The.5.Minutes.Con.Job

What do you think about the occasional phone calls from the credit-card company or their partners to get you to commit into some sort of insurance plans?

Personally, I find it annoying. Don't get me wrong, I think some of the coverage plans were good but I think it is inappropriate to pester people to sign up for a plan every few months. What's disheartening is that the tele-sales person on the line is just focusing on closing the sale - they speak so fast and keep going on and on about their product without trying to understand the customer's needs. To me, they are no where close to an insurance agent.

Sometimes, when you tell them off, they will leave you alone but because they speak so damn fast, their "Thank You for your time" message sounds so rude and insincere. There are also those who just don't get it and keep on going.

The highlight of these plans is usually the premium which is suppose to be "a small sum deducted from the credit-card every month". But if we keep signing up every month, we could eventually be in lots of debt damnit. And why is it that we only need to say "Yes" on the phone to get into debt but we have to go through the hassle of writting and faxing if we want to terminate the plan?

I think it is a bloody con-job to get people into debt within 5 - 10 minutes on the phone. If I need an insurance policy, I rather be talking to a real insurance agent.