Be wary in doing online survey

To the left of the survey, the offer details say that: "The membership fee of $14.95 per month will be charged/debited by Shopping Essentials+ to the credit/debit card you used today with Restaurant.com, after the 30-day FREE trial and then automatically charged/debited each month at the then-current monthly membership fee so long as you remain a member."

Should you wish to cancel within the first 30 days, the disclaimer says you can call 888-999-0564 and speak to a Shopping Essentials+ member representative - "you will have paid nothing and owe nothing. Please note that by agreeing to these Offer Details, you are authorizing Restaurant.com to securely transfer your name, address and credit/debit card information to Shopping Essentials+, a service provider of Restaurant.com."

There are several similar accusations against Restaurant.com and Shopping Essentials on online complaint boards, but in this case, Restaurant.com has fully disclosed what you're getting yourself into.

It's your responsibility to read the caveats.

"Still, we take this person's concerns and our customers' privacy very seriously," Conlin said. "We have already contacted Shopping Essentials to review this complaint and are discussing additional ways to clarify the offer to avoid future misunderstandings. We sent [Szymkiewicz] an apology letter, made ourselves available for discussion and will work through all issues to earn back his trust."

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