theNRSscam blog contents

Need any information here?... just click a Spotlight on: section or link below

Spotlight on: Magazine Subscription Scams  has specific suggestions for dealing with magazine subscription scams, important information links for understanding the Federal Trade Commission's Telemarketing Sales Rule and the Magazine Publishers of America's Guidelines on Relations with Subscription Agents, as well as, telemarketing and magazine subscription scam information from various consumer protection agencies.

Spotlight on: Consumer Protection Resources has links for reporting fraudulent business practices, opting out of unsolicited marketing contact, finding consumer protection agencies and organizations, as well as, magazine industry and marketing association information.

Spotlight on: National Readers Service has details of my experience with National Readers Service and links to numerous other consumer complaints. Here is the perfect place to share your story and comments with others.

Common complaint forum questions

• How can I make National Readers Service stop calling me?
• How can I cancel an order or close an account with National Readers Service?
• How can I find address and phone information for National Readers Service?
• I agreed to an account and then realized I was scammed. If I just refuse to pay, can National Readers Service ruin my credit?
• Who can I contact to help me deal with the National Readers Service scam?
• How do I file a complaint against National Readers Service?

Commentary posts by D/

I was wondering...

• Why are so many college students getting scammed?  
• Shouldn’t we hold ourselves accountable too?
• Does Zuzzyu Zuzu still get “stuff”? … considering opting-out
• Can we really believe all those on-line consumer comments...??
• Does an “A+” rating and accreditation with the Better Business Bureau really mean what we think (or does filing a BBB complaint accomplish what we intend)??
• Were the scammers "Home for the Holidays"???

"John's" Story ... an EXTREME example of magazine subscription scam abuses

This is the compiled verbatim comment (with e-mail redacted) posted by Anonymous on theNRSscam blog contents on 5/15/11.

I extend my most sincere thanks to this “/D” for sharing “John’s” story here and look forward to the valuable insights his work will bring. Hopefully these efforts of advocacy on “John’s” behalf will ultimately bring each “company” in question under scrutiny and result in meaningful accountability for the responsible individuals.

Thanks for visiting theNRSscam blog. Hope something here is helpful. D/

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Hi D/.

I'm an attorney in NY and have been appointed as the Guardian of an older gentleman who has been scammed so bad that it will be the most extreme example ever posted on this site once I have the time to elaborate, and will likely lead in prosecutions from the District Attorneys' office where this man resides for, among other things, fraud, theft, and ELDER ABUSE. I am also going to report it to whatever Federal and additional local/State authorities when I have the time to figure that out (this website has been a MASSIVE HELP, so thanks!).

I'd have more time to elaborate, but I've spent the majority of the past 2 days reveiwing this gentleman's bank records for his "personal spending account" for the past year (yes, THAT MANY debits have been made that it took days to review the account statements). The statements I've been reviewing are for his "personal" checking account, which is the one from which the automatic debits were made by the magazine companies (his bank account is linked to a debit card number these companies somehow obtained). Unfortunately, I'm very limited in terms of how much information I can publicly share, due to privacy rules (Federal and State), and because I don't want to do anything BUT fix this problem, rather than become anyone's hero.

While I'm limited in what I can share, the general situation is as follows: (a) Court decides John Doe is mentally "incapacitated" and that he requires the assistance of a Guardian to help him with his medical decisions and his Property Management; (b) John Doe's parents set up a Trust for John and there should be enough in the Trust to allow him to live a comfortable life in his "golden years". As Guardian, I was required to "marshal" all assets into special accounts that are not susceptible to this kind of abuse, which I set up years ago, protecting all of the assets that were there as of the date the Court appointed me as Guardian; (c) All judicially-declared "incapacitated" persons are NOT equal. They can vary anywhere from, for example: (i) a person in a totally vegetative state who cannot speak, etc.; to (b) a higher-functioning person who nonetheless has been judicially-declared "incapacitated" because they require assistance with their personal needs and/or property management.

My John Doe is on FAR end of the functionality spectrum as person as persons who have been appointed Guardians are concerned. As a result, the Court ordered me to set up a separate "personal spending account" for him, and I put a small monthly Court-ordered "stipend" into his "personal spending account" each month from the Trust account (where his assets are protected and managed by me to pay for his needs). In addition, my John Doe is employed by a corporation doing light work in what is essentially a "stock-boy" capacity, so he earns some income. At first, the few hundred dollars he earns each month was being directly-deposited into the "protected" / Trust account that I manage. My John Doe complained to me that he's earning this money, and wants control over it. I agreed that this was 100% reasonable, and obtained a Court Order which allowed me to arrange for this direct deposit. Now, whereas the rules and regulations governing me, as Guardian, are very strict with respect to how the property must be managed and used to pay for his costs of living, etc. (see the example above, where I needed to obtain a Court Order to have HIS OWN INCOME HE EARNS into his "personal spending account"), my John Doe has carte blanche with his own "personal spending account", which the Court felt appropriate given his relatively high level of functionality. I agreed with this then, and I agree with this now (except to prevent this sort of abuse in the future, we are working on an arrangement where NO auto-debits can be made from "personal spending account" unless his bank talks to me first). Long story short, he doesn't have many expenses, and combined, (a) the few hundred bucks I transfer every month into his personal account (i.e., the "personal stipend" established by Court Order), combined with (b) the few hundred bucks he earns at his job each month, FAR exceed any expenses he pays for. Over the course of a yaer, he should accumulate about $10K because of the amount transferred into his account and how little he spends on himself.

Anyway, I have no official oversight over this account, and he can technically go to the bank, withdraw every dollar in individual dollar bills, and hand them out to strangers if he wanted to. However, while I don't have official oversight duties over this account, my John Doe called me recently in great distress, because he was told his account had a negative balance, and it should have $15K-$20K in it. I obtained the bank statements (of course, as his Guardian, while I don't control this account, I have the ability to help him out and prevent him from theft, fraud, being taken advantage of, etc.). I'd love to be able to email or speak to you directly over the phone to ask you some specific questions that you may be able to assist me with in identifying exactly which companies have been taking this money from them (many of these companies use aliases, etc.). Specifically, I've done a TON of organizing information and research, and over the past few days I have learned a lot about how this stuff works (in no small part due to the help of your website!). My questions pertain to the interpretation of certain information on bank account statements. Most specifically, my questions pertain to what are known as "Merchant Purchase Terminal" numbers on the accounts, through which the companies can be identified. I knew going in (again, in large part from this website) that these scammer magazine companies use aliases to help them commit their fraud, but these statements have - literally - HUNDREDS of withdrawals from the past year alone. If you were to read the company name listed on the bank statements, you'd think he signed up with 30 different companies (a number of which are notorious scammers who have been identified on this blog). What I found most surprising is that - despite there being hundreds of transactions by about 30 allegedly DIFFERENT magazine service companies, with different business addresses and phone numbers, etc. - of those 30 or so different company names, only FIVE DIFFERENT Merchant Purchase Terminal numbers appear on the bank statements. From what I've learned, companies generally either have their own Merchant Purchase Terminal which they use to make these debits and for other purposes, or contract it out to a third party who provides this service for them. However, this industry in particular HARDLY EVER uses a third party company to handle the transactions that are handled by a Merchant Purchase Terminal.

