Complaint Review: NME Magazine

I received a winning notification in the mail that prompted my call to NME. I selected magazines and was promised free gifts upon the full receipt of payment for the magazines; three installments if I remember correctly. I know that at the time we spoke I had written the guys name down. I have received a ton of magazines. A lot that I never asked for and don't read. I have never received any "free gifts" but have noticed that there were multiple payments deducted from my account: 4 x 68.08 and 3 x 33.54. The total came out to $368.94...for magazines!

In addition to this rip off scam, I've researched my statements over the past 14 months and have been charged an additional $16.99 per month by a company I have never heard of called TLG Greatfn. When I called to see why they were deducting recurring payments from my debit card, they said that I had signed up for a membership when I ordered magazines.  I am in the process of working with my bank to disupte these false charges and get my money back. When I asked the customer service rep how I could get reimbursed she said I couldn't, but she could cancel my "membership". She also told me that I had agreed to the fee when I received my membership packet in the mail with a $40 Visa Gift card.  Of course, I never noticed that I didn't get my member packet or gift card, because I was never waiting to receive them. As of Sept 14, I am in pursuit to get as much of my money back as possible and warn my friends and family not to fall for such thievery. I was even given a confirmation number, but immediately looked into the company by entering their phone number from my bank statement, and found that others had been given confirmation numbers as well, to no avail. Deductions continued. Low and behold, the NME number pulled up a scam too.  Way to go backwards to find a very expensive mistake. Being an honest person only means that there is one less honest person in the world. I can vouche that there are not many of us left that would never consider outright stealing from a stranger and then providing that stolen information to others at will.  They should all be ashamed of themselves and prosecuted to the maximum.

When researching online, entering the 800/866 numbers listed, I found numerous complaints about both companies doing the same thing to other people exactly the same way; completely without their knowledge and often repeatedly taking money from their accounts after the fact has been acknowledged. I will never blow off another bank statement again and I will question any charge I don't recognize.