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Synapse Group review: magazine renewal 65

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12:26 pm EST
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I sent for a preview of several Magazines for several months for a very small fee. I used my credit card to pay this fee. This company has sent me a notice that all the magazines that I previewed (7 Magazines) would be automatically be renewed at A really high price and if I wanted to cancel, I could call a number, toll free. After calling the number, they cancelled my subscription and started a new one with no way of canceling on the automated phone call that I had made. When I ordered the previews, there was no mention of the automatic renewals. I feel I been used by this company ! If I ever get out of this I will never preview another magazine again. Do you know an e-mail for this company, I cannot find anything but a bunch of phone numbers ? Thank You, Louis M Castrello

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65 comments
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solecurious
Venice, US
Apr 19, 2011 6:32 pm EDT

I accept my responsibility of being less diligent, however I strongly agree that the company's method is "shady" in employing tactics to trap the less careful or diligent person. I agree perhaps we had not been diligent. But I can't even remember how we got the "free" magazines - it was addressed to my husband who doesn't read magazines, especially Martha Stewart's Living. In any case, we'd never dealt with SynapseConnect before. So when SynapseConnect mailer arrived the first year, we must have thrown it away. Again I don't remember receiving a notice. This is our second year "subscription" and I happened to read the content. Out of curiosity, I logged online to figure out how they ended up managing our subscription. That's how I came across all the complaints. I took prompt action. Sure enough when I rang to cancel our "subscription", the pauses bet the automatic prompts were abnormally long that I thought I was being cut off. I almost hung up until I heard the prompt to confirm if I'd said no. Obviously it didn't end there. There were a couple more enticing offers which I had to say no and again waited for the long pauses. SynapseConnect was deliberate in employing such repetitive delay tactics and hoping your less diligent self will allow them to keep charging. SynapseConnect had no intention to make it easy for anyone to cancel. THAT is obviously not an honest company.

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larrbag
Dallas, US
Mar 10, 2011 6:49 pm EST

I signed up for my free ($2 each) magazines last June (2010). I kept the cancellation number and called today (March 2011) to cancel. The cancellation was pretty simple, although you do have to cancel one at a time, and just answer no to all the "special renewal offers".

Yes, it's a "shady" business, but I did get four magazines for a year for $8. I knew going into it that if I didn't cancel then I risked paying who-knows-what for the renewals. How else do you think a company that offers you magazines for $2 is going to make money? Come on people, have a little intelligence!

I suspect that most people on this board that are complaining are really just mad at themselves for not canceling, but of course this is America and we have to blame somebody else for all our problems.

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Sandy Ray
, US
Sep 28, 2019 5:22 am EDT
Replying to comment of larrbag

I realize that there is a great deal to get magazines for a year and Mom were free. However, the company debited my PayPal account which I had never given to them. I did the office to my AllState rewards and even all state does not have my PayPal account. When I asked the company how they were able to debit my PayPal account without my authorization, I received no answer. I am furious that someone can debit my PayPal account without my authorization.

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AP2011
, US
Jan 19, 2011 9:04 pm EST

I got an Exclusive Offer from http://www.freebizmag.com whom I have found to be very reliable. However the offer is the Following:

Noise Canceling Headphones
Lightweight and comfortable headphones provide up to 15db of active noise cancellation, reducing the ambient sounds around you.
Enjoy your music without having to turn up the volume to overcome the roar of engines or road noise. Padded headband and ear-cups provide comfort for hours of wear and the in-line controller allows for easy volume adjustment. Batteries not included.
Yours FREE Just pay $2.99 s&h

The CATCH:
"The account you provide will be charged the amount shown. Please allow six to eight weeks for delivery. The name, address, email and account information you provide will be collected by Gift Services, Inc. to process and fulfill your selection. "

WHOIS Gift Services, Inc.?
Gift Services, Inc. and SynapseConnect, Inc., 225 High Ridge Road, East Building, Stamford, CT 06905, are the vendors for this offer.

FORGET ABOUT IT!
***Thank's everyone! I will not get sucked into this scam

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linz77
, US
Jan 13, 2011 1:58 pm EST

I received a stupid post card but when you call you can not speak to anyone and the automated thing says yes even when you say no. I re-enrolled me and I said no. I got charged the very next day and now I can not cancel. This gimmick stinks!

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Patrianna
Mills, US
Jan 07, 2011 5:41 pm EST

Here is a website I found to contact Synapse Connect online...www.magcustomerservice.com
Hope this helps for anyone that needs further service other than an automated voice system...all you need is your Subscription ID to locate your records.

