Company Name: MOR Market Research
Type of Business: Free Gas Card Company
Location: Old Orchard Beach, ME
Upfront Fee: $19.95
Claim: “Would You Like $300 in Free Gas? Call 888-462-5960 to Claim Your Free Gas Card Today!”
Everyone knows the best things in life are free. Products and services that are genuinely free are hard to come by these days, so even if an offer sounds like it’s on the up and up, it’s a good idea to double check.
Sarah was driving in her car when she heard an advertisement over the radio touting a free $300 gas gift card. Sarah called the number in the advertisement right away. Her call was answered by MOR Market Research, who was conducting a consumer spending survey to see how much money consumers are spending on gas, where they’re spending it, and on what fuel grade. The only stipulation associated with the offer was that the money, in the form of a gift card, could not be spent on anything other than gasoline.
As far as the gas card being entirely free; Sarah was informed that all she’d need to pay $19.95 for shipping and handling to get the gift card sent “all the way out to Tucson.” In addition, she was asked to look over some brochures in exchange for a $100 rebate offer and 2 $25 Wal-Mart gift cards. In essence, it costs $19.95 for a “free” $300 gas card, a $100 rebate offer, and 2 $25 Wal-Mart gift cards.
BBB suggests exercising extreme caution when dealing with any unknown company requesting an upfront fee for information or supplies. Keep an eye on your bank accounts to ensure you’re not being charged fees that you weren’t warned of, and check on a company’s reliability report with BBB before doing business.