Atlantic Circulation Inc. review: Took my money, no magazines ever delivered. 39

I worked for this company for almost a year. People get their magazines as long as the agent turns in the order. People make good money as long as they are good at selling. The "children" that are starving just suck at their job and don't make enough money to eat. They are told up front it is commission, no base pay. You sell, you name money. You don't sell, you're broke. If people aren't making enough to eat they should quit. P.S. the ""children" are all over 18. You have to be to work for this company. Anyone telling you they are in high school/college are lying. This is a job. That isn't the company's fault though. The agents are specifically told not to say things like that. The same goes for saying they are local, because they aren't. A few bad agents spoil the bunch, but the ones who lie are dealt with by the managers. Also, FYI...Krystal Ball and Teddy Drum are their real names. I worked with them.

Very sad! I live in Columbia, SC and the crew hit my neighborhood 2/17/11. The same story about school as related by the two young girls was rehearsed and I bought a subscription to "Fly Rod and Reel" for $57.00, cash. No magazine, it is now 7/6/11, and I have contacted the company twice, the first time in April and the second just an hour ago. Both times I was told to send them a copy of the receipt via email. This morning 'Jenny' told me they had never received my first email. I did not tell her it was sent in April. I called after resending this time to make sure the second email was received, spoke with 'April' and she alluded to the fact that they never received my April, 11 email (sounded like a slip of the tongue by the way she recovered), REALLY? I suppose it could be but somehow my confidence is shaken, especially after reading the entries on this site.

I intend to contact the Atty. General here in SC and the neighborhood associations to warn them. There are many retirees living in our area and I am sure the young people are hard to resist. Hopefully we will be ready for them when they come back, their circuit appears to be every two years give or take a month. I want to encourage all of you writing to be pro active with this. We all wrote a letter here, the least we can do is to follow through with our elected officials and hopefully they will be responsive and work together among themselves across state lines to put Atlantic Circulation out of business!

I ordered two magazines and thank god there was no funds in my account the check that was sent through was $20.00 when I wrote the check for $91.00 I'm going into my bank tomorrow to see what can be done about this. Something just isn't right and i'm fixing it a.s.a.p. I don't know why they would write it for a different amount but i'm not trusting it anyways.

NO attitude. I was ALMOST scammed. Did give her a check, but got a feeling after she left that something was not right, so Googled it. Sure enough, came up on this site. I immediately called my bank and had the check cancelled, however, I am a little nervous about her having my account number ! Also called the local police, but these folks are trained to be pretty quick. Fast talkers and giving you the best story that they can. This girl claimed to be pregnant and claimed that she too was from Texas and her name was supposedly Bobbi Harvey. We think she said Bobbi Ann Harvey, so the boyfriend joked about where is Harvey, because he thought that she said Bobbi AND Harvey. She carried on an accident, which I wasn't too confident in, but try to be a trusting person ! I am going to quickly email all of my friends/family with this REAL scam...I have not looked it up on Scopes, but I am a VERY RECENT victim, so I KNOW it is legit !

I ordered a magazine on 8/19/10...same story..kid trying to earn points. Was supposed to receive magazine by 12/19/10. Waited until 2/16/11 to contact them and was told "there was a delay". "Magazine will be delivered in June". I requested a refund and was told I would have it in 7-21 working days. Yesterday was day 21...still no check and no magazine. Contacted them again last night (email) and got a reply today stating that my check will be mailed out on 3/31/11 (in 2 weeks)...Not gonna happen...contacted them again and told them they have until 3/23 to have the check in my hand or I am filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, a Fraud complaint with my local police department, and will be researching how to file a small claims complaint against their company to get my money (and court costs) back. It was "only" $54, but that could have gone to my family for something worthwhile...They've messed with the wrong family...I won't let go of this until I have my money back or put their company out of business!

my story was, a girl named lori Smith knocked at my door somewhat an hour ago, then offered me this kind of stuffs to help her get a scholarship program. she'd explained this and that; i asked her a question, so where r u going for college; she replied south carolina. i asked her, what degree are u trying to pursue, she said agriculture...? to tell the story short, i went online and search for this company. as soon as i came to this website and read all your comments, the first thing i have in mind was to call my bank and cancelled my check.

