Mystery magazine subscriptions, the fine print, and American Express
Filed under: Consumer Complaints, Buyer Beware
A well-educated, normally astute consumer recently related a story of $160 in unexplained charges on his American Express Gold Card. He found himself on the hook for subscriptions to magazines -- published by American Express -- that he couldn't remember ordering.That's because he didn't -- or did he?
The man, who because of his position in the financial industry didn't want his name attached to what actually occurred, had entered a sweepstakes early last year. It was a chance at instant riches and all he had to do was fill out a brief form that included some of his interests.
He said he didn't think much of it because he had received gift magazine subscriptions from family and hadn't really kept track of which he was actually supposed to get.
In June 2008, his card was charged for the magazines. He complained he didn't want them, the subscriptions were canceled and the charges were promptly reversed.
A couple of months ago magazines started showing up again. He had no idea why. Again, American Express canceled the subscriptions and credited him back. But, frustrated with the situation, he canceled his card.
Then came the explanation. The computer identified canceled subscriptions' renewal date and automatically
renewed them and billed him.
Here's what Amex has to say about the whole process:
"We never charge a customer for a product that they did not order," said Jill S. Davison, vice president of corporate communications for American Express Publishing Corporation.
She then explained how someone gets signed up.
"A customer receives an offer via mail. A customer returns an order form to our fulfillment center. We receive the order form, the order is entered into our systems, and then the customer is charged for the product ordered," Davison said, adding, "I assure you, we only charge customers who order our products." And, she explained, anyone unhappy with the situation they find themselves in after such a transaction has an out.
"It's also important to convey that if a customer orders a product and the customer is not satisfied or does not want the product, we will provide a full refund," Davison said.
While he appreciated American Express' courteous and prompt service, the customer didn't appreciate having to undo the charges. Still, he ate much of the blame.
When a smart professional gets lost in the fine print, you can be certain many others will, too. It's especially of concern when the company you are dealing with already has your credit card information.
"I didn't read the fine print," he said. "I didn't know I was going to receive three trial issues of these free magazines and once the trial period was over they'd start billing me. That was the fine print."
American Express got in hot water over the connection between its sweepstakes and magazines about a decade ago. The company settled with 48 states that had pursued action and agreed to include a disclosure regarding the contests whenever they sent out entries. The only hitch: consumers have to actually read the disclosure for it to do any good.
So this pretty smart, normally meticulous guy was left feeling a bit slow after realizing that he actually signed up for subscriptions he had no idea he signed up for.
Certainly, using sweepstakes as a come-on is a pretty shady business model since the premise is to use the lure of the big bucks as distraction from the real purpose.
If you've ever entered one of those contests in a mall where you drop a card with some personal information into a car window or in a box, there's an awfully good chance that you soon afterward received a call from a company selling timeshares or were offered a "free trip."
Why would this happen without you realizing it? Because on the back of almost every one of those entry cards is the fine print explaining that the contest is being run by a timeshare company, and entering the contest allows them to use and sell your personal information. Putting your name on that card gets you on the "suckers list" since you've now identified yourself -- and give up all your personal information -- without regard for the fine print that should have scared the heck out of you because you thought you could get something for nothing.
Free money, cars or trips can be tempting. But there's always a catch. Not knowing what the catch is is where you run into trouble.
"There's nothing free in the world," the businessman with too many magazines said. "I know that."
He vowed to never again enter a contest -- except the lottery, and only when the prize exceeds $200 million.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-17-2009 @ 8:50PM
tommy-boy said...
I'M SORRY, WHEN MY COSTS ARE NOT CLEARLY DISCLOSED BUT INSTEAD ARE BURIED IN FINE PRINT FOR A SO-CALLED "FREE" ITEM, THAT'S A SCAM. AND WHEN AMERICAN EXPRESS SCAMS THEIR OWN LOYAL CUSTOMERS, THAT IS "EXPRESSLY UNAMERICAN."
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5-17-2009 @ 9:00PM
Tabby said...
OH BOY, does this sound so familiar. If you take a 'survey' you may find yourself subscribed to magazines you didn't want and didn't know you ordered. Also, if you have a credit card at a store when presented with a sales slip to sign you may find that when you sign (unless you have read the print) you are signing up for magazines or some service. I recently had a trial membership to an on line sited. My debit card started getting hit with charges from magazines to 'sales club service fees' I knew nothing about. I had to go back previous months and check my account charges again to make sure I had not been charged before. Sure enough, I had overlooked some from previous months. I care for elderly parents and I had not been scrutinizing my bank accounts as closely as I should have. All the charges have been refunded, but my bank tells me I need to come in to have my debit card reissued because now that those companies have the number, they pass them along to others who can (and may) charge other services to it. So, tomorrow I head to my financial institution to have that rectified. This also brought to my attention the fact that once you give a company your credit card number for any service you authorize, they can AND WILL bill you again when the subscription runs out. They don't need another 'authorization' from you. Read the fine print. It will say 'make sure there are funds in your account at the end of this subscription' and if you read further you will note on anything you pay by debit or credit card from your financial institution you will find if you have 'over draft' protection, the money for whatever these are will come from your savings account. IF YOU DON'T have overdraft protection, you'll find yourself hit with additional (OUTRAGEOUS) fees from your bank as a result of possible over drafting of your account by companies you didn't even know you were 'doing business with'. A WORD TO THE WISE. CHECK ALL THOSE SURVEYS, TRIAL MEMBERSHIPS, ETC. I've started deleting all mine without ever opening them. Sunday evening on my home phone I received some offer from somewhere in Seattle, WA for the internet. It stated if you want to use this, then 'press 3'. Ironically, '3' is also the number my phone company uses for me to ERASE the message. So, now I have to check to see what the heck this was about. I have recently also changed my credit card account number because someone got that number and it was compromised. Not lost or stolen, but a charge made to it which I knew the company doing this was already noted to do this to people. I just requested a new number which won't affect my credit score. AND as I've said, I will be changing my debit card number on a yearly basis now that I know about this practice that is going around.
