"Free Walmart Gift Certificate To Senior Citizens Ages 50 to 85" Rip Off!!!!!

fuzzybuddy

fuzzybuddy

SF VIP
Location
The Sticks, Northeast PA.
Yup., I got that in the mail- A " Free Walmart Gift Certificate".Now, let's look in the gift horse's mouth. There's a card that says I "qualify" for a "state regulated program", which will pay for 100% of all funeral expenses UP to $35,000., tax free ,of course. Walmart is pleased to pass on this "no cost information as a resident of Pennsylvania." I have to return the card to get my "FREE WALMART GIFT CARD".
IT IS for that not so great 50-85 senior life insurance. Ya know, the kind that if you are alive enough to send in a premium you are "accepted". What I found offensive was the vague reference that this was some sort of free, governmental program. "State regulated" as in, yes, the State of PA regulates insurance companies.
Quite frankly, I'm surprised Walmart lends its name & goodwill for such a flimsy insurance promo.

So, sorry, all of you, who live outside of Pennsylvania-just eat your hearts out.
 

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fuzzybuddy said:
What I found offensive was the vague reference that this was some sort of free, governmental program. "State regulated" as in, yes, the State of PA regulates insurance companies.
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I hate it when these insurance companies try to fake you into thinking they are somehow affiliated with the government. Open enrollment for Medicare starts pretty soon and my mailbox will be inundated with mail from these hucksters trying to get me to switch into one of their adnatage plans. And many of them will come in the form of mailers designed to look exactly like the mailers that the government sends out. :mad:
 
My favorite is a very official-looking envelope that says on the front, "Postman, please deliver this letter in accordance with United States Postal Regulation #372.5.h.1 (or something...…). One day, I decided to look up that code and it said in essence, "Deliver if possible, otherwise throw away." Yep, really important envelope....uh-huh..
 

How about those that are marked "Final Notice", in red, as if you have some bill that's about to be turned over to a collection agency. And you open it up and find out that it's your last chance to take advantage of their offer to sell you something you don't want at a price you wouldn't pay even if you did want it. Oh and that Final Notice? That's only until two weeks from now when they send you another "Final Notice".
 
Or how about the Final Step for a $1,000,000.00 Prize? What happened to the other steps? Must have gotten lost in the mail.

And there's the ones that say it's a Federal Offense for other than the recipient to open this mail. Fine, come and arrest me and bring your handcuffs.
 
As I pay my bills on line, or have the bank send a check out - the only mail here are ads and junk mail.

I just paid my electric, HOA dues, phone, Netflix, hospital bill, property tax bill and ordered delivery of household goods all on line, I have no use for the mail.
 
And then there's the hearing aid company with a "special offer" that from the outside of the envelope looks like it contains a check, with no identification of who it's actually from. So, big deal - I open the envelope, feel annoyed, and throw the whole thing away. I really wonder if this kind of stuff boosts anyone's sales.
 
I did this and I can't believe I did. It was FREE just pay the shipping. I fell for it and gave my credit card number, within a week the credit card Visa texted me about a charge to my card. I called and a fraudulent charge for $184.00 had been placed on my account. It took over an hour on the phone blocking that fraudulent company located in Florida. I now have to monitor my account as Visa said they probably will do it again under a different company. I now have a prepaid debit for all my impulse purchases. Visa did remove the fraudulent charge....
 
norman said:
I did this and I can't believe I did. It was FREE just pay the shipping. I fell for it and gave my credit card number, within a week the credit card Visa texted me about a charge to my card. I called and a fraudulent charge for $184.00 had been placed on my account. It took over an hour on the phone blocking that fraudulent company located in Florida. I now have to monitor my account as Visa said they probably will do it again under a different company. I now have a prepaid debit for all my impulse purchases. Visa did remove the fraudulent charge....
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My dad got scammed on so many of these.
They advertise a free sample of something and the offer looks great. All you have to do is pay for shipping and the shipping fee seems reasonable.

Little do you know, in fine print , you have just signed into a contract which takes x amount from the credit card you just used to pay for the shipping.

This scam catches a lot of people.
I spent some time having a few words with them.🤓😇
 
Did you notice an uptick in the amount of robocalls since then? All those free offers and the surveys your local store urges you to take on your register receipt, put you on a list for that nonsense too. Even if you don't follow through completely they have your name and phone number. What a cheap scam the internet is.
 
Judycat said:
Did you notice an uptick in the amount of robocalls since then? All those free offers and the surveys your local store urges you to take on your register receipt, put you on a list for that nonsense too. Even if you don't follow through completely they have your name and phone number. What a cheap scam the internet is.
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If I don't recognize the number calling I do not answer the phone anymore. I am paranoid about all calls and the e-mails and spams on my computer now. Phone companies are working on stopping these, but most fraud calls from other countries etc., the world is out of control and there is nothing we can do about it.... lol :alien:
 
Well Fuzzy I got my "Free Walmart Gift Certificate" in in the mail yesterday.

And thanks to your heads up I was able to toss the thing into the trash without even opening it. :)
 
norman said:
If I don't recognize the number calling I do not answer the phone anymore. I am paranoid about all calls and the e-mails and spams on my computer now. Phone companies are working on stopping these, but most fraud calls from other countries etc., the world is out of control and there is nothing we can do about it.... lol :alien:
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The wife and I do not answer unknown numbers also..I told her that when I am away from home and have to use some one elses phone she should answer the third set of rings as it will be me needing to talk to her!!!
 
It escapes me how anybody could or would ever fall for any of this cr@p. As far as phone calls go, if it's not a number I recognize, I don't answer and do block it. Then I Google the number and 99.99% of the time it's a scam. the other .01% it's a sales call for something I neither want nor need.
 
Not all life insurance people are hucksters. In fact most aren't, but the hucksters give us honest agents a bad name. Now, before you go hating on me for what I do, let me say this - I think those 'bribe cards' are despicable for the same reasons - they're misleading to many seniors. OF COURSE it's state-regulated. ALL insurance is, but the phrasing allows some people to believe there's some affiliation with a government program when there isn't. And then a $5 Wal-Mart gift card?? Come on.

By the way, those cards are sent out by agents, not insurance companies. Direct mail is a perfectly legitimate way for agents to get in front of people because they aren't exactly busting our doors down to talk about dying or getting life insurance. But if you have to use trickery or cheap gimmicks, we refer to that as having "commission breath" - all they care about is the commission.

I say just be transparent and honest with people. If they don't want it, move on. If they do, help them get it. If they shoot at you, get the hell out of there - fast.
 
Welcome to the site John.
Interesting post.
Not really 😬but welcome anyway.
I hope that didn’t sound mean.
My sense of humour can be a tad brash at times. Lol 🙃
 
Not at all! My sense of humor can seem a bit sarcastic sometimes, but I'm working on it!
 

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