Subscriber Services Inc. review: Fraudulent magazine subscriptions, harassing phone calls! 104

Okay, so I have a few things to say being in a situtation quite similar. Not with magazines but with another company again I thought was "fraudulent" and I was getting "ripped-off". Well here's the thing. Did any of you hang up the phone when asked about the subscription? Did any of you refuse to provide payment information while ordering? Did any of you LISTEN to what you were agreeing to? I just say this because in my situation (the same thing just a different product with another company) it did not get resolved. If you go to the Better Business Bureau site they will actually tell you that THEY CANNOT CANCEL A CONTRACT for you. So going to them may or may not resolve anything. Again the Attorney General CANNOT CANCEL A CONTRACT for you. I know and I have tried. The best thing to do is just to hang up when you don't want something before it is ordered. I mean really, you don't want to be rude, but I would rather be rude than sucked into a $900 contract that some of you are stating. And I was also afraid I was "scammed" however, I received the product I ordered. And a little bit extra they told me was "free". So how is it a scam, if they are sending you what you ordered (maybe with some more stuff that is free) and only charging you what you agree to? I was on tape with this other company and they told me how many payments and how much the payments were. I didn't ask for a total nor did I calculate it myself and felt ripped off when learning the total but it wasn't anything I didn't willingly agree to. I know you are all mad about your situation but saying that people that work there are scammers when in fact they are giving you what you ordered isn't fair. If you worked at a company like Walmart and didn't like what you were charged for it, but received the product, they wouldn't refund you your money just because you felt ripped off. And some of you are saying you signed a contract. To me it sounds as if you are all being a little bit on the stupid side like I was and are trying to "scam" your own way out of a contract you started. Remember that when pointing the finger of blame, three fingers are pointing back at you. Try to contact them reasonably. Being rude on the phone will only make them not want to help you. Trust me, in my situation I was offered a settlement to get out of mine. Try asking for a settlement, see what they offer you and tell them you will pay 50% of it and see if they just close it for 50% of the balance. They will usually agree to that so that they can get some of the money they have fronted for the products. Just hoping this will help...

I also have a problem with this company. I don't want my magazines anymore. I don't want them calling me anymore. I want all my money back. I have started a petition against them @ www.thepetitionsite.com. Called ripoff magazine companies. Visit the site and, sign my petition. Also if any of you were successful at ending the subscription. I would like to know how. So that I may finally get these LOSERS OFF MY BACK!

Received 2 separate renewal letters both dated 7/5/10. Each was worded differently, but both requested immediate payment. No specific magazine being renewed was stated. Payment amount in each letter was identical. This has to be a fraudulent company running scams. Why hasn't the U.S Attorney General's office investigated this company?

does anyone have any trouble actually getting the magazines they ordered? i get what seem to be different ones every 3 months or so...i have called 4 times to adjust the magazines i get and it seems to either be ignored, or what i am suspecting, they just cant deliver certain magazines...anyone else who has actually paid for this crap finding them unreliable?

I am writing this as a former employee of Subscriber Services Inc. - The number one request that customers ask is to have their service canceled. If you want to have your service 'canceled' with them, simply threaten the Attorney General or the Better Business Bureau. They would rather deal with a "loss" on a "contract" than a $9, 000.00 complaint filed against them. (Honestly, what company that runs a legitimate business would have such a negative reaction to a complaint which is filed to either the A.G. or the B.B.B. if they weren't running a business that gained 100% profit from ripping people off or doing something that is considered bad business practices?) They say that they "pre-pay" the accounts in advance, which is why they say that you cannot cancel once you have been 'sold' the service, when in fact, IF they happen to pay commission to one of the 'dealers' (sales offices) which they obtain their accounts from, it is only a very small fraction of the amount they hold the customer liable for (which usually ends up around $500 - $1, 500, depending on which sales office they retain the account from and the number of years that the account is 'sold' at.) The amount they pay on a $1, 000 + account MIGHT be around $150. Keep in mind they receive thousands of new accounts every month and only a very, very small amount of them they actually pay some kind of money towards to the dealers. One thing that made me realize how bad they were ripping off customers was when I learned that for five years of service on multiple magazine subscriptions, the total price for the company to order the magazines for, was less than $10, (Yes that says ten dollars.) yet they charge close to $1, 500 for some accounts which are for five years of magazines.