It's my turn... My wife just found our receipt for Family Fun that we ordered back in June of 2010...this handsom kid said he was with some soccer team trying to go to Germany for training...normal name "Steven Burton", but we have not received anything either...I guess I will call the company and see what happens

WOW - you can call me every type of lollipop out there. I "ordered" magazines for my daughter, neice and self in early September 2010. Check cashed pretty quickly. Same story as everyone else trying to get money for a trip to Europe, his name was Teddy Drum - not as bad as Krystal Ball but still...It is now February 9, 2011, no magazines and well beyond their 120-day delivery pledge. Tried the phone number - it was busy but will continue until I get someone on the phone.

i ordered 4-16-10 from a boy saying the same story about beating the girls in sales and winning a trip, etc... if i would order. i spent $51.00 for family fun to be delivered to my niece. as off today, they have not received one magazine! i wish i would have known about this scam earlier.

This just happened to me today. the two guys were extremely pushy and welcomed themselves into my home. I partly just bought something so they left. I quickly relized Iwas scammed and contacted the company threatening them with legal action due to these kids are legal responsibility of the company I sent in my reciept. i hope i get my money back the main guys name was darrek tainter and i found him on myspace just in case but atleast they didnt try giving a false name. I wish I wasnt so blind. foolish me, its christmas and some people dont care who they hurt. . but i did check his license. legal action should be taken! oh u have to send in a copy within 3 days of order!
oh this is his myspace picture.

BEEN SCAMED TO. ORDER 3 DIFFERENT MAGAZINES. ONLY COST $31.00 N PAID CASH. AND IT TAKES UP TO 120 DAYS TO GET YOUR MAGAZINES. SO I CALLED TODAY AND THEY COULDNT FIND MY NAME OR ODER NUMBER. AND I HAVE TO SEND IN MY RECEIPT FOR THEM TO LOOK AGAIN.. AND I TOLD THEM I DONT WANT THE MAGAZINE ANYMORE I WANT MY MONEY BACK AND THEY SAID THEY WILL REFUND ME...

I also ordered magazines and have not recieved them either and it pisses me off as well, i paid 50.00 for mine and when i called they told me that they should be in no later than june 10th and its way past that, so i dont know what's going on. so i guess i am gonna call them once again and demand my money back or i will get me a lawyer and take it from there cause i have 2 children that im taken care of and this is something i cant be fooling around with and im not going too!

I'd really like to contact this company but unfortunately, their phone number is disconnected and I have no way to contact them. They are FRAUDULANT and STOLE $85.00 from me. This infuriates me when I placed the order, out of the goodness of my heart, and now I get nothing in return.

They're here in Southern California too, specifically Lompoc, CA. I believe I also fell for the scam. But, I'm happy to say I beat them at their own game. A very nice, innocent-looking girl came to my apartment a few weeks ago and pretty much gave the same story as everyone else: she was selling magazine subscriptions to win a trip to Italy with her highschool, and I could buy magazines to be donated to a business/hospital. I really enjoy receiving magazines, and I wanted to help her out, so I bought 4 magazine subscriptions and it came to $183.00. She was very adamant about getting cash, but I told her politely that I don't carry cash and was going to write her a check. She got an attitude and claimed that she got her points towards her trip immediately if she recieved cash. She even wanted me to drive her to an ATM and withdraw the money for her. Yeah, right. All sorts of warning sirens were going off, but I kbnew that I could look up the company and cancel the check if I thought I needed to cancel it. So, , I wrote her a check, and she left. Immediately, I got on the internet and looked up this company. Needless to say, I came across all your complaints (Thank you for posting them!). I immediately called my bank and put a Stop Payment on the check. It cost me $29.00, but that's better than $183.00. The Stop Payment went through almost immediately. Weeks have gone by, and my check hasn't been cashed because it's protected now by my bank. It feels good to beat them at their own game!

ok well my niece has just joined this company and I am so worried she has medical problems and is in and out of the er often. Ive researched this company and everything I have found has been negative I understand most people post stuff when they are angry but the stories of abuse scare me she is a naive 18year old girl who is boy crazy. I got to meet her manager she looked like a meth head and the kids on her crew looked the same the travel lodge I meet them at was in a bad area in town with hookers wondering around. I wanted to just throw her in the car and drive far away but thats kidnapping. I dont understand the manager told me they make so much money but why are they 4 kids to one room in a crappy hotel. The girls story didnt add up I asked to see her contractors license she looked confused and said they didnt need one but as i went threw all the research I found that some of the kids got in trouble for not having one and failed to appear in court and ended up having warrents in different states. If anyone has any advise please respond positive or negative I understand some crews are legit and some are not so please help me understand this.

