COACHED INTO DEBT

They rehearsed the close. Now you know it too.

Glossary · 23 terms · updated 2026-11-01

The words they use in the room, and what they mean

Every term here is a word from the sales room, the psychology behind it, or the rules that may apply afterwards. Each entry is one or two sentences with a source. General information, not legal advice. Where a term rests on a legal rule, check the date, because rules change.

Words about the pitch

  • Anchoring

    Relying on the first number or fact you see when judging later ones [S33].

  • Cold state and hot state

    Calm versus emotionally or physically aroused states. Decisions and predictions differ between them [S16].

  • Commitment and consistency

    The tendency to act in line with what you have already agreed to or said [S13].

  • Door-in-the-face

    Asking for a very large favor first, then a smaller one that is accepted more readily [S12b].

  • Earnings claim

    Any statement about what buyers may earn. For sellers the Business Opportunity Rule covers, an earnings claim needs a reasonable basis and written substantiation [S60].

  • Foot-in-the-door

    A small first request that raises the chance you agree to a larger one. Replication of the original finding has been mixed [S11, S12].

  • Low-ball

    Securing your agreement first and revealing added costs later [S20].

  • Persuasion knowledge

    Your awareness of a seller's goals and tactics, which you can use to cope with a persuasion attempt [S21].

  • Psychological reactance

    The motivation to reassert a freedom that feels threatened [S15].

  • Scarcity

    Valuing something more because it is limited or disappearing [S15].

  • Social proof

    Using other people's behavior as a cue to what is correct [S14].

  • Sunk cost

    Past, unrecoverable spending that still influences your decisions [S19].

Words about the contract and your rights

  • Automatic renewal

    A contract term that continues or renews charges unless you cancel. California regulates it under Business and Professions Code 17600 and following, and its 2025 amendments apply to contracts entered into, amended or extended on or after 1 July 2025 [S44].

  • Business Opportunity Rule

    The FTC rule at 16 CFR Part 437, which applies to sellers who solicit you to start a business and promise locations, outlets, accounts or customers, or to buy back your goods or services [S60]. In January 2025 the FTC proposed extending it to coaching. As of October 2026 the proposal is not final [S10].

  • Chargeback and billing-error dispute

    Asking your card issuer to reverse a charge. For credit cards, the billing-error process requires written notice within 60 days of the first statement showing the charge [S38].

  • Cooling-Off Rule

    The FTC rule at 16 CFR Part 429 that gives three business days to cancel certain sales made away from the seller's permanent place of business [S2][S3]. It includes "courses of instruction or training", and whether a coaching program is one is unresolved.

  • Debt validation notice

    A collector's notice of the debt and your right to dispute it, which must come in its first communication or within five days afterward [S48].

  • Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)

    The federal law at 15 U.S.C. 1692 and following. It covers debts from transactions made primarily for personal, family or household purposes, and it mainly regulates third-party collectors [S50][S51].

  • Integration clause

    A contract clause saying the written document is the whole agreement, which can limit your reliance on oral promises. Ask a lawyer about your state [N20].

  • Negative option

    An offer that treats silence or inaction as consent to keep charging you. The FTC's 2024 "click to cancel" amendments were vacated by a federal appeals court on 2025-07-08 [S45]. The FTC asked for public comment on a new rulemaking in March 2026, and as of 2026-10-27 no replacement rule is in effect [S46].

  • Rosenthal Act

    California's fair debt collection law, Civil Code 1788 and following. It can reach original creditors collecting their own debts, because its definition of a debt collector includes anyone who regularly collects debts in the ordinary course of business [S52].

  • Seller Assisted Marketing Plan

    California's term, in Civil Code 1812.200 and following, for certain offers marketed as a way to begin or run a business. Conditions include a total initial payment over $500 and a cash payment under $50,000, and the law lists exclusions [S43].

  • Validation period

    The 30 days after you receive the validation notice. If you dispute the debt in writing by the end date, the collector must stop collecting the disputed amount until it sends verification [S48][S50].