One thing that they do to get large amounts of money from customers is call them after they have paid three months worth of service, (many of which haven't received any product from the company and don't even know that their credit cards are actually being billed) and offer them a "discount" off of their total balance which is literally no more than a 5% "discount" off of the price they are holding they customer to pay.

[An example is this: $79.95 a month for 12 months equals $959.40 for 5 years of magazines. If a customer pays three months of service, their balance would be $719.55. They have their employees call customers and say that they are eligible for a discount if they pay their accounts in full early. The way they word it to the customers is this: "If you pay the full price for the full five years of service on the account, you will be paying $959.40. However, today I could let you pay it off in full for $683.57!" -- Keep in mind, this is only a $35.97 "discount" off an account that is 100% profit for the company. They just word it in a way that makes the customers think they are saving hundreds of d0llars off of their balance on the account.]

I hope this message helps.

Thank you! I was going to call these jerks back in the morning. To tell them I'm not giving them another red cent. But I'm glad I read your posts first. Now I know it wouldn't do any good. I just call my bank and they will be sending me a new bank card in the mail. These people are liars. I was told I would get 5 free mags for the price of one. Now they are acting like they don't know what I'm talking about. They don't know who told me that and now I can't cancel (when I was told that I could cancel at any time). I will never take their calls again. And I just made sure they can't get in my acct ever again. Good luck to the rest of you. Do not give in to these con-artists. Call whom ever you need to call. Write the BBB and keep an eye on your credit report. Thats how they stay in business. People just want to get rid of them so they pay them off. And thats what they are counting on.

I went to the bank and had my card canceled and refuted the charges and I got some of my money back. So if you've been scammed by this company just REFUTE THE CHARGES and GET YOUR MONEY BACK!

I agree completely with all of the complaints. I tried to cancel my subscription three times and filed a complaint with the BBB of Colorado and their still sending me magazines in the mail. Along with that I'm getting threatened with legal action for nonpayment and an ever increasing bill amount. If anyone out there has any info on how to stop their "service" and keep them from putting this on my credit report please e-mail me at acer6561@yahoo.com any info would be much appreciated.

I was told AFTER the fact that I could not cancel. It is nowhere on the recording that I could not cancel.
I was contacted by this company in October. I was not told during the call that I could not cancel. The only details on the recording were that I would be charged 39.88 monthly for a period of 5 years. Total amount coming to somewhere around 950.00. After the initial phone call, I had called the company the day after to cancel, I was told that I was not in their systems, so i should be 'OK', I was then told someone would get back to me, and no one ever did. I called for a week straight, and even during business hours, I could not reach anyone. My credit card was billed on 10.20 as well as the following month, until the card declined after it went into the negative, because I was unaware that I was even being charged. I received numerous harassing phone calls in the past 2 days, and decided to call them back. The person I spoke with told me that it says right on the recording that I cannot cancel, I listened to the recording myself, and it was not mentioned at all. He then told me, he could put my card 'on hold' until I was able to afford it, even though I did not want that either, but I figured I would prolong it until I got it figured out so it doesn't hit collections. I was told that the reason I cannot cancel is because the company pre-orders the magazines? Bogus in my opinion.THIS IS RIDICULOUS and an obvious scam. I filed a complaint w the BBB and they'll be taking it from here, that's all we can do...

