Magnamail Pty Ltd.
Complaint 24184 Details

  • Date Occurred: 09/24/2013
  • Reported Damages: $28.00
  • !

The complaint is against an online dating profile

The complaint is a listing fraud posted on public forums or sites against an anonymous entity

The complaint is mobile text spam or smishing related against an anonymous entity

The company or person contact no longer exists

International boundaries

I received a reader's Digest catalogue in the mail, and inside the magazine was a magnamail catalogue with the front cover claiming that I had definitely won $25,000 after I scratched the grey window.
I apparently also won another $5000 on another grey window and an $8 clock on another one.

The catch was I had to buy something from the catalogue to be eligible to claim the prize, so they said, and they worded it "Buy now for the CHANCE to claim your prize of $25,000, which to me is still saying that I have won something, but I can only claim it when I buy something from them.
They said to order within 14 days to claim the prize, and I posted away for my order the next day...for which I have the receipt for the money order of $40 for three items...which I have not received yet.

Everything about this was made to look like it was totally legit, including Terms and Conditions page at the back of the catalogue, and I should have checked online first to see if others had been scammed by them, as I just found heaps of links of people complaining about the same thing...not receiving zip and even receiving faulty goods, and sometimes not all of what they did pay for, and being pressured to give out credit card details when queried over the phone.

How did this company manage to stay in business for $35 years, and why would a magazine like Readers Digest, which has been around forever, align itself with these scammers...unless they are also scammers?

I didn't really believe that I'd won anything, or at least I said I will believe it when I see it, and knew that they just wanted me to buy something, but I thought some of the items were worth buying so I did.

I'm not so much bothered if I don't win any money, even though it was a blatant deception and they should be reprimanded for it...but I'm the one who bought it...though I didn't really. I just thought I'd report it anyway as I'm sure you've had plenty of reports about this particular company.


Honestly, how do they do it? Surely they should have been shut down by now?

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Comments

  • Corlene
  • Corlene SBID #cf2e7f4cda
  • Posted 11/13/2013
  • Hi there, just wondering if you ever got your items you ordered, and the $250000 promised you in the end? I got this exact brochure, with the same info also..... it's criminal how they are STILL allowed to do this.... who can we complain to?
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  • Philippa
  • Philippa SBID #6477a41368
  • Posted 11/13/2013
  • Hi Corlene,
    To answer your question, I did get the items I ordered, however , as for the $20,000 I was told I'd won...instead they sent me an $8 bedside alarm clock...if you can believe that.

    When I wrote an email to magnamail the secretary told me that it was in the terms and conditions that only one prize was allowed per person, and because I'd actually won 3 different prizes...I scratched three silver windows that matched to a prize...the first being the $20,000, I still got one prize out of three...just not the one I wanted (the $20,000). SInce I couldn't prove that it was the first window I scratched which won, and you HAD to scratch all of them, there's nothing I can do.

    They are sneaky FUCKERS, that's what they are. They know how to use words to legally get out of any obligation, and they set it up so no one gets anything except the cheapest prize...just so they can get people to buy stuff from the catalogue.

    I'd actually heard a long time ago that Reader's Digest were dodgy as hell, and now I know it's true. For them to support any catalogue that plays on people this way, makes them just as bad...and they do the same thing. Funny how they've been a household name for over 30 years now, and nothing has ever happened to them...because no one ever dobs them in.

    If more people report them, then they won't be able to get away with this anymore...so spread the word to everyone you know and let them know that reader's digest are dodgy and so are magnamail.
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  • sophie
  • sophie SBID #b2ce98c38f
  • Posted 11/09/2013
  • As far as I know, Readers Digest have ANNUAL prizes and they publish their winners, pretty much like Mater Prize Home, etc. Not sure of Magnamail though. I've been receiving their catalogues for years and I have never seen a photo of anyone winning their $20,000 prize or any closing date or drawing date. So if there is no deadline for the prize drawn, then I guess they can keep advertising there's a $20,000 prize, to be given away in 100 years!!!
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Business Profile Summary

  • Magnamail Pty Ltd. logo

Company Statistics

  • Complaint Against Magnamail Pty Ltd.
  • Complaints Filed: 1
  • Reported Damages: $28.00
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