Destiny Sales Inc review: SCAM 19

I was ripped off by Destiny Sales. I paid for 2 magazine subscriptions back in Oct 2009. They told me I would not get my first issues until January. I still haven't received them so just called this morning and got a very unprofessional voicemail. I googled this company and find that they are a scam. The woman that came to my door was so so nice and I am usually the skeptical one when it comes to door to door selling. I'm extremely frustrated here! Does anyone know what I can do to report this or get my money back?

In September 2009 I was scammed by a representative of Destiny Sales Inc, which probably isn't even a real company. He claimed to be selling magazine subscriptions in order to better himself (from the ghetto, of course), since he would be offered a chance at college if he did well in sales. I wrote him a check for $183, the magazines never came, and "Destiny Sales" is unreachable. It is clearly a scam, and I should have listened to my gut when he was in our home.

Do not give these people money, and change your changing account if you wrote them a check. I recommed filing a complaint with your sheriff or police if you have also been scammed by this "company."

Just wanted to mention that I DID GET MY MONEY BACK. I'm in KS and have the same story as everyone above. Within 30 minutes of purchasing, I realized it was a scam. I had paid cash. I checked the back of the receipt (which, not surprisingly, the seller did not give me until I tracked him down at the neighbors for it), and read that I could get a refund if submitted within 3 days of purchase. I sent in the receipt carbon that night and within a few weeks received my refund check. I don't know if that is the norm, but I figured it was worth a try since I thought I might not receive anything anyway. And even if I ever did get my books, it was upsetting that the sellers fundraising story was a lie. I should also mention that I had emailed the company to tell them I was submitting my receipt. I did get a response from them and they told me that my request had to be postmarked within 3 days of the sale. Again, based on everyone's comments I was surprised I got an email response.

I had the same experience In Tulsa, Ok..They have been through my neighborhood several times..In the past I usually listened to the sad story and gave the person a $10 or a $20 to go away. Last time a bought 4 magazines from a young black girl. That was in April, 2010. Never recieved a magazine. Tried to call the number on the reciept also emailed the address on the reciept. have heard nothing back.

Bothell, WA - Nov. 12, 2009. Same story. Young, black male comes to our door. Tells us a s0b-story of overcoming a life of crime. He was making a fresh start, etc. He was sincere, I believe. Our check to Destiny Sales Inc cleared and yet we never received the magazines. The receipt says:
DESTINY SALES INC
PO BOX 660675 #31445
DALLAS, TX [protected]
1.800.952.9215
DestinySale@ymail.com
These [censor] scammed several of our neighbors as well.

Houston, TX. Different city, same story. I'm upset by this for multiple reasons; but, I think primarily I'm upset because it's apparent that this scam is far reaching and yet no one has done anything about it. These people are criminals, robbing honest people of their hard earned money. Why hasn't there been some sort of expose' on the news or something of that nature?

CHICAGO AREA (waukengan area): Well...Destiny INC seems to have conveniently changed their name to 2nd Time Around INC. Same Dallas PO Box number as Destiny INC (P.O. Box 660675) and same scam as described above by many in this blog. A younger African American male approached us in our neighborhood claiming to make a new start in life by selling magazine subscriptions. $30 for one subscription. Check or Cash only. 120 days to receive your magazine, same yellow receipt with little information or ever an order number.

And the Destiny Sales SCAM goes on. We live in Spring, (Houston area) Tx. As we were working in the yard on beautiful Sunday afternoon we were approached by a very polite young black male, J. Perry was his name. Said he was a single, hard working, Christian man trying to do the right thing. Selling magazines and not stealing or begging. Had chrildren home depending on him. Could we please help him out and purchase a magazine. WELL, stupid me trying to help him we bought 2 for a total of $142.00. That was March 7, 2010.

I finally called, not once but several times and get the same recording every time. However, the last time I called I got a return call. I think she made a mistake. I answered hello, and on the other end was who called dis numbu? Who be lookin four? So, I asked her if this was Destiny Sales and was this a legitimate busy. Oh ya, you be gettin yo magazines any day. It takes a while...then hung up. Last I ever heard from them. Called back several times...you think you might get someone...ya...ya...NOPE, you are disconnected. And don't waste your time sending an email. If you think they will return any message as stated on the recording...well let's just say you're fooling yourself. Best advise by you magazines from the end user or your local school kids. The rest is BS!

Found more information about the supposed owner on the BBB website:

Business Contact and Profile
Name: Destiny Sales
Phone: [protected]
Address: P.O. Box 772
Kaufman, TX [protected]
Principal: Linda Cranford, Owner
File Open Date: January 2008
Type of Business: Magazines Sold Door-to-Door
BBB Accreditation: This company is not a BBB Accredited business.

We live in the Chicago area and Destiny Sales is starting to make the rounds in Chicago area. They came to my house, while I was at work and scammed my 14 year old daughter out of $442. I am lucky she was not raped or killed. My daughter is instructed to not answer the door, when she gets home from school, but kids do stupid things. I filed a police report and the police are trying to track the person down. Since my daughter signed the check I am getting my money back from the bank, but this is a total embarassment for me that this happen.

