Complaint Review: Nationwide Reader Service

I used to work for the company and I know how they operate. Yes, it is misleading but there are people who actually understand the terms and are happy with the service. However, the majority of the customers who call into customer service are unhappy or just no longer want the services and want to cancel. The cancellation script misleads the customers into thinking they HAVE to pay a fee to cancel but it is totally optional. The true policy is cancel at anytime. The employee who work in the customer service department is responsible for limiting the cancellations and if they have to many the will be fired. Customer service supervisors are reminded that they are cancelling out the companies income and if they cancel out everything they will be without a job! In today's ecomony its hard, so the supervisors do what they have to to keep food on the table. This company hires anyone without a criminal background check, reference check, and these employees have access to all your personal information! I could have easily wrote down all the credit card numbers, address, ect and used the information as I wanted. I'm a firm believer is Christ and that wouldn't work for me. I worked there trying to love my job but couldn't find it in me. I am glad I got fired and now I'm dedicated to helping others seeking help. Check out my blog at

I fell into this devious trap as well. I called one of the magazine companies to cancel earlier today and they told me that I had to call another company to cancel because they had placed the order, but they were able to place a stop and hold on the magazine. So I call the publication company, Publications Unlimited, that had placed the order and the young lady I spoke with told me they had placed 3 magazine orders for me. I was calling to cancel one of the subscriptions and when she read off the list of the magazines they ordered for me I could not believe that only one of the magazines was on the list that Nationwide Reader Service had sent to me. Be sure to check with the company that actually placed the order because Nationwide Reader Service likely added magazines to your original agreement.

I wonder what the employees trolling these reports will have to say about that...a simple mistake, right?

I received a call from this company today. They described the deal like the last entry, $3.88 and a diamond watch... The man I spoke with was very nice and a good salesman, I do believe he was actually new because when I asked about the company he suggested I should google them which led me to this report. After reading through the report, I told them what I read and I was not interested. They were very nice and defended themselves with the same rebuttal as above. I would say not a scam but deceptive marketing (but what isn't these days) so be careful.

I just got off the phone with these people, where I was fandangled for a good half hour. The salesmen for the company are very good and use a lot of the old telemarketer tricks (I'm new here, etc)

Their M.O. has changed slightly, for $3.88 a month they give you 3 magazines plus a diamond watch (har har).

But as soon as they ask you for your credit card information that's when things get awkward.

They refuse to accept any other form of payment (cash, check, money order, blood) and refuse to even send you a letter in the mail before they have your complete credit card info (aka, have you by the balls)

If you read the first comment you can tell how damaging signing up for this "deal" is. Just avoid these people.

I was recently contacted by this company and after listening to "the pitch" or whatever they like to call it, I decided to go for it.

I would like to say that the sales pitch I got was not misleading as stated here. I listened to everything the agent was telling me and completely understood the fact that this was 16 payments of 62.40.

I didn't do the math to add all of that up and the figure is a little shocking to see on paper when you get that thing in the mail (got it yesterday) but it adds up. It would help alleviate some of the surprise and shock the consumer may feel when they see a thousand dollar total if they were told the total beforehand. That part I did not hear from the agent's mouth.


I just signed up a few days ago so I don't have my magazines yet, but I don't see this as a rip-off at all but rather a reason to pay attention to what you are being told. It was clearly stated to me at least 3 times that I would pay 16 payments of 62.40, I even had to repeat that when being recorded so anyone who got through the order process not only heard that but said it themselves.

In closing, I feel that the original post here is unfounded since you not only hear several times that this is 16 payments, but you actually have to state it yourself to complete the call. I also feel that the company should tell the customer the grand total since that number is very large and surprised me when i saw it for the first time.

