M2 Media Group review: m2 media group 76

First, I really appreciate the suggestions some of you have provided. I was able to get a live human at M2 Media Group, and she was very helpful. I learned that my unwanted subscription to Prevention was a "bonus" from a Pro Flowers order I placed earlier in the year. I usually pride myself in being a pretty shrewd fine print reader, but I must have missed the little box you need to uncheck in order to prevent receiving this bonus. While I find it extremely annoying that companies must resort to burying promotional gimmicks in the fine print and making consumers jump through hoops to get any kind of resolution, this experience has just reminded me that I can't get too comfortable or hasty in placing online orders -- a few extra minutes to read and perhaps re-read through everything is certainly worth not going through this again. :)

Same thing. Again Some lawyer needs to take this upas a class action lawsuit.

I did not order Enterprise Magazine and do not wish to continue receiving them, this happened on a couple of occasions and if it keeps occurring I will have o take further steps, why receive something you will never read, enough is enough

I did not order Black Enterprise Magazine and I do not wish to keep receiving them I called the phone that I located in the magazine and was told this is a free magazine, but I still do not want it.

Thank You
Eldora Nichols

Having the same experience, started receiving Parenting Magazine and my children are 38 and 34. Then I started receiving Entertainment Weekly. I also do business with Vista Print so I will contact them first to voice my displeasure with this practice and see if they can cancel the subscriptions. It they can't they will lose me as a customer. There are other businesses out there that offer the same service that they do. I do appreciate others posting the local numbers for M2 Media. I'll use them if necessary.

I received an unsolicited copy of Money magazine in the mail a couple weeks ago, and a "special offer" for a reduced cost "renewal" from them the other day. My fiancé used to work for a bank and is into all things money, but while I like to consider myself an independent liberated woman, finances are not my forte, so since he enjoys the subject so much, I let him be in charge of that domain. Point being, there is just no way I would have ever ordered a copy of this magazine for myself, and the subscription showed up in my name. After reading the other comments, I'm pretty sure that my mysterious subscription to Money magazine came from Vistaprint too. I do recall there being a "free magazine" offer screen when I placed my last Vistaprint order, but I could have sworn I opted out. As others have noted, an attempt to cancel the magazine subscription directly through the distributor is impossible. I'm not even going to bother calling M2 Media Group, I'll contact Vistaprint tomorrow, and think long and hard about whether I want to continue business with them. (Which is a shame for them if I decide I don't, because I'm in the process of starting a business and expect to need a lot of business cards, and probably a fair amount of promotional items over the years too.)

I've received 3 issues of Essence magazine recently. As a 57 year old white male, it is not a publication I would choose to subscribe to. Had the same experience as other folks when I contacted the publisher (not an easy task to find a phone number for them), and was told to contact m2media.com. Got an autoresponder to my email--didn't bother calling based on the experiences noted by others. Contacted VistaPrint by chat and received an apology from them, along with an offer to cancel the subscription, which I immediately accepted. Now, we'll see if they actually stop. Regardless, it is a shameful and disturbing business practice to do this to your customers, and it can only backfire on them.

I received a copy of Entertainment Weekly and I could not figure out why, when, where or how it happened. Called the mag co & they could not cancel it, only suspend it and referred me to M 2 Media group. They did nothing, but said "they will look into it". I found lots of reviews that led me to correlate my last order with Vistaprint and the "free subscription" from M 2 Media Group. I have no other business dealings with the other partner sites. Anyhow, I called Vistaprint to cancel my magazine subscription, they did help me. I expressed my concern and informed them of the many annoyed and upset people about this practice. I hope it will change and/or stop this stupid practice. I would drop the M 2 Media group relationship like a bad habit for what they do to the customers. I hope I do not have to drop Vistaprint but I will consider it if they continue to do do this type of practice with each order. I don't have the time to deal with it. Nor did I have the time to waste with fixing this screw up they offer as a "great value added extra". Free cards, brochures, etc. or free shipping & handling would have been better.