If you been scammed, the first thing is to cancel the check immediately. They are real quick to cash the check. Most of the time, within an hour of selling you the magazines. The second thing, the person name is put on the top of the check with their birthday. Not 100% sure name and birthday are accurate, but our local police are trying to track down the idiot.

They usually do not stay in one town for for more then a day, so chances are they have moved on to the another town in your area before you can track them down.

I'm in VA also. It was a female that got me. This is my third time ordering from these people. Twice they came through but my luck ran out this time. I ordered in July 09 as well from this nice little thin chick with back to school and take care of my baby "game". It was a matter of time and I got took for $210.00. Thats OK. These people will get theirs if they robbed us and it may not be on our time, but they will lose more than they gained. Bottom line, this will never happen again! Keep them out of your house by not opening the door or tell them you do not have time to read magazines. Tell them you give to charity in other ways and you have experienced this before. My mind will not be changed.

I am going to file a report with the police. This is theft.
It is funny but a couple days after I made the mistake of answering the door, I read in the paper how a local woman was attacked by a door to door magazine sales person after she changed her mind and told him she would not subscribe. The company is a crook and they send unstable people into our neighborhoods. As for the woman at my door, I don't think she was aware of the scam. I can only imagine how much they get ripped off.

I'm in the club. My wife and her son (I was at work) were scammed by a "nice" african american woman who gave them a similar story about having a rough life, etc. etc. and got $150 for three magazines which never came. The receipt shown above looks exactly like the one I have with same address and non-working phone number. Live and Learn!

Embarrassingly, these scamsters talked me out of $460. I feel ridiculous now, but I found the situation very intimidating. I live in Glendale near LA, and the guy came by my house at night a few days before x-mas talking about how he was a former drug dealer trying to support his family. He kept pushing me to buy the subscriptions and wouldn't leave, and I had my 4-yr old daughter playing out front so I finally just wrote him a check so I could get him to leave. Tried cancelling the check the next day, but it was too late. Also mailed in the "cancellation notice" and emailed the address on the receipt, to no avail. Now, the 1-800 number on the receipt is disconnected.

Anyways, I filed a complaint with the Texas Attorney General's Office. If you haven't already done so, PLEASE fill out a similar complaint using the link below. If enough complaints get filed, maybe someone will actually shut this place down.

http://www.oag.state.tx.us/consumer/complain.shtml

Add another one to the count. I live in VA and had an unfortunate experience similar to the previous posters. My con-man was the survivor of a drive-by shooting, trying to save money to go to college and complete his degree. He was friendly and genuine enough to make the cause seem legitimate.

To the original poster from Minnesota, please post if you have any luck working with the authorities. I'm not sure there is any recourse at this point but it never hurts to try.

They ripped me off too. I had the high pressure "I'm a single African American Dad and I'm working my way back up in the world so I can take care of my daughter story" and I fell for it in October 2009 in Olympia, WA. Almost 5 months later and still not one magazine. Lesson learned. That was a waste of $67, but the shame of being ripped off and allowing people like that into my living room is the hard thing to live with. I KNEW IT while he was still in my house, but I was home alone and didn't feel like I could do anything about it. I knew I was being bullied and manipulated, but once they are in your house they could hurt you if you con't comply. Do not let these people in your door and go donate to a REAL charity instead to support people who want a hand up and not a hand out. The destiny people are criminals.

I'm also in virginia, they hit me up in Jul 09 also. I called after a couple of months because I didn't notice the 160 days note at the top of the receipt. The same phone message that is on the recording now is the same one that was on there three months ago. I too will not purchase anything from the door to door salesmen. The lady feed me a real good story and I fell for it, because normally I don't trust these folks walking up and down the street trying to make sales. This has also been a good lesson learned for me $118 dollars down the drain.

I've had the same experience in Virginia. I purchased two magazine in August 2009, nothing yet. The receipt says they have up to 160 days to get it going, but I'm thinking that's just to keep us at bay.

I've always rejected these folks before, but decided to hear the guy out. I did not believe him (since I sold a set of encyclopedias door to door once and was trained on how to use those stories), but figured that whether I believed him or not, I'd like to have the magazines.

I will check into alerting the authorities today. I note that their receipt also says you can cancel within three days, which is true -- but how would you except stop payment on the check, which would cost another chunk. I guess I'll put this one in the education column.

I have the same info as the previous poster on Destiny Sales, Inc.

I am in Minnesota as well. I also got the same story from a rep. I admired her story but now realize it was just a story. She explained how being African American and struggling in poverty as a youth, she wanted to rise above her hardships and earn her way up in the world. I admired her perserverence. I think she took advantage of stereotypes and used her ethnicity to her advantage. I have been trying to contact this company for months now. My purchase was in August. I think several of us should get together and sue this company. A class action lawsuit maybe? I still have my receipt as well. Here is the company info if you would like to call or email, not that it will help. If you notice, their answering machine says they are having phone problems and they have been for weeks but to keep trying. Bull-ony. Who has phone trouble these days?

Destiny Sales INC
P.O.Box 660675 #31445
Dallas Texas [protected]
U.S.A.
Phone: [protected]
Email: Sam Coles destinysale@ymail.com