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5-17-2009 @ 9:02PM
cam said...
ya
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5-17-2009 @ 9:08PM
al said...
Time/Life Warner an AOL company does the samething if you pay by credit card for a subscription. Automatic renewal. Use money orders when paying for subscriptions or you could find an ACH debit at an outrageous renewal rate from your checking account if you paid by personal check. I learned a lot about spending, SAVING and living a "richer" life from the book "How to Become Filthy Rich on Your Current Income" at www.how-to-become-rich.com. If people read books like this one we wouldn’t have the current situation we do.
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5-17-2009 @ 9:24PM
glenn said...
Amex = very bad and very arrogant..............never had their card and never have nor would accept them at my business......too expensive, too long to reimburse and too too arrogant about their importance in the financial world.
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5-17-2009 @ 9:26PM
peanut said...
No, American Express adds these subscriptions automatically, and you have to remove them yourself. My mother was in the hospital unconscious for 4 months. When she recovered, she discovered that she was being billed for 7 magazines, an automobile club similar to AAA, a Travel Club, none of which she had ordererd since she was in fact unconscious. They don't require an order - they just do it until someone notices. They never give you any trouble with the cancellation although you never get all the money back. There is always some fee or other that they don't refund. AE has been doing that for years. You have to watch them like a hawk.
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5-18-2009 @ 10:24AM
chicks8439 said...
I had that happen to me...bought a new video card for my pc. I paid for it using my debit card. A few weeks later I began to get this magazine in the mail. I checked my bank account, and sure enough they had charged me for a 1 year subscription. I contacted the magazine company to try and figure out how they had gotten all my informatiom, and card number to bill me with.
What a shock to discover that Best Buy had given it to them. I called Best Buy. they said they had asked me if I wanted the trial when I checked out. HA!!! I was not asked anything. The girl that checked me out just did it own her own. I assume they must give the employee's something for getting X number of trial subscription's. I wrote the home office, they did not even respond to my letter. I do not shop there anymore.
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5-23-2009 @ 7:17AM
Gracie said...
I had the same problem with MYCREDITHEALTH a on-line free credit report company. They ask for a credit card number in order to get a so call "Free credit report" stating after you get the report that you have to cancel within 7 days or else you will be billed $29.99. The insane part about this is you can not e-mail them to cancel you have to call them at a 1-888 number which they make sure they want pick up until after the 7th day so they can bill you. If you can get a credit report on line why can't you cancel it out on line? I thought free mean just that free and why do you have to give them a credit card number if it's advertised as a free credit report.
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5-17-2009 @ 11:59PM
Colin Willett said...
Watch out for anything advertised on TV that is presented as being free except for paying for Shipping and handling, 'cos it isn't free!
A short while ago, I responded to a TV presentation for a medical book, called the number on the screen, gave them my personal particulars and used my credit card to pay for the Shipping and Handling of the 'free' book. I did not order anything else. Guess what?! My credit card was charged $19.90, and charges of $9.95 started to appear on my monthly credit-card, monthly statements. I was never able to contact the company who made the charges, and finally had to get a new credit card to prevent further charges.
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5-18-2009 @ 1:38AM
Joyce Clark said...
Anytime you see something advertised as free, the first question you should ask is "How much is it going to cost me?"
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5-18-2009 @ 3:09AM
Lilli Surgalli said...
Sweepstakes are free to enter, the prizes are free to own, except to IRS. You pay nothing, you owe nothing, Again except to the IRS. A lot of magazines have sweepstakes offers and a form you fill out and a space for you to either accept or decline their magazines. You are still entered in the sweepstakes even if you decline. YOU never are obligated and if you forget to click no..then you are an idiot.
Sweepstakes are fun, exciting and they do pay off. I hope a lot of people won't believe this, so the competition stays at a low 2 million. But for thosewho would like to try. google free sweepstakes newsletters. Good luck and many wins to you..no obligation. read the rules.
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5-18-2009 @ 5:36AM
Bev said...
My dad always told me, there is no such thing as free. Sadly, I forgot his words from time to time, and got myself into trouble. It took a while, but now I highly regard his advice. My mother still answers offers for "free" stuff, My husband says no, it always costs him money. Now, I tell them, if it's a phone call, my dad says ....
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5-18-2009 @ 10:19AM
Bev said...
While I'm at it, beware of a company called IDS and the free Video Professor. It took a lot of calling and frustration to cancel offers from the prof . I got so angry I repackaged his CD and sent it back. Watch out for a company called IDS. My husband ordered and paid $5 for materials he never received and they took a $96 unauthorized deduction we'll never get back. I tried to call them, no luck. It was really bad timing. My husband had gone into the hospital and had to retire. Affleck is a joke, btw.
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5-18-2009 @ 5:46AM
george oerther said...
Hey, just remember that "free" is a 4-letter word that begins with "F". You don't want to be using very many of those.
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5-19-2009 @ 8:12PM
Jim Wrangler said...
Don't get fooled by gimmicks and offers. They are always out to pull one up on the consumer. Too good of discounts, free offers and the like always end up costing more in my experience. I order magazines for a few years from Acclaim Subscriptions.
http://www.acclaimsubscriptions.com/usa/info/indexPage
There are a few other good companies that provide similar services. Avoid any free offers or 'automatic renewals'. If they don't give you a choice to renew when you want - run away.
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