A few weeks ago I arrived home to find a message on the answering machine.
“This is Brian with _________ Custom Golf. You are pre-qualified to do a risk-free evaluation of our brand new state of the art custom fairway woods or irons. Also, just for your evaluation, you will receive a complete three-club wedge set absolutely free.”
That was followed by an 800 number and an urgent request to reply immediately.
That sounds like a pretty good deal. Test the clubs, send them back and keep the wedges. Simple enough, but I have had these calls before and last year Golf Digest ran a piece on these offers and this was one of the companies they checked out.
Had I called him back, Brian would have offered to ship the clubs as soon as I gave him a credit card number for security. I would have 60 days to try the clubs. If unsatisfied, I could simply return them at no risk.
In a previous calls from this and other companies, I have always responded the same way. Ship the clubs. I’ll be happy to test them. To the request for a credit card, I have said, “I thought you said no risk?” They assured me it was only for security, but I still refused. They didn’t ship the clubs, which was fine with me.
I have also pointed out that I test at least 30 pair of skis each season without buying any of them. Consumers can do the same thing. They might have to leave a credit card imprint at a consumer demo day, but at the end of the day the slip is destroyed. It’s only there in case skis are damaged.
My feelings were justified by the article in Golf Digest. The typical situation runs like this. A golfer accepts the offer and allows the clubs to be shipped. Instead of holding the credit card information in case of damage, or someone not returning them, the full price of the clubs is charged to the card and the price is usually a lot more than we would pay for a top set in our local pro shop. If a golfer decides after his 60-day trial not to keep the clubs, he learns that the company will not issue a credit. In addition, there’s a good chance it will be too late for him to have the credit card company charge it back. In other words, he’s stuck with the clubs and even if he ships them back the article shows that most of these companies will not give the money back.
In the January 2002 article, the company that called me, defended their practices and complained about their low rating by the Better Business Bureau, saying they make it clear you’re paying for the clubs and what they offer is a money-back guarantee. I don’t know because I didn’t return the call.
In a follow up article in November 2002, Golf Digest told how another California company had nine men associated with it indicted for telemarketing fraud. The article went on to point out that this company generated sales in excess of $5.8 million. One golfer who tried the test received a $1,400 charge on his credit card which was removed only when he threatened to cancel the card. Others cited $600-700 charges.
One thing I do know. I have never had a call from Taylor Made, or Titleist, or Callaway, or Ping,or any other name I recognized. It’s always some company I never heard of, yet according to the article in Golf Digest, the golfers it interviewed had their credit cards charged more than some of the top names.
Maybe the company is not as bad as the BBB rates the company, but I won’t be returning their calls or trying any clubs offered over the phone.
We have one absolute rule in our house. The only time we ever give out a credit card over the phone is if we initiate the call. Unsolicited calls never get a card number or an order.
This leads us to another question. Even if the offer is good, the clubs are good and the price fair, how can you get a custom fit over the phone? When I have researched custom fitted clubs, the process has always been the same. It requires getting together with a club fitter who will use a set of clubs with varying lies, shaft lengths and flex and a swing speed measuring device.
The guy who called may have been making a legitimate offer, but I’m not interested. I want my equipment to come from someone I know, from a shop where I can take them back if they’re not right. I don’t have time to do the research to find out which phone offers might be okay, and with so many complaints, I’m not going to take the chance of dealing with some unknown California company. I’ll go see my local pro, because I know where I can find him later, and I know he wants to keep me coming back.
Dave Irons is a freelance writer who lives in Westbrook.
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