Well, I just recently became employed with NRS, I read the scripts, I make the sales. I do have a few comments on the inside scoop, especially in regards to that upset customer's comments. It is 2008, there is NOTHING I've found, that's COMPLETELY! perfect. It IS a great deal yes, only 3.84 a week, for a magazine, alongside 3 other's complimentary that you can change as often as you like, free of charge. It isn't however for everyone. I'm still assessing my employment with them. I find integrity in a product to be of the upmost importance. If I myself don't believe in a product 100% without a fraction of a doubt that it's worth it, and more, I will back out. It's not quitting, it's having a standard, and if I consider myself a salesman, if I believe in my product, I WILL succeed. I don't however believe fully in what I'm doing now, which is why I came and researched it, and found this VERY INTERESTING information. the whole 900 some odd dollar amount does make sense, 3.84 times 60 will get you about there. I'm very sorry for this customer's unhappiness with the product, as I said..it's not for everyone. I will do further research to better assess my position, and see where it goes from there. Thanks for reading my rebuttal :p

Though I can't help but feel it is extremely unprofessional, if Nationwide Reader Service feels the need to classify me as a "fool" it makes no difference to me.

I recognize that I have been caught in a rather devious trap and will likely end up being forced to pay.

I could engage in a battle of he said/she said and explain all of the reasons I feel the sales pitch is misleading but my intention in posting this is simply to inform others. So as long as those reading this know the actual terms of the deal there is no point.

The deal they offered me costs 998.40 total, if that seems like a steep price to you, you should make sure that you're not getting the same deal I did.

I'm going to handle the complaint line by line to make this easier. My comments will be in parenthesis.

"Nationwide Reader service is a telemarketing company." (True)

"They called me and told me that there was a "special deal" available to me because I was a visa card holder." (we never say there is any kind of special deal, just that it is part of the promotion)

"Once I got on the line with the salesman, who was very good, he offered me what appeared to be an amazing deal." (The deal is 4 magazines, three monthlies and a weekly, or 5 monthlies for $3.84 per week, which is gauranteed not to increase for the full 60 months, and that they can change their magazine choices whenever they wish and as often as they wish for the full 60 months.)

"The salesman explained that for 62.40 I could pay for 16 months of service and receive five years of magazine subscriptions." (The $62.40 monthly plan allows the customer to pay the whole 60 months off in 16 months rather than 60 payments of $16.64.)

"I agreed, and what proceeded was a series of questions where he asked me to explain aspects of the deal while I was being recorded." (This is to make sure the customer actually understands what they are agreeing to, obviously this person did not understand too well.)

"The pitch is deliberately misleading, and designed to fool consumers into thinking the deal is amazing." (Actually not so, the deal is explained more than once in the call and the deal actually is pretty neat.)

"However, when I received my "confirmation letter" a week later, the total charge was set to be 998.40, not 62.40." (Multiply $3.84 by the number of weeks in 60 months and you'll get that price.)

"Yes, the service was actually 62.40 a month, not 62.40 total. What seemed like an amazing deal was actually a horrific rip off." (No one said it was a one time payment, this customer merely assumed it was so, despite the salesman explaining that it was $62.40 for 16 months.)

"And of course, the salesman failed to mention this over the phone, and even made a point to imply (though never directly say) that the service really did cost 62.40." (Again, the customer assumed this due to his not listening to the whole explaination.)

"When I called them to cancel the service, they attempted to charge me a 300.00 cancellation fee, because they were "already beholden to their publishers."" (The publishers have been pre-paid, this is what causes the price of the service to never increase for the full 60 months.)

"This is further proof the service is deliberately misleading, they offer a cancellation fee, which they refer to as a "settlement." If the terms of the deal were clear from the beginning this settlement would be unnecessary. They offer this part of the deal as a trap, since they of course want to record you when you say you'll take it, thereby eliminating the ability for you to contest the original fee." (Because money was already spent to prepay for the customer for the subscription)

"The pitch is misleading, the service is misrepresented, and the price is implied to be about 1/12 what it actually is." (This customer is a fool who obviously was not paying attention to what was being said to him or justwanted to hear about all the good stuff and not to the actual deal itself.)

"Nationwide Reader Service is a SCAM, do not patronize this company." (It might seem like a scam if you read this customers perspective, but he obviously wasn't paying attention or he would have heard everything I have explained here.)