American Cash Awards review: canceled order as per requirements, no refund received 21

My roommate and I also almost got scammed. We were in our room when two guys came in and said they were doing a fundraiser. They wanted us to buy magazines to donates to hospitals in order to earn them points for prizes. Luckily, our suitemate also fell for this scam, but went to the atm for cash. While he was gone, I googled Midwest Circulation and American Cash Awards and found that this was all a scam. We ended up going to our residential adviser who called the cops and we got our money back because the two guys were still with our suitemate at the atm. The cops ended up talking to them about soliciting and stuff.

I am in the same boat as you all. I have contacted the company n a ouple of occasions [protected]) regarding a subscription that I made (same story - young kid comes to the door, etc.) on 11/1/09. Today is 2/10/10 and I have yet to receive anything. On January 12th, I called to follow up and was informed that my subscription was in place, but was for a different magazine than the one I had ordered. I paid them $63 for a subscription that if I'd placed online directly with the magazine would have been $19.99. I will be contacting the BBB and AG tomorrow to discuss fraud proceedings.

Between the way they are treating the consumers and the way that they treat their "employees", I am very concerned that this company is still in existence.

Oh my... I can't believe I fell for this, too. This fast talking girl shows up as I'm about to leave for the night claiming she's my neighbor's niece and competing for a trip to Washington DC in journalism school... Blah, blah, blah and $150 later she walks off. Same as above, no call w/in 4 days. No answers to my phone calls... And just now I'm finding the rest of you. I will pursue the above follow ups and hope for the best. Man, am I ticked off!

This is ridiculous! I can't believe these people are still out there doing business! I stopped payment on my check through the bank, but am now receiving subscriptions anyway! When I call the magazine companies, they say I am paid in full. So I'm worried I will get a collector knocking at my door because the money has to be coming from somewhere! Has anyone else had this situation where the order was cancelled or check with stop payment but still got the magazines anyway?

I have had the same experience as everyone else. I cancelled the order per their written requirements, and have yet to receive a refund. Purchased a magazine subscription from a door to door seller on 02-13-09. Cancelled the order on 02-14-09 per the instructions on the receipt. Called the company 02-18-09 to confirm their receipt of the cancellation notice and they confirmed, but the check had already posted to my account. On 03-23-09 called the company only to learn that they were waiting for me to send them proof of payment, which was a copy of the cancelled check. Sent it to them via fax and I called them the same day to confirm their receipt of said proof. They confirmed receipt and told me that refunds take 6 - 8 weeks. Started trying to contact them after 7 weeks and found that there was only an automated response with a full mailbox and no "live person" with I whom could speak. Emailed the company on 5-14-09 with no response, left a message on the automated machine which told me they would contact me with in 48-72 hours. No response. Emailed them again on 5-18-09 and 5-19-09 and left another voice mail. No response and no operator to be transfered to on the system. When I stayed on the line as instructed by the auto response (in an attempt to get "assistance") I was disconnected.

I just filed the above with the BBB and I suggest that everyone else do the same. It's hard to admit that I was duped, but...obviously I am not alone. Good luck to all of you!

I have had the same experience. Luckily I found this website before my checks had a chance to hit the bank, so I have put a stop payment on all checks written AND on any ACH draft amounts they might try to take. My banks were lenient with the stop payment fees but it still ended up costing me $100 out of my own pocket to do this.

I think we all need to contact Good Morning America. I have actually already done this and will be writing an actual letter, sending photo copies in of the receipts, etc. I will also include a link to this complain board and hope that maybe someone over there will find it important enough to warn America of what's going on.

My husband and I are usually VERY careful with things like this but for SOME reason these ###s got us and we have NO idea how. I am so upset that I have been scammed as I am leary of anyone and anything that comes to my door...yet here I am. There HAS to be more we can do. This is just insanity and these people are crooks that deserve to be behind bars.

Friday night I had two guys knock on my door and asked to come into my place of
residency. They told my roommate and I that if we signed up for so many
magazines we would get a free trip Mexico. They told us the magazines were only
$21 for each subscription, and that we just needed to sign up for three one year
subscriptions each. We informed them neither of us were working and had little
money. After we said we could do no more then that, he then handed us the
receipts and asked us to sign, at this point the prices were not listed. When it
came time to write out the checks Tyson, one of the guys selling the
subscriptions, informed us the total was $330. Again, I said we couldn't do that
because we weren't working and could not afford to spend that amount of money.
They begged us to at least sign up and give them the checks. They assured us the
checks would NOT be cashed until someone from the home office called us to
verify that we really did want the subscriptions and that we would be able to
either; cancel the whole thing, just keep a few or just keep one subscription
and we and still get the trip to Mexico. This morning I realized it had been 4
business days and had not received a phone call. When I looked over the receipts
they had given us we realized it stated we must cancel in writing within three
business days. I quickly called your customer service, to which I was sent to a
voice mail box. To my astonishment the voice mail informed me it could take up
to 48 hours to receive a phone call back, which would make it impossible for
anyone to cancel a subscription! Sinsing something was wrong I then called the
bank only to found out the money went through the morning of the third business
day. This is nothing short of fraud! Because of this we're now unable to make
rent. We will be getting an attorney.

