When I got a
subscription to Prevention and Oprah magazines, I didn't realize the headaches
it would cause, down the road. While I
enjoyed the publications at hand... I decided I no longer wanted either one of
these magazines, at the end of the year. So, I didn't renew. But… because they
had my credit card number, they took it upon themselves to renew for me,
automatically. I was upset when I found out what they had done. I tried to
cancel the new subscriptions. This was no easy feat, since I had unsuspectingly
ordered the magazines from a third party, and not the magazines themselves.
Finding the third party contact information was near impossible, since I had no
idea who those companies were. And the magazines claimed not to know either. So
I was going around in circles until I contacted the bank. They told me they
could not undo the charges. They said too much time had lapsed… since the
transactions occurred and I had discovered it. So, it appeared I had no recourse
and was going to be out the money. I thought... what a racket these magazine folks had
going on. They were making money doing something, somewhat underhanded, hoping
people don’t notice. But, all hope was not lost, for me. The bank was able to give
me the name of the third party who charged the credit card. At this point, I
handed the problem off to my husband. I was convinced I’d make no headway if I
tried. The information the bank provided, enabled him to contact the third
party sellers. Unfortunately, instead of human intervention… this company automated their
response, to any and all inquiries. They put my husband through a maze of prerecorded
questions and answers… that seemingly did not allow, for a reversal of the renewed subscription. He was stuck in limbo… until he found a tiny crack in their veneer, by
pushing this button or that… managing to painstakingly navigate his away around
their automated system, until they had no choice, but to issue the refund and cancel the subscription. It
took almost 2 hours on the phone to do this. I kid you not. But in the end,
mission accomplished, without ever talking to another human being. The moral of this story is this… if an item you
purchased, comes up for renewal or an upgrade in the future, that you do not want, BEWARE. You will forget that it does. Giving a company your credit
card information... allows them to also use it, a year or two, later…
unbeknownst to you. The charge will slip through on your bank statement, unless you are vigilant. Then, you may get stuck in a revolving door, like I did,
with no way out. Unless you get lucky and catch them at their own game.
