Periodicals Obvious scam? Hamilton, Montana
My son received a cell phone call recently telling him that he owed $700 to a company. They said that it was for magazines. He does not receive any magazines in the mail so he was really confused and more than a little concerned.
Then a few days later an ESPN magazine arrived with his name on it. He did not order it, so he called the number on the magazine to let them know he did not order it and they said they had no record of an order in their system but to call another number they gave us. When we called that number the person on the other end of the line said that the order was placed through something called Countrywide. They said they would notify them that my son did not order or want the magazine.
It has been a month since that phone call and there was no further contact until today when he received a letter. At the top of the page is "Periodicals, PO Box 1950, Hamilton, MT 59840, 1-888-300-9415"
The letter says, "Past Due Notice- Your account is seriously delinquent and an audit of our records has sorted your account out for special follow-up. In order to stop further action, on our part, your payment much reach us in 5 days." It also says " To avoid finance charges please remit the amount due by 9/23/11". (Today is 9/12/11) At the bottom of the page it says:
Current charges Past Due Amt finance charge total amt due due date
33.20 66.40 0.00 99.60 9/23/11
The name and address of the company is then printed again at the bottom.
Several things jumped out at me about this letter. The most important thing is that it does not say what the money is owed for. No where does it mention "magazine subscription" or anything else.
My son is developmentally disabled and does not have a credit card. He does have a cell phone so I fear that this has all come about from a hacking of name, address and cell number from our cell phone company.
Not sure what to do now. I know that we will not be sending any money as it is obvious that this is not a legitimate company nor do we own them any money. Any thoughts?
1 Updates & Rebuttals
tpark
bayside,New York,
United States of America
Some Info that Might Help
#2General Comment
Thu, October 20, 2011
Amy,
The so called company "periodicals" uses cellphone information to make cold calls. I know because they did that to me and 99% of their victims. As to that bill, as long as you have not given them any credit card information you should be fine. Just ignore them. Sadly I fell for their scam and ended up paying $300 out of my own pocket to cancel my "account" only to be told it was a two-part process and needed to give $400 more.
These people try every con in the book. At first they'll try to appease the situation and if that doesnt work they tend to use threats about collections, contract infringements, etc. NONE OF IT IS DEEMABLE! DO NOT GIVE INTO THEIR THREATS.
Its been 2years since I supposedly owed them $400. My credit has not been decreased nor is there anything claims towards collections in my credit history.
If you have given them credit information, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you contact your bank and list that charge as fradulent. For more security, I also changed my credit card number just to ensure no future chargers as well as placing a block to any transactions regarding PERIODICAL.
If you recieve any more calls from them, just tell them you have filed a complaint with the BBB (Better Business Bureau) and is in the process of building a lawsuit. It is against the law to target disabled people without the caretaker or whomever conducts legal decisions for that person. Secondly a contract is required for any purchases online costing over $500. So if they want you to pay, ask them to send you a copy of that contract agreement.
Im sorry about your situation, it has happen to me so I can relate the stress and emotions you feel. Sadly to say, these people are dirty enough to harrass you.