I figured you may have some additional insight as to "Merchant Purchase Terminals" as they appear on bank statements as a means through which companies can be identified, and aliases used by them can be exposed. My questions are a bit too intricate and specific for this blog, so if you would be kind enough to email me at XXXXXXXXX@XXXXXXXXX to discuss it would be greatly appreciated. As a quid pro quo, my painstaking work in organizing and itemizing the hundreds of transactions into a database over the past few days might be collated in such a way as to be a great use to your website and others trying to "snuff out" this type of fraud.

Best Regards,
also a /D

Guess there isn’t a “Don’t Bother to Keep Trying List”, after all ...

Well, after the last of the straggling-along magazines had finally stopped, two new ones with expirations in 2012 and 2013 have begun showing up. The customer service department for one of those magazines provided contact information for “the telemarketing company, Subco,” who had placed the subscriptions.

“Gloria”, Subco’s representative, explained the arrangement … evidently, Millennium Marketing decided in November 2010, nearly a year and a half after the initial National Readers Service (Pittsburgh) solicitation, to provide two complimentary subscriptions for my daughter through Subco. Upon expiration she would receive notification to pay for any continued subscriptions (if deciding to keep them).

The typical (and I’m assuming intentional) confusion of overlapping company names, addresses, phone numbers, etc. prompted me to make a subsequent call during which “Desiree” clarified that Millennium Marketing, Kansas had placed these subscriptions and provided their phone number. (Corresponding information from their BBB report includes alternate business names: AKA Publishers Renewal Service, DBA National Readers Service, et al.)

Both Subco and Millennium Marketing (and the assortment of aliases and DBA names) are impossible to miss throughout on-line consumer complaint threads, and the details of consumer experiences are consistent with typical magazine subscription scam nonsense. Needless to say, I’m more than skeptical of how “complimentary” those subscriptions would actually end up being, not to mention, how “optional” their renewals would be.

Thankfully, “Gloria” and “Desiree” were very polite, immediately agreeable to cancelling the subscriptions, and offered no hesitation in providing Millennium Marketing’s contact information. Our address has been placed on their “Do Not Mail” list, and WRITTEN cancellation confirmation was requested from them within the next 10 business days. I plan to request the same from Millennium Marketing, as well.

While the sheer persistence and (at least the efforts of) ingenuity by magazine subscription scheme organizers are noteworthy, I gotta say, the whole idea of magazine telemarketers who don’t even bother to call to market their subscriptions is pretty spiritless. Post links with my entire NRS (and now Millennium Marketing and Subco) experience are here.

Thanks for visiting theNRSscam blog. Hope something here is helpful.
Good luck to all of us!! D/

Contact information for Subco and Millennium Marketing are listed below:

Subco, Inc. (AKA Elbon Enterprises, Inc., Subdirect)
3585 West Beechwood Ave Suite 106
Fresno, California 93711
800-258-3350
http://www.subcoinc.com/

BBB report for Subco

Millennium Marketing (AKA Publishers Renewal Service, DBA National Readers Service, et al.)
10406 Shawnee Mission Pkwy
Shawnee, KS 66203-3504
800-456-6565
http://www.nationalreadersservice/

BBB report for Millennium Marketing

Were the scammers "Home for the Holidays"???



theNRSscam StatCounter traffic Thanksgiving 2010



Most of the traffic here at theNRSscam blog seems to be victims of magazine subscription schemes looking for information after the fact (or scammers looking for complaints about their company). Interestingly the pattern of that traffic has consistently mirrored a Monday- Friday workweek for over a year now, and the graphic suggests to me that scam company employees had the Thanksgiving holiday off. Good to know we catch some slack somewhere ... and another blessing to look forward to for the Christmas holiday!!! lol

Thanks for visiting theNRSscam blog. Hope something here is helpful.

Good luck to all of us!! D/

Can we really believe all those on-line consumer comments...??

I suspect that researching any company can lead to a surprising collection of consumer complaints. Unsatisfied customers are much more likely to air their grievances than a satisfied customer is to come to a company’s defense. (I remember hearing in a customer service seminar years ago that a satisfied customer tells one person while an unsatisfied one tells 10.) Moreover, the internet with its virtually limitless venues to broadcast those grievances only magnifies those possibilities.

Most large consumer complaint sites, such as Rip-Off Report and Complaints Board, do not require any verification of a complaint prior to it being posted. So are you reading a genuine dissatisfied customer’s complaint or one from a rival company or a disgruntled employee, knowing that search engines immediately rank these types of complaints high due to the amount of traffic on the site as a whole?

As for any positive comments, can you really be certain this is a customer or is it an employee posing as one? (On that note, scammers frequently try such tricks, and frankly I was surprised it took so long for one to comment here. BTW, I was totally disappointed in the disguise. I had hoped for better.lol)

So what makes a credible consumer testimony?? Should we believe any of them?

After my daughter’s experience and through the subsequent reading of MANY consumer complaints and comments against magazine telemarketers from a COUNTLESS number of company names, two things stood out to me- the sheer number of complaints and the consistency among those complaints in the pattern of do not call violations, methods of fraudulent solicitation, refusal to honor implied cancellation periods, deceptive disclosure of costs/ value of magazines (and other “third party” preview offers), fraudulent creation of multiple accounts and “renewals”, and abusive “collections” practices.

In the face of such consistency, I will personally choose to believe what I’m reading.

Thanks for visiting theNRSscam blog. Hope something here is helpful.
Good luck to all of us!! D/

Virginia Beach, VA “Revealer” blog posts

My thanks to this insider for such a "revealing" look at the details of a telemarketing scheme ...

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These “Sales and Cancellation Processes with Scripts” are posted here verbatim as found on 5/22/10 at: www.magazinecompanyscam.blogspot.com

(site has since been deleted)

Sales Process

Your phone rings. You check your caller ID and the number is "blocked" or "unavailable" but your curious mind picks up anyway. The sales rep comes off very personable and casual; which is apart of their marketing plan. The point is to "build rapport". They are taught this during training.

"Hello Susan? Hi, this is bob from National Readers Service!" This is a sales call (the MUST tell you this is a sales call. It is a requirement by law so I was told) to inform you that you have been entered into the Dream of a Lifetime Sweepstakes so congratulations! Now, the sweepstakes is held every year for customers of Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover and you do still carry one of these cards, correct? (they ask this because they intend on charging you and you MUST have a credit/debit/prepay card)

NOTE: Sometime they ask for a different person because their info in there database is incorrect or that person isn't home. The sales reps are trained to sell it to you instead!

NOTE: your credit or bank card has nothing to do with the sweepstakes!

If you say no, they will rebuttal you to see if you have a debit or check card. If you say no, they say thank you and hang up.

Once you confirm you have one of these card they will continue to lure you in by telling you what you can win. "You are in the running for a brand new mustang convertible, $25, 000 in cash, or a trip for 4 to Australia! plus hundreds of other valuable prizes." [they will discontinue the call if you do not have a credit/debit card]

The rep then continues and explains that no purchase is necessary, however they talk so fast that all you hear are the prizes! After telling you the prizes, they start asking you a "survey" This survey is to pick out your magazines. They ask if you are in-between the ages of 18-20, 21-35, 36-60 or 60 and over (or something close to those brackets) The rule is that they can't sell to people under 18 or over 65. Again, legal restrictions. Also, age will help this rep determine which magazine will suit you better. They are not going to sell a Woman's Day magazine to an 18 year old female. They would more likely sell her Glamour or Cosmopolitan.

