I have been a member of BB several times over the years, I like downloading the segments with no men in them. (I find there men, shall we say, obnoxious.) And when I hear a name I'm not familiar with I go to their site and see if I can see a few pictures. So that is why I was there the other day. If you go there they encourage you to sign up for a two day trial for $1.00. I knew that was too good to be true but after several pop up boxes I figured what the hell, it's only a buck. Well, actually, it isn't. You automatically get signed up for another site for $3.00, (total four, I know that's not a lot but still...) and you can only download one small video from their site. (I don't know what you may get from the other site, I haven't been there and won't go.) And of course if you don't cancel it's an automatic rebill for $25.00 for each site. I called their billing service twice since and have been told twice that the extra three dollars would be refunded, but it has not. So I'll keep calling. I don't mind if they want to only let you have the one video, but why can't they say that up front, and why sign you up for more money for a site you don't want. I call that sleaze, and that's the nicest word I would use.
A couple points... 1) You probably got charged because you didn't uncheck the cross sale boxes. If you're not sure what a cross sale is, it's an industry term where companies sell subscriptions to other websites (or their own separate networks for an additional price). When they're checked, it's pretty shady. Why? Well... porn is an impulse buy and they know you probably have your cock in your hand and are anxious to join and get off. They know you're probably not going to spend a lot of time reading the fine print and figure they may as well screw you. 2) As far as trials only giving you a small sample... I kind of agree with that however, I feel there should be some sort of notification. Of course they don't do that because it would discourage sales. Keep calling to have the charges removed. If they don't do it on their end, just call your bank and issue a chargeback (but do this as a last resort if you can not settle with the billing company first). Most billers will issue a refund instead of dealing with a chargeback. Anyway... pay sites are going to shit anymore. More and more customers get screwed over and are becoming more hesitant to shell out their hard earned money. - Swirlie CEO My Website - No Scams or Bullshit
Thanks Swirlie. They did a refund this morning. I've belonged to many websites (Evil Angel, Everything Butt are two that come to mind) and this is the first bad experience I had. I wonder what they really gain by doing this sort of stuff.
Glad to hear it all worked out for you. Bang Bros are pretty legit... I haven't heard many horror stories about them but if they're doing prechecked cross sales, then they are more on the shady side (in my opinion). Whenever you join a paysite (or purchase anything for that matter) online, always make sure to read the page. More times than not, these additions are checked off and you'll end up being charged for them at some point. Nothing is free, and in porn, if something is only $1, you can bet your ass that it comes with a rebill of at least $30 the next day. As more and more companies feel the financial pinch, you can rest assured knowing the consumer is the one that's going to get fucked at some point. Online porn companies are used to the easy money and now they have to work to earn it... so instead, they scam the consumer. Not all... but more and more are jumping on that bandwagon. It's sad... - Swirlie CEO
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MikeSouth Deactivated User
511 Posts 11/02
Posted - Dec 1 2009 : 4:17PM
Actually Bang Brothers are NOT really very legit. Stooping to pre-checked cross sells is considered by most reputable people in the industry to be the lowest of the low and it is a good sign than BangBrothers and others are in deep financial trouble. Never join a site that does any form of pre checked cross sells, thats not going to end well. Also beware of sites that force you to accept a prechecked cross sell to cancel, thats even worse. The John Thompson sites are notorious for this.
Mike... while I agree that prechecked cross sales are pretty crummy, I wouldn't say they're the "lowest of the low". I think that the sites that just bang cards are worse. Pre-checked cross sales are deceptive, BUT (for the most part), they're not "hidden". Some companies come to mind where the cross sales were well below the submit button and towards the bottom of the page. On top of that, there's those internet companies that just took your card # after you signed up and charged the hell out of with other things. I think those are the bottom of the barrel. - Swirlie CEO
While I find the preveiws frustrating I understand they could never make $$$ on a preveiw. I have been a BB member a few times and really never had a problem. But I have learned any time I am downloading anything to look at the little boxes at the end. If I dont look at them I would end up w/ 10 google and 5 yahoo searches on my tool bar. Its a good habit to learn.
