FreePolls Sucks
It’s been a while since I had to deal with a slimy company (it was when I needed to cancel my AOL account…it used to be quite a pain)
Why Freepolls Sucks
Freepolls.com allows you to set up free polls on your website, such as this one.
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Over a year ago, I decided I wanted to do more extensive polls, so I purchased an upgraded account for US$20. I used the account once, and then figured it was worth the price, and I would just let it lapse. Worried that I might be on auto-renew, I made sure that the credit card I gave them was about to expire.
I just got notified that they made up a new expiration date, charged my card another US$20 for another year of service. I went to their web site to check to see if they really did and then checked my credit card to find out it had been charged to my account. Figuring an internet company would allow cancellation/refund on-line, I tried to do that, but found I had to call during their working hours to cancel.
I got some annoyed-sounding man name John, who told me there is a $20 cancellation fee, or he could just set my account to non-renew and use the account for the rest of the year. I asked him to waive the fee and refund my money, and he wouldn’t. I then asked him to set my account to non-renew and I would deal directly with my credit card company.
My credit card company has removed the charge. I will let you know if anything more comes of it.
Current Knitting
I made a lot of progress on the red lace tea cloth.
This shows me up to round 60, I think. I’ve obviously had to switch to nine double pointed needles to hold all the stitches. I have ordered two US1/32″ circular needles, and will transfer the lace to them when I get them.
New Magazine
Based on Marilyn mentioning the glove pattern in the latest Spin-Off Magazine
It’s a very good magazine, and I enjoy reading a lot of the articles, both those of a technical nature and those of a story-like nature. The glove patterns look promising as well, although I don’t think I’ll be making more gloves anytime soon.
Readers’ Comments/Questions
Regarding the Men’s Spring Knitting Retreat, first of all, I’m thrilled Dr. Mel and David will be able to be there…for some reason I thought they may not be able to attend due to their upcoming wedding.
Also about the retreat, Barb B. asks, “Are you doing “prizes” type thing at your retreat?”
Since this is the first of what I hope will be an annual event, we haven’t put together a formal itinerary for the retreat. Ted and I have discussed various workshops or activities we could do, but nothing has been formalized. If any of the activities require a prize, I will definitely let you know!
Auto renew in general sucks. I once had to remember to call Directv the following year to cancel a NFL package my husband had ordered. You couldn’t cancel it after the season was over. You had to remember a specific day to call and call only on that day. I put it on my calendar. Buggers.
Wow, it costs $20 a year, but if you cancel there’s a $20 cancellation fee? What a scam!
Oh to be a boy and join the Spring knitting retreat with all of you. It sounds like fun.
Thanks for the heads up on FreePoll. Doesn’t sound very free to me.
Barb has nice prizes.
I’ve had my leave from work approved for the retreat, and a call into Easton Mountain to book my room.
If you’re feeling vengeful, you could report them to the Federal Trade Commission. They have a Division of Credit Practices that deals with how companies may charge your credit card and what disclosures they have to make to potential customers. /legalgeek
Love the teacloth. I’ve been mulling making something like that for a while and framing it, since there are no cleared-off surfaces in my house on which to put anything so nice.
on the teacloth, 27 yrs. ago my Ma made the Balmoral table centre in laceweight wool for my son’s Christianing shawl. A lot of those teacloths would make lovely stoles. Then you’d get lots of use out of it.
Joe, I can’t mske it to the retreat since I don’t hsve the necessary equipment (that’s with the humour font turned on) but my yarn would love to attend.
Barb B/.
Your troubles with autorenew take a lot of energy – wasted. Grr.
Geez, now that’s a lousy way for a company to treat their customers. I understand perhaps why that rep wouldn’t have been able to waive the cancellation fee (companies have annoying rules about who can do what and why and when and with what level of permission, and it drives me nuts when I myself can’t help someone with a simple problem because the company I work for is full of crap), but as a general rule, you just don’t arbitrarily mess around with another person’s credit card. I believe that’s what we in the sane world like to call ‘fraud’. You might want to consider reporting them to the Better Business Bureau for that one, since even if they have some stupid rule in their ToS, it’s still all sorts of wrong to use false credit card info.
If I ever decide to use a company to host polls and surveys on, it won’t be that one, I assure you.
Your grocery store has Spin-Off???? I was flabbergasted to see the Interweave Crochet Mag at our local AC Moore. I have to subscribe to Spin-Off to get it! (And the tea cloth is truly fab! I’m trying to alter Ice Queen to work in some nearly worsted weight fuzzy mohair blends I have in my stash…that’s my creativity for the month!)