Scoundrels Abound
I received a statement in the mail several months ago for Creative Knitting. I like the magazine and promptly sent in payment without any question.
Fast forward to yesterday when a statement arrived for Knit Simple. I checked my list of magazines and discovered that I had already renewed it for two years, but nothing on the statement reflected the expiration date.
The buzz on one of my Yahoo Groups is about statements for quilting magazines that the individuals hadn't ordered or had previously renewed, so I began to wonder about my invoice. I found contact information on the Knit Simple website and sent an email, inquiring about my subscription expiration date. I received this response:
Re: [Subscription Inquiry] subscription renewal notice
Nancy,
Please disregard mailing from Publishers Billing ---- this mailing is not authorized by SoHo Publishing -----
Subscription is paid in full through --- Holiday 2011
Let me know if I can be of any further assistance,
Jane
* * * * * * *
The company on the invoice IS legitimate. They are NOT scammers, but in my opinion, their marketing practices are not very ethical. The payment I sent in response to the other statement (from the same billing company) did indeed renew my subscription. However, by paying the invoice, I unknowingly extended my subscription to 2014. It makes me wonder how this company got my address and my subscription information?
Moral: Don't take every "statement" or "invoice" at face value. Check directly with the business online rather than call the number on the invoice. Be alert. Scoundrels are everywhere ready to take advantage of the idealist in all of us.
That is one reason I do most of those things online where a password is required..it doesn't totally solve it but does help.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how Publishers is making money on this? Maybe they aren't authorized to send the notices, but someone must be paying them. It doesn't make sense.
ReplyDeleteWe regularly receive a "statement" for a magazine that my daughter subscribed to once, years ago. It looks very official, but it's bogus. I think they must make their money by duping people into paying for either defunct subscriptions or subscriptions far into the future.
ReplyDeleteI'm an idealist too and things like that make me crazy! I subscribe to a magazine for which I regularly get mailings that look like the subscription is about to run out but it isn't.
ReplyDeleteWe too receive invoice after invoice for my husband's magazines...we just have to be careful...and that is too bad that we have to watch everything and everyone!
ReplyDeleteI found this same thing with quilting magazines and learned always to check the expiration date of my subscription before renewing anything!
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