Demand an end to Gotcha! marketing...

They say "Buyer Beware!" but that should not allow companies to deceive people into making financial commitments they are unaware of. Have you ever been caught out by deceptive advertising that used your information for one thing to charge you for something else? Small print is sometimes so small, you have to be a lawyer to catch it.

Sign up for just a dollar today, and then before you know it large sums of money are withdrawn from your account.

This is easily solved. Online purchases need to be followed up with a confirmation email, in which you agree to the terms and conditions very clearly spelled out in monetary terms. For example.

On this date W, Vendor X has asked credit card company Y to release $ Z for the following purchase. Please click Confirm? or Reject.
On the following date WW, Vendor X will ask credit card company YY to release $ZZ on a one time, monthly or ? basis. Please confirm? Reject? I request further confirmation at the time.

Such a small step, easily done, and already used by some companies. Without this further confirmation, a company should not be able to withdraw money from your account. If your email address was incorrect, and no confirmation is received, they should not be able to withdraw money.

The most vulnerable people: immigrants, second language English speakers, people struggling financially are most affected. Let's stop this practise. It is easily done.