In about January I had a magazine subscription with magazine company, lets call them Magazine Co. American Readers called me saying that they were from some vague magazine company wanting to verify my information. I told them, sure that would be great.
Now, I had my credit card stolen just a few weeks before and had received a new one with a different number. So of course when they were verifying my information with my old credit card, obviously I told them that it was different.
I get a new charge on my bank statement for $49.98 which came from American Readers, in addition to the charge I was already paying from Magazine Co. I called American Readers to cancel, and they told me that it would be a $500 cancellation fee. I told them they were out of their minds and I asked how long the contract was. They informed me that the contract I had "signed" was for 24 months. I told them I never signed such a contract, and they told me that yes I had, over the phone when they "verified my information".
After about 5 months I was pretty tired of the $50 a month I was paying for something that was fraudulently signed up for, so I switched banks. It is now April and I am getting phone calls from a collection agency saying that I owe over $1200! Absolutely not. No way. I am NOT paying this. I will be on the phone with them tomorrow. They cannot take me to collections for backing out of a contract that I signed while they gave me misleading information.
That kind of contract agreement is void because they did not release all the information to me at the time, there was no full disclosure. They were intentionally misleading and deceitful. This is bullshit. They can keep calling me all they want. They already have their money. When your debt goes to a collection agency, all you owe is the agency. The collection agency BUYS YOUR DEBT from American Readers for a discounted price. That is why any collection agency will call you saying "we can get rid of this debt for half of what you owe".
If any magazine people call you over the phone, hang up. They are all scams. If you want magazines, just go through the company directly.
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