So I got this internet offer over a year ago as a result of completing a survey compliments of Columbia House DVD club. The offer was to pay $2.95 per subscription for up to four subscriptions for one full year of each. So to me I was thinking yeah well I don't read magazines that much but for that value that sounds great and I can call and cancel before I'm charged renewal fees at the end of the year! Okay cool i'll order a few magazines to lay around the house - I'm a bachelor so whatever right? Well it gets time to call and cancel and I do... Or so I thought I did.
Then all of a sudden today i'm checking my online banking so that I can balance my checking account and low and behold to my surprise is a pending charge from TWX Magazine Offers for $24.98. WHAT? I say to myself angrily! What is this all about? So I call the toll free number (Phone: 800-927-9578,) that I wrote down over a year ago and used in April and go through the automated menus. This time I pay really really scrutinizing close attention to the wording of all the
options and push my way through four cleverly disguised "cancellation" offers and get to the point where I actually get a cancellation confirmation number.
Well I then move on to the next magazine and guess what? Same cancellation confirmation number for this magazine as well. And the same for the other two magazine subscriptions. I have to admit that I'm a little unnerved by the same cancellation confirmation number for four different subscriptions. So I decide that I want "Human" confirmation that I'm going to get my money back stat and that no other charges will be charged to my account and no "Screwey Louie" tactics are being used to set me up with another bewildering
renewal of magazines that I really can do quite well without.
Well, I talked to Gina (didn't have an employee id# all she could give me was the same cancellation conf#117037956) on 06/08 @ 0741.
She told me that she could confirm that all four magazines had been cancelled as of today and that no other charges should show up on my account and that the charge for $24.98 should be reversed back to my
account as early as 24 hrs and no later than 72 hrs. The charge was for renewal of Reader's Digest! Due to one of their "offers" that are disguised with clever wording as a cancellation and money refund option. Unbelievable.
Here I thought I had cancelled all four magazines back in April and somehow I had signed up and authorized full
year subscriptions to all four magazines! How the heck is that not unethical!?!<
The only thing that I can say is positive about this company is that Gina was very friendly and not rude or put out by my call. So that is actually more a positive credit to Gina then to TWX. So Gina thank you for your help. TWX no thank you for your seemingly unethical business practices, (regardless of how legal they may be!) They are very rotten and not very forthcoming. Something that should be quite simple, that has been made quite complex and confusing even to some of the most intellectually intelligent people - I have an IQ of 131, not terribly awesome like a 160 but is still considered gifted - tell me that surprising people with charges and trying to sneak them past people who do not monitor their accounts actively and with vigilant consistency is not your intent and I shall only respond with a laugh of disbelief and contention!
Well we will see what happens now! Keeping my fingers crossed that I get my money back to my account before I go in the red, (actually i'm going to put some extra money in to make sure I don't get in the red.
I'm lucky enough to have caught this while the charges are still pending and my balance is high enough.)
I highly advise anyone that has ordered with TWX Magazines or any other TWX service/offers to cancel immediately or be prepared for the consequences of charges to your account without notice!
And to any magazine company that allows TWX to be an outlet for subscriptions to your product, I think you should be considering getting into "bed" with someone less controversial, to say the least.
Sincerely
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