I was also victim to this scam. LETS ALL USE THE POWER OF YOUTUBE TO WARN PEOPLE ABOUT THIS. Post videos and comments on youtube. You never know it might get 1, 000, 000 veiws! Also use facebook, myspace, and twitter to warn people about this. Maybe we can put these crooks out of buisiness or better, behind bars were they belong.

the best thing that I can tell anyone who comes across this company is to tell them no and to hang up. This company is a fraud and I have reported them to the BBB and I also cancelled my debt card that my husband gave them on the phone. Luckily they only got the first payment of $44.94 but I also had to eat a $5.00 charge from my bank to cancel my husband's card. Like everyone else my husband thought it was $44.94 for 12 months and when he received the letter to cancel the subscription the customer service rep. told him he was locked into a contract and that they would debt our account every month. Keep in mind that we haven't received one magazine from this company. I hope that someone puts a stop to this real soon so more people will not be a victim anymore.

Like with everybody else, they absolutely lied esp about the No cancellation policy.. What the hell..its just a magazine service.. Why on earth they can't cancel the subscription.. Its not a house lease or a car loan.. They should all be behind the bars. We must do something.. I hope they read these comments .. They all must go to Hell.
Saim

1st of all you are all stupid (im a current customer), you subscribe to a weekley magazine (cover price for 5 years. ok, autoweek, jet espn, you pay around $3.90 an issue( cheaper then the store ), that comes out to around 16 $ a month, u pay t 59 $$ a month for 15 months then you get the mag for 3 1/2 years after you are done paying. you people are the scam, u order the magz you want and then dont pay. you say they scam you but YOU give them your credit card, name address work # reference #s and they have you speak to 3 people b4 your cc is even billed, you agree to non cancelable service on tape, so if you as me you are all a bunch of stupid crybabyv who need to pay attention to what you agree to, stop trying to mae them look bad just bcuz you are a bunch of ###s.

subsciber services is a scam they're located on 6660 wadsworth blvd arvada, co 80003 they scam there employees as well as the customers. They don't appreciate ANYTHING anyone does for them and to be honest I KNOW FOR A FACT THEY'RE GOING DOWN HILL. Dont worry customers of theirs. The business will soon fail i am sure.

to get out of there subscription threaten the BBB or FTC, or Attorney General or that you talked to your credit card company and they are putting in a dispute for ALL the money that was tooken out. DO IT YOU'LL GET YOUR ### CANCELED.

I had a problem with this company as well. If you really want to get rid of them, file a complaint with The Better Business Bureau. I respectfully stated my complaint and received a somewhat positive result. I didn't get my money back but they don't call anymore. Also, don't hesitate to note the cease and desist order by the Federal Trade Commission directed at the CEO Dave Keown for the same shady practices that 99% of people allege. You can check it out at the link below.

http://www.ftc.gov/os/1996/10/9623247a.htm

One day I recieved a phone call from a tellemarketer wanting to sell me magazines. I was told if I bought some magazines I qualified for a $1000 shopping spree because I was a preferred Visa or Mastercard holder. I was assured I would be able to veiw the contents of the shopping spree and I could cancel at any time if I was not happy. Mind you, this part of the conversation is not being recorded. The only part they record is you saying you will pay thirty some dollars a month for 24 months. When I recieved the information on the " shopping Spree" I was aware I was involved in a scam. When I called the company to cancel I let them know I did not want any magazines ( I had not recieved any yet) and I did not want to be appart of their fraudulant shopping spree. I was told I had entered into a CONTRACT and I could not cancel and it was unfortunate for me that I was not pleased with their free shopping spree. When I continued to argue I was hung up on. I spoke with another person from this company later on. The conversation went the same way and once again I was hung up on. I was then contacted by a manager who offered for me to buy my way out of the contract for $400. Their is no way I am paying $400 for something I do not want, was told I could cancel, and have not even begun to recieve. I was then told I would be sent to collections. I can not beleive that in this country something like this could legally take place. I am distgusted.

I also received a phone call last week from these people saying I had won 1, 000 dollars and pretty much they told me the same thing with the magazines, and we all know the story right? Well this is so stupid because everyone should have a right to cancel any subscription at any time. The best thing i would say fro everyone to do is CANCEL YOUR CREDIT CARD! Its that SIMPLE! If they keep charging you for something you dont receive or they wont let you cancel, then call your bank and tell them! Thats what i did and they refunded the $37 they charged me for and sent me a new card. Now if they try to charge me again for anything, they wont have my information! Haha!

