Poor George. He didn’t see that huge trap right in front of him. Let’s learn from his loss of foresight shall we. Recently, I saw an ad in the paper looking for participants to join a clinical study. I was intrigued; free laser hair removal in exchange for documentation of the results. I could imagine my silky smooth skin already.
It was at the initial consultation that I got the real deal. Pay in full up front (like any regular customer) and get refunded at the completion of the study 18 months later! And these treatments do not come cheap. In order to collect that refund down the road you must not only pay for 100% of the services upfront but if you are unable to make even one of those appointments then you can kiss that refund goodbye. It’s just too risky for me. What if I want to go on vacation during the treatment week or my schedule changes at work and I can’t easily make it? In the end I decided to play it safe and keep to more traditional and less expensive hair removal techniques.
With any contract that you are considering, make sure to closely go over it with a fine toothed comb. Ask a plethora of questions and imagine hypothetical situations. What if the company goes under? Am I protected? If there is a company name change does the contract still stand? It’s good to know these kind of things just in case.
That goes for any contract. Whether it’s a bank loan, employment terms, house sale or even a cell phone plan, always proceed with caution. You would not believe the number of “nearing the end of my cell-phone contract” parties I’ve been invited to!
