My story is almost identical to Billiebrew in Indiana. The only difference is the name of the person that came to my door. Other than that the story is identical. I wrote a check for $42 for a magazine.
The receipt says you have to wait a certain number of weeks, so any recourse against the company has past by the time you know you have been robbed! Howard Brock has cancelled his phone and address.
They are no longer valid so Consumer Affairs can't help without a valid address. Better Business is no help, the local DA can't help.
Tell me how is it right for someone to come to my home, knock on my door, ask me to purchase something and then legally rob me and there be no recourse? This should be against some law but I sure can't find any help.
Here is exactly what has transpired:
Christopher Garner, a teenager, (I live in TN but this company is out of AL) came to my door on May 9 and persuaded me to purchase a magazine in order for him to earn points for a reward. He required a check in the amount of $42. He gave me a receipt and explained to me that if I changed my mind I had 3 days to send in a cancellation notice.
All the instructions were on the reverse side of the receipt. I had ordered Car Audio and Electronics magazine for my oldest son, however, after speaking with him and discovering that the magazine should be less that $20, I filled out the information on the reverse of the receipt and mailed it to C & S on May 10. My check #2783 cleared the bank on May 11. So my check cleared the bank before the cancellation even had time to arrive in their hands.
The receipt said that I had to wait as much as 120 days to receive my refund and if I cancelled the check I was subject to a $30 fine. So I waited and waited and waited some more. No refund arrived. I do believe the magazine was cancelled, because I have never received anything for this $42 check.
On July 11, I called and let a message that I had not received my refund yet. No one returned my call. On Aug. 29, I called and spoke with the office manger who said he would return my call as soon as he had a chance to look up my information.
He did not call so on Aug. 30, I called and left a message. Still no response. I called again on Aug. 31 and spoke with the office manager who said that my check would be mailed either the first or second week of Sept. When no check arrived, I called on September 18 and left a message that no check had arrived. I called again on September 19 and left a message that included all the details of my information and requested that my check be sent.
On September 21, the owner returned my call and said that the office manager had quit and that he was having the information sent to him while out on the road in West VA. He said that he would sort through it and handle the situation.
When I heard nothing, I called again on September 28 and left another message with all my information (receipt number, check number, address, etc.). Still no response from anyone. On Oct. 2, I called but received the message that the message box was full.
I received this same full box message for calls on Oct. 3, Oct. 4, and Oct. 5. During this time I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau in Alabama. I was told that the complaint should be handled by Oct. 18. On Oct. 9, I called and again left a message.
On Oct. 17, I tried again, leaving a message. On Oct. 22, I left messages at two phone numbers and again on Oct. 23.
Also, on Oct. 23 I mailed a copy of my receipt and my cancelled check to the Huntsville office address on the receipt.
I then received a letter from the BBB that C & S had not responded to them and they had sent another letter and extended the complaint time.
On Oct. 24, I faxed my information to a magazine publisher to see if they could help me.
I have also spoken with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation because I was robbed of $42 and have no way to recover it. They told me to contact Consumer Affairs. On Oct. 30, I spoke with the publisher of the magazine, who told me that there is no subscription in my name. Which means it was actually cancelled by C&S which proves they did receive my cancellation notice or they never sent in the order off to begin with.
The publisher also said they have been getting quite a few complaints about door to door magazine salesmen. But they could not help me in any way.
I also called C&S again on Oct. 30 and found that the number on the receipt is a phone number that is now no longer in service.
0 comments