Sharp practice

About a month ago I had a moan about how the people at Scientific American had done me for second year's subscription when I thought that they should not have.

Around the end of January, I poked them again. Nothing.

Around the beginning of February, I found a new address to poke with a third email. Response within a day or so, with a polite and careful explanation that I had bought a renewal light subscription. Renewal on a hair trigger as it were, and although there was an email reminder that this was going to happen the default action was renew anyway, for the greater convenience of the customer you understand, the customer who might be very upset about any interruption of service. I imagine that I missed the reminder in the welter of other stuff which they send me about offers and forthcoming articles.

They also explained that if I cared to cancel, they would return the unspent balance of the renewal, with the eventual result that a few days ago £39.17 arrived arrived in credit card account, followed by a deduction of £1.17 for a non-sterling transaction. So not such a bad result, if a little expensive in brain time.

All of which crossed with an unhelpful reply from someone else to my second email of the end of January.

Then, this morning, I remembered that there is nothing new about sharp practice in matters retail. So I remember being told by a pub keeper that he trained his barmaids to give short measure, judged so that most punters did not complain and with glasses being topped up with a smile when they did. Worth 10% on his bottom line as I recall. While BH reminds me of greengrocers and such like pulling similar stunts with short measure and short change. And, before our time, of bakers who cut their flour with chalk and butchers who did something similar with their sausages. So we should not get too nostalgic about the olden days when moaning about the sharp practices of people who sell things over the internet.

From where I associate to the markets of medieval times where offenders of this sort were dealt with in summary fashion. Being tied to the tail of a cart and exhibited to the town while being pelted with rotten vegetables sort of thing. Perhaps a custom which we should revive in respect of all those sellers of insurance policies, for things like cars and houses, who drift their premiums up, hoping that you either won't notice or couldn't be bothered to do anything about it.

Reference 1: http://psmv3.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/scientific-american.html.