In 2001 I received a call from Consumer Readers Service and signed up for some magazine subscriptions through Consumer Readers Service. They took my credit card number and said they would charge me a fixed rate over six months. Then three months later they called and asked if I would like to pay the entire balance, I agreed and the charge my credit card the remaining three months balance. I got my magazines, everything was wonderful, they never contacted me for about the next year and a half.
Then in 2003 I receive a call from them again, I was a senior in college and living with my parents. The woman could barely speak the English language, much less understand it. She kept asking if I wanted magazine subscriptions. I said NO, I already get enough, NO THANK YOU, etc. Then she says she needs to have her supervisor call me to confirm. Again I say that I don't want it. I finally was so aggravated that I hung up with her not knowing what was going on and decided that I just wouln't answer the phone if they called back. A few minutes later the phone rings again with the same area code, I tell my mother not to answer it... BUT she does. The man was insistent that he speak with me, I told to just hang up. Finally she tells him that I won't come to the phone. He then proceeds to tell my MOTHER that I left my thong (as in underwear not flip flop) at his house and hangs up on her. She is in total disbelief at this and tells me to call them back and make a complaint. So I go back through my records and find their number (1-800-235-0349) and get an answering machine that says my call is important to them and to leave a detailed message and phone number. So, I leave my name and number and tell them what their employee did. Never did get a return phone call.
After this I do some research online and find many complaints about companies of this nature. I found complaints of them making unathorized charges to credit cards among other things. I then call my credit card company and close my account and open another with a different account number. Since then, I had not heard from them until last week...
They called my parents' house and talked to my mother. The girl made my mother believe she was a friend of mine and conned her into giving her my phone number. I have since graduated college, got married, and no longer live in the same city. Well, the girl calls me on my cell phone from 239-275-3537 (thanks mom) and says Hi Dani (my nickname - not very common) she is calling about some magazines I subscribed to. I just hung up, because my mother was beeping in. My mother is calling to let me know she gave my number to some girl at a magazine company on accident (that explains the nick name we've had many conversations about this issue), I tell her if they call her again to just hang up and to NOT give out any more of my information. I receive two more phone calls from 239-275-3819 and 239-275-4268 at Fort Meyers, Florida phone number over the next week. These I do not answer. Then today October 11 I get a phone call from "private no." I suspect it is them and answer anyway. A Mr. Orlando (funny they are in Florida, sure it's not a real name) says he is calling a magazines I subscribe to. I tell him I have not received any magazines in over four years and to please take me off their calling list. He says they just need to updated their records. I tell him that I don't want to. He says they will just keep calling me back at interrupting me at work and at home until they get the information and that the our LEGALLY bound by the Feds (YES, that is what he said) to update their customer information every TWO years. I ask why it has nearly seven years. He did not answer, just said I needed to answer a few questions and that I could make up answers if I wanted to (great way to keep up the records with false information). So I said fine what do you need to know. "What is your new address?" I said NO, I'm not giving that to you. So he said he would just leave what he had on record. "Are you married, single, divorced?" I said married. "What is your age?" I said 27. Then Mr. Orlando said "I need a monthly income, so I'll just put $1,200.00." That is not a question. "What is your occupation?" I say Accountant. Then he goes into some mundane chit chat about weather and says, "See, you're a nice girl." I reply with, "when I want to be." Next he says he needs to transfer me to his supervisor. (YIPPEE, Do I have panties at his house too?)
A man gets on the phone and says he is Orlando's supervisor and that he is looking at my account balance. I stopped him right there and said I don't have a balance it was paid in full over five years ago. He says, no I don't have a balance and asks me if I recall the telephone conversation I had where I agreed to let them renew my subscription automatically (must have been after my underwear were located at some unknown guys house five years ago). I told that was not possible at all and asked him to play the conversation, which he did not. I also asked him if it was renewed, then why didn't I recieve any more magazines after my first 2 year subscription was up. And I asked him why after more than five years is this coming up now and not five years ago. He tells me he is going to send me a bill. I tell him Good Luck, without my current mailing address and proceed to insist that they did not contact me agian that this is considered harassment. He gets belligerent, so I hang up.
(My mother imediately receives a phone call from me). I asked her if she had received any calls in the prior five years from them, she says no. I call my cell phone company to try and block the 239 area code Ft. Meyers, Florida and their phone numbers. Can't; it's a cell phone (thanks mom). So, I register ALL my phone numbers with the Do Not Call List, probably won't work, but...
I go to my parents' home and go through their caller id and get all the phone numbers they have called from: 239-275-3819,239-275-4268,239-275-3537, and 239-275-5807. Since speaking to my mother last week they have kept calling. I also explain to them what is going on and to not let them intimidate information out of them. My father says he will call his phone company and the police if this happens (hopefully mom will stay of the phone).
When I got home tonight I dug in my files until I found the original letter from them which states their "Terms & Conditions" and "Benefits" along with my payment plan. No where is there any mention of automatically renewing my subscription. I also have my credit card bills from November December and January where they charged my account for the agreed upon amounts in the first two telephone conversations I had with them in 2001. (It pays to be anal retentive). The only information I have besides my current caller id numbers, are the adress and phone/fax numbers from their letters dating back to 2001:
Consumer Readers Service
4550 N. Pershing, Suite A
Stockton, CA 95207
1-800-235-0349 phone
1-209-472-0620 fax
The information I have is for California, they are currently calling me from Florida? HUH??!!
So... Can anyone please help and shed a little more light on the legality of this situation (are they doing anything illelegal, not to forget the sexual harassment in 2002) and what procedures I should follow to make the harassing phone calls stop.
Thanks
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