114Kviews
30 Things Which Are In Fact Big Scams, Yet Most People Don’t Realize It, As Shared By Members Of This Online Group
Life, as you perhaps know, is an unfair thing, but not everyone really agrees with this. Many people believe that accepting individual problems and inconveniences, taking them for granted, is a kind of social contract, enshrined in years of human silence.
Indeed, there are a huge number of strange things in our life that we just get used to and take them for granted. However, if you look at the situation from a different angle, certain facts, traditions, things or services will turn out to be simply ridiculous or even absurd. Or, let's call a spade a spade - a total scam.
There is a thread on Reddit whose authors collect opinions about the biggest scam in life that no one wants to admit. To date, the thread has already gained more than 52.1K upvotes and gathered around 36.8K comments. Some of the comments look pretty ridiculous too, but many of them just have a kernel of truth.
Bored Panda created a special curated list of the most popular comments for you, so feel free to scroll to the very end. You will definitely agree with something, object clearly to something, and by the way, we will be glad to read comments of both kinds - after all, truth, as you know, is born in disputes.
More info: Reddit
This post may include affiliate links.
How the f**k does *HEALTH* insurance not cover dental and vision?what kind of shenanigans is that?
Tipping culture. It’s how businesses scammed the general public into paying additional costs so they could avoid paying their staff a living wage.
It also puts the employees in the position where they're at the mercy of disrespectful and cruel customers, and sadly, that might be the point.
Exactly Something! The servers are undeniably the victims of this. Some customers refuse to tip because “tipping is dumb” but would rather complain and stiff the server than do anything to change things, and that leaves the server working for less than a living wage and the employer AND customer off the hook for compensating the people LITERALLY SERVING THEM. TIP YOUR SERVERS PEOPLE - while we work on getting them a proper wage, we can eliminate tipping once they’re paid enough. Oh, you guys are really angry about having to tip? It’s a lot like that “if you don’t vote, you can’t complain” mentality - if you’re complaining about being expected to tip servers so they can make a living wage, but you’re not standing up or saying anything, not writing letters to your gov and restaurant owners and voting for people and policies that can change this, then you can stop going to the restaurant, stop supporting that. Unless what y’all really care about is saving a couple dollars, in which case, maybe don’t enter an establishment where you will be waited on hand and foot and where you’ll be expecting them to do that for free because grocery stores and living rooms exist too. Rant over, just tired of this argument. If you’re not going to try to fix it, don’t just nonchalantly add to the problem because you can’t be bothered to cough up $4 to the person refilling your drinks and bringing you napkins and ranch all night. It’s nice that the customer can benefit themselves by saving a couple dollars by deciding tipping is a dumb practice - that’s very helpful to the server trying to put themselves through school at the only minimum wage job they can get without an education, or the single mom, or the average Joe/Jane just trying to make life work.
Load More Replies...
Tipping should not be necessary. In many cultures it doesn't exist. Changes can be made to get rid of it.
So I work as a receptionist in a Spa, I do scheduling, customer service etc. etc. I make $15 per hour. The massage therapist get paid $40 to $45 per 1 hr. body massage plus tips. When they don't get a $20 tip they complain and act like it's the end of the world and call people cheap. I don't share in the tips. When I ask them to share they say I don't work hard enough. Not sure if this comment should go here, but the tipping culture is out of hand in my opinion. Thank you for reading.
And t enables business to pay only subsistence level wages to their staff
And forget about any benefits like health insurance. I didn't have any health coverage at all until I was like 30 and no longer working in the bar/food service industry.
Load More Replies...
Ok ok, probably going to get s**t for this but...I get it that my server does not make a living wage so tips help them supplement their income. However, as the customer how and why is it up to me to make sure your employees get decently paid? Of course asking the question isn't going to help the server pay rent or buy food, but nothing fries me more than someone in the service industry that barely does their job (or doesn't do it at all) and then demands a tip. And then ITA for not tipping. Please don't blast me and automatically assume I don't tip, because I do, but I guess I'm just trying to understand at what point tipping went from something you did to show your appreciation, to something people think they are owed because they exist? I know, boo I suck.