Next they go on by telling you that you also won free mags for the price of one. There are 3 magazines that are picked out based on your survey (age, marriage, hobbies, ect:) They then thank you for completing the survey and say they will give you a diamond watch and 3 free mags for the cost of one weekly magazine (either Rolling Stone, ESPN, or one other magazine which is the most expensive bi-weekly magazine. ) The cost for all this is just $4.99 a week which is guaranteed to not increase for a full 60 months!

This is where the trouble begins for the sales rep because once someone hears a price, they hang up. For the rest $4.99 doesn't sound that bad...

So once they rebut the customer as many times as needed (company policy is at least 3-5 rebuttals per call) the sales rep keeps the customer on the phone until their "supervisor" is available for the transfer. The sales rep will establish small talk with you to get you comfortable and conditioned to say yes because the next step is to get your personal information.

You are then transfered to the reps supervisor in which this person isn't their supervisor at all. They are what is called a "Closer." A closer's job is to close the deal. Secure it and make you want to buy it. They get you to "verify" all you personal information. What I don't like is that they mislead you into thinking that they already have your information in their system when really all they have is your name, address, and telephone which they get from some type of lead generator/merchant. So, after you "verified" all your info (reference numbers, business numbers, place of employment, email, social security numbers, ect) they then go into pricing of the magazines.

The price is $4.99 per week for 5 years or $1297.32. They break that into payments of either:

$68.28 x 19 months
$49.90 x 25 months
$39.93 / $39.31 x 34 months
$29.41 x 43 months

They mislead you by saying that you will only pay $68.28 for the first 19 months and the rest are payment free. So it sounds like one payment of $68 but really its once per month for the first 19 months. the remaining 3 and 1/2 years are payment free.

You then go through a recording where you repeat the terms. Here are some of the questions:

1. How much are you monthly payments?
2. How many monthly payments?
3. Do you understand these payments are consecutive? (some people don't know what consecutive means)
4. How many titles are you receiving?
5. Do you give us permission to process your order and at this time and initial payment will be processed?

The customer must give yes or no answers very loud and clear. The supervisor/closer tells the customer what to say in most cases (to say yes to all questions!) If the customer says no during the recording; the closer (supervisor) will stop the recording and rebuttal the customer until they say yes. These professionals are trained very well!

They go on to explain third party offers they one (like a gas card for example) for accepting a 15-day trial with UBA aka UBS (united benefits association/service).

So by the time the call is over they have a charge for $68.28 for magazines, 39.99 from UBS and another for 29.99 for identity theft package for example. The strange thing that the customer doesn't understand is their bank statement says that all these charges came from the same merchant number---meaning the same company charged them for all three services! So when the customer calls into customer service to cancel its a HUGE MESS and they are given the run around.

A welcome package is sent to the customers address (or is supposed to). This agreement goes over all the details the customer agreed to during the recording. i was told by a manager that the company doesn't always mail out these letters because it leads to cancellation. The company purposely DOESN'T mail it! All customer service members know that if a customer calls in and they tell you they received a letter--that is an automatic letter. (I will post a copy of one of the letters -- they are different depending on your state)

There is a release form located in the welcome package that the customer should fill out and mail back to the company. Once this is done they will mail you your $5 diamond watch. This welcome package takes 10 business days to arrive after the order is placed. The company only mails it once and will never resend it; even upon your request. (they don't want you to see this letter because it is totally contrary to what is said to you when you call in and cancel)

The watch takes 7-10 business days to arrive to you after you mail in the release form or call in and request them to mail it to you. You account is sent to periodical publishers to be entered with the publishers.

Cancellation Process and Scripts

You call customer service. The phone rings then its just a beep and then silence.

"Thank you for calling Customer service. All calls are monitored for quality assurance. My name is Jane. May I have the last name on the account?" They can locate account by name, address, credit card, phone number (they have caller ID by the way and your number shows up even if its blocked)zip code, and your account number. You want to either cancel, change magazines, or update account information. Some people call just to find out who is charging them because they have NO CLUE! Now, when you want to cancel the representative online has a script to follow and it goes like this:

Well I'm sorry to hear that you want to cancel but you may recall that when we called you to finalize your order, we explained the way that we guarantee your service is my making a financial commitment to the publishers. So, based on your good word to complete all the payments, we did process your order and we have already financially obligated ourselves to the publishers. We do ask that you honor your promise and complete all the payments. But keep in mind that the only reason why anyone would want to cancel is because they are either having a problem with their magazines or their finances. So is it safe to assume that this is a financial problem?"

That script is read to ALL customers, brand new or 3 years old. No matter how many times you call in you hear the same thing. The difference that YOU don't know is you are handled differently after this point depending on your account status. There are two types of accounts: a 5 day account and a permanent account.

5 day accounts are brand new into the system and there initial payment has yet to be processed. So lets look at it this way. You placed the order today. Your card was processed for $68.28 today. You call customer service to cancel but they say you have to call back in 24 - 48 hours because you account isn't in the system -- meaning data entry hasn't created an account for you in the customer service database. Now, that $68.28 should be a pending charge in your account. You call back two days later and now its in the system but its labeled a 5 day (in the order entry database)

The representative's job is to save or RESELL the account to you by misleading you into thinking you CAN'T cancel (without using those words because you really CAN) and 5 day accounts do not get transferred to supervisors because the rep can cancel those accounts. Reps doesn't have the authority and permissions in the database to cancel permanent account but I will get to that later. So this is what they say to 5 day accounts who accounts aren't really FINALIZED.

"Well, it looks like we need to make some adjustments for you that will bring your payments more inline with your budget! This is our refinance program. So, what I've done is extended your payments a little bit longer which lowers the amount that you send in to just $49.90 (or whatever is the lowest tier for your account... 68,49,39,29,19.99)Is there anything else that I can do for you today?"

That last line is very tricky. To a freshman in college that sounds like YOU CAN'T CANCEL. Which is the reason why so many parents call back irate!

Now, most people miss the fact that your payments were just EXTENDED from 18 payments to 42 (depending on the payment tier). So they feel bad and agree. Others still say no and so the rep continues.

"Well, the whole idea is just to get the titles into your home. Of course our goal is to keep you as a happy customer! So, at this point I am authorized to stretch out your payments. This will lower the amount you send in to just $39.31 per month. You'll still get the same service as before. This is just our way of saying thanks!"

If the customer agrees, the rep lowers the payments and records the update (will touch on that later) If not... they continue to BEAT UP the customer. (those are words from management actually)

"Well, I'm sorry that you've put us in this situation. Looks like the order was placed on ____ and at this point we obligated ourselves. We expect you to honor the commitment that you've made. I hope you understand that I'm really trying to work with you here.I can lower the payments down $29.41 per month. I can make those changes for you now.

Customer still wants to cancel--- Well, since you already made one payment of $68.28 what I will do is drop your payments down to 19.99 and you will only have 30 months!"

Customer still not happy--- "Okay, I will cancel out all remaining payments, but since you already made on payment of $68.28 you will receive two magazines for 1 full year each, okay? Which magazines do you want to keep."

