Activating a newly updated credit card has always been an effortless matter. Dial the 24-hour toll-free telephone number provided, enter the 16-digit card number, punch in the last four digits of your social security number, and finally press “1” to confirm proper receipt. It’s that simple. Your new card is now valid.

As I’ve just described it, that’s the way it is . . . or rather was. Times change. When dealing with Citicorp, one of the major credit card issuers, what used to be the ending is now the beginning. After confirmation, you’re no longer bid an electronic adieu. Instead, a real live person replaces the recorded message, offering you the firm’s service-oriented commitment. “How may I assist you,” he asks. “Is everything satisfactory?” With the formalities concluded, the true purpose of his presence becomes evident. There are products to be sold, and you are clearly captured clientele. Your credit card is not complete without a variety of extras, all at a price. During my recent encounter, the litany of offerings came one after the other. I successfully groped for legitimate-sounding reasons why I didn’t want any of them—until he got to the last one. It became clear that he did not intend to take “no” for an answer. He informed me of my need for protection. What if someone steals my identity? Their monitoring service would give me the notice I must have when my card is stolen—and best of all, it would be free. Though it took a bit of prodding, he eventually disclosed that the “free” part expired after 30 days, when it automatically became $9.99 per month changed to the card. He was tough to get rid of, attempting to close me eight times during a 12-minute harangue. It was one of the hardest attempted sells I’d ever experienced. And why not? Consider what’s at stake. Citicorp controls tens of millions of credit card accounts. For every million schlemiels they can coerce into that program, they stand to gross $119,880,000. As you see, billions can be made, and as the late Senator Everett Dirksen once said: “A billion here, a billion there. Pretty soon you’re talking real money.”

If you think the experience I’ve just related is simply a matter between me and Citicorp that doesn’t affect you, you’d better think again. What I’ve just described is the corporate world in which we live. Innovative marketing is what it’s now all about, and every prominent firm will, sooner or later, embrace these practices. You will find yourself regularly fending off this sort of pitch—and worse. For this reason, you’d better develop a thick skin and a skeptical attitude to go with it, because you will be put-upon in ways you cannot yet imagine.

A concluding thought:
At a time in the past, many successful firms operated on the principal that the customer deserved to be treated honestly and with consideration. For whatever reason, this is no longer the way it is. To imagine otherwise is to place yourself at a serious disadvantage.

The pitch is short and to the point: “As a valued Bank of America cardholder, you understand the value of good credit. It is therefore very important that you take advantage of this valuable opportunity at once during this risk-free trial period. 1. Automatically secure and examine your Credit Report, and 2. Begin monitoring your credit and other personal records. If you decide not to keep your privileges beyond this one-month trial, you will have paid nothing and owe nothing. So do not delay. Simply sign and return your Authorization Form to enroll now.”

The Authorization Form spells it out a little clearer, though in type requiring a magnifying glass. The sign up is for a year with automatic renewals at $139.99 annually “ billed automatically to my credit card account without my having to do anything further.” During the one-month trial period, cancellation requires calling a phone number.

Inasmuch as exiting law provides for free credit reports under a variety of circumstances, I doubt that this service fills much of a need—except for the bank’s bottom line. It’s a cynically devised program that plies on human naïveté. You may be certain that BOA’s marketing research department knows with statistical accuracy what percentage of those who sign up will, within one month, simply neglect to cancel.

At this point I’ll acknowledge, in deference to the Bank of America, that they deserve no singular castigation for aggressively pushing a product of questionable value. There is no major financial institution in America for which marketing programs of this sort are not standard.

A concluding thought:
It doesn’t matter whether an offer is from an old established company or endorsed by a respected celebrity. The marketing of products is big business, and reliance on the general public’s gullibility is often a factor. Be on your guard.

A few days ago I received a notice from an organization of which I’ve been a member for thirty-five years. It said: “As directed by the President, I have upgraded your membership, FREE OF CHARGE. This is a special courtesy to you in recognition of your continued membership.” Acceptance required only my signature on the enclosed acknowledgement. At the risk of looking a gift horse in the mouth, I scrutinized the offering and there, buried in the fine print, I found the hooker—“free of charge” extends only 94 days. At the end of that time my upgraded membership renews at a newly increased rate unless I specifically instruct otherwise. The organization: Automobile Club of Southern California, an affiliate of AAA; the benefits of the upgraded membership: an extended towing distance and a few gallons of gas; the annual dues increase: from $69 to $117, up about 70%.

There is no mystery as to the offer’s intent. It’s a scheme to peddle a grossly overpriced product disguised as a benefit. The artifice, taught in marketing schools throughout the nation, is known as Opt-in/Opt-out marketing. It’s based on the premise that a predetermined portion of persons who accept an initially attractive offer will, if required to perform some function, fail to cancel out when the benefits end. The task of its designers is adjusting the parameters so to predict, within statistical accuracy, what percentage will neglect, for whatever reason, to opt out.

Though I regularly receive such duplicitous offerings from various companies—an even more egregious proposal arrived from Bank of America a day later—I normally don’t take offense. I fully expect the nation’s financial community to operate in a high-handed manner. My surprise was receiving this from an organization for which I had regard. However, perhaps it’s to be expected. It appears that as a commercial entity grows in size, the activities of its marketing department become more remote from its fundamental business or service operation. And as these departments tend to hire persons with marketing school degrees, all taught the same techniques, the results are inevitable.

A concluding thought:
It’s a hostile world out there, so you must be continually on guard to avoid being ripped off. And above all, be aware that there are no sure guidelines by which to distinguish the good guys from the bad guys.