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/

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)??

Recommendations to check Better Business Bureau ratings to avoid scam companies and suggestions (or threats) to file BBB reports when addressing fraudulent business practices are frequently mentioned on message boards and complaint threads as the best option available to consumers.

Immediate BBB database availability does allow consumers to research complaints, business contact information, etc. Finding a specific business within the database, however, is not always easy (or possible), and there can be dilution of complaint histories, as well, with multiple BBB chapters creating different reviews for the same company or treating different P.O. Box addresses as separate businesses. (This is a handy reality in wiping the slate clean for scam companies.)

Additionally, a business’ rating may be questionable since only accredited businesses qualify for “A+” ratings, and “accreditation” is a purchased privilege subject primarily to resolving customer complaints rather than imposing ethical expectations in the first place. All of this requires us to consider every option for researching a company, and then look at the entire picture to make our assessment.

As for filing complaints, we might assume a “clean record” with the BBB is important to every business, but that may not be the case at all. Since most telemarketing purchases are impulse buys with little prospect of victims being aware of negative ratings before the fact, it is possible for a scam company to be completely unconcerned about their rating.

Filing a BBB complaint does at times provide assistance with resolving disputes, however, it will never result in any business actually being held accountable or in punitive consequences being imposed. If that is our intention, filing complaints with the Attorneys General (both your state and theirs) and the Federal Trade Commission remains the best option.

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

With sincere regrets ...

Well, no actually significant developments, but I did receive a follow-up (both a call and a letter) from the Pennsylvania Attorney General. A copy of National Readers Service’s response letter again confirming my daughter’s cancellation with specific mention that she will “never be billed again whatsoever” was forwarded for our records.

Not surprisingly the claim of “representatives … trained in a professional manner to assist our customers” and “all orders … verified with the customers to insure their full understanding of the terms of the agreement” were the focus of the response to the Attorney General. Much as I expected, there was no mention of any of the business practices for which I felt the need to report this company in the first place.

Perhaps the “sincere regret” expressed for any inconvenience caused to myself or my daughter (or at least the resulting attention of the Attorney General) will actually encourage them to abide by their own policies in the future…

“It has always been our policy that under the pay during service agreement, the order is cancelable upon customer request.” [per Christopher Johnson, Customer Service Manager, NRS 1709 S. Braddock #166, Pittsburgh]

If not, hopefully a continuation of official complaints will result in a “genuinely sincere regret” at some point. lol. Best of luck to everyone.

Post links with my entire NRS experience are here.

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


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

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/

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/

How do I file a complaint?

Consumer complaints regarding telemarketing/ magazine subscription scams may be filed with the Federal Trade Commission, Federal Communications Commission, the Attorneys General offices/ state Consumer Affairs Division, local law enforcement, the National Consumers League, the Better Business Bureau, and the Magazine Publishers of America to name a few. Complaint submission links are located in the side bar or in the Spotlight on: Consumer Protection Resources section.

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