If you agree to receiving 2 magazines for 1 year each then they sold you. They are successful because you are considered what they call a 1 pay. Representatives get FIRED if they don't get enough 1-pays each month.

So to sum it all up, they mislead you into thinking that you can't or shouldn't cancel and should uphold your original promise and be a person of your word. Most people fearful of credit damage or the company reporting this to credit breaus, they continue service.

***please note that this service is not an extension of credit and you CAN cancel at anytime with penalty****

In regards to you agreeing to that 1 payment, you actually didn't make that payment already. Its on hold. So when you say no to the one pay the account is cancelled and the hold is released. If the magazine company caused an overdraft, request a refund of the overdraft fee. That is in the script also but reps avoid saying it because the boss men (Darryl Decroix) wants to keep as much money as he can.

Another note: Sometime the credit card will decline and they will continue to process it until is approves (overdraft for the customer) but they don't care. The will try to lower payment for you and trick you into thinking you are screwed!

Permanent accounts are slightly different. The representative goes though the same script but stops at $39.31/$39.93 or rarely drops down to $29.41. (they are advised to avoid going that low to give the supervisor room to resell you)

Representative's last words---- "Well, all I have left to do is transfer you to a supervisor"

Supervisor---

Sometimes they do or don't give their name because of the fear of being reported to external agencies. Their script is outdated so what is in front of them isn't used verbatim but its basically as follows:

"We finalized your order based on your good word to complete all the payments. The way our company operates is that we must make a financial commitment up front to the publishers that way you don't have to and therefore we expect you to complete all your payment and thats all there is to it."

[I scratched that out because they are not allowed to say that anymore because its not true... but supervisors say it anyway to mislead you and get a sale]

[the script used to say that they already PAID the publishers, but they can't say that anymore because they were getting into to much trouble. I heard the owner has been to court several times due to the way his business is operated]

The resell---

"However, as the representative you just spoke with did explain, we are happy to give you a discount and I can lower you payments down to $29.41 per month. That way it shouldn't stress your budget. But if you find that your situation gets tight after your next payment just call us back and we'll be able to assist you. Is there anything else I can do for you today?"

Customer's not satisfied--

I'm not going to get to much into details about the script from here but what they do is beat you up by asking question and giving you little room. They push you into a corner:

"When we called you to finalize you order we recorded the conversation to our tapefile system, do you remember that? Well, I do have all the information right here in front of me and again I don't want this to stress your budget. I'm happy to make adjustments to you payments if you would like... or I can leave the account as it is. Which one works best for you?"

They offer to give 30%, 50%, and 70% off the entire balance as well to get the account paid in full. Most customers think that is the only way out by paying it off with the discount. That is their ultimate goal, to get you to pay the big bucks.

The supervisor also offers an employee rate of 19.99 for 48 months. They say they give you a 25% discount also to make it sound good, but if you do the math... you can't pay 19.99 for the 5 year service. You will be paying longer than you would be receiving the service so its mandatory to give you the discount anyway.

Then the supervisor comes with this line:

"Well, obviously there is a difference between someone that intends to pay their bills but can't and someone that makes and agreement with no intention of keeping it. We are not asking you to do anything that you didn't agree to and we are still happy to assist you! Would you rather take advantage of the 50% discount and make a one time payment today of $615.00 or make lower monthly payments?"

Finally, they say" Well, I will cancel your order but we've made an investment to establish this account for you. We would rather give you a discount, let you keep all the magazines, and not cancel the order. But if you agree to make a one time payment today of (30% of your balance) just to cover our expenses/past due expenses, we will gladly leave your services equal to what you've paid, agreed?"

Now, that last script is titled "PRE-PAY OFFER." All they are getting you to do is pay off everything upfront. It is not a CANCELLATION policy. YOUR ACCOUNT CAN SIMPLY BE CANCELLED! They don't tell you this because a smart person will simply choose to not pay! Most people pay just to have everything stopped and doesn't even want the magazines. The company takes the money anyway. Its all about how much money is received. The supervisors are fired if they cancel out to many accounts and have a quota to maintain. Supervisors also receive 5% commission of those payments so they have an incentive to get you to pay.

The customer service department alone generates an average of $90,000 - $100,000 PER MONTH! There are several departments located in that building, all representing "different companies." One person represents 15 - 20 different companies. From my knowledge, this magazine scam generates over 1 million dollars per month combined with all the other departments.

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Thanks for visiting theNRSscam blog. Hope something here is helpful.
Good luck to all of us!! D/

Maybe the book's not closed after all??...

Thought I'd post a quick update on the notification I received from the Attorney General’s office in Pennsylvania. Evidently a file has been opened regarding National Readers Service, Pittsburgh, PA in response to the information presented to them, and an agent has been assigned to “my case”. What a surprise!! I never expected any response since my letter was presented as simply information for their reference not as an unresolved complaint.

I wonder if Mr. Corbett's staff will be as impressed with National Readers Service's "fabulous offer" as the rest of us are? I just hope they don't leave out the real deal(s) (misrepresenting the actual value of their subscriptions, refusing to honor implied cancellation periods, and deceptive disclosure of the costs of other preview offerings to name just a few).  If I am "advised of significant developments" as the letter suggests, I'll be sure to post them here.

Post links with my entire NRS experience are here.

Thanks for visiting theNRSscam blog. Hope something here is helpful. D/

NRS notification letter (draft)

This (draft) letter was posted after a visitor's request for example(s) of cancellation notifications. NRS' cancellation confirmation and “sincere regret for your inconvenience” letter was issued so promptly after being contacted by the Pennsylvania AG that it was never necessary for me actually to send this, but it may provide some ideas for anyone needing to draft their own notification.

Another example is Gabriel Wofford Lezra’s letter to NRS. The convenient timing of the AG’s current actions against NRS, Kansas certainly gives “teeth” to his notification (lol).

Thanks for visiting theNRSscam blog. Hope something here is helpful.
Good luck to all of us!! D/


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National Readers Service
1709 South Braddock Avenue #166
Pittsburgh, PA 15218

To the attention of National Readers Service:

This is to acknowledge receipt of the cancellation confirmation letter for account XXX00000-0, as well as, the $68.28 refund deposited to the originally debited account. Previously your representative indicated that a duplicate refund check had been processed and expressed a preference for it to be returned. Since no duplicate check has been received by mail, presumably it was not posted after processing. However, if any check is received, the intention remains to return it as agreed.

It is expected if any accounts in addition to the above mentioned XXX00000-0 were created, they too are closed with no balance or billing in the future. If any accounts result in magazine receipt they will be considered complimentary with no charge.

Please place XXX-XXX-XXXX on your company’s do not call list.

As you are aware, a Federal Trade Commission complaint was filed against National Readers Service in response to misrepresentations of subscription savings, failure to honor the implied cancellation period, and the deceptive nature of disclosing the costs of other preview offerings during your initial solicitation. Additionally, statements detailing the entire experience with NRS including all associated offers (United Benefit Advantage, ID Sentinel Alert, United Benefits Services, and International Rebates, LLC) have been forwarded to the Attorneys General of Pennsylvania and [my home state]. These statements were submitted in hopes of contributing to your company’s accountability for fraudulent business practices, as well as, for documentation in the case of failure by NRS [or an associated company] to honor any agreements.

