International Masters Publishing puts out a product known as Wildlife Explorer binders. They are animal-based binders with filler pages for kids with animal info. We received a box one day in the mail. Confused, we opened it to find this binder with all the stuff in it and an invoice in the box. I called the company and said we did not order this.
The CR rep said she would email me proof that I had placed a sticker on an envelope we received in the mail, apparently how you order the binder. I had some vague memory of having ripped up something like that an thrown it out months before, but I really wasn't sure if that was the item I supposedly placed a sticker on and mailed back. She said she would email me proof within 48 hours.
No surprise, no email was received, because there was no proof of my imaginary order. I then received filler pages the following week in the mail, you know, new animal pages for us to add to the binder. Of course, a new invoice with the new charges was included. I looked up types of mail fraud on the internet, to find that my rights, as far as unsolicited mail, were that I could keep it, throw it away, whatever I wanted but I was not obligated to mail it back. So I gave it to my son. I then wrote SCAM on the invoice, along with "This is unsolicited mail. The law states it is mine to keep. I will do so, and I will not pay you."
Heard nothing for 6 weeks, then received a bill for $19.67, stating that if I did not pay by December 15 (yesterday, by the way), I would be turned over to collections. I filled out a report with the US Postal Inspections department, reporting both the company name and the name of the Credit Collections Manager listed on the invoice, and then called the customer service number for International Masters Publishing.
I informed them that they had been reported, told them to stop threatening and mailing me, and basically let them know what I thought of their despicable company. They tried again to assure me verbally that it would be taken care of. The girl said my charges were being cleared, and I demanded that a letter be sent to me stating that fact. We will see if it arrives.
The funny thing is she asked me for my phone number and my first name during the conversation. I refused, and told her "You know why you don't have my first name there? It's because you bought my address from a mailing list and I am not a customer of your company. If I had ordered something, I would have filled it out with my name and contact information. You don't have it because I didn't do that." This is a common practice with them as far as I can tell. They have done a good job of covering up complaints even though I found some identical to mine, but they don't seem to be able to get anything off this site. Hopefully people will check here if it happens to them. I still don't know if the harassment is finished. My husband has a friend who is an attorney, so I suppose his help will be needed next (for $19.67). What a disgusting company.
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