On 9/3/04 about 6:30 P.M., a young man named Richie knocked on my door selling magazine subscriptions. His pitch was that he was working on communication skills for the college he was attending. Also, as an added incentive for selling magazines, if he collected enough points he would win a trip to Cancun. As a supporter of education fund raisers, I fell for his pitch and subscribed to Teen People for the inflated price of $32.00 plus a processing service fee of $10 for a grand total of $42.00.
But as we were filling out the paperwork, Richie asked if part of this payment could be cash. I had no cash on hand and said no. My 14 year old daughter said I could borrow the dollars from her if cash was needed. I said no, I will pay by check. Good thing, I listened to my instincts on that one. We later saw Richie down the street (after dark) and more red flags went up. What company would have their salespeople out after dark?
The more I thought about it, the more I realized something is not right and looked on the paperwork for a number to cancel this subscription. To my dismay, there was not one phone number. I did a web search on the company and found out the truth about this company. I immediately called my bank and put a stop payment on my check for a fee of $12.00.in my mind, better to lose $12.00 than $42.00. I also called our local police department to report the activity as a scam so if Richie and his cohorts were still around, others would be aware and take action to stop them.
Beware, unless the person knocking at your door is not a local person you have knowledge of, send them packing.
Diane
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