Documentation included the eventual subscription cancellation agreement, refunded payment, written cancellation confirmation receipt, as well as, specific mention that the award/ confirmation form for the complimentary watch was NOT submitted. The agreement of cancellation by phone for both the United Benefit Advantage & ID Sentinel Alert programs and the fact that the International Rebates, LLC gas rebate program was NOT activated were also included.

Thank you for your representatives’ courteous attention in resolving this situation.

**********************************************************************************

Answering questions ...

During the course of my National Readers Service experience, one thing that struck me was how completely unprepared for scammers many of us are (I suppose that's why they are so successful). Once we realize what has happened we are desperate for answers, and the similarities between consumer complaints and questions are difficult to miss.

Luckily, there are answers to our questions ... There is a wealth of information available from numerous organizations, and local consumer protection offices can be invaluable in answering questions regarding specific situations. The answers provided here are gathered from various resources such as the Federal Trade Commission, Federal Communication Commission, Department of Justice, National Consumers League, the Better Business Bureau, and others. New questions are added and answers are updated as needed.

Hopefully you'll find something helpful here.

• How can I make National Readers Service stop calling me?  
• How can I cancel an order or close an account with National Readers Service?  
• How can I find address and phone information for National Readers Service? 
• I agreed to an account and then realized I was scammed. If I just refuse to pay, can National Readers Service ruin my credit?
• Who can I contact to help me deal with the National Readers Service scam?
• How do I file a complaint against National Readers Service?

Still need an answer? ... Feel free to post other questions here. I'll help if I can.

Thanks for visiting theNRSscam blog, D/

Why are so many college students getting scammed?

I didn’t learn what prime scam targets college students are until after my daughter’s experience with National Readers Service. It is impossible to miss the number of college students among the complainants on messages boards, consumer sites and even here on theNRSscam blog. MANY of the visitors to this site hail from college ISPs. So what’s the deal? Why are so many college students getting scammed?

College age consumers are the perfect prospects. They have money to spend, may be unwary of fraudulent solicitation tactics, and their contact information is readily available in many cases. On-line purchases, contest registrations, warranty registration cards, or ANY other sharing of contact information will likely end up in a database. These contact databases, even college directories in some cases, can be sold several times over. Many companies sell lists of college student marketing prospects numbering in the millions such as the example shown here. This is to say nothing of ending up on a telemarketing “sucker list” if you actually fall victim to a scam.

How can this trend be reversed? Protect yourselves by recognizing and avoiding scams. Limit unwanted, unsolicited marketing contact by minimizing the amount of personal information that you share period. Register on the national DNC list and “opt out” through the Direct Marketing Association or other organizations. If you find yourself having to deal with a fraudulent business, know where to get help and how to report them. And finally, tell your friends what you’ve learned. You’ll be surprised how many are just as unsuspecting as you were.

Thanks for visiting theNRSscam blog. Hope something here is helpful.
Good luck to all of us!! D/

Shouldn’t we hold ourselves accountable too?

I spent the last years of my mother’s life vigilant and unnecessarily worried that she would fall into some type of scam, but yet I did nothing intentional to prepare my daughter for recognizing and dealing with that very same possibility. Why? … It really never occurred to me. Had I known college students are as prime a target as the elderly, I certainly would have had those conversations with her before the fact.

Scammers are good at what they do (or at least the good ones are). They can be charming and friendly. They know how to use our human nature to their advantage. They are certainly creative and imaginative. Without something working in our favor they could hook us every time.

So what gives us the ability to avoid their “fabulous offers”?

• Prepare before the fact… There is a wealth of information out there, but we generally don’t look for (or find) it until something has already happened. I have no doubt now that preparing our children to be defensive consumers as adults must be an intentional lesson.
• Look out for those we love … There will be opportunities to potentially save someone we know from learning our lesson the hard way. My motivation to create theNRSscam blog was to offer “my lesson” to anyone visiting.
• Think of future victims … Reporting business practices that you believe to be fraudulent is the ultimate consumer power. Remember our collective voice speaks loudest.

Thanks for visiting theNRSscam blog. Hope something here is helpful.
Good luck to all of us!! D/

Where can I find help dealing with a magazine scam?

There is a wealth of telemarketing and magazine scam information from the Federal Trade Commission, National Consumer League and others. A collection of helpful information links can be found here on theNRSscam blog's Spotlight on: Magazine Subscription Scams, as well as, specific suggestions for dealing with a magazine scam.

The Federal Trade Commission and Federal Communication Commission provide assistance in stopping unwanted telemarketing contact through the National Do Not Call list.

Assistance may be available through your Bank or Credit Card Company for reversing and addressing fraudulent debits. In the case of unauthorized debit activity criminal charges can be filed with your local law enforcement agency.

Your local consumer protection organization may be the most qualified to answer specific questions regarding your situation, as well as, to provide potential assistance in arbitrations with a business. The Better Business Bureau provides immediate consumer access to individual business ratings within its database and by filing a complaint they may offer assistance with arbitrations. BBB complaints are accepted whether or not that business is a member. In the case of unacceptable resolution of disputes, seeking legal counsel may be your best option.

While the Federal Trade Commission and Attorneys General do not provide legal advice or intervene on the behalf of individuals, reporting fraudulent business practices may show patterns that increase the likelihood of triggering official investigations.

Spotlight on: Consumer Protection Resources has links for reporting fraudulent business practices, finding consumer protection agencies and organizations, magazine industry and marketing associations, and opting out of unsolicited marketing contact.

Thanks for visiting theNRSscam blog. Hope something here is helpful.
Good luck to all of us!! D/

I agreed to an account and then realized I was scammed. If I just refuse to pay, can they ruin my credit?

Remember everyone’s job at this company is to scam you into an account and then do whatever is necessary to keep it open (as these "insider" magazine telemarketing scheme details show). While the threat of “ruining your credit” is a powerful tool and certainly a possibility, it is most likely they will not follow a legitimate business’ course of action by reporting you to the credit bureaus and turning your account over to an independent collection agency.

Do not be fooled into thinking that just cancelling your credit card or closing your bank account and refusing to pay will make them forget about you though. I have no doubt your account would be turned over to their internal collections department (quite possibly in the next cubicle). It will then become their job to harass you indefinitely or trick you into even another account!

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act applies to third party collection agencies (or may apply to in-house collections that misrepresent themselves) and imposes certain restrictions against their conduct. Questions and answers about the FDCPA can be found here.

While it is possible that you may not be able to get out of the “legally binding contract” that you have made, remember you also have a “powerful tool” … Scam companies absolutely prefer to avoid the official investigations that can come with being reported to the Federal Trade Commission and Attorneys General. If you feel a company's business practices are fraudulent report them (and tell them so). Additional complaint submission links are in the sidebar. Don’t just refuse to pay; deal with them now. Specific suggestions for attempting to resolve your dispute can be found here.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months. Regular monitoring allows you verify the accuracy and completeness of the information in your credit report(s), and staggering your requests from each of the three of the nationwide consumer reporting companies during a 12-month period may be a good way to handle it. There is only one place to obtain a truly free credit report www.annualcreditreport.com. (Do not be fooled by any of the companies offering one free report followed with charges for intermittent monitoring services.)   Questions and answers from the Federal Trade Commission about your free credit report can be found here.