I also received 2 unsolicited "free" magazine subscriptions that I traced to an order with VistaPrint. I was also told by the publishers of the magazines that the only way to cancel them was to contact M2 MediaGroup's toll-free number. I don't like talking to machines, so I did some digging and found 2 LOCAL numbers for M2's company offices in CT. Here they are: Main #: [protected] and their "customer service" number [protected]. On the first number, it asked for an extension, so I just entered "112", "113, " "114", etc. until a live person picked up a line. I suggest that anyone who has been subjected to this operation CALL M2's LOCAL COMPANY OFFICE NUMBERS and insist on speaking to a manager or supervisor to get your subscription cancelled. This circumvents their automated toll-free system (which may or may not get your subscription cancelled) and will eat up a lot of their staff time. They wasted YOUR TIME in making you track them down to cancel something YOU NEVER ORDERED. Now you can waste their time in return.

what this is a ### by a nasty dirty salesman that has no honor
the bottom line is you either pay are get a bad credit report.
they don't care just after your money.
you would think that the attorney general would investigate this and shut then down .
better yet put then in jail for extortion.

Same story here - They started mailing me Essence magazine to my work address. I'm a 40 year old white guy. My employer hates it when people get there personal mail sent to work so they actually told me I had to suspend the subscription. I told them I had no idea how I started to get the magazine anyways but they didn't really care. I then called Essence magazine and they told me about M2 Media but gave me no satisfaction. I was really mad because I felt as if they used my identity without my consent to promote magazine sales. I demanded someone in management call me. The next day a representative at Time Publications finally called me back but she couldn't understand why I was so upset, it was a free subscription after all, she said. I said let me put this in perspective for you; Would you mind if I bought you a 12 month subscription of Blacks on Blonds and had it mailed to your office? She said that's not the same, it's indecent. I said exactly, and that's why an advertising group should not be allowed to randomly subscribe private citizens to random publications because you DO NOT know who finds what indecent.

If VistaPrint did this to me, I will never order from them again. I always uncheck for any offers on all websites I join. I am getting Cigar Aficionado each month, and I'd guess that it happened after I placed an order with VistaPrint last year. I called Cigar Aficionado to cancel, and they refused. Sending me to M2 Media Group to be exploited again! Rude!

My 89 year old Mom is getting Martha Stewart Living and Vogue! We never ordered them and we are concerned also there is no way to speak to someone in person. We are afraid they have gotten her personal information! I don't know what to do!

Sorry to hear of your situation with Vista Print, next time you need marketing assistance please email me.

Thank you,
Sally Nelson
Peerless Promotions
www.peerlesspromotions.net
sallynelson@peerlesspromotions.net

I too am a white woman receiving Essence magazine (a magazine for black persons). No matter what I try, I can't get Essence to stop sending me this magazine. Well, they don't have my credit card info and I've never gotten a bill (better not, or I'll sic my attorney husband on them!), so I just chuck the magazine into the recycling bin every time it comes. Sure it's annoying, but it's them who are wasting their time and money sending me a magazine I never ordered! I tried to change my address to M2 Media as some have suggested but it says I don't have a subscription, so I can do that. Oh well! What a crazy world. Maybe I'll use it to line my daughter's hamster cage next time... seems fitting!

I have not used VistaPrint, so I don't know where my unwanted subscription to Oprah magazine came from. There must be other sites that do the same thing. I want to thank the people who posted here for giving me the phone number and suggestions, which I'm trying out now.

I agree with the concerns expressed over this matter. In this age of identity theft & so forth, it is quite disturbing to receive ANY piece of unsolicited mail, especially magazines that will eventually ask for subscription information and other personal data which many of us wish to keep off the internet and out of databases. All the companies that have agreed to use M2 Media as an avenue to increase business really ought to rethink that strategy. They aren't going to increase customer loyalty, only destroy it. And the magazine publishers don't seem to care nor have any discretion over this type of marketing ploy. I too have received unwanted Martha Stewart mags after ordering from Vista Print. Will definitely rethink that option again when needing business cards and signage. Their lower prices aren't worth the extra time and aggravation caused. Vista probably gets paid a few cents by M2 Media for each click, so they aren't likely to stop the practice.

