Businesses that really rip people off

melsb · **Businesses that really rip people off**

I was thinking of different types of businesses that really attempt to rip people off. Ones like pay day loans or rent to own furniture that really seem to target young and / or under-educated people into buying their product. The pay day loans especially and the horrible interests rates that they charge. I know my husband's sister has really gotten into a horrible cycle of getting money from those. I attempted to educate her one time on why these were bad but her comment was, "They'll give me money when I need it." Then she recently decided to get buy a bed from a rent to own furniture place and I think we finally got her to believe that she could probably find a cheaper one elsewhere if she just saved for a couple of weeks and pay cash.

Any others out there?

desertmom · 01-23-2008, 04:09 AM

Too many credit card companies.

Bad credit car loan companies.

Credit repair services, along with the services that offer to pay your bills for you and negotiate better rates. There seems to be only one or two legit ones.

Consolidation loans.

Scholarship search companies.

Diploma mills.

Many car repair places.

Many mortgage companies (as the country has experienced).

Job hunting companies. Due diligence must really be done. DO NOT PAY ANY FEES UPFRONT. Any good company will pay all fees to the agency.

Nigerian scams/money laundering scams

Work at home scams

Places like Blue Hippo that finance computers at exhorbitant prices and rates. Your first payment, which must be paid before shipping, equals the true value of the computer.

Just about anyone who goes door to door selling stuff. It's either a scam or too highly priced. This includes those who see something wrong with your home and offer to fix it for you.

Landscapers or other contractors who want half down, then want more as the job keeps going, saying they need it to pay for supplies or payroll. Where are they going to be if something goes wrong, if they run that close to the red line?

Many pool companies. Due diligence again.

Aftermarket car warranty companies. Read the fine print.

Just about anything that you get spam on.

Timeshares. Financing is usually around 16% for everyone. When you question it, as you have good credit, they give you the excuse that because they offer financing to anyone, regardless of credit, they have to show the investors good portfolios, so you have to carry the bad ones, unfortunately. Timeshares themselves are a joke.

Buying clubs like Direct Buy.

I also feel places like Costco and Sams Club should lower or drop their membership fees. Independent studies have shown that overall, no real savings are realized. My personal study agrees. giggle.

Many vitamin/mineral/supplement companies.

Any company that you pay to call. Psychic Network, anyone?