I just received a phone call from a magazine subscription service.(Readers something)being the idiot I am, signed up. I was told that I would receive them free but had to pay a $3 and some odd fee a week. Works out to about $14.95 a month for 6 magazines. The subscriptions are good for 5 years. They bill me $59.95 every month for 15 months and then after that, I owe nothing. I basically just purchased myself $900 in magazines.
And they aren't very good ones either. Womans Day, Family Circle, Shape, Jane, Premiere and one other I don't remember. I still cannot believe I did this. But anyway, me being the idiot I am, didn't ask questions.
Is this legitimate?? Also, they said they would like me to stay with them for the entire 5 years. Does that mean I cannot cancel?? I have not paid for it yet. They don't take out any money until the 10th of next month. I tried calling to cancel, since I should be able too because I haven't paid a dime. But nobody answers. I get a machine that says it is the customer service desk they're either away or on the other line leave a message with your name, phone & account#, which I don't have yet.
I want out of this deal because I fear it a scam. Anyone know anything about it? I tried researching on the internet but came up with nothing.
Thanx

This message has been edited. Last edited by: DorianGreyed,

i dont think its a scam in that they are going to take your money and not give you anything,
but it may be a scam in that they are charging you a lot for the magazines

i recieved a similar call and subscribed to their service but upon telling them that i didnt want the 5 year, they offered lower prices for shorter times
i ended up getting a 2 year subscription to a couple magazines.
and i have recieved each magazine in the mail for the past couple months so if it is the same company i think you should be alright.

you should also be able to change what magazines you recieve once you get the booklet from them.

It might be a little more than the price you could get if you subscribed through the magazine but it might be around or less what you would pay if you bought each magazine from the newsstand each month

Hey Thanx.

What happens if I change my mind? Like before or right after I get them in the mail. They say We would like you to stay with us for the entire 5 years. Does that mean I cannot cancel w/o penalties or something? Just curious...Thanx again.

I'm not sure, but to me, it sounds like you have an out. To me, there's a difference between saying they'd like you to stay with them for five years, and telling you you HAVE to stay with them for that long. But I'd keep trying to get ahold of them and make sure.

Thank You, Jeff. I will keep trying.

When I was 16 I worked for a magazine company that gave away "free" magazines. All you did was pay the 1.50 a week per magazine for shipping and handling. (we told them advertisers pay for your magazine to increase circulation) It was for 60 months also. I didn't know it was a scam. I was making probably $4.00 an hour. The company went out of business withing 6 months of me working there. It was called Michigan Readers Cooperative. Just know that you are not obligated to purchase anything. You said that they don't take out any money until the 10th of next month. Where are they taking the money from? If it is your credit card then make sure you call them and tell them what happened. Let them know that you do not authorize any direct debits from your account. Call them today. If it is a direct debit from your checking account, call the bank and explain to them the situation. They deal with this sort of thing all the time. When you do find out the name of the company, make a call to your state Public Service Commission office and see if they have had complaints. This is not the same as the BBB. The Public Service Commission investigates fraudulent phone scams. (They also deal with phone slamming) I know it sounded so good when they were on the phone. It really is hard to know who to trust. There are no penalties for you. You have that right to change your mind. Nobody can force you to buy something you don't want. Call the bank or your credit company today. One more thing, many times a "closer" has to come out to your house for you to sign. Don't let them in!

esencia!

If you gave them a credit card number then you're stuck. However, if you didn't, then you have a right to change your mind and refuse the shipment of magazines. Don't sign anything from the magazine company. If there's no meeting of the minds, there is no contract.

It is a scam, like Clare said. I got one of those calls too--I turned them down, but they started sending me the magazines anyway. Then they sent me exorbitant bills (like $50 for 6 issues of Woman's Day!). Within two weeks they were sending me threatening collections notices that if I didn't pay immediately, they were going to sue.

First I called all of the magazines involved and canceled the subscriptions. If you don't have any of them yet, look for their websites, and call customer service.

Then I called the company, and it was the same as for you--no one there. For me, the numbers on the bills were actually disconnected. I ended up having to call the AK state attorney general's office and having them contact the AGO in FL (where the company was) to make them stop threatening me.

But you're lucky, because you paid with a credit card. You have the right to refuse anything sold door to door or by telephone--EVEN IF YOU AGREED--within 72 hours. Call your credit card company and tell them that you do not want that charge going through. They should be able to tell you what to do next. (Do this even if it has been more than 72 hours--the rules are sometimes different with certain cards).

"We'd like to keep you as a customer" is NOT saying you HAVE to stay. They are just trying to make it sound that way. Unless you signed a written contract to accept 5 years of magazine subscriptions for that amount of payment, they CANNOT make you stay. (This is the same for those book clubs that say "Buy 3 more in 2 years...", no you don't have to).

Finally, DO NOT ACCEPT ANY MAGAZINES! If any come, write "Return to Sender" on the address lable and put them in the outgoing mail. If you accept the magazines, the company could argue that by accepting them you were accepting the deal, and you could end up liable for some of the costs.

Good luck and please keep us updated!

Why don't you "lose" that credit card and get a new one with new account numbers?

Because that is fraud, and if they pressed charges she could (worst case scenario) go to jail.

Besides the fact that any charges made before closing the account will still process after you close the account, and you still owe them. Otherwise everyone and their brother would have big one day shopping sprees and then just "lose" the credit card.

The charges have not been made yet. They are to come monthly on the card. I would pay off the card and close the account. Write "return to sender" on the magazines before opening. They will not want to pay the return postage more than once.