I googled this because I too found a free subscription in my work mailbox and was completely confused. The Vistaprint thing makes sense since I ordered like 304934 things from them recently. However, not quite sure why everyone on here is BUGGING out and going frantically around trying to cancel. It's a FREE subscription, how does this hurt you? I guess I got lucky with a subscription to InStyle so I'm not complaining.

I got the same number and same information when I called US Weekly about a suspicious call that I had recieved. They told me that it was probably M2M calling about getting me to renew, and gave me the [protected] number; where it is impossible to speak with a human. So I did a little digging, aided by the address posted by another complainant and was able to find an actual phone number. [protected]. With this number it asks you to enter an extension or to use the dial by name directory. The best thing is to input the first few letters of a common name. That will get you to someone but they aren't open on weekends.

I had, to my surprise and disgust, started getting Martha Stewart who I HATE beyond belief and would never order anything she offers! So I've read all the complaints and decided to do a little of everything that you've done. I first called Martha Stewart Living 800.999.6518 and told them to change the address to M2 Media Group listed above (thanks for that:):) then I emailed M2, sent a letter to M2 and with the letter the first two copies of Martha Stewart Living and also called Vista Print and gave them a good chunk or two of my mind, followed by an email to this Blue Dolphin which apparently seems to be a part of this too! So thanks everyone for the sound advice. Can't even express how much I despise Martha "jailbird" Stewart arrogant ###!

I too ordered from VistaPrint, and will also be contacting them. I wonder how these companies would feel if class action law suits were files against them?

I just recently received Good Housekeeping (not a magazine I would choose) and called Good Housekeeping, only to be told to contact M2 Media Group. Of course, there was no person to speak to, so I wrote a strongly worded e-mail to them requesting the name of the partner who provided them with my address. I am looking into the legalities of this as it is being done without proper consent.

Thanks for all the information. Started receiving Brides magazine about 6 months ago - thought it was just a fluke. Then came Real Simple, Dwell, and Smithsonian over the last couple of months. I did the research and tied most of them to M2 Media - but wasn't sure who their partner was. You helped by pointing to VistaPrint which we use occasionally. Thanks again for all the info!

Vistaprint ... Thats it ... I a 50 year old white guy living in Missouri, imagine my surprise when I started recieving ESSENCE magazine ... I did find a link to cancel my subscription but you end up only suspending it ...if it starts back up I'll change the address to M2 Media Group ( I LOVE THAT IDEA ) ... Now I'm off to Vistaprint to let them know of my displeasure and that they have lost my buisness :) ... I'm going LOCAL lets keep our monies in our own communities

I've asked M2 Media to stop my Martha Stewart Living about 5 times now. I'm sure it happened from Vista Print. I get upset each time I get this magazine that is REALLY unwanted. I can't even get MSL to cancel the subscription. You'd think they would care at how annoyed I am at their magazine. I never had any opinion of them, and now it's all bad.

Just reveived 3 copies of Martha Stewart Living today... same story, could not cancel. WHen I called M2, same story, I was told to go to a web site and give personal 411 to cancel the subscription. I will do as another poster did today, change my address to M2 media group! Is this een legal what they are doing?

Ahhhhh... Now I order from visaprint all the time - but this last time(end of June) I must not have paid as much attention.. I just started getting newsweek and marth stewart living. So glad someone noted this - I would have been pulling my hair out trying to figure out how I knew M2 MEDIA GROUP.

I too received a business week magazine this week I did not order, I called business week to cancel the magazine and was emailed that the order was placed by M2 Media group. I also purchased something from vista print last month, but i un checked the box for any other items so be very careful when you buy something from vista print in the future or you too will get a magazine you did not order or want.

