The seven-day free trial that isn’t seven days, and isn’t free

They caught me at a weak moment. I keep turning down the Star’s special subscription offers when they call, and they call a lot. A couple of weeks ago, I turned them down again, but the telemarketer got me: what’s the harm in accepting a week’s free trial of the paper with no obligation? So I accepted. It turns out that the offer isn’t for seven days. After four days, the paper mysteriously stopped. I phoned to find out why. It turns out that the telemarketer misrepresented the offer, and it wasn’t free. It’s actually $2.70. When the Star realized the offer was misrepresented, they stopped delivery without notifying any of the customers. Good way to make someone want to subscribe. It turns out that the seven-day free trial wasn’t free and didn’t last for seven days, but they were right about one thing. It was a trial.