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USA Magazine Exchange rip-off dishonest sales practices fraudulent posession of credit card number Glendale Arizona
My daughter, a student, was offered an entry in a sweepstakes and believed she would be receiving information on inexpensive magazine subscriptions. We received a bill for $698.88, 12 monthly payments of $58.24, for six magazines for four years. I called and told them to cancel the order, since my daughter never gave them her bank card number. They responded by charging her account for the first payment.
I immediately filed an electronic complaint with the Better Business Bureau of northern Arizona and mailed a complaint to the Attorney General of Arizona. I am in the process of contacting the six magazine publishers to tell them about these sales practices, and I will also notify the US Attorney General, since this is interstate in nature.
We closed our daughter's account and demanded that the bank reverse the charge, since it was fraudulent. I plan to continue to pursue this matter until I find out how they got my daughter's card number and expiration date, since she did not give it to them. I recommend that we all continue to contact the correct authorities who can investigate this case.
Ed
High Point, North Carolina
U.S.A.
7 Updates & Rebuttals
Sarah
Ft. Meade,Maryland,
U.S.A.
USA Magazine Exchange - Not Your Friend, Not A Monster
#8Consumer Suggestion
Tue, February 11, 2003
People, people. USA Mags, a daughter company to Southwest Incentives (SWI), is (as the employee Tim bluntly put it) a BUSINESS. As all businesses are apt to do, they are after your money. The only way this business is doing something illegal is if they are taking your money and not providing a service in exchange. However, they are.
I figured the cost out to be about $2.43 per issue, which isn't great for some magazines but is pretty good for others; not to mention you get all kinds of sales calls from the various magazines' offices themselves (because you're a subscriber). However, this was the service we received in exchange for our $58.24 a month.
I've called USA Mags several times to change subscriptions, payment methods, etc. and have never had anyone speak foul language or even anything remotely less than cheerfully to me.
To the two North Carolinians (one from High Point and one from Greensboro), as a North Carolina native myself (born in and spent the first 22 years of my life in Greenville, NC) ya'll are making us look ignorant. High Point, your daughter lied. She gave USA Mags her card number. Face it. I got caught in a REAL scam once, ($400.00 for a 25-page booklet of creditors to lower debt) and I lied about it because I felt like a moron. Maybe your daughter does, too. Greensboro, the employee is doing what I like to call C.Y.A. (cover your a*s). He's not hyper-sensitive or defensive. He is just being honest, which I find quite refreshing. Get your heads out of your behinds and FOCUS here: USA Magazine Exchange is a company that takes money in exchange for a service (lame as that may be). They aren't fraudulent, and if you think they are, High Point, I guaran-d**n-tee they have a recording of your daughter saying, "OK, here's my card number and expiration date."
Tim
Glendale,Arizona,
U.S.A.
Oh Edgar, you silly rabbit.
#8UPDATE Employee
Sun, February 09, 2003
I'm not attempting to make the world a better place through my current occupation, frankly I don't care how you feel about the service or my motives, the bottom line is that your daughter agreed to it and I'm just tired of people like you trying to blame others for their choices. Selling magazines is what I do for 6 hours of my day. It's nothing more, it's nothing less.
It's a way to pay the bills and it doesn't hurt that it's easy, convenient, completely legitimate and legal, and a job at which I've made more money than anything previous.
Is it a career? By no means. If it'll help you sleep any better at night I do have bigger plans for my life, but for the time being it's what I've decided to do to pay off a little debt. Perhaps I'd have just a little more sympathy for people if they actually listened, payed attention, and weren't afraid to ask questions or say no.
If you don't choose to take advantage of the three separate calls you receive before placing your order, you have no one to blame but yourself. I'm not in the superhero business, Ed, I'm there to make a little bling bling blah and that's pretty much the extent of it. Say hi to the folks in North Point for me.
Tim
Glendale,Arizona,
U.S.A.
Oh Edgar, you silly rabbit.
#8UPDATE Employee
Sun, February 09, 2003
I'm not attempting to make the world a better place through my current occupation, frankly I don't care how you feel about the service or my motives, the bottom line is that your daughter agreed to it and I'm just tired of people like you trying to blame others for their choices. Selling magazines is what I do for 6 hours of my day. It's nothing more, it's nothing less.
It's a way to pay the bills and it doesn't hurt that it's easy, convenient, completely legitimate and legal, and a job at which I've made more money than anything previous.
Is it a career? By no means. If it'll help you sleep any better at night I do have bigger plans for my life, but for the time being it's what I've decided to do to pay off a little debt. Perhaps I'd have just a little more sympathy for people if they actually listened, payed attention, and weren't afraid to ask questions or say no.
If you don't choose to take advantage of the three separate calls you receive before placing your order, you have no one to blame but yourself. I'm not in the superhero business, Ed, I'm there to make a little bling bling blah and that's pretty much the extent of it. Say hi to the folks in North Point for me.