Every so often the American corporations try to bring tipping culture into New Zealand. People here get so angry that it’s made the news on multiple occasions. Few things unite the left and right in New Zealand quite like our hatred of tipping culture.
Well, hell. In 1965, I worked at $.75 an hour at a burger joint. No tips ... of course not! It's the stupid "table service" that restaurants "expect" tips. Any, and all services -- counter persons, retail, bus drivers, etc ... do not receive tips. In my opinion, restaurant workers distort the wage level. Your "tip" based salary unfairly benefits you. Generally, hourly workers get similar wages. For you "restaurant" workers to get "tips" is unfair for all other entail workers.
That's how I view it, too. And I refuse to allow anyone to take it out on me just because their employer is too cheap to pay them properly. That is between the employer and waitstaff.
It's a completely disgusting set up. I always tip well because I feel bad for the staff but it totally adds a huge amount to the already pricey bill. Yet another example of greed and the the rich getting richer while we pay for it.
Not in every country. In most of the European countries, waiters and other hospitality staff earn living wages as in any other sector.
I get it! But, still some companies try to pay their staff less bc of the tips they receive. Companies also put all the tips from all the employees together in a KITTY and divide them equally.(I don’t go for that) if a server does a great job that tip is theirs not anyone else’s that did a crappy job. Or, the company keeps all the tips and pays the staff a little more. There’s lots of places still out there that believe your hard work is only worth minimum wage. It’s hard to have a family and bring home nothing. Babysitters are getting more an hour than these employees are making. It’s a viscous cycle. Across the board it’s not that they’re making MORE MONEY, it’s that everyone wants a piece of their paycheck. I stopped working for tips when all these things were happening to me. I could make 100$ a shift and go home with 20$ after I tipped my busboy, bartender’s, hostesses, and the taxes.
bUt NoBoDy WaNtS tO wOrRrRk! says the owners of the low wage "service" industries catering to the super RICH in Cape Cod.
A tip should just be a little icing on the cake, not money these workers rely on to survive.
The new trend now is being coaxed to add a tip to counter service when paying with a card. Since the pandemic I have tried to be generous here, but still it seems like the business is just getting away with underpaying their staff.
It's not only restaurants. My husband used to work at Micro Center, his pay was $4/hour + commission. This is still their pay scale. A lot of people are forced to be pushy on selling you things just to put food on the table and pay bills
Conversely when I worked in retail sales where half or so of my pay was commissions, it benefitted me to ensure I did everything I could to find the customer what he was looking for when he entered my store, otherwise it was a waste of his time. Most people arent so gullible they spend money they dont need to when pitched by salespersons. How many times have you walked into a store looking to buy something and the help was disinterested in lifting a finger to help you at all and were happy when you just left so they could get back to doing nothing? See it all the time. Its bad for all involved.
Load More Replies...
I dunno as a server I like tipping mostly because I always end up making more money. This is generally true in higher end restaurants can’t speak for shitty chain places. Last restaurant I worked at we got 10.75$ an hr plus 20-23% tips. It was great and we made 30-32$ an hr. It was a hard job due to menu knowledge expectations, knowing all the ingredient's, allergies, etc. So I dunno it could go either way depending where you work.
Only in the USA and a few other places. Everywhere else its a reward for good service - I would hate for it to disappear in thise places"
Everyone needs to pay the *correct* tip while the system is in place. Tipping *extra* is charity and people get to decide which charities, if any, they want to support with the amount of money they have to spare for charity.
Load More Replies... 
Religion
Not up to speed on other religions' history, but the way the Catholic church sold tickets to heaven in medieval days, just wow
The entire wedding industry.
To be clear, not marriage but weddings specifically.