A relative recently fell victim to the unethical and improper business practices utilized by this company. Fortunately, I am an attorney and I authored a pretty straight-forward letter demanding the immediate cancellation of the account and a full refund of the money withdrawn from the bank account that was provided during the initial phone call. Luckily, only one payment had been withdrawn from the account, but they did agree to the demands of my letter. I would warn others not to provide bank account or credit card information to anyone until you have done your research into the company they represent.

I also was so they thought duked by these sick individuals.only to call and they tried to use the recording of agreement as well...They didn, t realize that I too recorded the conversation in which on there half was what they choose to record.What I recorded was the whole conversation in which I explained I am a terminally Ill.and asked them more then once if I can cancel and was told that I could at any time!Now when I called to cancel they played only what they needed to bill me and not the whole conversation.Now I have a dog in this fight and will be getting in touch with good morning america and other avenues to finally get these people out of business.So please record every time someone is trying to sell you something over the phone to protect yourself!God Bless you all!Lisa

i have to fell victim to this service, i have not recieved anything i was promised by these people, i canceled my cards and ignored their calls now i got a letter from a collector saying i owe three times the amount originally stated by the company. i still refuse to pay, whats the worse they can do

THESE PEOPLE OFFERED ME SEVERAL SUBSCRIPTIONS LIKE LIFE LOCK AND WHEN I CALLED TO CANCEL THEY TOLD ME THEY DIDNT KNOW WHAT LIFE LOCK WAS THEY DIDNT WANTED TO CANCEL MY MEMBERSHIP WITH THEM IT WAS ALMOST $60 A MONTH BECAUSE IT WAS A NON CANCEL ACCOUNT THEN I CALLED THREE WEEKS LATER AND A LADY CANCELLED RIGHT AWAY. DONT CALL THAT PEOPLE NOT PROFFESIONALS JUST ANOTHER WAY TO TAKE YOUR MONEY!

I came across it about 9 months ago also. I did ask the lady that i wanted to cancell even before the whole thing went through. She stated that it couldnt be done because they had already sent it through. I ended up moving and my mom kept getting phone calls regarding the money. When I finally got the phone number and called, they said that I could of called and cancelled. I told them about my situation and when they brought up the recording, they only brought up that I had said yes to it. I knew that it was a lie the fact that I do remember saying that but I only said that because the lady had already said that I couldnt cancelled. Then they brought up the whole "are you calling me a liar and disrespecting me" and that they were going to send me to collection that I just gave them the money. and to make things worst they havent even send me the right magazines.

This is rediculous. I get three to four phone calls a day from Subscriber Services! I've thought about getting a new number just to get out of the phone calls. I got a bill in the mail for around $120 saying I didn't pay my previous bill. The jerks told me it'd be automatic withdrawal and this last month came out like they said. All I know is this is messed up and wrong. I sent a complaint against them with the Colorado BBB. I sure hope it works. This whole trick is seriously hurting me. I'm a full time student and got my hours cut. My paycheck won't even cover my rent let alone this bull crap.

These people are such scam artists! They hook you in with a diamond watch and a cash prize. ( which you have to filll out paperwork for)And then take your credit card and make it sound like a GREAT deal! They even start billing BEFORE you get the magazines, so you are paying for something you don't even have! After I agreed to their terms I lost my job. In less then 24 hrs I called to cancel the service and was told wait till you get the paperwork in the mail and then call us. So I did and got the run around that they don't have cancelation policy AT ALL! What kind of business is this? I explained to them I lost my job I don't need 7 stupid magazines I need to pay my mortgage and feed my kids! I then had to speak to 3 people before demanding to speak to a manager! And I got the same story no cancelation policy! I then called the BBB in my state and before I was even done telling my story they knew who I was talking about. There has been over 300 complains filed agains this company in the past 3 yrs! This should tell you something! I'm taking farther action against them and I have learned my lesson!

haha you people are f**** funny i know when i was being rec i love the service i would stay in till i got old it not too much it just as much as my phone bill you people dont order if you are broke that just shows what tip of loosers yous all are

I contacted the better business bureau.. They settled outside of court for the remainder of what i needed to pay. They were harassing me on the phone.. I never even signed up for their service.