I also thought I would be nice and purchased some magazines. I did receive them after calling and asking where the hell they were at! But of course I subscribed for 3 years and I ended up moving. I called in to ATLANTIC CIRCULATION and changed my address and that was the last magazine I saw. I only received about 6 issues out of the 3 years promised. I later had another person come by and try to sell me more but i informed him I had already purchased some but at that time i was unaware of the scam and again was finally receiving the issues or I may have punched the kid in the face and been on the look out for this van that is picking them up!

This is out of control. How can nothing be done about what's going on? It seems unreasonable that so many complaints can be made and no legal action has been brought forth. A kid came to my door with the same story listed and I thought it seemed fishy, but I went along with it anyway. As bad as it sounds, I'm glad I gave him cash...no canceled checks or stop payments to worry about. I will be going tomorrow to send in my refund request and see how that goes. It's outrageous that these people are getting away with this. This kid had an entire package of people's money on him. Also, he was requested military memorabilia as it would give him more "points." He had a ton of stuff already with him and I'm an idiot and gave him more. Not only does this kid running around San Antonio (a mil town) have everyone's money, he is also scamming people out of military patches, uniforms, ribbons, rank, etc. Anything he can get his hands on, it seems. My neighbor called the cops, but once again nothing can be done. Insane! Maybe we should all get a lawsuit against this company for allowing this to continue to happen and not bother to take any action against these people's fradulance.

IS A CLASS ACTION SUIT POSSIBLE?

I too was an idiot falling $108 worth. I fell for the "send the magazines to the kids in the hospital" story and I was trying to help out the kids selling, because I used to sell things as part of the HS band, girl scouts, JCs, etc. This is despicable and the first time I have ever been SCAMMED. It sucks, especially for the legit kids trying to sell for the right reasons or honest people trying to make a living.

Has an ESQ been scammed by this yet? Can we sue for 10+ years of thievery? It seems that we have no rights or recourse. I'm willing to put a few hundred towards getting an action moving against them. It seems like THOUSANDS have been scammed as well and many we can start a fund for a suit? Any ESQ's out there to advise?

There is a magazine crew travelling the US and scamming people.

I don't understand why this hasnt been stopped earlier! Help stop them.

Report, and complain about your situation

go to and fill out complaint forms be sure to use names so that they are easier to track down. :

www.fraud.org

www.consumerfraudreporting.org

and most importantly contact your State Attorney General.

The list is at consumerfraudreporting.org/stateattorneygernerllist.php

Please help stop!

Well, "Donna Stubbs" is now in Tucson, and came to my door selling magazines with Atlantic Circulation on Dec 11th. She did have a very southern accent, so maybe she's now moved from TX to AZ? Claimed she is a "military brat, " and wasn't able to have a senior trip since her family was always on the move, and was earning "points" for her trip via this fundraiser. She was very smooth and low pressure so I ended up giving $40 (plus a $13 p&h fee that was added on) to her, and even paid in cash as it gave her "extra points" that way. THEN I went in and googled Atlantic Circulation and felt like I had been taken...especially seeing the same name referenced the prior month in TX. So I immediately went to the post office and mailed a certified letter to Atlantic Circulation canceling my order. Today, 13 days later, I received a check for the $53 from Atlantic Circulation. So, that part was impressive. But "next time" I'll try to be a bit more cautious. I'm still not 100% convinced whether she was scamming me or not.

I ordered a magazine and paid $60.00 to help a "college student" or so he said. Well...November and no magazine. I contacted the Better Business Bureau and they handled it promptly. The independent contractors may be the ones ripping people off, but, in the end it is the Company themselves that allow these people to tarnish their name. The customer service number is useless, as everyone receives a busy signal. A company (if it is reputable and wants to stay in business) does not operate in this manner.

This is a lesson to be learned, and passed on. There are other magazine companies that affiliate themselves with elementary schools and organizations that are reputable and deliver the goods and still help raise money.