Thanks for visiting theNRSscam blog. Hope something here is helpful.
Good luck to all of us!! D/

So who (and where) IS National Readers Service anyway?

The likelihood of any average consumer ever sorting out with any degree of confidence the aliases, d/b/a names, affiliations, associations, franchises, independent contractors, mail depots, mailing centers, call centers, payment processors, debt collectors …  of any business of this type is slim and is certainly the intention. Supposedly separate “companies” with “addresses” across the country could in reality be within the same room with the same employees functioning in different roles at different times. Even if all the connections could be clearly drawn, it is most likely irrelevant as it is not usual for names , addresses, and phone numbers to change and wipe the slate clean whenever necessary.

As to the question of National Readers Service, specifics from my daughter’s information are below.

1.  National Readers Service
1709 South Braddock Ave #166
Pittsburgh, PA 15218
Phone: 877- 608- 2470

All mailings postmarked- Virginia Beach, VA ZIP 23452

$68.28 debit as “Subscription Services” on bank statement with phone number 866- 928- 4064/ originated VA

2.  United Benefit Advantage & ID Sentinel Alert programs
1620 Bond Street
Naperville, IL 60563

Phone United Benefit Advantage: 1-888-472-7046
$19.99 debit as “UBA” on bank statement with phone number 866- 637- 5833/ originated VA

Phone ID Sentinel Alert: 1-888-228-0319

 3. United Benefits Services
4876-118 Princess Anne Road Suite 315
Virginia Beach VA 23462

4. International Rebates, LLC (The offered $100 “Gas Card” was actually a $10/ month gas rebate registration card from this company through United Benefits Services see above) 
PO Box 120
Tallevast, FL 34270

5. Subco, Inc.
3585 West Beechwood Ave Suite 106
Fresno, California 93711
Phone: 800-258-3350

6. Millennium Marketing
10406 Shawnee Mission Pkwy
Shawnee, KS 66203-3504
Phone: 800-456-6565

Additionally, this is the official contact information from the BBB. BBB links for each individually listed “National Readers Service company” are below if anyone needs them.

1. Consumer Benefit Services, Inc 
1620 Bond St
Naperville, IL 60563-0131

http://www.consumerbenefit.com/
(630) 420-6200
Fax (630) 420-2294

Edwin O. Velazquez, Program Support Specialist -
(630) 420-6200 or evelazquez@consumerbenefit.com

Additional Phone Numbers

(888) 255-4989 ** listed on various consumer sites as contact number for resolving complaints
(888) 610-5486
(630) 420-6200 ext. 1170

Other DBA names:

United Benefit Advantage
ID Sentinel Alert
Consumer Benefit Services Inc
America's Legal Plan, Inc.
CBSI
Consumer Legal Network
Family Health Xtras
Identity Ease
My Financial Umbrella
National Roadside Assurance
Preferred Shopper's Edge
Premier Choice Benefits
Cbsi Loyalty Solutions
CBSI Membership Services
Hub Travel

2.  National Readers Service
1709 S Braddock #166
Pittsburgh, PA 15218

additional address:
3509 Virginia Beach Blvd
Virginia Beach , VA 23452

(877) 608-2470

3.  National Readers Service Inc
4550 N Pershing Ave Suite A
Stockton, CA 95207

(800) 235-0349
(209) 472-0580
(209) 472-0620

Phillip Fultano, President
Laura Fultano, Manager

Other DBA name: Consumer Readers Service

4.  National Readers Service Inc (note: this company is listed as out of business)
433 Elbo Lane
Mt Laurel, NJ 08054

(856) 778-9424

Ms. Elizabeth Baksay

5.  Publishers Renewal Service Co
10406 Shawnee Mission Pkwy
Shawnee, KS 66203

Additional addresses:
PO Box 1144
Mission, KS 66222

PO Box 3863
Shawnee, KS 66203

Additional phone numbers:

(913) 248-1800- primary business number
(800) 725-1729
(800) 304-8567 **listed as same phone number for business(es) below
(800) 447-7133
(800) 422-5696
(800) 532-3434
(800) 456-6565
(800) 493-5045
(800) 761-6618
(800) 493-5045
(866) 945-8913
(866) 945-8917
(913) 248-6215

Fax: (913) 248-0727

Previously listed numbers September 2009

(800) 304-8550- primary business number
(800) 423-2563

Website(s):

http://www.nationalreaderservice.com/
http://www.readers-source.com/

Additional Email Addresses
 
cs-info@millmrk.com  
cs-info@nationalreaderservice.com
cs-info@readerssourcemags.com

Russell Rahm, President
Jessica Richards, Customer Service Manager - (913) 248-6215
Verna Baker - CFO

Other DBA names:

Millennium Marketing
National Readers' Service
National Video Club
Readers Source
First Choice Magazine Club
Marketing Group 2000 (former name)

6.  National Reader's Service (BBB listing September 2009)
PO BOX 3863
Shawnee, KS 66023
(800) 304-8567 ** listed as same phone number for  business above

7. National Reader's Service
PO Box 3863
Effingham, KS 66023
(800) 304-8567 **listed as same phone number for business(es) above

8.  National Readers Services Inc.
10242 NW 47th Street Suite 27
Sunrise, FL 33351

Additional addresses:
10266 NW 47th Street
Sunrise, FL 33351

10266 NW 47th Street Suite 27
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33351

9. Subco, Inc
3585 West Beechwood Ave Suite 106
Fresno, California 93711
800-258-3350
http://www.subcoinc.com/

Primary Contact: Melanie Russell, Manager
Ms. Kelly Vucovich, President

Other DBA names:

Elbon Enterprises, Inc. 
Subdirect
Cenco Magazine Service
CMS
TheMagazineSpecialist.com

Thanks for visiting theNRSscam blog. Hope something here is helpful.
Good luck to all of us!! D/

How can I make them stop calling me?

If you are already on the National Do Not Call List, inform them of that fact and report them to the FTC or FCC. You may also consider contacting your Attorney General. Registration no longer expires, and your number is never removed without your specific request to do so.

If your phones are not registered, all landlines and cell phones can be easily placed on the National Do Not Call List. Complaints can be filed, with some restrictions, after 31 days. Some states may have do not call lists in addition to the national registry. Check with your state consumer protection office or Attorney General's office.

A specific consumer request to be placed on any company’s own Do Not Call List at the time of wanted telephone contact must be honored for five years. This requirement is regardless of whether your phone is registered on any national or state DNC list or not. This requirement even applies if a “previous business” relationship exists. Violations can be reported to the FCC.

Conduct of debt collectors is restricted by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA ) to prevent abusive, unfair or deceptive practices. Within 30 days of contact from a debt collector request written validation of the debt. They must stop contacting you until that written verification has been sent. You may also specifically request in writing that the collector not contact you again or direct all contact through your attorney if you have one. While this does not prevent debt collection efforts, they may only contact you after such notification to inform you that no action will be taken or that they intend to take a specific action, such filing a lawsuit. Violations of the FDCPA may be reported to the Federal Trade Commission and your Attorney General. Questions and answers about the FDCPA can be found here.

Thanks for visiting theNRSscam blog. Hope something here is helpful.
Good luck to all of us!! D/

Closing the book on National Readers Service- Pittsburgh, PA …

Well, my daughter has finally received an account cancellation letter from National Readers Service so hopefully this can be filed as a lesson learned (but not forgotten).