Please contact either of us at your earliest convenience!

My wife placed an order 7/6/08. I cancelled my order the very next day also. Complied with all the refund requirements. I was told by ACA that I had met all the requirements for a refund but the business that took the order (Uban Development Solutions) had not funded the account for refund. I filed a complaint with the BBB and the FTC. I started receiving magazines I did not order. ACA stated that they were complementary and that my original order had been cancelled. I literally called every day for the past 3 months. I finally received my refund check today 2/19/09! Now waiting for check to clear the banks...

My husband ordered a magazine back in Nov. 2007. He paid with a check. American Cash Awards then took it upon themselves to take my bank account number and routing number off of my check and distribute it. I found a charge on my bank statement and called the company. Apparently their marketing company is North American Publishers, Inc. [protected]. Their phone number in Phoenix, AZ is [protected]. North American gave me three different stories. One woman told me that my husband approved these transactions and even gave his social security number (which he did not do and they couldn't repeat it back to either of us). One woman told me that what they were doing was perfectly legal and that bank account numbers are public record! And the last person I spoke with claimed to be the owner of the company (Kathy) and she said she would refund my money. Only time will tell if that happens! My complaint however is not with North American, it is with American Cash Awards. They distributed personal and very confidential information without my knowledge or consent. There is not a phone number to contact these people, so good luck with that all of you. I have called the Better Business Bureau. THESE PEOPLE ARE A SCAM. If you ever see one of those kids walking through your neighborhood, turn them away and tell them that if they do not stop loitering in your neighborhood you will call the police.
I am deeply sorry that this happened to all of us.

I had exactly the same experience with American Cash Awards/Coast to Coast Inc. I canceled my 49$(cash) subscription within an hour of falling for the teenaged girls fast talking attempt to earn a trip for school. Every time I contacted the company they agreed I was getting a refund and there were problems with the company issuing the refund. I was told my refund would be prioritized and that I would receive the magazine subscription for free. I have not received either. Now when I call, the message says to call Coast to Coast as they are no longer handling their business. The number given is [protected]...no answer at all. This whole situation started on 5/23/2008. I called the (FTC thanks to the number being listed on this site) and filed a complaint. I will also be talking with the Attorney General as well as the BBB, and of course I will continue to call American Cash Awards. Good luck to everyone.

I had the same magazine scam as well. 2 young men, got 2 checks from me (a total of $178... I know, I'm an idiot!)

I filed a complaint with the BBB and literally DID NOT STOP calling American Cash Awards/"Face to Face Technologies" and I DID get my refund! It took almost 6 months, but I got it.

"Marsha Covey" is the name of the lady that I dealt with for American Cash Awards.

The key to getting your refund is to be firm. Call, call, call, leave a message, file a complaint, call, call, call again. Follow up.

If they say the check is "in the mail and you should have it by the end of the week" if you don't have it by Friday. Call them.

Also, when you do call, make sure your address is correct EVERYTIME. I called and on 2 different occasions, my address was incorrect.

Wow! I have had the same thing happen to me and I am definitely taking the advice on here and filing a complaint to the FTC and BBB. I have had 3 of these kids hit up my neighborhood in the 2 years that I have lived here. I only bought from one of them, and she was very pushy / talked very fast / and said that she was earning a trip for her school and that she was in a competition with other kids. I asked where her ride was and she said they dropped her off and had to drop off the other kids around town (who she was competing with) and that they would be back to pick her up. I spent $73 ($30 cash and $43 check) with American Cash Awards and Face to Face Technologies on 6/10/2008 and after I did not receive my magazine within the 120 days, I have been calling American Cash Awards every day for the last 3 months and their lines are always busy. I have sent an email to their customer service and of course have not received any response. ugh! I cannot believe people are so low and esp sending kids to do the dirty work. . . I am definitely taking action. It looks like this is all over the US as I am in Illinois and these kids were supposedly coming out of the City of Chicago and I live further west (about an hour from Chicago). Let all of your friends know about this scam. . . I hope they come back to my door so I can take action myself.

Hi, The same thing happen to me today. After the girl left ( I never saw anyone talk so fast in my life) I had a strange feeling. I could not see a car in the driveway..they must have been parked on the street. She claimed to have bben homeschooled and from the state the vehicals tags were from tht was parked in my driveway. She left with a 65$ check wich I will stop payment on in the morning as well as sending a letter certified-return receipt by noon.

What states do they work in? Is there anyway we can get it to local news to let others be aware? I am so careful but she got me too.

Hi
Two kids just came in and did the same thing to me. The kid filled out the receipt and did no write down the magazine name on it. He then proceeded to put his signature in the back of the check and a little thank you as well. When they left I looked at the receipt and realized that he had put his signature in the place where mine would go if I wanted to cancel the subscription.

