A Disputed Internet Charge and the Learning Curve

OK, so once again I'm sitting here with economic egg all over my face because I wasn't paying attention, didn't take the time to read all the rules and acted impulsively.

I was putting together an updated resume recently and was too lazy to format it myself, so I went looking for a service and found something called LiveCareer (here), which offered me a template (and some help, which I didn't need) for $1.95. I thought, "I can swing that," and went at it, producing a good resume quickly. I was feeling smug about condensing nearly 50 years in journalism to a page.

Now, I'm looking at a "recurring" bill of $34.95 a month on my MasterCard statement and I am forced to call MC, go through a phone tree higher than a sequoia and spend a good portion of my morning in dispute. I finally get somebody from the card company, who gets me in touch with somebody at LiveCareer, who tells me, yes, she can get that "recurring" charge removed in the future, but I'm out $34.95 for a $1.95 template.

Have I learned anything by this? Only, I think, that the young women on the other end of the line are almost always helpful, almost always ready to resolve the dispute quickly and that I'm still an idiot for not reading all the directions all the time, and knowing nothing will change in the future.

But at least you know that LiveCareer has a surprise for you if you use its services.

(Photo: costaricantimes.com)