Sources

  1. N20 Integration clause (Wex legal dictionary) · Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute · law.cornell.edu · accessed 2026-11-01
  2. S33 Tversky, A. and Kahneman, D. (1974), Judgment under uncertainty: heuristics and biases · Science 185(4157), 1124-1131 · doi.org · accessed 2026-10-27
  3. S16 Loewenstein, G. (1996), Out of control: visceral influences on behavior · Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 65(3), 272-292 · doi.org · accessed 2026-10-27
  4. S13 Cialdini, R. B., Influence: Science and Practice (5th ed.) · Pearson, 2009 · pearson.com · accessed 2026-10-27
  5. S11 Freedman, J. L. and Fraser, S. C. (1966), Compliance without pressure: the foot-in-the-door technique · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 4(2), 195-202 · doi.org · accessed 2026-10-27
  6. S20 Cialdini, R. B., Cacioppo, J. T., Bassett, R. and Miller, J. A. (1978), Low-ball procedure for producing compliance: commitment then cost · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 36(5), 463-476 · doi.org · accessed 2026-10-27
  7. S21 Friestad, M. and Wright, P. (1994), The persuasion knowledge model: how people cope with persuasion attempts · Journal of Consumer Research 21(1), 1-31 · doi.org · accessed 2026-10-27
  8. S15 Worchel, S., Lee, J. and Adewole, A. (1975), Effects of supply and demand on ratings of object value · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 32(5), 906-914 · doi.org · accessed 2026-10-27
  9. S14 Cialdini, R. B. and Goldstein, N. J. (2004), Social influence: compliance and conformity · Annual Review of Psychology 55, 591-621 · doi.org · accessed 2026-10-27
  10. S19 Arkes, H. R. and Blumer, C. (1985), The psychology of sunk cost · Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 35(1), 124-140 · doi.org · accessed 2026-10-27
  11. S44 California Business and Professions Code section 17602 (Automatic Renewal Law, as amended by AB 2863), official text · California Legislature (leginfo) · leginfo.legislature.ca.gov · accessed 2026-10-27
  12. S60 16 CFR Part 437, Business Opportunity Rule (current text) · eCFR · ecfr.gov · accessed 2026-10-27
  13. S10 Business Opportunity Rule proposed amendments, notice of proposed rulemaking (13 January 2025) · Federal Trade Commission · ftc.gov · accessed 2026-10-27
  14. S38 Using Credit Cards and Disputing Charges · FTC Consumer Advice · consumer.ftc.gov · accessed 2026-10-27
  15. S2 Buyer's Remorse: How the FTC's Cooling-Off Rule May Help · FTC Consumer Advice · consumer.ftc.gov · accessed 2026-10-27
  16. S3 16 CFR 429.0, Cooling-Off Rule definitions · eCFR · ecfr.gov · accessed 2026-10-27
  17. S48 12 CFR 1006.34, Regulation F, validation information · Consumer Financial Protection Bureau · consumerfinance.gov · accessed 2026-10-27
  18. S50 15 U.S.C. 1692g, validation of debts · Cornell Legal Information Institute · law.cornell.edu · accessed 2026-10-27
  19. S51 15 U.S.C. 1692a, definitions · Cornell Legal Information Institute · law.cornell.edu · accessed 2026-10-27
  20. S45 Opinion of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacating the 2024 Negative Option Rule amendments, filed 2025-07-08 · U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · ecf.ca8.uscourts.gov · accessed 2026-11-01
  21. S46 FTC seeks public comment on an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on negative option (11 March 2026) · Federal Trade Commission · ftc.gov · accessed 2026-10-27
  22. S52 California Civil Code section 1788.2 (Rosenthal Act definitions, current text as amended effective 2026-01-01), official text · California Legislature (leginfo) · leginfo.legislature.ca.gov · accessed 2026-10-27
  23. S43 California Civil Code sections 1812.201 and 1812.209 (seller assisted marketing plans), official text · California Legislature (leginfo) · leginfo.legislature.ca.gov · leginfo.legislature.ca.gov · accessed 2026-10-27
  24. S12 Burger, J. M. (1999), The foot-in-the-door compliance procedure: a multiple-process analysis and review · Personality and Social Psychology Review 3(4), 303-325 · doi.org · accessed 2026-10-27
  25. S12b Cialdini, R. B., Vincent, J. E., Lewis, S. K., Catalan, J., Wheeler, D. and Darby, B. L. (1975), Reciprocal concessions procedure for inducing compliance: the door-in-the-face technique · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 31(2), 206-215 · doi.org · accessed 2026-10-27