01/02/2009
The $9.25 check Bureau President Bill Mitchell received in the mail last week was nothing new. The amount may have been different from others of its kind, it was sent out by a different company, and the product he'd be buying when he cashed it was different. But otherwise it's the same, tired plan, like the same play performed again and again but by different actors and with different costumes and scenery. Here's how this one works:
Budget Car Rentals thanked Mitchell for his past patronage and said they were always seeking ways to save him time and money when traveling. Thus, "in response to skyrocketing gas prices in California," they offered him six bimonthly gas rebates of $9.25 if he would try the savings and refund program of HealthSaver, apparently one of their affiliates.
What is this HealthSaver program? It's advertised as a plan that offers, at participating pharmacies, discounts of from 5 to 50 percent off the manufacturer's suggested retail price, or the pharmacy's best price, of prescription drugs not covered by insurance; automatic markdowns on prescribed drugs at their over 57,000 participating pharmacies as well as savings on non-prescription medicines and health aids from their "direct-to-you discount network;" and 10 percent cash back on Budget car rentals (apparently this is limited to no more than $100). Your spouse and children are also eligible for HealthSaver's benefits.
You enroll in HealthSaver's plan when you endorse and cash this first $9.25 check. The materials they will send you will include the other five $9.25 checks, one of which you may cash every two months.
The HealthSaver Plan comes with a 30-day "risk-free trial period," during which you may cancel and keep the first $9.25. But if you don't cancel, you're going to be charged, on the credit card you have on file with Budget, $94.99 for six months' coverage, after which time you'll be billed the same amount again. The cost increases by $5.00 for each six-month period of the second year. However, the company does promise a pro-rated refund if you cancel at any time after you've been billed.
These, then, are the new scenery and costumes. The offer's same old plot is, first, the seemingly something-for-nothing check made out to you, and second, the line on the back of the check that, once signed on, constitutes not only your endorsement but your agreement to the terms stated just above your signature and in more detail elsewhere.
We've cautioned you about checks like these before, but they're apparently still profitable for their makers. So if you receive something similar, start by reading everything before you sign, no matter how fine the print.
And do some analysis. In this case, if you pay $189.98 in just your first year on the plan in exchange for your total of $55.50 in gas money, are you really going save money on gas or anything else? Do you use enough drugs and health aids to save money after paying the membership fees? What if the pharmacy discount for what you need is the 5 percent, not the 50 percent or somewhere in between? What if none of those 57,000 participating pharmacies (out of the 600,000 the California Pharmacy Board estimates to be doing business in California) are convenient to you?
Finally, isn't it something of a stretch for Budget to put out this kind of offer in the name of “always seeking to save you time and money when traveling"? Maybe Budget's gas check should trigger a reality check.