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Elessann
, US
Jan 05, 2011 10:05 pm EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I never received a postcard notifying me that the magazines I ordered were up for renewal, or I would have cancelled. As it was, I just happened to find my original purchase confirmation, noted the date, and called to cancel, only to find out that they had already charged my card. I fell for the "cancel at the end of the billing cycle" option, and didn't realize until 3 weeks later (after no refund appeared) that I was not going to get a refund. I was also charged for an additional renewal, which I had been told had already been cancelled. I had to call back and be very firm with a real live person that they WERE going to refund my money for all three subscriptions, and they said that they would (minus costs for already mailed issues - hah!). We'll see in 10 days if the refunds are actually credited back to me.

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pctroll
Harbor, US
Dec 29, 2010 7:56 pm EST

Sorry to rain on most everybody's parade, but the system works as it is supposed to and is of great benefit to an alert subscriber. It's not a rip-off, it's a promotional offer: if Time-Warner did not want it to continue they would discontinue the offer. You receive an EXTREMELY inexpensive one-year subscription, possibly even at a loss to Time-Warner. SynapseConnect sends a postcard 11 months later giving your the chance to cancel an almost full-price renewal. You call the number, give them the ID#, and say "no" to their other questions (unless you are canceling more than one magazine). I've never had any muss nor fuss at cancellation. I then do a Biz-Rate survey to renew the Sunset subscription I've just canceled, and enjoy Sunset for another year for a just a few dollars. I do need to find a site where I can change the address on an existing subscription to Bon Appetit, though.

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roeb
Philadelphia, US
Dec 22, 2010 3:29 am EST

Ordered 6 issue subscription thru recycle web site. Continued to receive issues after 6. Just researched how to find who was charging me.
Charged 6 times amount for renewal. Never asked or sent any notification, just charged my card. Says refund pending but still paid way too much for issues received. what a major rip-off. Do not subscribe to trial subscriptions. Say they will ask permission to renew, but they don't.

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Skirre
, CL
Dec 13, 2010 8:34 am EST

I am extremely annoyed with this! My credit card expired this year and I received a new one with different details, the subscription people managed to arrange a payment with my old details, this is considered theft in my eyes. Also the last of the 3 options is horibble. I selected the wrong option by stating yes, since it says it will cancell your subscription after this payment. I corrected this with the other 3 magazines but as scaly as all their activities are I am not able to go back again and cancel it with immediate effect! Also I am phoning from abroad and can thus not use the toll free line! No working e-mail address... I can now see why the states is the country with the most amount of fraud and scams... This is just unacceptable. Also did not get a confirmation letter or authorisation request. Anybody has a international te number that I can use to contact them?
Thank you for making me aware and providing info as to where I can do some of the cancellations etc... But I'm sad to say that I most probably will need to cut my losses since they do not accommodate enquiries outside the USA. Scaly [censor]!

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Chabin562
Washington, US
Dec 03, 2010 2:55 pm EST

SynapseConnect = Very Shady Business! Surprised to learn that Time Warner owns them. I was shocked to see renewal charges (over $100) on my credit card. Because I have never received the "renewal notice" in the fine print when I signed up a year ago. Their phone system and website is set-up to trick and entice people to buy. They are only trying to get as much $$ from you as they can. At the most, the phone system and website only get you refund of mags not yet in queue to be mailed out to you. Be sure to call the toll free number, hit "0" to speak with customer service rep, and his/her supervisor to get the FULL refund. Don't let them get away with even a penny of yours! BTW, the billing dep lady is a b**ch!

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tripoley1966
Salina, US
Nov 02, 2010 5:33 pm EDT

SynapseConnect is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Time Warner (which publishes many of these magazines):

http://www.synapsegroupinc.com/timeline.html

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chiyan
Morrisville, US
Sep 15, 2010 2:23 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

i just called 1.877.294.1093 and some one answered the phone luckily..without any voice prompts.
i spoke with them and cancelled the subscription. They said it would take 72 business hours or one to two billing cycles to credit my account back. waiting for it with full hope.

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cosmic-muffin
Pittsburgh, US
May 02, 2010 9:36 am EDT

I went to magcustomerservice.com, entered my subscription ID, and was able to cancel (it's tricky, keep saying No until the last one that says 'Do you want to cancel billing?'.

