Websites4America--Blog offer

This company promises to set you up with a blog site for an initial fee of $197, followed by a monthly fee of $29.

Of course, there are loads of statements about how you can make loads of money through blogging.

However, once you sign on, you get connected with a fast talking "director for training". Eventually, he gets around to telling you that you also need to pay for a "marketing plan" to get people to visit your blog. Cost of the plan? $32,800. "But don't worry--you can pay it off monthly--only $273.33 per month for the next 10 years."

Obviously, this is almost 10 times the $29 per month fee initially advertised, and you're on the hook for the next 10 years, regardless of how successful the blog turns out to be.

***[SEE UPDATE BELOW]***

Meanwhile, they've taken my $197 (charged to my credit card) and are ignoring my requests to issue a credit. ***[SEE UPDATE BELOW]***

I don't trust organizations that use such bait & switch tactics, so I stopped them right there.

There were several other red flags that made me doubtful of their legitimacy, including a request not only for my credit card number, but also for my mother's maiden name (which of course is one of the key items that credit card firms use to confirm your identity when you call them). When I refused to give this, they backed off, but it should definitely send up the red flags.

My advice is: Don't risk your money and don't waste your time with this organization.

12/5/09 UPDATE: $197 RETURNED: Although they did not respond to my first 2 email messages requesting a refund, after I told them about the complaint I posted on this website (and how it shows up at the top of a Google search of "Websites 4 America") they promptly contacted me and agreed to honor their money-back guarantee by returning my money, which they have now done. They also expressed a willingness to change their website to state all of the terms of their services clearly up front. When I see this change, I will further update this complaint, or delete it entirely.