Complaint Review: SynapseConnect Inc.

A year ago I subscribed to the magazine Wine Enthusiast as a result of a communication from SynapseConnect offering a trial subscription for $1. When I received a rather unclear postcard that indicated my subscription would be automatically renewed if I did not call to cancel, I called the provided number and "spoke" with an automated voice who eventually gave me a cancellation number.

Several weeks later I see a $42 charge for a renewal of this very cancelled subscription. I called twice more and had a frustrating and merry time with more automated voices who provided me with two more cancellation verification numbers. The charge remains on my bank account.

Slowly it dawns on me that I involved myself in a scam where there are no human beings with whom to speak and no way to actually cancel this subscription. I have contacted Wine Enthusiast directly but they tell me they have no way to help me since all they do is give SC permission to sell subscriptions. When I suggest they might wish to rescind this permission ad avoid being represented by a company of dubious ethics, they tell me that cannot be done.

Aside from the fact that I bitterly resent the ability of various vendors to automatically continue a service unless the consumer takes the time to argue about it, I am at wit's end on how to deal with a disembodied vendor.