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I'm not sure why the personal attack was necessary.
And I'm certainly not saying the cards don't work. That wasn't my point.
Here is a typical FE mailer:
It's not exactly the most up front and honest advertising in the world, is it?
- FE insurance is not a "program" at all. "Program" is there to make it sound like something the government created. It's a product someone is selling.
- "May qualify", "this benefit", etc.. "May be allowed to purchase" is more accurate, though "may qualify" sure sounds like you're applying for a government program. "Benefit" is again government language. I may qualify to to give McDonald's a dollar and receive a hashbrown benefit, but no one talks this way.
- Sure the benefits are tax free. But so what? Makes it sound more official though...
- There's the usual "resident of (state)" or "for residents of (state) only" stuff. You can buy life insurance in any state. But again, it's a "program" so we use words like "citizen of" and "resident".
- And of course, nowhere does the mailer imply that a salesman will be stopping by their home at an unscheduled time. If I'm sending something in by mail, it's natural to expect a response by mail. Sure, if you put your phone number, getting a call might be expected, but not door knocking.
The typical FE DM is designed to
- imply that the product being offered is some kind of government-sponsored or government-endorsed program, which is completely untrue.
- suggest that the recipient will be initially contacted by mail or phone, which is also often untrue.
Yeah and to top that off, this is the MOST direct card that a majority of us here use.
In states with poorer return rates, you can make it sound even more official with a couple freebies thrown in to increase the response.