I already called my bank and put a stop payment on the check and I'm changing my account # tomorrow.

hope it works!

I spoke to the Denver BBB and they said there are over 40 complaints on American Cash Awards in the past month! Their new scam is they are calling elderly people telling them they won lots of money, and to claim it, need to give them their credit card number as a deposit. The money is obviously never devlivered and the persons credit card gets maxed out with unauthorized purchases. Obviously, American Cash Awards has no morals.

The Denver BBB told me to file a complain with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and, if they receive enough complaints, can actually shut American Cash Awards down. FTC is [protected].

If you are reading this, you probably are out of luck. As the previous entries have stated, this company pulls scams. The problem is that you don't know it until they take your money and you get so frustrated that you begin your search. When you find out that others are in the same boat as you, you realize your money is lost and you were scammed. THERE IS HOPE THOUGH. Read on...

On July 17, 2008, I ordered US Weekly magazine from Gordon Dixon of Urban Solutions. This company, based in Houston, is affiliated with American Cash Awards in Golden, CO. It is now January 14, 2009 and I have not received my magazine. I too have tried to call American Cash Awards and have experienced what other posts have written - voicemail box full, phone system down, etc. I also called Urban Solutions and left them messages with no response.

So, what can you do? Well, you can write the BBB but the problem with that is others will be scammed as well and won't know it before it is too late. This business has to be closed and I have no idea how to accomplish that.

Finally, I gave up, called US Magazine directly, and they are going to send me my 1 years worth of magazines for no charge. All I need to do is to fax them the receipt and cancelled check. As a bonus, they stated they will send my complaint to their legal department who will terminate American Cash Award & Urban Solutions contract to sell their magazine. I hope they do because if other magazines follow suit, these type of scam artists will have no magazines to sell.

Good luck and sorry you were scammed.

I am in the same situation (have been waiting for my $63 refund for over 6 weeks now). I'm doing everything I can to get this company shut down. Here are things you can do if you really want to stop them.

File a complaint with the Better Business Bureau online at www.denver.bbb.org both against ACA and Face to Face (or Coast to Coast in my case) or by mail.
Denver/Boulder BBB
1020 Cherokee St.
Denver, CO 80204
Phone: [protected]
Email: info@denverbbb.org

Contact your city's City Hall (Business Licenses office) and see if the company had permission to be selling in your town. Most likely they didn't. If you are unsure of which office to contact, just contact City Hall information and they can direct you to where you need to go.

Contact your state attorney general's office and file a consumer complaint. I'm filing a complaint and telling them about this site and /link removed/ so they can see that people all over the country are getting ripped off.

Most importantly, contact your local news station! Once you get to this site, it probably means you've already been ripped off. Let's get our news stations reporting on this company, so people can find out about them BEFORE they get ripped off.

I have been trying for a refund since mid-July. The order was cancelled as required and I have been told that they acknowledge they owe the money. After many excuses, the one they have stuck with is that the company that I placed the order with has not paid them. I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau but that has not gotten me anywhere. The last time I called I got a recording that said they were upgrading their phones for 2 weeks. Would any legitimate company not answer their phone and not allow messages to be left for 2 weeks? This is a scam, pure and simple.

I agree with the aforementioned complaints and am just as irate. I tried calling 3 times today and their automatic message is that the phones are down until December 22, 2008. I also received a confirmation of cancellation and immediately followed the instructions and have USPS receipts validating date of return. Can you take or reccomend any actions to counteract this scam or is this site just a sounding board? I would appreciate any suggestions you may have!

I am beyond irritated with this company. I have cancelled my account on June 2. All of the proper steps were correct and on time. Time after time now, I get another excuse as to why I don't have my refund. First it was the mail, then it was an over load of refunds, then it was because of the bank, now because the phones are down. I have waited OVER 6 months now. What do they tell me now, be patient. HA! American Cash Awards and Face to Face Technologies are nothing but complete rip offs. Do NOT buy anything from these scams. Save your time and money!

I am in the exact same predicament. Two young men came to my door, said they were selling magazines for charity and would I purchase one or two. They were charming, assured me that the purchases were tax deductible since I was donating two of the magazines to the Armed forces. I fell for it (I hate to imagine how many people have been ripped off by the scam). After they left I did a little research and discovered the terrible reputation the company had so I immediately (ie: went straight to the post office) and canceled the subscriptions following the proper procedure - I even sent my cancellation with track and confirm through the USPS, so I have proof of it. Approx. six weeks later I got a confirmatory post card asking for proof of payment (despite the fact that they obviously cashed my checks AFTER I canceled the orders). I sent the proof of payment - again on time and again with USPS proof. I have received no refund, and when I complained by letter I didn't get a refund, I got the magazines - the ones that were supposed to be going to the troops. This company is ripping people off all over the country and no one (but the consumers being ripped off) seems to be doing anything about it.