Magazine subscription scam
The recipient of a gift subscription receives the magazine. Think all is well? Think again, they also receive a bill.
After lots of contemplating about giving the right gift you decide on a subscription to the person’s favorite magazine. You fill out all the needed information for this person to receive the magazine and you to receive the bill. You then pay the bill in full upon receipt.
The scam is a third party seller or sometimes called a clearinghouse will send out a bill to the subscription recipient. There is fine print stating that it is not a bill even though it is designed to look like a bill. The back of the bill will indicate the company has no affiliation with the publishers and may include a cancellation fee.
These third party sellers actually have contracted with publishers of various magazines in an attempt to increase subscriptions. In other situations, they have allegedly obtained mailing lists and proceeded to send out bills and offers. The clearinghouse arrangement can be very lucrative yielding a high percentage of the subscription cost to the seller.
Research has shown numerous complaints from consumers against a variety of these subscription companies. It has become a significant enough problem that many magazines are now printing subscriber alerts.
One company doing such mailings has come to the attention of the district attorney’s office in the city where they operate.
It should also be noted that the fine print regarding the bill is a postal requirement. Mailings which appear to be a bill or invoice must include some very specific language on the envelope in contrasting ink. Otherwise, they can be in violation of postal regulations.
Though this problem is clearly becoming an issue, there is surprisingly little information from the usual government or consumer sources.
Suffice it to say, if you receive a notice regarding a magazine subscription or its renewal, do your homework. Do not pay the bill until you’ve checked out its source. Look in the magazine itself for its subscriber service telephone number. Contact them and describe what you’ve received. They should be able to advise you if its
legitimate or phony.
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