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I'm getting billed for a magazine I didn't subscribe to!

TreelootTreeloot Registered User regular
edited April 2007 in Help / Advice Forum
Back in November I received some issues of Stereophile magazine in the mail. I didn't remember signing up for them, but I thought it was just another free magazine I was getting, like my copy of EGM. A few months later I started getting letters asking me to pay the $14 subscription fee so I could continue my subscription. I didn't think much of these letters, so I ignored them. Today I received a letter that said if I didn't pay for the magazine subscription in 14 days, my name would be turned over to a collection agency!

Is this a serious threat? Will I be in legal trouble if I don't pay up? What can I do to avoid paying $14 for a magazine subscription I don't even want?

Treeloot on

Posts

  • TyrantCowTyrantCow Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    What'd they say when you called them?

    TyrantCow on
    MooMan
  • TreelootTreeloot Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    TyrantCow wrote: »
    What'd they say when you called them?

    I didn't try. Should I go do that?

    Treeloot on
  • BahamutZEROBahamutZERO Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    probably.

    BahamutZERO on
    BahamutZERO.gif
  • NerissaNerissa Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    Treeloot wrote: »
    TyrantCow wrote: »
    What'd they say when you called them?

    I didn't try. Should I go do that?

    Most definitely. They can't legally just send you stuff you didn't ask for and then expect you to pay for it.

    HOWEVER, do be polite when you call. If the person you talk to can't help, firmly, but politely, ask to speak to their supervisor. Don't give up, but don't be an ass either.

    In the end, though, if they insist, it's probably cheaper / less hassle to just pay the $14 than to go through all the effort of taking them to court and/or getting the damn thing off of your credit report.

    Nerissa on
  • MichaelLCMichaelLC In what furnace was thy brain? ChicagoRegistered User regular
    edited April 2007
    Yeah, just give them a call and say you never ordered it. I wouldn't be surprised if they just hoped you would pay and not question. Or was a joke by a friend of yours.

    Don't call on a cell, you may be on hold for awhile.
    Nothing in life is free.

    MichaelLC on
  • EggyToastEggyToast Jersey CityRegistered User regular
    edited April 2007
    Whatever you do, do NOT pay it. A lot of scummier magazines (and scummier agencies that better magazines pay to get more subscriptions) simply get ahold of addresses and send the unwilling suspect some copies of the magazine, followed by a bill.

    It's not that far removed from the "get 2 free issues with no stipulations" that suddenly rolls into a full year-long subscription that, for some reason, you don't get a bill for until your "subscription" is almost up.

    Call them up and say "Hey, I received a copy of your magazine a few months ago, and I never signed up for it. I thought it was some sort of promotion thing, since I do have other magazine subscriptions, but today I received a bill. Since I never signed up for the magazine and don't want a subscription, can you make sure I no longer receive anything in the future?"

    EggyToast on
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