I have now received three magazine subscriptions that I did not order. I cancelled first two, contacted this company to remove me from their mailing list - and today I received yet another magazine that they ordered for me. Each of them holds no interest to me - especially the third, Maxim, as I'm a woman. This company is fraudulently sending subscriptions to individuals. They should not be allowed to do so without a customer's consent or even knowledge.

I got an unsolicited call in early July of 2010 asking me to sign up for a 3 year subscription to 5 magazines. I would only pay $29.90 a month for 24 months and they would throw in a $1000 online shopping spree. Sounded good enough. The $1000 certificate came first (in mid-late July)with a release form, signed the form and looked at the options to be purchased. The items were low quality and they required you pay shipping so i disreguarded still waiting on the magazines which would take 10-12 weeks to come through. I changed my mind in late August about the subscription and when I called, they said it was too late to cancell. (I found odd seeing as how it takes 10-12 weeks to even see anything and I hadn't even subscribed for a total of eight weeks) The lady agreed to waive that months payment and I should see magazines in September. Okay, but nothing came, no following charges were made to my account so I thought it was canceled, wrong. i got a collection call on October 25th from a man who right of the bat had an attitude. I told him the situation, he first accused me of not provided the correct apt # then found I had when the subscription was authorized. Said I was lying about not recieveing the magazines because they had the address, I ended up hanging up the phone and called back October 27th. I talked to a lady who was nice enough who admittedly couldn't help me and transfered me to a supervisor. The supervisor also started a call with an attitude, (I would like to include I did not once raise my voice or curse in any one of these phone calls, I work in customer service too.) He refused to cancel the subscription and told me 'legal action' would be taken if I refused to pay. I told him I would not pay for what I did not have. He said I got the shopping spree and that was that even if I didn't have the magazines. I was thrown. The $1000 was supposed to be a FREE gift! He told me again if I refused to pay, 'legal action' would take place. When I asked what forms of legal action, he refused to provide me with the information or transfer me to the department that could. He said only attorneys could speak with that department, and if he told me what possible legal action would take place, he would be violating company policy. I was on the phone for 40 minutes trying to get the details of what he was threatening me with. I eventually was only able to get the address to write a complaint letter to the administration of the company. I regret ever signing up for this and if anyone is experiencing problems as well please e-mail me. [email protected].

Dec 9, 2009, while checking out at Books-A-Million, I was offered a 2 month risk-free trial magazine. I could choose between Sports Illustrated, Time, People, Entertainment, etc. The associate's name was Candace. The brochure states:
"WHAT YOU GET: As a special thanks try the first 2 months risk free of any 2 magazine selections listed. After your order is processed, look for your first issue in 6-10 weeks.
CONTINUOUS RENEWAL FEATURES: ... Your card used at Books-A-Million today will be charged the rate shown for each selection. We'll even send you a reminder notice..."

My complaint:
I never received any magazines and was not sent a reminder notice; however, I was billed on Feb 16, 2010 for $58.50.

MY GOD...WHAT A TERRIBLE TERRIBLE UNRELIABLE SERVICE THESE MAGAZINE ARE. YOU RECEIVE A SUBSCRIPTION AND IF WANT TO CANCEL, IT TAKES FOREVER TO FIND A HUMAN WHO WILL ANSWER THE PHONE. FINANLLY GOT THROUGH NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY AND THEY PROVIDED ME WITH THE CORRECT NUMBER AND HOW TO GET THROUGH TO A REAL PERSON INSTEAD OF A MACHINE.
CALL MAGAZINE SERVICE CENTER EXPRESS TRANSACTION SYSTEM: 1-800-639-2820. PRESS 0 THREE TIMES UNTIL YOU ARE TO REACH A REAL PERSON. SUGGESTION: DO NOT PRESS ANY OTHER NUMBERS. JUST 0 UNTIL THE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTIVE ANSWERS YOU. THEN GIVE YOUR INFO, BUT DON'T LET THEM INTERRUPT YOU. EXPLAIN YOUR ENTIRE SITUATION, THEN ASK FOR YOUR CANCELLATION AND REFUND. ALSO ASK HOW MUCH YOU ARE GOING TO BE REFUNDED AND HOW LONG IT WILL TAKE. I WAS ANSWERED 72 BUSINESS DAY HOURS WHICH IS REALLY 9 BUSINESS. DOES NOT INCLUDE SATURDAY OR SUNDAY, SO ACTUALLY YOU WAIT MORE DAYS.
I AM SUPPOSED TO RECEIVE MY REFUNDS ON AUG 4TH ACCORDING TO THE TIME FRAME.
NORMALLY YOU ARE INSTRUCTED TO CALL 1-800-927-9578.THAT'S THE BILLING INQUIRY LINE FOR MAGAZINE SERVICE CENTER AND IT'S ONLY A RECORDING WITH A MACHINE. THAT'S WHERE YOU WILL GET TOTALLY SCREWED. AVOID IT. AGAIN CALL MAGAZINE SERVICE CENTER EXPRESS TRANSACTION SYSTEM: 1-800-639-2820. PRESS 0 THREE TIMES UNTIL YOU ARE TO REACH A REAL PERSON
SO HOPE THIS HELPS A LOT OF PEOPLE SO YOU CAN AVOID ALL THE BS I WENT THROUGH TO GET A REAL PERSON. KNOW WHAT I MEAN. GOOD LUCK.

SORRY BUT REFUSE TO GIVE OUT MY PERSONAL INFO BECAUSE YOU ALL KNOW WHY.

Upon receiving my bank statement this month, I saw three charges I didn't recognize: EW Magazine, Time Magazine, and Blender Magazine. I don't subscribe to any magazines, and I certainly do not read any of these three. Upon calling all three (different) contact numbers listed for the three charges ($22, $27.50, and $13.50 respectively), I found that they all connected me to Magazine Service Center, which I had never heard of. I looked them up online, and every single thing that came up on Google seemed to have the word "fraud" or "scam" attached to it. Apparently they can take money out of your account to renew your subscription whenever they want, but I don't recall ever subscribing to these magazines in the first place. I have no idea how these people got my credit card number, but I plan on contacting them tomorrow during business hours.