Trends and Knack

I receive daily newsletters from Trends and Knack, discovering their Belgian media dubious tricks. Dubious but also misleading the least to say.
It’s sad because they were supposed to be reputable media.
So, what’s the problem? In the emailed newsletters the articles intended for paying subscribers are supposed to be marked with a lock or + sign. The other ones are supposed to be accessible to everybody.
I am a registered user but not a subscriber.

See above some examples:

– Flashen voor gratis drank: no lock – but no access
– KBC-baas: no + – but no access
– Chinese groeimodel: no lock – but no access
– Jonathan Holslag: no lock – but no access

Their explanation

I contacted the two several times. First they answered their technical team would look into it. Finally they admitted it was a trick to convince readers to subscribe: you click thinking it’s free, damn, it’s not. I should subscribe. Should I?
A Dutch friend commented that this practice in The Netherlands could be deemed against the consumer law and one could file a complaint.
In Belgium, I don’t see this possibility.

Other media do it correctly.

See Gazet Van Antwerpen:

As far as I can see they do it correctly.
In conclusion, I would rather subscribe to GVA than to Knack-Trends. It’s a matter of honesty. And the newsletter of GVA is clear and well done.