Like several complaints on this site, in Nov 2010 I began receiving a magazine I had not subscribed to. I began my research by using the mailing label to create a login for the online version of the magazine. Once there, I looked up "payment" or "billing" under which I found:
This subscription was purchased through M2 MEDIA GROUP who can be reached at [protected]. Please call M2 MEDIA GROUP for all payment-related inquiries.
Googling M2MEDIA GROUP I got to this website http://www.m2mediagroup.com and email address service@m2mags.com and sent an inquiry on Dec 7.
Since then, I was placing a new order on Vistaprint, which bombards you with "special offers" during the checkout process, and noticed the free subscriptions page and realized I must have blown past it the last time I ordered.
Anyway, I finally rec'd the following response on Feb 4 2011:
*In response to your note below, you are receiving Xyz magazine as a result of making an online purchase with VistaPrint.com. The magazine was included as a bonus offer with your purchase, and can be found in the checkout process under the ‘Magazine’ tab. By default, the subscription was sent to the billing address used during your purchase.
There are no hidden costs, further obligations, or automatic renewals associated with your subscription. Your credit card information was not passed to us.
Your cancellation request will be forwarded to the publisher for processing. Please note that based on the timing of your cancellation you could still receive another issue.
I apologize for the delay and any inconvenience.*
SO, this situation is not as devious as some seem to believe. It is a lesson in reading carefully every page you click, even if you are on a familiar site. I hope my experience has been helpful to others.

Same story. I am a white guy now getting Essence. Can't seem to talk to a person at M2 and Essence won't cancel. So I went to Essence website and did an address change to M2's address. Let's see how they like their complementary subscription.

M2 MEDIA GROUP
1127 HIGH RIDGE ROAD
#335
STAMFORD State: CT
06905
[protected]
EMAIL = SERVICE@M2MAGS.COM

Same story here. I'm a white woman in the suburbs ... and now apparently also an Essence magazine subscriber.

I received a copy of "field & stream" magazine in August 2010 and added it to my list of unwanted catalogs at catalogchoice.org and received a reply from "field & stream" magazine that M2 Media group ordered it and I had to contact them. I also keep receiving renewal forms for the subscription to "field & stream", which I never subscribed to in the first place. They are signed with Connie Cotner. In case anybody is interested in her e-mail address: connie.cotner@bonniercorp.com. I replied back in catalogchoice.org and I e-mailed Mrs. Cotner. Apparently people also receive threatening letters stating that, if they don't pay the subscription fee, that it will mess up their credit or something like that. Check out the link for it: http://ask.metafilter.com/144918/Saveur-subscription-scam-savvy

same here! started receiving Women's Health Magazine in my name so I contacted their customer service and they told me M2 Media set up the account under my name! Therefore, I wasn't able to cancel the account even though it is under MY NAME! and I was instructed to contact M2 Media in order to have them to cancel the account. However, when I made the call, it was just a recording and no way to speak to anybody...

I was not treated as kindly as you were... I can home one day to find a Women's Health Magazine in my name. When I called their customer service department, they told me that I needed to call M2 Media to cancel it. When I did, same as you guys, there was no way to talk to a person. So I called Women's Health back and was told that there was NO way to cancel my unwanted, unauthorized subscription. I was on the phone for 25 minutes! And the most they could do was suspend the subscription! I did what they said to do and sent an e-mail to the M2Media company telling them I didn't order this, they sent back an auto-reply directing me to a website that wanted me to type in all of my information (address, phone number, and other things that I just don't want to give out over the internet) I don't like this at ALL!

The same thing happened to me. I started receiving Forbes magazine even though I've never subscribed for it. When I contacted them on their website, they informed me that my subscription had been made through M2 Media group, which like you, I've never heard of prior to this incident. Forbes was kind enough to cancel the subscription for me, and even relayed my complaint to M2.