Be Wary Of Tempting Free Gas Offers
DENVER (CBS4) - Gas prices are high and who knows when they'll drop. That's why drivers have got to be careful, especially now, with tempting offers promising to help save at the pump.
CBS4 consumer investigator Jodi Brooks took a look at some of the offers and met one man who says he wasted his money.
The offer of free gas or cheap gas is tempting, but in this gas crisis, no one is just giving away gas.
Ken Anderson thought it was his lucky day when he saw an offer for free gas.
"Said that my name had been chosen to receive $300 for free gasoline," Anderson said.
Anderson had agreed to a telephone survey with S.A. and Associates, a Wheat Ridge company.
"What we do is we call people up and they helped us already with a survey and we just tell them that they're selected to receive a $300 gas certificate," S.A. and Associate owner Soren Keegan said.
The company then delivers the so-called certificate in person.
"My heart kind of sunk because I said, 'I think I've been duped,' and indeed I was," Anderson said. "My wife and I endured an hour and a half demonstration of a Filter Magic Vacuum."
The Filter Magic Vacuum is a $3,000 machine.
"All we ask is that they take a look at the Filter Magic, fill out a survey on it, and they get the gift just for helping us out giving us their opinion," Keegan said.
The gift is $300 in gas rebates. The holder gets a $25 rebate for every $100 in gas spent on monthly. The holder also has to pay a one-time $35.95 processing fee.
Keegan said the company is honest and fair. He gave Brooks several testimonials from satisfied customers. One states Filter Magic makes vacuuming actually enjoyable.
But for Anderson the issue was never about Filter Magic. All he wanted was his $300 in free gas.
S.A. and Associates has an "F" rating with the Better Business Bureau. The BBB warns when it comes to offers of free gas cards or vouchers or gas savings, understand what's advertised may not be what you really get.
Anderson says he'll never do a telephone survey again. He never lost any money, but he just wasted a lot of his time.
