A young man came to the door explaining that he lived in the neighborhood and was selling magazines so that his baseball team could go to the finals and that his parents couldn't afford to send him, so his coach set up magazine sales to help the players make money.
He said he knew most people receive many magazines and they don't want any more, so his mom worked it out so that underprivileged kids at a neighborhood charity center would be able to pick a subscription and get it mailed to them instead.
He dropped the names of other neighbors who had bought from him and showed me their checks. He mentioned their kids and asked if I knew them. No matter which subscription I picked, the amount would be $38 for one, $76 for 2 and so on and pushed for me to buy four of them. He said, "my mom said I should do gardening chores for the neighbors in exchange for them buying magazines, but most people have gardeners these days, " I got suspicious after writing the check when he asked me to sign the form and he made a heart by the place I should sign. He said, "because you're such a sweetheart." He was too slick in his sales pitch, and I thought, "this is not a neighborhood kid." He asked me personal questions like, "how long have you lived here and how many kids do you have." and I realized afterwards that he would use this info with the next neighbor.
When he left I googled the name of the company on the internet and Quality Subscriptions, Inc. Didn't get any hits. That alone made me suspicious because a legit company would have something. I added the phone number and address and came up with United Family Circulation, Inc. And all their fraud reports.
The Quality Subscriptions and Family Circulation are one and the same. I called the bank to cancel my check and they wanted $25 to do that for a $38 check. But I also had to send a certified letter with delivery confirmation to QSI within three days to cancel my order, because I have learned that even if you stop your check, you can still be liable for the money.
Interesting to note: The company returned my check with a notation at the top of the check for a aubscription to "Upscale Magazine." I had not designated which magazine I would be buying since I thought the magazine would be chosen by a child. So I looked up the name of the magazine on the internet and found out it is an adult magazine for "The Affluent Lifestyle." So much for underprivileged kids getting the magazines.
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