This is a VERY long post, and I apologize for that. But I wanted to explain in detail exactly how bad my experience with America's Choice Readers has been...
I was contacted by phone in August of '04 by America's Choice Readers Service, who were offering a "great deal" (HA) for several magazine subscriptions. They called me in the middle of the afternoon, and since at the time I was working night shift and not getting to bed until about 6 or 7 am, I was rather incoherent and confused while I was on the phone with them. I ended up signing up for their magazine subscriptions, thinking that "Well, it's just magazine subscriptions—I can always cancel." Boy, was I wrong.
One of their reps called back a couple days to later to confirm my subscription, and while on the phone with them, I told them that I had thought about it and decided that I did not want to subscribe with their company after all. They told me that when I had agreed to subscribe with them a couple days prior that I had been tape recorded on the phone, and as such had entered into a verbal and legally binding contractual agreement. So I said fine, whatever, deciding that I really didn't want to waste my time and energy fighting with them over a bunch of magazines.
It took several months before I even received my first magazine, yet they started billing my checkcard IMMEDIATELY. (Btw, the total bill for my contract is over $700—for five magazine subscriptions, for five years. What a ripoff.) And when I finally started getting my mags in the mail, several of my magazines were wrong. I contacted them about that and they started sending the correct ones, but even now they only arrive sporadically—I don't get my magazines every month like I'm supposed to.
In August of '05 (after being signed up with ACR for a year and dutifully making my payments on time every month), I was going to be switching banks, which meant I was getting a new checkcard. I notified America's Choice Readers about this (via their online inquiry form, which can be found at their website: americanreader.com).
I gave them my new checkcard # and told them that from then on, they would need to bill that new checkcard # instead of the old one that they had on file, because I was signed up for automatic billing with them. I even paid an extra $20 right then (paid through their website and using my new checkcard) just to be sure that they would know to start billing this new card. I received a generic email response from them, stating that they had received my service inquiry about changing my billing information, so I assumed that my card information had been updated accordingly.
However, when I received my monthly statement in the mail (which was in the beginning of September '05, because they usually bill me around the 25th of each month and I get my statement about a week or so after that) there was a note saying that they had "unsuccessfully attempted to charge my credit card" and that I needed to remit payment immediately.
So I contacted them AGAIN, using their online inquiry form again, to make sure that they did indeed have my new checkcard number on file. I got the same generic email response from them that I had received after my first online letter to them, and again I assumed that the problem had been taken care of.
I had also tried to contact them through the 800# for their member services department, but they're only open 4 days a week, and I was on hold for over a half an hour without getting to talk to anyone, which is why I contacted them that second time online again. And it was just a lot easier for me with my work schedule to handle things online when possible, since I was on a split 2nd/3rd shift at the time.
I got another notice from them in the mail after that, saying that my account was delinquent and that I needed to pay them immediately, and they had attached a late fee, too! So I was pretty ticked off. I called their 800# and spoke to someone named Alex and I told him I had contacted them twice previously about billing me, and wondered why I was getting those notices in the mail.
Alex said he would update my info, but I told him I had been unhappy with the service and wanted to just cancel. He said I couldn't do that (the whole "verbal agreement" thing), but he did offer to knock off 2 years from one of my subscriptions. And he said he would send me a form in the mail so I could change any of my magazines if I wanted to.
A week later (this was now the beginning of November of '05) I received the form in the mail and elected to change 2 of my magazine subscriptions, and I mailed the form back to them. It's now April of '06 and I STILL haven't received my new magazines. But not only that, I still to this day get a notice on my monthly statement saying that they "unsuccessfully attempted to charge my credit card", "my account is delinquent", etc, but my bank statements show every month where they've been billing me!
So, being completely fed up with this company after a billing fiasco that has lasted for 8 months, and the fact that I HAVE paid them on time every month and I'm not getting what I'm paying for, I decided to write them and request a cancellation of my subscriptions because of breach of contract ON THEIR PART. (As a side note: when I originally signed up with them in August '04 they told me that as a bonus, I would receive a free diamond wristwatch in the mail—I've never received this watch.)
I submitted a well-written but very scathing letter via their online inquiry form, called them some not-so-nice names (especially in regard to their billing department), and demanded a cancellation at once. I'm not asking for any money back—I simply want them to stop sending me any further magazines and stop billing me for them, because I haven't been satisfied with their service. I also asked them to respond to my letter, because I wanted to be sure my subscription was going to be cancelled.
I got another generic email response saying they received my online inquiry and that if I had asked to receive a reply, a customer service rep would contact me within one business day. That was 2 weeks ago and I haven't heard a thing from them, except for them sending me another monthly statement showing that they billed me for this month.
I called their 800# so that I could speak to someone about cancelling (again). Because the way I see it (and the way most businesses operate), if you are a consumer and you aren't satisfied with your purchase or with the service that you receive, then you have a right to your money back, or at the very least a discount. All I want is a freakin' cancellation.
I told the woman on the phone (whose name was Erin, and who was very snippy and repeatedly interrupted me or talked over me) about the drama with their billing department, about how I received the wrong magazines when I first signed up, and about how I changed my magazine selections almost 6 months ago and still have yet to receive my new magazines, and she flat out accused me of not returning the form that had my magazine changes on it, saying something like, "Well, it's not our fault that you never sent the form in."!!! I was floored.
I also said that I had continuously received VERY bad customer service from them (re: my repeated attempts to contact them about the change to my billing information, and they never got back with me about that; and they also never responded to my letter requesting an immediate cancellation due to their breach of contract, after I specifically requested that I get a response from them). And she told me that they had no record of me ever contacting them, other than when I called their 800# back in October and spoke to that Alex person about my billing situation. But the whole reason I even finally called their 800# back in October was because I had contacted them several times online through their own website to change my billing info, and they never did anything about it.
Again, they told me that I couldn't cancel, and I said "you guys breached your contract. I've held up my end of the deal—I've paid you on time every month, and even originally got set up on automatic monthly billing so there wouldn't even be a chance my payments would be late, and it's not a matter of insufficient funds.
I'm paying for goods that I'm not receiving, and this certainly is NOT the kind of customer service I was expecting when I signed up with your company. I'm very unhappy with your service and you need to cancel my subscription." I also said that I was planning on retaining an attorney (and I think I still might), and they still refused to cancel my subscription. I mean, c'mon! It's just a bunch of stupid magazine subscriptions. It's not like I bought a car from them or something.
So far, my online banking doesn't show any withdrawals from their company (other than my regular monthly payments), but I'm still a bit wary because I've heard horror stories about ACR charging people's bank accounts and credit cards without permission, especially when there's a service dispute going on between them and the customer. But I'm really unsure of what to do now because I've requested a cancellation MULTIPLE times because I'm just so fed up with their bad service and the fact that I'm not getting what I'm paying for.
All I know is that I don't wanna be signed up with them anymore. Does anyone have any input/advice/suggestions on what steps I should take from here? Should I contact an attorney, or is it too early for that? Will it do any good to contact the Better Business Bureau, or the FTC?
I know some peopole suggested contacting the Attorney General in Montana... Any advice? And for those of you who HAVE had money taken out of your accounts by ACR without your permission, have you considered a class-action lawsuit? I don't think you'll have any problem in finding other unhappy people who have been taken advantage of by this unscrupulous company.
For those who haven't yet been roped in to signing up with America's Choice Readers Service—stay as far away from that company as you possibly can. They're nothing but bad news, very OVER-PRICED bad news.
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