I'm a freshmen in College and live in the dorms. According to our housing policy there is to be no commerical soliciting in the housing facilities, yet this agency ignores this and takes advantage of naive students.
One day a young woman who seemingly looked/acted like another college student, knocked on my door asking if i was the residental advisor, I said I wasn't and then she asked if i'd like to help her win points for a free trip to Cancun, and all I'd have to do was pick out some magazines and she'd tell me about them.
Being naive and always wanting to help out, I said sure, she then let herself into my room and asked me to pick out three magazines. I did, and then she asked me to pick one, confused I asked, "I thought you were just going to tell me about them?" She replied with, "this magazine is good (the most expensive one), " so I picked it and still expected her to tell me about it.
Instead she asked for my phone number and to sign an order form, I told her that I didn't want to buy the magazines. She then told me of a way I could help but not have to pay for the magazines: by giving her my number the agency would call and confirm the order and then I could just cancel, making it seem like I wouldn't have to pay for anything.
While I was trying to think of how to get out of this situation she kept asking me questions and complementing me. Distraught I signed the order, and wrote her a check. Then she handed me a receipt and spoke quickly about how when they called I could cancel the order, or I could keep it and I'd receive the magazines in 10 days. She then wrote on a strip of paper "We're Going to Cancun So Bug Off" and taped it on the door, claiming that she didn't want the "guy's team" to come by and left.
Looking over the order I realized she had written my phone number wrong, I'd have to mail in the cancellation form within three business days to cancel the order, and if I didn't there was no way of being refunded, and if I tried canceling the check there'd be a fee of the price of the magazines plus a $30 dollar service fee, which the solicitor never mentioned before or after signing the order.
I've called the customer service department to talk to someone to cancel the order, but only an answering machine will pick up. After this experience I canceled the check knowing this company was doing some kind of shady business.
Be aware of the shady practices and soliciting this agency uses, I wouldn't want anyone to become a victim of their sleazy and misconstrued ploy of "helping them go to cancun". Obviously it's victims like me who are paying for these trips (if they are real at all). This company is guilty of soliciting in areas they shouldn't be and are most likely guilty of fraud.
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