Many of us are underage. While we weep over our lack of credit card, we don’t have to endure hidden costs in the form of  ‘negative option marketing’ like many unsuspecting citizens.

In the Strait Times article ‘ Pay unless you opt out,’citizens were forced to pay to an organization in which they had no prior contact with, unless they chose to opt out. Automatic bill paying makes checking invoices tedious; thus, when people do not notice the hidden extra cost, the company will continue charging them.

Salespeople believe negative-option marketing will ‘help achieve their short-term sales objective’, but from experience, I know that it only creates customer distaste and criticism towards the company.

My mother was once a Sears reward-card member. One day, she looked over her invoice and discovered an unknown fee. Alarmed, she called the Sears customer service who told her that it was a cost she had consented to. My mom soon realized that the so-called consent was simply her not opting out of the fee.

Negative-option marketing is shameless, but legal. Yes, shocking. A word of advice: peruse over your invoice as if it were your econ textbook. It’ll be worth your while.