People Break Down The Biggest Legal Scams That Are Still Operating Today

No company is perfect, but there are now some operations at play that feel like scams, specifically to lock people into subscriptions and ways to force them to spend much more money, much more frequently than they used to.

Somehow, though, they keep working the system and finding a way to make these operations legal.

Curious, Redditor odikuart asked:

"What's the biggest legal scam still operating today?"

Digital Copies And A Right To Repair

"Actively shutting down your product when it detects unofficial repairs. I can accept that owners may lose warranty over unofficial repairs, but going as far as completely making the device non-functional after the repair is just corporate speak for 'You no longer own the physical device you bought, you just have a license to use it, we still own it.'"

"If you are going to do that, you have to advertise that you do not own the device. This kind of sh*t is why there is a call for the right to repair."

"I don't agree that companies should have to honor the warranty of a device that has been tampered with without their authorization, but the said tampering should not be grounds for shutting down the device just because the company that made it doesn't like it."

- timchenw

"That whole 'right to repair' issue is especially prevalent with cars as they get newer and more complex. Even with the most basic of tasks like replacing the battery, you still often have to take it to the dealer, so they can program the car to recognize the new battery and adjust accordingly."

"Speaking from experience there, as my dad went through exactly that with his 2016 BMW. And that’s for an almost 10-year-old car."

- Grambo-47

"In a similar vein, HP printers when they detect an 'unauthentic' ink cartridge."

"I switched to a Brother laser printer I bought brand new for like $130. The toner lasts me like eight to 12 months (and I print things a LOT), and I can buy knockoffs on Amazon. But honestly, I’m happy paying the $40 for a thing of genuine Brother brand toner just because they don’t rip you off."

"I went through one little cartridge of the XL size HP ink in two to four months, and those f**kers cost like 50 to 60 dollars. The exact one I used is at Target for 63 dollars right now. HP is a joke."

- luckyapples11

Paid Parking For Medical Care

"Paid parking at the hospital."

- vanessecity

"This, in my opinion, will always be predatory."

- ShadAppNKissMe

"Unreal that this is a thing. Spent over a month visiting a relative in the hospital."

"Good news, old parking lady started recognizing me and giving me the pass!"

- freshjulius

Amazing How That Happens

"Heads of government programs who give favourable deals to companies then magically get a seat/job at the company or board of directors that they helped."

- 420_69_Fake_Account

"Ohio department of rehabilitation and corrections. I watched the director monopolize who could provide commissary and sundry boxes to the inmates. It used to be the family could just go buy any allowed items and mail them in. However, it was always a source of contraband."

"So the retiring director made it that all boxes had to be purchased from a certain company. This company also got a deal where the department would allow inmates to work for this company. They had twenty inmates working for them in their warehouse for one dollar an hour."

"Then the retired director was placed on their board as a consultant. How convenient."

"The food service was privatized union workers displaced. Food quality has dramatically reduced. Conveniently retired DRC employees now working in high aid positions while inmates work for low wages in the kitchens."

"Nothing related to corrections should ever be privatized. The governor of Ohio’s wife owns a large amount of stock in the private company with the food service contract. So much suspicious activities taking place and no one questions it."

"These individuals should be in prison."

- googerw

New Annual Subscriptions

"Companies who change their Terms of Service to force you to pay an annual subscription to continue using a product you have had for years that didn't require a subscription to begin with."

- I_HaveSeenTheLight

"Software as a service when said 'software' can work locally, no 'service' needed."

- ReidenLightman

"I bought Photoshop many years ago. Before subscription was a thing. At some point, I bought a new computer and wanted to install it again. It refused unless I used their subscription system."

'I messed with it for a while but ended up making an image file of my old computer's HD, which I now use in VirtualBox whenever I want to use Photoshop."

"I'm not a pro. That old version of PhotoShop still has everything I need."

- GladForChokolade

Two Words: College Textbooks

"College textbooks. New edition every year, barely any changes, and somehow still $300+ a pop."

- DuskPrincessx

"And now, because they've realized they are losing on profits due to people buying older editions used and just dealing with it, they've started having 'codes' for quizzes and online assignments that you only get through purchasing the textbook to make sure everyone has to buy the new one."

"Such a scam."

- creme-dela-femme

"So I was in college between 2005 and 2009, and what we did was download the PDF for free off Pirate Bay. The only subject you couldn't really do that with, you still have to buy the code, was math."

"Little by little, throughout college, they started adding the codes for all other subjects. Ridiculous."

- Anthony12125

Insider Information

"Insider stock trading by Congress people."

- Justcoffeeforme

"It's the golden rule. Those with the gold make the rules."

