Magazine Direct
Complaint 352799 Details

The date I entered is just the latest of MANY contacts with reps from Magazine Direct & those of their collection agency, Interstate Recovery Service. 6+ years ago, Magazine Direct, FIRST "strong armed" me into paying over $500 for magazines I didn't want...including multiple year subscriptions to SHAPE & WORKING MOTHER...I have no children AND have been severely ill, receiving a PERMANENT AND TOTAL LINE OF DUTY PENSION from the City of Philadelphia/Fire Department in 2007 so, I would hope, it is obvious, that out of all the magazines this company claims to offer, these would NOT be among MY CHOICES. Despite me contacting them, many times & being assured I COULD choose other magazines, at any time, AND requesting BOTH written copies of, what I was told, was the 5 year "subscription contract" AND a list of available magazines, BEFORE I WOULD AUTHORIZE ANY FURTHER PAYMENT...I never received either & when I stopped paying, they threatened to ruin my credit, so I paid the balance, in full, just to rid myself of them, vowing NEVER deal with them, or any other magazine subscription service, again...Fast forward to sometime in early 2016...Because of my health issues & being subject to hospitalizations, at any time, I have all my recurring, monthly bills...mortgage, utilities, car insurance payments, etc., on "auto pay" thru my Credit Union...after a lengthy hospital stay, I noticed there had been TWO, consecutive, monthly payments of 24.95 had been taken from my account that , when looked into, had been paid to MAGAZINE DIRECT!!!! They HAD contacted me just prior to my hospital stay, BUT, I told them CLEARLY, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES, DID I WANT ANY MAGAZINES, ESPECIALLY FROM MAGAZINE DIRECT!!! I soon realized that the DEBIT CARD INFO, ORIGINALLY GIVEN THEM FOR PAYMENT, YEARS EARLIER, WAS STILL VALID & HAD BEEN USED TO MAKE THE WITHDRAWALS!! When I contacted Magazine Direct, they told me they had me RECORDRED, ACCEPTING THEIR OFFER & when I insisted on hearing the recording, TO MY SHOCK & ANGER, IT WAS OBVIOUSLY, MY VOICE...only answering, "yes" to 3 questions, verifying my name, address & billing info...FROM YEARS EARLIER!! As soon as I possibly could, I went to the Credit Union, explained the problem & as advised, had a new card issued, spent hours on the phone, notifying those authorized to make monthly withdrawals from my account, changing the method of payments to come from my checking account &, NOW, never share the new debit card #!! Any on-line ordering I do, is done, EXCLUSIVELY, with low limit CREDIT CARDS, THRU PAY PAL...If an on-line company does not accept PAY PAL, then they do not accept MY BUSINESS...Of course, within days of not being able to withdraw another payment, I was contacted by Magazine Direct & AGAIN, told them I had nothing to say to them until I received, BOTH, copies of the contract, the terms of which I was being held to AND a list of available magazines & the representative, who would only identify himself as, "Greg", despite my repeated requests for more specific info...AND, TRUE TO FORM, AGAIN, I never received ANYTHING from Magazine Direct....not any of the requested documents, OR ANY MAGAZINES...and, since I only use a Cell Phone, which is exempt from "DO NOT CONTACT" protections, I vowed never to answer ANY "UNKNOWN CALLER ID" type calls, from that day forward. Then, on August 4, 2017, I picked up my phone to make an OUTGOING call, and heard a male voice, already on the other end, though my phone HAD NOT RUNG...It was a representative of Interstate Recovery Service...After a long, animated discussion, Mr. Curtis Goard told me he had dealt with many collections for Magazine Direct & told me if I paid the least possible he was authorized to settle the $400+ account for...$150.00, in 2 equal monthly payments of $75.00, plus a $5.00 "fee"...$160.00, total...I would be "free" of Magazine Direct, FOREVER, my credit would not be effected...AND...IF, THEY...OR ANYONE REPRESENTING THEM SHOULD CONTACT ME, "HANG UP AND CALL ME, BECAUSE, MS. KOHLER, THIS COULD ALL END, TODAY, WITH YOUR ACCOUNT BEING CLOSED AS PAID & NEVER HAVING TO DEAL WITH IT AGAIN, OR MAGAZINE DIRECT WILL RUIN YOUR CREDIT FOR SEVEN YEARS, UNLESS YOU PAY THE FULL AMOUNT...". Well, like a FOOL, I agreed & used a credit card to make the two, monthly, payments on 8/4/2016 & 9/2/2016...Then, last week, I received a letter from INTERSTATE RECOVERY, dated 9/12/2016, advising me I STILL OWED MAGAZINE DIRECT $349.86!!! When I called "Curtis", as HE had told me, he said, YET ANOTHER, MAGAZINE DIRECT ACCOUNT, HAD BEEN FILED & ASSIGNED TO, ANOTHER COLLECTION REP, "SCHMICKA", AFTER HE & I SETTLED THE, "ORIGINAL" ACCOUNT HE HAD HANDLED!!! When I spoke to HER, she offered to, "settle" THAT account for a total of TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS...Hmmm. how odd...$160.00 PLUS ANOTHER $210.00 & MAGAZINE DIRECT/INTERSTATE RECOVERY WOULD HAVE 370.00...CO-INCINIDENCE?! I THINK NOT!!! IF ANYONE HEARS THE WORDS MAGAZINE DIRECT, HANG UP BEFORE YOU...OR THEY...CAN SAY ANYTHING ELSE!!!!