This company offers "free" or $2 first-year subscriptions to a variety of popular magazines and then renews them without authorization for high fees. I think I got mine originally through answering a questionaire at Bizrate.com, although I'm not entirely sure.in any case, when you subscribe it says that it will provide you notice of renewal with opportunity to cancel. They do not provide you with either or phone number or a website where you can pro-actively cancel or decline the renewal.
I never received a notice of renewal for the magazine, but I discovered an unauthorized charge of $26 for the magazine (Kiplinger's Personal Finance, in this case) on my credit card account. I contacted my credit card company, which put me on the phone line with Synapse. The customer service representative was rude, accusatory, and unhelpful, but eventually agreed to only a partial refund. The justification for the only partial refund was apparently because I had already received one or two issues of the magazine since the "renewal". I explained that I had never authorized the renewal and had never received a notice from them, but they wouldn't budge. I did get their address, for what it's worth. Also, here's their phone number: 800-205-9198, although it's nearly impossible to get to a live person when you call (my credit card company found I way; I could only get their automated system on my own.).
The credit card company agreed to pay the difference between what Synapse refunded and what they charged me, but I recommend you avoid this company, unless you want to deal with heartburn a year later.
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