- azcomicgeek

Fees Upon Fees

"Just went to Vegas, why is there a resort fee on top of booking a hotel room, so why do we have to pay for parking also?"

"Someone learned they could add hidden fees and were successful, so now nearly all of Vegas does it also."

- FoolsballHomerun

"Vegas is a money sieve. You pour people in, they flow through, and their money stays behind."

- badreflex

The New Way Of Concert Tickets

"Ticket Master."

- CakeTripper

"All of Ticketmaster's fees are approved by their clients - venues, promoters, teams, etc. Additionally, many of those venues, promoters, and teams get a piece of Ticketmaster fees, a BIG piece. It's just how the industry works, and Ticketmaster plays the industry scapegoat."

- No-Author-2358

Not Bright Like A Diamond

"The diamond industry, hands down."

"We've all been brainwashed by De Beers' marketing campaigns from the 1930s and '40s that convinced the world diamonds are 'rare' and a symbol of eternal love, when in reality, they're artificially scarce due to stockpiling and monopolistic control."

"Yet people still drop thousands on engagement rings because 'tradition,' while the industry rakes in billions exploiting conflict zones (blood diamonds) and inflating prices. It's a shiny scam wrapped in romance, and we're all suckers for it."

"And yes, I bought my wife diamond engagement and wedding rings, just like all the rest of us suckers."

- resz80

Stream And Subscribe

"Subscriptions. To everything."

"Streaming kicked it off, then everyone figured out they could bleed us dry, one 'feature' at a time."

"No ads on your music? Subscribe! Unlimited skips? Subscribe!"

"Remote start and heated seats in winter? Subscribe! Want your toilet to spray water? Subscribe!"

- mindlesslobster014

MLM Pyramid Schemes

"Multi-Level Marketing..."

- Bosw8r

"Moms Losing Money..."

- 1peatfor7

"Do you want to be a boss babe?"

- iamnotsven

"'Do you want a creative way to be your own boss earning money?' Take a hike!"

- Decent_Climate7831

Still Existing Timeshares

"Timeshares."

- ArtisticTree650

"I honestly don't understand how these still exist. Everyone I've ever talked to who's ever owned one pays way more than they thought for it each year, never gets to use it like they were promised, and can't get rid of it."

"It's a financial lead weight tied around your neck. God help you if you inherit one and don't refuse it during the probate process."

"And yet... I constantly see people getting suckered into buying them."

- Stringfellow__Hawke

Mixed Money

"Corporate money in politics. Hurts everyone, even the business eventually."

- myutnybrtve

"The excellent documentary Hot Coffee is not on HBO Max, it reveals the McDonald's hot coffee incident and how pop culture is complicit in manufacturing consent around unpopular policies. It gets into judge elections and the multiples of cash it takes to get elected at the lowest levels. They already stole our country now they are selling it."

- Nice-Addendum4294

Student Loans

"The predatory nature of student loans."

"I’ve been out of school for almost eight years. When I graduated, my student loan balance was almost $90,000. I have been paying faithfully since graduation, and some even longer, since I took a break before finishing."

"At times when I was on an income-based plan, I was even paying extra. Now, my income-based plan has gotten more expensive. Current loan balance after all this time and payments? $87,000."

- dxguy

Worse And Worse

"Bank overdraft fees. Instead of just denying the transaction, they charge you like $40 to someone that doesn’t have the money to begin with."

"25% credit cards. That’s just highway robbery. They slam people with so much spam trying to get them to sign up for credit cards. You can’t even stop it. It’s just put into your mailbox. You can’t just take your mailbox down. I think you would get a ticket. And you can’t just stop collecting the mail. If your mailbox is full, you will get a ticket."

"Corporations buying private houses and competing vs private citizens that need mortgages at seven percent just to buy the house."

"Sugar, junk, and processed food companies lobbying to keep their junk endorsed by heart health organizations and everything else like that."

"Vaping in general is a terrible scam. You should not be able to sell a product so viciously addicting."

"Companies that make a record profit and lay off thousands of workers who helped them achieve it."

"We live in a predatory capitalistic borderline dystopia. Sure, you can get ahead and live a good life. But every year and every crisis makes it harder and harder. There are like a 1000 examples in our society at every level."

- bettereverydammday

"All of these things are what the most vocal supporters of 'freedom' are fighting for. They don’t want people to have freedom from incarceration, freedom of movement, freedom to live in good health, freedom to assemble or organise, or even the freedom to cross the street where you want to."

"They just want freedom [for the wealthy] to f**k people over, and say terrible s**t, without ever being held to account."

- throcorfe

Though it's terrible that it was so easy for Redditors to come up with this list, it's inspiring that so many people are aware of these problems. Awareness brings the ability to push back against the issue, and pushing back in turn brings new solutions.