For the first time in my life, I was inspired to contact the Better Business Bureau . It was over a subscription issue with a magazine. I should have learned the first time that it’s near-impossible to cancel a subscription, no matter who started it.
A few years ago, some still-unknown “friend” or relative hooked me up with a gift subscription to Field & Stream Magazine , in which I have little-to-no interest. So, for a few months, I received the magazines, much to my surprise, but a little note with each one said it was part of my “gift subscription” from an anonymous donor. So I wasn’t too worried. But I kept receiving the magazines, and after a few months, I started receiving bills for them. I sent each bill back with a note, letting the company know that I had never asked for the magazine, and had never wanted it. But I still kept getting them. Finally, my notes grew nastier and more curt, until eventually I stopped receiving the magazine. The bills kept coming for a while, and I sent each one back with a letter until finally they stopped. This took about a year.
Now, with another magazine, which I’d ordered myself, I’m having similar trouble. I had a subscription for about three years, and decided to cancel when my current term was up. So, in February, when I got the first “renewal notice,” I sent it back with a note, telling them I did NOT wish to renew, and to cancel my subscription after I received what I’d already paid for. But they didn’t. I kept getting more magazines, and more renewal notices. Each time, I wrote the company, telling them I didn’t want their product anymore (can’t afford it, what with the gas prices!)
So, today, I received the first bill from them, for the upcoming 12 issues. F***, I was pissed. First, I contacted the company online, finding no “help” in their “help” department on the website. I sent them a message explaining the problem. Then, just to be sure, I submitted an editorial to the magazine, saying I’d enjoyed the publication for three or more years, but that their billing department appears to have a very low average IQ. None of that made me feel better, so I sent them a nicely typed letter, along with the alleged bill they sent me, and then submitted a complaint to the Better Business Bureau.
Very little makes me angier than being asked to pay for something I didn’t want in the first place. It’s why I hate taxes so much.
EDIT: Just to be funny, the bill said on it: “Thank you for renewing your subscription.” The little piss-ants.
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