I have e-mailed statements to the Attorneys General in both Pennsylvania and my home state to serve as official documentation on my daughter's behalf. Details of the entire experience with National Readers Service and all of the affiliated offers from United Benefit Advantage, ID Sentinel Alert, United Benefits Services, and International Rebates, LLC were included. It is my hope that doing so will encourage these companies to abide by our agreements and prevent future collection attempts for some “outstanding balance with a lapsed grace period” or some other nonsense.

This has been a very eye-opening experience for me that to be honest I was completely unprepared for it. I’m glad it’s over. I wish the best of luck to everyone still trying to resolve their disputes.

I am convinced this company has fraudulent business practices at least in regards to misrepresenting the actual value of their subscriptions, refusing to honor implied cancellation periods, and deceptive disclosure of the costs of other preview offerings. There are too many similarities among various complaints and my daughter's experience to be otherwise. If I am correct, hopefully enough official complaints will trigger something unpleasant for them!!

Post links with my entire NRS experience are here.

Thanks for visiting the NRS scam blog. Hope something here is helpful. D/

Guess the “check’s in the mail” (still)??…

I’m finishing the Attorneys General letters today and was realizing I’ve actually been fairly productive in dealing with the National Readers Service scam. They’ve agreed to close her account and have refunded her money (only once though….the check never arrived LOL), and I’ve even been able to encourage others with unresolved complaints against this company to report them to the Federal Trade Commission, the Attorneys General, and the Better Business Bureau through this blog. Enough individual reports…and they can’t stay under the radar!!

Hopefully National Readers Service understands it is not worth the entire “$1297.32 account” for the “$425.00 worth” of subscriptions that they intended to scam my kid into buying to forget their agreement with me. In my mother’s words, “Now they are on My List and better have enough sense to remember it.”

A few interesting things I’ve learned about scams:

1. Scams are rampant with so many different schemes it is almost unbelievable. Magazine scams, in particular, made the 2008 overall top ten list and the 2009 top ten telemarketing scams.

2. There is an absolute WEALTH of good information out there which could prevent all of us from ever getting scammed in the first place. I’m willing to bet, however, that hardly anyone finds it before the fact. (I‘ve been surprised by theNRSscam blog's traffic strictly from “newbie postings” on National Readers Service complaint boards leading to a Google ranking. Within four months, visits from all 50 states plus Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, Hong Kong, and Honduras!)

3. It isn’t just our elderly parents getting scammed … it’s our kids too. More than that, our kids don’t just get scammed into buying magazines; they get scammed into selling them too!! The Better Business Bureau, National Consumers League, and others have listed door-to door sales job warnings for teenagers for many years now. (See these eye-opening stories from Parent Watch for another perspective of the door-to-door sales scam.)

4. The majority of people scammed never report it- perhaps from embarrassment, being unaware they’ve even been scammed, being unsure of where to begin, or just being relieved to get off a scammer’s hook and never thinking of the next victim. Reporting fraudulent business practices may protect us all. File complaints with the Federal Trade Commission, the Attorneys General, the National Consumers League, or the Better Business Bureau. 

5. Even if you’ve forgotten about them, they never forget about you and may contact you later about “lapsed grace periods”, “remaining balances”, or whatever. (So much for the relief of getting off the hook!!) Scam companies also sell “lead lists” lists of previously defrauded persons complete with names, addresses, phone numbers, and the $ amount of their last fraudulent transaction to other scammers. The assumption is once a victim, always a prospect. (I’m just wondering if there is a “too much trouble to mess with” list. If so, I’d like to be on that one. LOL)

6. Blogging is a constructive diversion for anger and an interesting way to share with others what I've learned. (It’s actually fun too. I’m almost tempted to try something else, but I’m afraid my lack of blogging expertise together with my interests would generate an audience of two at most. LOL.)

Post links with my entire NRS experience are here.

Thanks for visiting the NRS scam blog. Hope something here is helpful.
Good luck to all of us!! D/

Keeping THEIR promise twice??...

OK, here’s the update. I had a surprisingly short telephone conversation (9 minutes start to finish, polite, and not a single interruption!!) with “Michelle” at National Readers Service after my last posting. Both she and “her supervisor” seemed genuinely anxious to have the fact that the refund agreement was honored included in the Attorneys General letters and did not want the Better Business Bureau to be involved in any arbitrations. She assured me that the check would be mailed in 3-5 days.

Guess what was in my mailbox Wednesday…?? My daughter’s bank statement showing that the $68.28 refund had already been deposited on August 5th when I originally contacted them! Evidently despite the fact that her card was cancelled by VISA for debit access, the National Readers Service’s refund was able to be deposited through that account number. We were just unaware of that fact until her bank statement arrived.

I called National Readers Service, and “Makia’s” records showed that a refund check was processed on September 3rd. It turns out they were so anxious to honor our agreement that they may refund her money twice!! It’s pretty amazing that these are the same people who wouldn’t honor a seven day cancellation period in the first place. What a world of difference putting the Attorneys General into the plan made, don’t you think?

I plan to send letters to the Attorneys General describing our entire experience with National Readers Service and include all affiliated offer details. I have no doubt that this is a scam company with a significant population of college students among its victims. My hope is to provide information which may contribute to this company being held accountable and that documentation with the Attorneys General may discourage any failure by National Readers Service ( or United Benefit Advantage and ID Sentinel Alert) to honor their agreements.

I do intend to send the refund check back to them if it comes. (I have no intention of scamming them. Although after all the aggravation, I must confess the thought did cross my mind. LOL) So I guess now we'll wait and see what happens.

Post links with my entire NRS experience are here.

Thanks for visiting the NRS scam blog. Hope something here is helpful.
Good luck to all of us!! D/

Still keeping MY promises…

Well, it has been 21 “business” days since I clearly explained the situation to National Readers Service, and frankly, I am shocked to have not received the promised $68.28 refund!! (“Summer” seemed so genuinely sincere about that. LOL) In the spirit of forgiveness, I’ve decided to extend the opportunity to get that check in my mailbox.

I’ve found that my daughter’s seven day “order confirmation” statement in her welcome information provides the perfect framework for my next telephone conversation with this bunch. (It is carefully constructed to explain that corrections and changes are a possibility, but not cancellations. How ironic that they are in that situation with me now!! LOL) Thought I’d share my script.

“Did I get your lack of response right? Please take a moment to review our agreement of August 5, 2009. If any updated information regarding the agreed upon refund is necessary, let us know by mailing a $68.28 check immediately. If we do not hear from you within seven days, we will assume your lack of response is intentional. At that time, we are notifying the Attorneys General of Pennsylvania and my home state of our experiences to date with your business. We will also be contacting the Better Business Bureau to arbitrate some agreement on our behalf if the refund is not received.”

Well, we’ll see how it goes. Anyone care to vote on the refund likelihood?? LOL. I’ll post an update after the 10th.

Post links with my entire NRS experience are here.

Thanks for visiting the NRS scam blog. Hope something here is helpful.
Good luck to all of us!! D/

What I didn't teach my kid...

