Up-Selling

[Bapopik at AOL.COM]

   The excellent WordSpy has "upsell," but it's defined there as a retailer trying to sell a more expensive item ("movin' on up").
   This involves a "free offer," where customers have to call up to cancel credit card charges.
   From today's NEW YORK POST, 6 January 2002, pg. 7, col. 3:

_Ticket to deception: Ducat-buyers_
_duped by "free" magazine offer_
(...)  According to (Attorney General Eliot--ed.) Spitzer, Ticketmaster operators would offer an eight-week, free trial subscription to either Sports Illustrated or Entertainment Weekly.
   Thousands who accepted the offer were later shocked to find that when the trial period ended, their credit cards had been automatically (Col. 4--ed.) charged for an additional 27-week subscription, Spitzer said.
   Ticketmaster had passed on the credit-card account information to Time Inc., which is a division of AOL Time Warner.
   "Most people thought they'd get the free issues and that would be it," said a Spitzer spokeswoman.
   But under the practice, known as up-selling, a consumer who accepted the trial subscription from Ticketmaster had to specifically call Time Inc. before the trial period ended to let them know they didn't want a paid subscription.

(TICKETMASTER, OFF TOPIC:  I wanted to see an Off-Off-Broadway show; the only number given in the ad was Ticketmaster.  "What city?" I was asked.  Uh, New York.  Ticketmaster charged $7 a ticket, or about 25% of the ticket price.  I bought tickets at the theater--ed.)