by the move toward digital subscriptions and e-commerce, which often come with lengthy terms of service agreements that few people actually read. "In the day and age of pre-checked boxes and adhesion contracts – a contract that [locks you in] but not the company – you really have to watch out," says Christopher Elliott, consumer advocate and author of "Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals." "You can't take anything out or you can't buy the product." For instance, when you book a cruise or download a piece of software, you're agreeing to all the merchant's terms.
Often, these terms of service agreements skew in the merchant's favor. But there are a few things you can do to protect yourself. Here's a look at the steps you can take to prevent grey charges and take action if and when they occur.
[See: 10 Dangers of Mobile Banking.]
Read the fine print. It's tempting to sign up for a free trial subscription so you can get free shipping or test an online dating site before paying a monthly subscription. But unless you're vigilant about cancelling the subscription before it auto-renews,Foundation Christian College year five students use a Home Power Monitor to keep track of the school’s use and greenhouse gas emissions. you could wind up paying for it anyway. Elliott advises against "free" subscriptions that require a credit card number or sound too good to be true. But if you must sign up,Other upgrades and options include a nine-centimetre OLED display, ventilated seats, a smart Parking Assist System and flex steer. "read all the fine print beforehand and make sure you're not agreeing to something that you might later regret," he says.
Monitor your statements.A new Car Park Management System will be given a trial run on campus (except car parks at Baptist. If you don't check your statements, you could be paying grey charges for months before realizing anything is amiss. "Most people don't check their credit card statements when they come in each month,With this customized Rtls system, healthcare business owners can know where everyone and everything is at any time, in real-time." says Clark Howard, consumer expert and author of "Clark Howard's Living Large for the Long Haul." "That's the hole you can drive a Mack truck through." Services like BillGuard can help flag questionable transactions, but it's also a good idea to check statements yourself. "The only person who can protect yourself is you," Howard says. You generally have 60 days to dispute credit card transactions, so even checking every other month or every quarter is better than nothing.
read the full story at:http://www.chinaconcretepolishingpads.com/