I’m happily married to my wife and we were content to do something special just the two of us, maybe spend a couple of grand and treat ourselves a little bit to something amazing.
Cue the families getting involved and before you know it we’re spending closer to twenty grand on one day and feeding a bunch of people I’ve not heard of before or since the wedding.
We work the majority of our lives, during our fittest years of health, for the promise of a golden retirement, when we will probably too old and ill to enjoy it properly.
Exactly and our government wants to increase the retirement age to 70. I don't know anyone at the age of 70+ that is fit and healthy enough to work. Especially in the building industry. We get a few years fun until we start school and then we spend most of our lives as government drones.
Mega Churches on TV and elsewhere.
Always ends with the masses supporting the leaders extravagant lifestyles while they dodge taxes and commit crimes.
The easy-to-join, difficult-to-cancel subscription model.
A lot of us have been convinced that we are selling our labour to companies at the correct price, in reality we're selling it too cheaply.
That climate change is up to each individual to go green. It was a campaign by BP that pushed the solution as each individual going green instead of the dozen massive corporations that account for the lions share of greenhouse gases.
Going green is good, but it's a drop in the bucket compared to oil companies, industrial farming, and cargo ships.
Edit: lots of "yet you participate in society, curious" type comments from the usual contrarians. Your hot air is adding to the problem.
That getting older gives wisdom. I'm older and I'm just a cranky old f**k.
Insurance!!!! My great grandfather was a doctor, and there were stories of him treating people, often for free. He and his wife helped an entire family with scarlet fever in exchange for a jar of blackberry jam
Life.
Like, why is it so damn expensive? I didn’t even ask to be here!
It's only getting worse. I was gonna buy a lettuce, cucumber and tomatoes yesterday but was gonna cost me approx $12. Which is insane.
That the Fashion Industry is anything other than planned obsolescence, designed simply to get people to spend money for no reason.
Online convenience fees
Ticketmaster
I watched John Oliver (gem) talk about this. It's really crazy. Like I've said before everywhere you look it's f*ck people, give me more and more money.
Needing a college degree for most high-level jobs when there is rarely any relevant knowledge gained from the degree relevant to the job.
The lobby around requiring **[MOST]** Americans to file their taxes with the IRS; while the IRS already has all the relevant information.
Edit: Yes we know there's benefits for you tiny percentage of self-employed individuals and business owners.
The prices of anything baby related. Toys, food, clothes, etc. Was in a store on Saturday to get a cot mattress and cover. I cried.
We bought a lot second hand, and resold after they've grown out of stuff. At the moment were part of a "hand me down chain" 🤣 It saves money and a lot of waste
Normal television, paying to watch ads!
Advertising in general always seems to sneak its way into ad-free formats. Cable TV was like network TV except no ads....until they added ads. Youtube was finally like TV except no ads...until they added ads. Then you can always block the ads and just watch the video...until their paid promotional segments.
Recycling
In remote communities recyclables collected go to the dump with the rest of the garbage, because it’s not feasible to transport it thousands of km where it could potentially get used.
Also for instance here where I live in Florida the recycling center used to accept glass and then quit. I spoke with an attendant and they said the state quit taking it because there wasn't enough profit. That's not the point!
The fact that airlines have X amount of seats per flight, but almost always sell X+10 seats and then refund you about 80% of your ticket cost. Do that to the 10 people and suddenly you have about 2 tickets worth of profits seemingly out of nowhere, and everyone still has a flight. Just an unbelievably immoral way to gain a few bucks, but everyone just goes with it since the airplanes aren't exactly a train that comes every 10 minutes.
About a month after I bought plane tickets I got a message that they had to change my flights. My new return flight was a day later. I asked if they could change it back to the day prior as planned - these tickets were a good 9 months in advance so I know they had seats. They told me yea, they could change back - and the difference in ticket price is $750 please. I argued for a day and finally heard back sorry that was a mistake, it’s only $375 more. I said no - and they finally agreed to change my flight back to the original day free of (additional) charge.