Tim
Glendale,Arizona,
U.S.A.
Oh Edgar, you silly rabbit.
#8UPDATE Employee
Sun, February 09, 2003
I'm not attempting to make the world a better place through my current occupation, frankly I don't care how you feel about the service or my motives, the bottom line is that your daughter agreed to it and I'm just tired of people like you trying to blame others for their choices. Selling magazines is what I do for 6 hours of my day. It's nothing more, it's nothing less.
It's a way to pay the bills and it doesn't hurt that it's easy, convenient, completely legitimate and legal, and a job at which I've made more money than anything previous.
Is it a career? By no means. If it'll help you sleep any better at night I do have bigger plans for my life, but for the time being it's what I've decided to do to pay off a little debt. Perhaps I'd have just a little more sympathy for people if they actually listened, payed attention, and weren't afraid to ask questions or say no.
If you don't choose to take advantage of the three separate calls you receive before placing your order, you have no one to blame but yourself. I'm not in the superhero business, Ed, I'm there to make a little bling bling blah and that's pretty much the extent of it. Say hi to the folks in North Point for me.
Tim
Glendale,Arizona,
U.S.A.
Oh Edgar, you silly rabbit.
#8UPDATE Employee
Sun, February 09, 2003
I'm not attempting to make the world a better place through my current occupation, frankly I don't care how you feel about the service or my motives, the bottom line is that your daughter agreed to it and I'm just tired of people like you trying to blame others for their choices. Selling magazines is what I do for 6 hours of my day. It's nothing more, it's nothing less.
It's a way to pay the bills and it doesn't hurt that it's easy, convenient, completely legitimate and legal, and a job at which I've made more money than anything previous.
Is it a career? By no means. If it'll help you sleep any better at night I do have bigger plans for my life, but for the time being it's what I've decided to do to pay off a little debt. Perhaps I'd have just a little more sympathy for people if they actually listened, payed attention, and weren't afraid to ask questions or say no.
If you don't choose to take advantage of the three separate calls you receive before placing your order, you have no one to blame but yourself. I'm not in the superhero business, Ed, I'm there to make a little bling bling blah and that's pretty much the extent of it. Say hi to the folks in North Point for me.
Edgar
Greensboro, NC,North Carolina,
U.S.A.
Tim, you seem a bit defensive.
#8Consumer Comment
Sun, February 09, 2003
Could it be that you are coming to understand that you do nothing of use in this world, except to give unsuspecting citizens a lesson in greed and irresponsibility?
Get yourself a job in a fast food restaurant. At least those folks are doing honest work that benefits the customer. The subscriptions were MORE expensive than the prices at the magazine's own website.
My daughter is already receiving one of the magazines you tried to sell her. Why should she want two subscriptions to the same magazine unless she was misled? Your purpose is to make money from other people's vulnerability and trust. Thanks for making it clear that those attributes are no longer valuable in today's world. And, Tim - I have no idea where in the world North Point is. Another fact about what you do that you don't have straight??
Tim
Glendale,Arizona,
U.S.A.
Responsibility, what's that?
#8UPDATE Employee
Fri, February 07, 2003
I'm hesitant to even take the time to rebuttal you people (i.e. incessant whiners) because obviously you're all incredibly foolish and refuse to LISTEN. If you would haved LISTENED to the THREE separate calls you received, you would know the exact and specific details of the service, payments, and billing methods you claim were forced upon you without authorization. Ludicrous. Absolutely. I work for the company, I know the scripts, I know the information, and while you may not think it's the greatest bargain in the world, an opinion you're more than welcome to, the service is in no way fraudulent or illegal. In fact, the only thing we may be guilty of is talking in a cheery voice and putting a positive spin on something that's not quite as incredible as we'd have you believe. And I'll let you in on a little secret: No advertiser's product is. We're there to make sales, we're there to make money, just like a huge majority of the working population, and because you (or your children) are too ignorant or too afraid to say no, you try to blame it on someone else, anyone else. If your kids (who are in fact adults, since all customers must be at least 18) are placing orders you disagree with, perhaps you should be talking to them, and telling them about a little thing called judgement, or another little thing called a budget. Don't try to blame someone else for your poor parenting skills or dim children. I wish everyone could just buck up, shut up, and take responsibility for their OWN choices.
P.S. And as for Ed, in North Point, I've got a little secret just for you. Your daughter is a fib-spewing brat. We have no access to her or ANYONE'S credit card information, to be honest with you, before the first call is made we don't even know if she HAS a credit card or not. There is absoultely no way we could have stolen her information, and we most certainly did not bill her without permission. I know you love your little princess but realize that sometimes when people do things they're ashamed of and feel sheepish for agreeing to (especially if they think they may get into some kind of trouble as a direct result of the forementioned action) they LIE. Hook the girl up to a polygraph and get back to me.