I was called up about 3 weeks ago and informed that I had been entered into a sweepstakes competition. I was asked a few personal preference questions such as "what card offers me the best service i. E Mastercard or Visa", "Am I single or married", "What my interest are" and "What would I do if I won the prize?"
Then the salesperson launched into a description about the special magazine offers they have - 4 magazines and only pay for the weekly subscription of Time Magazine i. E $3.99 per week. I queried this as this seems a big hassle and they said that they would bill me a the fee monthly as $3.99 would be a hassle. The magazine subsription would run for 60 months (5years). Additionally, a free gift - a diamond watch would be delivered to me. The salesperson then handed me over to her supervisor to complete the deal. He said that the $3.99 would be all summed up into a once-off payment of $69.16, which would be 15 months of the subscription period and that the next 45 months would be "free". I asked him "So the whole 60 month subscription would be a once off fee of only $69.16?" He confirmed this and reitterated that the first 15 months were covered by this fee and that 45 months worth of subscriptions would be free. He said that he would add in another magazine, making the total 5 magazined (4 monthly publications and Time, a weekly publication). He said that the diamond watch should be delivered in 3 to 4 days. Additionally, he asked whether I would like to sign up to a benefits company for $4.95 which offered benefits and discounts along with a $40 gas voucher. I have a trial period to review the service and if I continue, it would be a $49.95 monthly charge.
Well I agreed as it sounded like a bargain - 5 years worth of magazines for $69.16! I received a letter in the mail almost 2 weeks later from the magazine publishing company detailing the payment terms. The $69.16 would be billed MONTHLY FOR 15 MONTHS! The total I would be paying over by the end of the 15 month period would be $ 1037.40. This is so ridiculous! Over $1000 for magazines which I don't actually need and would rarely read!
I called them up and explained the situation and requested immediate cancellation. They offered me to take up less magazines and to pay $29.95 monthly instead. I declined and requested immediate cancellation. They informed me that the $69.16 initial payment has been processed (even though it has not been paid yet) and that they would provide me with 2 magazines for a year for that payment. So the sweepstakes salesperson had misleading sales information - "45 months free" actually meant 45 months free of payment as it would all be billed into the first 15 months!
As to the benefits company, I called them up to cancel and informed them that I have not received anything in the mail from them. They said that it should be arriving soon (in 5 days time) and that I have a month to cancel the service. I waited for the package and it still hasn't arrived! Neither did the diamond watch...
About a week after I had received the initial call, another sweepstakes company contacted me and tried to sell the magazine deal to me as well. I informed the saleperson that I had already signed up for a similar service and did not want 10 magazines every month!!! She just hung up the phone!
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