I can say on my experience they LIE when they say that they prepaid your subscriptions so you owe them money. If they did prepay, then seven of the eight magazines I received from them would not have expired in half the time they said. And watch out if you try to pay off an account: They got me for a new account by arranging what I thought was going to be a final payment. They strike me as quite familiar from schoolyard experience: the bully who pretends to be a victim to get away with bullying. If they say you owe them money, just change your financials, dispute any payments already made (you probably need to do this in 60 days!) and tell their bill collectors to castrate themselves with something dull and rusty.

too get out of the subscriptons threaten the BBB the colorado state attorney general the federal trade commision and dont give up keep arguing with them the accounts are cancelable at anytime its just a matter of what you need to say

Subscriber Services IS A SCAM used to work for the company try working for them its kinda like a family owned business basically it works like this the owner and general manager r best friends have been forever the general manager is the customer service and sales managers mother the verification manager is the general managers sister the collections manager is their brother dont worry employees r treated differently there also say u r sick they rip ur ### apart if you do not show up but they can come & go whenever they like miss how many days they want and treat employees nothing like they treat eachother they suck put a complaint to the colorado labor board see what will happen also they take bonuses away for no reason its like high school all over again i hate that place everyone that works there hates it they also threaten to fire you if u dont make enough money in collections or customer service you wont last very long dont work for the company totally not worth getting urself into

i to took a subscription from this company, i called and told them i do not want the magazines anymore, and they said i cannot cancel i strongly suspect these people are fraudulent, are scamming people.they need to be put out of business, and the BBB in
Colorado needs to be contacted. but i need to get their address &phone no,

All,

Please utilize the authorities who are there to protect you from this type of fraud. Your taxes pay for these government agencies, and you can enlist their help. If you do not live in the state of Colorado, then a phone call to you is across state lines, and the Federal Trade Commission can investigate and if appropriate, file charges against a company that is breaking the law. You can file a complaint online at

https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/

Please read the following warnings about telephone scams

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/menus/consumer/phone.shtm

You can also contact your state Attorney General's office of Consumer Complaints and file a complaint with them. They can be reached either online (use Google) or by calling 411. You do not have to speak to this company and argue with them. That is the job of the authorities. You can cancel your credit card and request that they intervene on your behalf and dispute the charges. Be sure to notify them of all your conversations with this company, and write down names and dates of all contacts.

Wow I can't believe this I thought i was gonna be able to get some magazines and the watch for my boyfriend...and after they ask for my credit card number and i told them it...i knew i shouldn't of done it ...because most magazines subscribers make you send a check after u get it...any who i called them today to see if i can cancel it and they said i couldn't and that they could lower the price for me blah blah blah and how they have me recorded saying i agreed ... well after that i called my credit card place and their gonna fight for it...so hopefully it'll work... I deffentaly learned my lesson! also look the company up on the net before you do anything with them!

My wife accidentally agreed to a contact with SSI and did not realize the amount on money involved until a statement came expressing the total amount of the contract. We promptly phoned back the company only to be told by the operator that the contract could not be cancelled even though we'd received no magazines. After some research we sent written confirmation to SSI that future billings or attempts to deliver magazines would be blocked.

I wanted to allow SSI a few days to respond to the letter before involving the BBB and Attorney General's Office.

A manager (Tabitha) at SSI promptly phoned us upon receiving the letter and was very cordial and professional. She agreed to cancel the contract and apologized for the inconvenience. I appreciate her efforts and do not have such a negative view of SSI now.

A client that is mentally challenged came to me upset about this company scared that her lights would be disconnected because she was being forced to make payments to these people that she cannot afford. She gave me authority to speak with them and the representative wanted to spend unnecessary time on the phone telling me about how she could not unsubscribe until the past due balance was paid. I told them I knew that they were a rip-off and I am glad that he said everything was recorded because they could clearly hear through her conversation that she was challenged. I wish she was able to sue.