It has been over 5 months since I was hit up for magazines. I subscribed to a Disney magazine for my kids. I called Atlantic Circulation and was told that they don't know why I don't have it that I need to contact the Company who makes the magazine. They even gave me the phone number. I called them and was told that Atlantic Circulation submitted my subscription at the end of November. The receipt states you will have the magazine no longer than 120 days. Give Atlantic a call and get the phone number to the actually magazine. They will let you know if they have reveived the order or not. I definitely will not be doing this again. The phone number to Atlantic Circulation is [protected]. Somebody actually answered today. Good Luck everyone.

This sweet young girl made the same sales pitch in North Austin. She said she was trying to win points to go on a trip and that she was home schooled. She even said that she is a communications major and that this job has helped her get over her fear of talking in public. She goes by the name of ashley and she is very well spoken and very convincing. I was skeptical at first and stated that I did not read magazines. She then stated that the Children's Hospital can use the magazines and that the donations will be for a good cause and tax deductible. She then started to ask if I took standard deductions or itemized deductions which I thought was an odd question to ask. Apparently she asked that question because if I took the standard deduction then I would not report that $174 "donation." Another thing she said she lived close to UT campus but it looks like these girls and guys travel to different cities trying to perpetuate this scam. Always go with your gut instinct, if you feel it is a scam, most likely it is a scam.

I agree with another poster. She left the same sticker that stated "just quit it! Ash hit it! HS pounded!" Which pretty much means that you were taken by a con artist.

Most likely the Children's Hospital will not receive the magazines nor will I receive my money back since I paid in cash. Once she left, I went into detail to read up about this company. Found the same exact stories about the fraud. This company needs to be put out of business.

She came up to North Austin on Nov. 30th, 2009. Be Aware!

Ok, there are kids here in Houston, TX (close to Katy) selling magazines... offering to send them to the Troops or St. Judes as well... dang it, the kid had a really good sales pitch, kept good eye contact and seemed dressed just fine... I wanted to trust him, so I did... I guess I'll have to wait and see if I get any magazines... When I participated in this to years ago I DID get the magazine, so I thought this was the same thing... We'll see, I'll post in a few months...

These people can kiss my ###! They are fakes, frauds, and phonies! Like I said, "They can kiss my natural lilly white ###!"

Unfortunately, these teens convinced me to purchase a 3 years subscription for $36 last night. I assume I won't be receiving any magazines after reading the other complaints. They are in the Flower Mound, Texas area (close to Dallas). Same type of story about winning a trip to Paris and very persistant. I will notify the local police immediately. (Oct 5, 2009) The girl said her name was Donna Stubbs, homeschooled, and that she was from Georgia but moving to Pasadena, Tx. My impression was that she was on speed by her rapid and rambling talking. I will always perform a google search on the company IN THE FUTURE before considering any purchase! Might be good to take a picture of them with your phone camera as well...

I was also scammed by Travis in July in Niagara Falls in July. I wrote a ck for $90 and gave him $30 cash. I have not recieved a thing but the company sure cashed the check. Being a single mother of 3 children I am very upset and the number for the company is disconnected. Go figure!

What ALL these people have said is very true. If you are confronted by/with this company DO NOT BUY A DAMN THING, as you will NEVER see it! I feel bad for all these folks, and it almost happend to me too un till I grew a pair and wrote this company a nice little letter!
- J Rob

I was scammed by a boy named Robert, i knew it was a scam a month later because a guy that lived near the hotel they were in saw them get busted by a swat team for pot and other drugs they were giving the kids, needless to say they packed up and left again . The kids were tired and dirty and one said he wasn't fed that night and that his friends felt sorry and put what change they had together for food. I paid for like 3 years of a magazine and still haven't recieved it! If something is done about this company I would like to help! So they are scamming the kids and the victim customers here. Not to mention one of my neighbors pulled out a gun on this boy (one reason i bought the magazine) i could hear his stomach growl as he was talking! Thisis cruel and torture for those kids not to mention the money we loose trying to help out kids !

me and a friend just joined this company because she was friends with one of the owner and he told us that if we didnt like it he would buy us a ticket back home. i was there for a day and he was already handing out pot to us. the next day i told him i wanted to go home. he had a couple people take me to the bus stop and i ended up having to sleep outside in oregon, 2000 miles from home, untill morning.