Hustle culture
Note: this post originally had 40 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
More of these need details. I click on this expecting to be informed on how these dubious plots work and then it's just "Unsubscribe button." No elaboration on wether or not they work, or if there's another hidden functionality in there to screw people over.
They're so vague it's driving me crazy, what's the point of this list? Disappointing.
Load More Replies...
As one of my old friends once said, "Everything is a scam to some extent"
scam noun: A fraudulent or deceptive act or operation. scam verb: 1 : to deceive and defraud (someone). 2 : to obtain (something, such as money) by a scam. Whoever wrote this list didn't spend much time on it, there are so many false statements here it's not even funny.
Another Big Scam Would Be Internet, Paying To Get A Select Speed But Getting Ripped Of. Also Harassing Mail Wanting You To Pay For Things You Have Already Paid For.
I have a scammer debt collector trying to make me pay for an ATT bill from 2021. Our service ended in 2019! They say we owe them a certain amount of money... except we do not. Unbeknownst to them, i have. ALL the documentation and proof that our account was closed and we owed no money to ATT. Even the email account info that stated there is no monies owed!! Lol. Then after I ignored them for a month they wanted me to pay a percentage of the bill.. then a fi al notice of a little more off the bill and it will be done. Hahahahahahaha! When they say ok we will take you to court, and i say sure, but you will need to pay all court costs even mine. Because I have all, and I do mean all the documentation I need to discredit your suit and what not. They are well k own for their scam emails and stuff. I really wonder if they have even contacted ATT for any client information. And if ATT is part of it, well then I already know the FBI would love to be in on this!!! I know! Brat I am!
I had to pay to get it off my credit. It sucks but I think it's worth it for that
Load More Replies... Yes, i love scam talking the scammers! scammers do not like questions. And when you get personal they really hate it! But it is so fun! Always mention their mammas.
US democracy/government, US college tuition, US civil rights, [fill in the blanks]
More of these need details. I click on this expecting to be informed on how these dubious plots work and then it's just "Unsubscribe button." No elaboration on wether or not they work, or if there's another hidden functionality in there to screw people over.
They're so vague it's driving me crazy, what's the point of this list? Disappointing.
Load More Replies... As one of my old friends once said, "Everything is a scam to some extent"
scam noun: A fraudulent or deceptive act or operation. scam verb: 1 : to deceive and defraud (someone). 2 : to obtain (something, such as money) by a scam. Whoever wrote this list didn't spend much time on it, there are so many false statements here it's not even funny.
Another Big Scam Would Be Internet, Paying To Get A Select Speed But Getting Ripped Of. Also Harassing Mail Wanting You To Pay For Things You Have Already Paid For.
I have a scammer debt collector trying to make me pay for an ATT bill from 2021. Our service ended in 2019! They say we owe them a certain amount of money... except we do not. Unbeknownst to them, i have. ALL the documentation and proof that our account was closed and we owed no money to ATT. Even the email account info that stated there is no monies owed!! Lol. Then after I ignored them for a month they wanted me to pay a percentage of the bill.. then a fi al notice of a little more off the bill and it will be done. Hahahahahahaha! When they say ok we will take you to court, and i say sure, but you will need to pay all court costs even mine. Because I have all, and I do mean all the documentation I need to discredit your suit and what not. They are well k own for their scam emails and stuff. I really wonder if they have even contacted ATT for any client information. And if ATT is part of it, well then I already know the FBI would love to be in on this!!! I know! Brat I am!
I had to pay to get it off my credit. It sucks but I think it's worth it for that
Load More Replies... Yes, i love scam talking the scammers! scammers do not like questions. And when you get personal they really hate it! But it is so fun! Always mention their mammas.
US democracy/government, US college tuition, US civil rights, [fill in the blanks]
