#20
Thu, September 12, 2002
I've done some research and found out that these guys broke several laws.
1. In Washington, you can not make a verbal contract for the sale of merchandise over the cost of $500.
2. According to the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule, if an offer includes gifts, the sales pitch must come first.
3. You need a commercial telephone solicitor's license to solicite in the state of Washington.
Be careful of the first one. I've read somewhere that someone confronted a similiar company about that and they lowered the price to the proper threshold. The second one is hard to prove because they have the tapes and it's on 2-3 seperate tapes. One with the sales pitch, the other with someone else confirming the order. The third one however is where I have them by the balls. I made an inquiry at the department of licensing and there is no listing for them under their database. I also took the liberty to look up a few more names. Neither USA Magazine Exchange, nor National Magazine Exchange have licenses to do business in Washington State. Unfortunately, Consolidated Media Services (CMS) does have such a license so beware. So to all you Washingtonians, if you've been screwed over by either National Magazine Exchange or USA Magazine Exchange, tell them to shove it because they broke the law. If you don't live in Washington, research the laws in your state to see if they have such laws in place.
#30
Thu, September 12, 2002
I've done some research and found out that these guys broke several laws.
1. In Washington, you can not make a verbal contract for the sale of merchandise over the cost of $500.
2. According to the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule, if an offer includes gifts, the sales pitch must come first.
3. You need a commercial telephone solicitor's license to solicite in the state of Washington.
Be careful of the first one. I've read somewhere that someone confronted a similiar company about that and they lowered the price to the proper threshold. The second one is hard to prove because they have the tapes and it's on 2-3 seperate tapes. One with the sales pitch, the other with someone else confirming the order. The third one however is where I have them by the balls. I made an inquiry at the department of licensing and there is no listing for them under their database. I also took the liberty to look up a few more names. Neither USA Magazine Exchange, nor National Magazine Exchange have licenses to do business in Washington State. Unfortunately, Consolidated Media Services (CMS) does have such a license so beware. So to all you Washingtonians, if you've been screwed over by either National Magazine Exchange or USA Magazine Exchange, tell them to shove it because they broke the law. If you don't live in Washington, research the laws in your state to see if they have such laws in place.
#40
Thu, September 12, 2002
I've done some research and found out that these guys broke several laws.
1. In Washington, you can not make a verbal contract for the sale of merchandise over the cost of $500.
2. According to the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule, if an offer includes gifts, the sales pitch must come first.
3. You need a commercial telephone solicitor's license to solicite in the state of Washington.
Be careful of the first one. I've read somewhere that someone confronted a similiar company about that and they lowered the price to the proper threshold. The second one is hard to prove because they have the tapes and it's on 2-3 seperate tapes. One with the sales pitch, the other with someone else confirming the order. The third one however is where I have them by the balls. I made an inquiry at the department of licensing and there is no listing for them under their database. I also took the liberty to look up a few more names. Neither USA Magazine Exchange, nor National Magazine Exchange have licenses to do business in Washington State. Unfortunately, Consolidated Media Services (CMS) does have such a license so beware. So to all you Washingtonians, if you've been screwed over by either National Magazine Exchange or USA Magazine Exchange, tell them to shove it because they broke the law. If you don't live in Washington, research the laws in your state to see if they have such laws in place.