Today (July12, 2009) this group is in Niagara Falls, NY. Two boys appeared at my apartment door with the same bogus story about the boys team trying to beat the girls team for a trip to Europe. During the sales pitch the two boys threw in questions like "are you married?" and "where do you work; what hours do you work?". I was uncomfortable at their questions, and at what seemed to be attempts to look around my apartment into different rooms. The first boy (Travis) did a good sales talk and I ended up buying 2 magazines -- he said I would get one free. After writing out a check for him, he whispered something to the other kid and left. The other kid attempted to get me to take him to my ATM to withdraw money for more magazines! He said "I'll even drive your car for you." At that point I told him we were through and he could leave. He then asked me if I had "a bite to eat" for him. I repeated that we were done. After they left I found a sticker on my door that said "Travis hit it, so quit it". How offensive!

I IMMEDIATELY called my bank and put a stop-payment on the check; and tomorrow I will take advantage of the cancellation option on the back of the receipt. REMEMBER, you have 72 hours from the time you sign the receipt to cancel the contract. I'm going to send the cancellation to Atlantic Circulation via priority mail. It's worth the $5.95 to me. All I have to do is prove I signed and mailed it within the 3-day window. They can't cash the check anyway. I also called and reported these scam artists to the police so they're on the lookout for them. Notify your local newspapers so no one else gets taken by these people!

BEWARE! & BE WARNED! This group is soliciting in Voorhees NJ today. Police have received numerous complaints that they are loose on the town. Girl that came to our house said that she lived with her grandma up the street. Gave me an address that i knew wasn't hers. Then she said that she was home schooled and didn't know the kids around here as she just moved here from Calif. She stated that she was on the Strikers Soccer Team which is a popular team in town. I could tell they she was a scammer as she had alot of canned responses. Cops got her a few houses down but could only warn & push her into the next town. Soliciting a bogus fundraiser for a team that they don't belong to should be punishable by law. I can't collect for a charity and keep the funds. Something should be done with this company who trains these kids to be scammers.

I just got scammed today by a girl, "Krystal Ball" selling me the same magazine subscription. She said I could donate the magazine to a non-profit organization so I asked her to donate "Sporting News" to the local YMCA. When I looked at the receipt after she left, I realized she did not put anything about the YMCA on the form. I called the police about thirty minutes after but have not heard anything back yet. I am in Northern California so it is spreading!

I am another "scammed" one.. ordered magazines from a young lady that was trying to get points, trip and education but have not received any magazines... something should be done about this "scam" asap!

I guess I am another 'scammed one' ... I placed magazine order and have not received any magazines. I felt for the young girl selling them, wanting her points & education... and winning a trip. I had no idea this could/would be a scam. And a shame that people can send innocent young people out to do the 'bad' work for them and take peoples money. Something should be done about this asap! I would like to know if 'anyone' ever received any magazines?

Keri, I am having your same problem. I just called customer service and they told me about the refund check for the cancellation of my order. Please let me know whether or not you receive your money back.

This is a SCAM!

After giving cash for a subscription of magizines to two girls who seem to be inocent, trying to beat a boys team in a magizine selling competion, I just had a bad feeling, why would these girls be from out of town selling magizines in my small town. Just didnt make sense! I searched the web to find out that this bs company atlantic circulation inc is scamining people and has been doing so for many years. My question is does the parents of these poor children know that their children are representing a fraudulent company?

I ordered back in november 08, check cashed almost immediatly, NO MAGAZINES, as of april09! I called they told me that they wouldnt be sent out until march 09, and that I would not get my money back, now its april and I just got off of the phone and they said that I would not be recieveing my Magazines until July 09, but said that they would send out a refund, I requested the refund and Nikki @ extention 1101, said it would be sent out within 7-10 buisness days, heres hoping, bet they have a nice lil savings account building interest with all our money, and as far as legit, NO company is legit if they take your money for MONTHS and dont provide you with the product or service you have purchased, and be aware your bank cant help you dispute it if you write a check, because the check is you giving permission for them to take your money! well see what the outcome is!

I would contact the company. Sometimes the salespeople don't turn in their orders, sometimes orders get lost in the shuffle. I was a manager for this company a few years back, they are legit, and respond well to customer inquiries - contact them at [protected]