A few weeks ago I received something in the mail saying I had $88 of thank-you credit to use to select gifts (merchandise). I selected some items and sent the form in. Well, a couple days ago I saw an $87.88 charge on my credit card from TWX which I didn't recognize. For this transaction my credit card company gave me the merchant's phone number, an 877 number, so I called to figure out what the charge was for. When the automated system gave me a listing of the "merchandise" I had apparently ordered, I realized that the charge was for these gifts that I had thought were free.

When I got a representative on the line (her name was Kelly), I was told that the fine print on the form I had sent in said I was authorizing my credit card to be charged. Then she told me the $88 of "credit" is not a credit, it's a "voucher of savings" telling me how much I can save by ordering these gifts. And since the merchandise has been shipped, I must wait until I receive it, then ship it back at my own expense.

Hah! What a SCAM.

The mailer clearly implied that the $88 was to be applied toward the merchandise.

I'm upset that I have to waste my time and money on this - wait for it to arrive, fill out a return label, pay to ship it back, wait for them to receive it, etc.

This company, which I'm to understand is affiliated with Time magazine, is clearly running a scheme to deliberately mislead people into thinking they're getting something. They just want to charge you for the merchandise. The $88 number of award/credit/voucher is just pure rubbish that they're apparently pulling out of thin air.