I was talked into to subscribe to these magazines with bunch of lies. I just find out that my credit card was being used for 13 month and I got over the limit. I didn't know about it until I got fee from the credit card. It sucks, when I need money I am wasting it to some magazines which I don't need.

My 82 year old father was called and got stuck with magazines that he will never read because he cannot stay awake long enough to read them. The person on the other end of the phone conversation spoke to fast for him to hear what they were talking about. My father has a hearing problem and does not hear to good. When I calld the company to try to get him out of these magazines they told me that he agreed to the perscription. He thought they said he would pay $68.37 for the whole year, but they are charging him $68.37 monthly for 15 months. This is a toltal of $1034.55 for one years worth of worthless magazines. I work in a store and know he could get these for 75% cheaper. They told me that if he paid off the bill they would give him $250.00 gas card and $1000.00 in grocery coupons and would charge him only $700.00. He can just about pay for the monthly bill where in the world is he going to get $700.00. I think this company pray on the elderly and there should be something that can be done. I am going to e-mail my state Attourny General and see if there is something I can do about this. i will also contact the Colorado Business Beareu.

My son, who is eighteen, is just getting to know about these sort of scams and was a victim. If they refuse to cancel, (it looks like they will try), I'm contacting our State attorney general and the Colorado Attorney general also. He hasn't received a single magazine either! They don't want to start me going because I love a good cause!

I just found out that Subscriber Services Inc. is not accredited by the Colorado BBB and if you go to the Colorado BBB website, you can find where they have given Subscriber Services an "F" rating for number of complaints and not adhereing to complaints brought against them by consumers. In the last 3 years the Colorado BBB has received 279 complaints in regards to Subscriber Services and they're not far from receiving complaint 280 because I'm sick of Subscriber Services.

I hate Subscriber Services. They are nothing but a huge fraud. I was told that after the free trial was up that if I didn't call to subscribe and continue the service that the trial would end, the magazines would stop coming and that I wouldn't be billed for anything. That was certainly nothing less of a big lie. I immediately began to be charged for a bunch of magazines that I never wanted and when I called to cancel the subscription, some [censored] told me that it was too late for the subscription to be canceled because the magazines had already been ordered. One time they even tried to get over on me say that I renewed my subscriptions and tried to bill me twice in the same month. I called them very upset and explained to one of their lowsey customer service represenatives that the whole renewal of my subscription was totally false and stupid. Why in the hell would I renew a stupid magazine subscription that I never wanted in the first place. On top of all of that, they can't even get my subscription order. I get mailed every damn magazine in the world except the ones that I subscribed to. I've asked numerous times that those other magazines stop being sent to me and to only send me the ones that I've asked for and they just can't seem to get it right for some reason. I've just recently canceled my subscription with them so I can't wait until the first gets here so I can check my account to see if they debit it and if they do after one of their customer service represenatives told me they would cancel it, I'm going to hit them with the biggest lawsuit in the history of lawsuits and I mean that to the fullest.

it's so wrong of them, it is God's money they're taking, see they had sent me a post card about "good news" i sure didn't know what it was, and i just opened a credit card account also, and they were just yapping all the way and i stupidly agreed to pay $3.79/month for the subscriptions, and they called back to confirm that it's actually $39.88/month for 22/months. and they were telling me it's non-cancellable. i told them i don't want it anymore, and they were saying, "no, you have already given us your credit card number." you know what i am fed up with lying, and sinful people. i am so sick of it, i am just going to pray for these people, because they are doing us so wrong, i have a daughter that's almost 2 years old, and i don't even have NO money to throw her birthday party on 9.11.2008. this is real talk. i have about $7, 000 worth hospital bills, i have a bad back and i don't and cannot work. these people are just wrong! somebody help me find a way to fight this, because i don't want to be bothered by them, and i am already bothered by so much! please tell me what i should do. sigh...