How To Not Get Scammed on Heating This Winter

I routinely do a double-take whenever I see a full page ad in any newspaper, especially a nationally known one. Having a marketing degree combined with a "skeptic gene" -- I'm well aware that any individual or company that goes to that much expense, is either on a mission to change the world, or expects to make a killing in profits.

My skeptic gene kicks in primarily because it's hugely expensive to place such ads, around $100,000 each. That's a lot of advertising dollar, so the first thing I have to ask myself is: Who are these people and what do they have to sell?

At this time of the year, when many are genuinely concerned with keeping warm and still having money left over to eat and heat, it struck me odd that there would be full page advertisements two weeks in a row in one of our national newspapers from the same company, boasting about a "new" invention to reduce home heating bills.

I know all about the quest to keep warm. Having lived for years on the last farm on a dirt road, two miles from my nearest neighbor, being snowed in for weeks at time, still gives me nightmares here in Florida years later.

Our house in the backwoods of West Virginia was a 1950s Do-It-Yourself-er made of cement block and zero insulation. It had one source of heat in the living room, and that was a 1940s used kerosene heater.

The "evil one" was a monstrosity with ugly pipes that sometimes burned red, a distinct kerosene odor at all times, and barely kept the immediate vicinity warm, let alone the bedrooms or bath. Even the "evil one" was expensive to keep filled with kerosene, and a chore to keep burning. It was the bane of my existence as there was no thermostat to turn up.

Filling the one hundred gallon tank outside, involved standing upon the back of our pickup, while hand pouring into a funnel, as many gallons as you could lift above you (over and over). This often meant you got a bath in kerosene. The ordeal left me mad enough at times, that I contemplated lighting a match to see if I could at least then warm up. The "evil one" had a plot it seems, to only run out when it was below zero, snowing, or the pickup bed was filled with ice.

I'll spare you the details of what it was like to drive many mountain miles to get it's fuel and back. I'll also spare you the intense questioning my hubby heard almost on a daily basis, along the lines of "explain to me again why do we have acres and acres of woods and no heat?" It actually took us a couple of years to agree, research, and decide on what we should do about the "heating" problem.

Looking back, maybe I should have hurried up Mr. Slow West Virginia Stroll through this decision process (he's a deep thinker). Added to the dilemma, was the fact, that we were serious about building a new log and stone home on the property. We weren't very willing to spend money fixing up the proverbial sows' ear we lived in. No amount of money was going to make it more habitable.

Alternatively, I could have not kept suggesting that we go get a motel room on the coldest of nights (which we did many a night). It was just hard, as he was a career railroader working long hours on freight runs, nagging him wasn't an option. Not much time in between freight runs for major renovation projects.

Eventually, we came upon the solution of insulating the house. We installed a propane no vent, no chimney heater in the main room of our house. Didn't solve all of our heating problems, but at least we could shed the coats, if we kept our long johns on. So romantic! LOL

Needless to say, back then I would have given anything to warm. Had I seen the advertising scheme that is floating around today, I perhaps would have thrown caution to the wind and jumped in, flannel undies and all.

How To Get Two Free Heaters! (Note:  Their ad has been pulled, wonder why?)

Smart marketing follows current trends and lord knows everyone is worried about their financial bottom line. Obviously, any product that offers to reduce one of most people's biggest winter time expenses is going to get attention. Dangle the offer that for a limited time -- you can get not "one" but "two" free miracle heaters that will reduce your home's heating bills -- you'll have a stampede for the "free" giveaway. This Ohio based company offends my sense of what's right and what's wrong when advertising.

Let's take a closer look. On the surface this "free" offer sounds good:

• No venting
• No chimney to clean
• No tools required
• No gas lines
• No wood
• No ashes
• No mess
• No hassle
• Easy to maneuver
• Delivered to your door
• Just plug into any outlet
• Heat an average sized bedroom for .08 cents an hour
• Heat a 325 sq. foot room for .16 cents hour

Your first clue that this isn't all that it seems to be in their national ad campaign -- is the words:

Money Back Guarantee

Six Reasons to Not Buy Into This Scam

First reason of all, what's "free" really isn't free because to get the two free heaters, you will need to spend $249.00 to buy handcrafted Amish wooden fireplace mantles, plus taxes, and shipping.

Secondly, one of the claims is that this "miracle" heater uses less energy than your average coffee maker. As a mother, that reminds me of a science experiment one of my kids did. It involved having another kid blow drying their hair in a fun experiment to see your electric meter's gauge surges, when using one. It spins like a top! Not something you want your electric meter to do for hours and days. This makes me skeptical of the pennies per hour portion of their further claims.

Third reason, the Amish are known for not being big users of electricity. So to imply, that Amish connection of high standards of workmanship (for the mantle) is an endorsement of a product that comes from China, has my doubting Thomas gene working overtime.

Fourth reason, knowing that the Amish do not believe in having their pictures taken, also is a red flag of cynic thoughts about the picture used in the ad -- how do we know that the Amish are really producing the fireplace mantles?

Fifth reason, there are published reports that this company is fairly impossible to cancel an order once made, or get through to when it comes to their customer service.

Sixth reason, there is nothing "new about this technology." This is just a glorified space heater that you can buy anywhere for a whole lot less. There have been many fraud complaints about this company to Better Business Bureau's.

At the very least these advertisements are using some of the most deceptive marketing and advertising practices, some of them are:

• Misrepresentation by implying that somehow just because the fireplace mantles are hand-crafted, that the heater itself is of high quality.
• Misrepresentation by seeking the legitimacy of a group of religious people who are known for their integrity.
• Advertising the maximum "savings" by using the product in a deceptive manner.
• Raising false hopes in the product that may reduce heating oil or gas use, but at the same time dramatically raise one's electric bill.
• Making the introductory offer seem exclusive by limiting it to "for the next 48 hours"
• Making the introductory offer seem in "high demand" by statements about limiting purchases to two per household.
• Using an old fraud technique of "giving away a freebie" while charging for something else.
• Failing to point out that the reason they are having you call three separate numbers (depending upon where you live) is because the $249.00 cost is largely increased by the shipping and handling charges to your region.

Obviously, there are many decisions when it comes to selecting the right heating source for your home and your financial situation. While I won't recommend taking as long as we did (three years) to make up your mind -- as with anything do your homework when looking to get "warm" and save money at the same time. As with any major purchase - Buyer Beware!

Ultimately, our solution came down to moving to a warmer climate, but that wasn't a result of being too cold in the winter. Can't say I miss the whole winter and snow part of life, even if we miss the farm, at times. Now, we tackle the flip side of the problem -- how to stay cool without breaking the bank when you have eighteen foot ceilings and a lot of square feet to cool.