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Lilybud
, US
Mar 12, 2010 2:28 pm EST

I called to cancel and they did not have my magazines listed in their system, although they were on my credit card bill. I called my credit card company and they got them on the line by pressing 0 over and over again until they got a live representative. This is a really shady way to do business. I won't go for it again and I don't think magazines are doing themselves any credit by being affilitated with them. Mags are now cancelled.
Hope that helps someone!

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KSSue
Clearwater, US
Oct 28, 2009 2:29 am EDT

they DO have an online option for service and cancellation which asks the same "deal" questions. Be sure to answer "NO THANKS" to all of them. The third question is tricky because it asks if you want to process a cancellation that will cause your subscription to expire at the end of this billing period (which for me was showing Oct 2010, a year from now) and never charge anything else; I think if you answer yes to that it will continue the current subscription until it expires and you will not get a refund. In my case they already charged me for another year ($75 for three mags) so hopefully will be able to get that refunded...I will be watching my credit card statement...had the same confirmation no for all three mags and did have to repeat the process for each one, but I THINK I was able to cancel all three.

The link was on the SynapseConnect/Synapse Group website and is at https://www.magcustomerservice.com; I clicked it and got a certificate error /warning at first but when I clicked more info from there it was suggested to add "www" in front of what "magcustomerservice.com" and that worked. If you have their postcard with the subscription ID, enter it without the dashes. You can also use the billing statement code.

Good luck everyone!

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HRpro
, US
Dec 04, 2018 5:20 pm EST
Replying to comment of KSSue

I was snagged in to ordering 4 free magazine subscriptions in response for doing a survey of one of my favorite retailers. They had my credi card since I was required to pay a nominal fee of $2 for processing. Once they had my credit card they did the following:
**immediately charged my credit card for all 4 of the magazines
**automatically renewed them using my credit card without my approval. One had a renewal of more than a hundred dollars!
**automatically subscribed me to several other magazines without my authorization.
I can follow the directions on here to cancel all these subscriptions, but my biggest concern is getting my money back. Anyone have any advice on how to go about getting a refund? It’s a lot of money and I cannot afford not to get my money back.

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nurse23
Tampa, US
Oct 20, 2009 3:13 pm EDT

Call [protected] and follow the prompts...I just did it and canceled everything!

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DMVQUEEN100
, US
Nov 16, 2018 5:19 pm EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more
Replying to comment of nurse23

The number on the renewal postcard did not allow cancellation. Thank you this number worked, it's a tedious process to cancel one at a time, but it's done. HORRIBLE COMPANY!

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KFarrey
Elwood, US
Sep 25, 2009 2:29 pm EDT

Try this:
http://www.synapsegroupinc.com/contactus.html

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wtfmate
, US
Aug 05, 2009 1:33 am EDT

I had gotten sample issues from 3 magazines. I was charged for all 3 but only sent 2 of them. Then I just received this postcard in the mail (that is made to look like junk mail) that says I will be charged for all 3 if I do not cancel. I called and canceled the first one. Then I tried to cancel the other two and it was saying I only had the one. There is no information about how else to contact them or the company name.

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Diana Gossman
, US
Nov 26, 2018 5:03 am EST
Replying to comment of wtfmate

I paid for this preview with PayPal and was able to cancel the auto renewal immediately with paypal. The merchant business name is: SynapseConnect Phone: [protected]

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Robine
Salinas, US
Jul 08, 2009 7:20 pm EDT

Very painful to subscribe...funny, I actually liked the magazines, but would never do business with a company that would operate this way. I plan to let the actual magazine publishers know this. There the ones who are hurt by it in the long run.
These tactics are wrong and they should know. Join me in reporting your experiences to the publishers of the magazines you have had issues with (no pun intended)
Robin

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MarcinTomasz
Redmond, US
Jan 25, 2009 9:12 pm EST

I got my subscription from FANDANGO.com, it says so on my business reply mail.

SynapseConnect entices you with amazing magazine pricing, but I assumed I would renew at their special price. NAHHHHHHHH, not gonna happen.

Anyways I am so happy that I decided to read the business reply mail even though I did not know what SynapseConnect was.

When you call the automated 800 number, [protected])

You can cancel your subscription, One at a time. BUT you have to listen carefully, they try to entice you again to try the magazine for a trial period at a significant discount, mine were 6 and 9 issues at $5.98. If you says no, they try to get you on a different magazine, you have to says no to that one as well.

You have to go through this song and dance for every magazine. So far as I can tell I have canceled them all.

Good Luck.

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