OK, last week I didn't know anything about National Readers Service. After dealing with these people on my daughter's behalf, that's certainly no longer the case. At this point, National Readers Service has verbally agreed to close her account with no balance, no bills or calls in the future, any additional magazines received after this cancellation are her gift at no charge, and her payment to date will be refunded. Whether or not that agreement is honored, we will see over time. I hope our "experiences" with this company and some of what I've learned can be helpful to someone else.

My Reaction:
Honestly, this blew me out of the water. I spent the last years of my mother’s life worried she would fall into something like this that she didn’t want, couldn’t afford, and couldn’t get out of. But you know what? My mother was a sharp old bird. She knew a deal when she saw it and a scam when she heard it.

I have no doubt she would have cut them off in the chit chat, before the “survey”, and long before the “fabulous magazine offer” that hooked my kid. She would have known their name and who they were calling for. They’d have known she was on the “Do Not Call list”, they better have enough sense to never call her again because now they’re on “Her List”, and left them sitting (in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kansas, Virginia, California, or wherever in the heck these people are actually sitting) listening to the dial tone. I was angry at my kid for falling for this; she is too smart. But I was even angrier at myself for not making sure she was too smart to fall for this!!

I spent the majority of a morning trying to figure out who these people are, the best way to handle them, and the most of the afternoon carrying it out. (FYI: There are numerous consumer complaints in multiple categories and scam alerts for each company mentioned with so many overlapping names and addresses it is essentially impossible to sort out. Other National Readers Service complaints are here.)

I contacted the Federal Trade Commission (Surprisingly, I talked to a real person with a less than 5 minutes phone wait!!), the Better Business Bureau, the Consumer Affairs Division under the Attorney General’s office in my home state (Also spoke to a real person there. He returned my voicemail message in under an hour and was extremely helpful!), and my daughter’s bank. How I specifically handled National Readers Service follows...

Preparation:

• Gather all physical documents. Make detailed timeline of interactions with this company.
• Get the cover prices and subscription prices for ordered magazines. Easily found at the newsstand or on sites such as: magazines.com (this is not an endorsement for this particular company/ just an example for researching price comparisons). Do the math; know what you have bought. (You will not be happy, but you will be motivated. Note: yearly cover prices on-line may be inaccurate/ the prices listed aren't necessarily updated with price changes.)
• Decide what agreement you plan to reach with this company: cancel account, refund payments, etc. Write it down.
• Use these documents when you talk to them. (You can bet they have a script as well!)

Things to keep in mind about scams, in general, and National Readers Service, in particular, before contacting them:

• This company is a scam. Everyone’s job at this company is to get you hooked in and then do whatever necessary to keep an “account” open. Losing your temper with them will not change their job, but it may distract you enough to make their job easier. We are not the first (or last) person they will scam, nor will this be the last chance some other company has to scam us.
• These people know the law and intend to barely stay in it. This “business” may have dismal Better Business Bureau ratings, know it, and not really care. You don’t know that when they sell to you unsolicited. They do prefer, however, to stay under the radar of official consumer affairs inquiries with the Federal Trade Commission or Attorneys General.
• While the Federal Trade Commission does not intervene on the behalf of individual consumers, complaints filed against this company's business practices may show a pattern of violations that will trigger investigations. (There IS a pattern, but only if we REPORT IT!!! Complaints can be filed VERY easily by telephone at 1-877-FTC-HELP.)

Suggestions for contacting NRS (and details of mine):

Contact National Readers Service. ( I called through the phone number from the order notice. Expect a LONG wait- my long-distance call was over 1 hour 20 minutes.) Note: As an alternative to contacting them by phone you could send written notification(s) following the same suggestions below. Keep copies for your records and send any notifications by certified mail with return receipt request.

Ask to speak to a Customer Service manager. (Ours was “Roberta”- no employee ID- just the only “Roberta”?!)

• Take notes. Write everything down: names, dates, conversation details.Verify account details.
• Inform them of your specific issue with their inappropriate business practices such as fraudulent solicitation, inability to cancel order, billing practices, debt collection, etc. and attempt to get them to resolve the issue(s) to your satisfaction.
• DO NOT MAKE ANY NEW PAYMENT DEALS. DO NOT GIVE ANY ADDITIONAL ACCOUNT INFORMATION, CREDIT CARD NUMBERS, ETC!!!
• Inform them of your next course of action. (I’m sure there are more possibilities, but a list is included in "Suggestions for dealing with a magazine subscriptions scam"  that may be helpful. To avoid any confusion about my intentions I asked “Roberta” to take notes for this part. LOL)

During this process expect several interruptions such as reminders of the “uniqueness” of this fabulous magazine subscription- evidently I was supposed to be excited that you can change your titles every month with this plan. (Really?? If I'm paying $1297.32 every five years for magazines I could subscribe to the "newsstand plan". There I can change my titles AND no hassles about cancelling as an added bonus! LOL). You will get offers of an identically bad or worse “settlement” or “payment plan”, as well as, reminders of the fact they have a legally binding contract that cannot be cancelled. (Just following their script, I’m sure, I just kept following mine.)

You may be transferred to that customer service manager’s "supervisor" (“Roberta” handed me off to “Summer”- also no ID and also the only “Summer”- just as I mentioned the Better Business Bureau.) If you are lucky they will close your account before you get through the entire list of your plan. (I decided to start back at the beginning in case “Roberta” wasn’t a good note taker, and I was in the middle of mentioning the Attorneys General when “Summer” decided they could close the account and refund the $68.28 after all!!) Now if you’re really lucky they will actually abide by their agreement and leave you alone! If not, continue following through on your course of action. Hopefully, an acceptable resolution will be reached in a short time.

• Ask them to specifically re-state the agreed resolution and send verification to you (in writing) within 10 business days. Be sure to address at least the items below. You may also send them your own written notifications of all agreements. Keep a copy and send certified mail with return receipt request.

If the account is closed:

• The account is paid in full, there are no additional accounts that you are unaware of, no bills will be sent, nor will any telephone contact be made in the future.
• If any additional magazines are received they are your gift to keep with no expected payment.
• Any specific details of expected refund (if any).

If the account is not closed:

• Complete terms of the agreement- magazine subscriptions to be received (specific titles and number of months), amount and number of payments, total remaining balance to be paid, and specific request of no automatic renewal.
• The specifically agreed upon payment method-  (The Consumer Affairs office in my state  recommended against trying to just cut them off and not pay as my daughter had made a verbal agreement with them. The legality of verbal contracts evidently varies by state. Contact your state consumer protection office if you have questions.) If you plan to continue payments while your dispute is in arbitration, money orders through the mail are an option rather than automatic withdrawals from your account. You may request a mailing address for payments and close the account they have access to. 

Also, if you have accepted and cancelled any other offers through the original solicitation, attempt to verify that there will be no billing from those companies as well. (They stated this is beyond their control, but I suspect the message may get delivered anyway.)

Keep all documentation of contact with this company. (Hopefully my daughter’s complaint is “satisfactorily resolved”- of course, no sign of the $68.28 refund yet. Regardless, I still intend to send all documentation of our experiences with this company and its partners to the Attorneys General offices in both my home state and PA to keep on file for their future reference- and notify National Readers Service, United Benefit Advantage, and ID Sentinel Alert of that fact as well.)

Post links with my entire NRS experience are here.

Thanks for visiting the NRS scam blog. Hope something here is helpful.
Good luck to all of us!! D/