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MikeSouth Deactivated User
511 Posts 11/02
Posted - Dec 2 2009 : 12:38PM
Screwing your customers out of their hard earned money IS the lowest of the low Its theft, however you look at it and its scumbags like this that give us honest guys a bad rep. Ya its the lowest of the low I got more respect for a pedo (though not much) ...at least they are sick These guys are just fucking thieves
Well... at this point, it's just about arguing semantics, I guess. Let me be clear, I think that sites that offer cross sales are shitty and that practice is deceptive. However, it is not illegal. It is deceptive. I wouldn't call them "thieves" as much as "scam artists". They con people out of their money, not flat out steal. Anyway... you said that they're the "lowest of the low" and that I don't agree with. There are sites that simply take your card after you signed up, and add additional purchases without you ever even knowing OR having the ability to uncheck the additional sale. To me, those are "lower" than what Bang Bros is doing... but again, it's just semantics. ps - I like the way you call it, Mike. I wish more people in our industry would be more open about those who are screwing over the customers. Without them, we're done. - Swirlie CEO
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MikeSouth Deactivated User
511 Posts 11/02
Posted - Dec 2 2009 : 7:16PM
no worries man...and its about to be illegal sad thing is there shouldnt have to be a law against it....congress hearing this as we speak
Thanks for the headsup on precheck boxes. I guess that is what happened to me. But I have learned my lesson. I am not ordering ANY website anymore. Wayne In Dallas
You're not alone. This is one of the many reasons why consumers aren't paying for their porn anymore. Companies get greedy and fuck them over. It's a shame... there's a lot of legit sites out there that won't fuck you over, but there's always those that ruin it for everyone else. - Swirlie CEO
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Rosco Fuji Deactivated User
On the licking stick, Mr. Magic Dick! 3309 Posts 2/09
Posted - Dec 3 2009 : 7:27PM
Wow; this is amazing, someone in the porn industry actually admitting that a reason that consumers aren't paying for their porn any more is because companies get greedy and fuck them over.
Well thanks folks, I learned a few things. I do try to read a page before I sign up for something but I have dealt with BB before. (Never again.) One thing they are using is my email address, I have gotten two so far offering me discounts to their sites. Maybe this board should have a list of known ethical sites. Maybe there's a million of them and that's impractical.
Thought everyone should know that, there has already been an existing thread covering a lot of this. Brazzers Trial Membership (Problems and Issues) Other than Brazzers vs. Bang Bros., they could be clones. Sad to think what this says about online sites (whether porn or not) in the "scam era." This is the one over-riding reason I do not join any site(s) that feature "trials" incorporating automatically recurring charges -- and now the check-box scams -- and make it difficult for consumers to cancel and/or correct their deceptive practices. Like always, the bottom-feeders in the porn business seem to be betting that no one will ever file complaints due to embarrassment and/or fear of personal consequences. PLEASE NOTE: I did not just call the porn business "bottom-feeders." Rather, I distinguish the good from the bad in this, and any other, industry. Edited by - BigBobxxx on 12/5/2009 7:48:05 AM
If you want to join a porn site, do yourself a favor and use the disposable credit card option your online banking offers. It puts you in control, not the porn company. If they don't offer it, find another online banker.
This is the number one reason I do not join websites. Believe me I spend alot of money on porn and I am a very good customer to the industry, I buy over 15 DVDs a month. I would LOVE to join a website but the countless horror stories of canceling make it extremely unattractive. I can not blame people for avoiding them and going to the tube sites (even though this is probably less that 1% of the thieves). Even if someone says "my site" is not one of them unfortunately it might not be the stuff I am looking for.
Those trial ings are bullshit cause your limited to what you can look at.For example the scene is just starting to get good and then you have sign up for a full membership.If I want to see something really bad I just go ahead and sign up for a full membership.But if I'm only interested in one scene I will cancel maybe a day or 2 after signing up so they don't charge. Another thing I look for is if they have non- renewal after 30 days,if they do I usually check that one off if I don't want to go past days.
