Sunset Publications / Magazine Solutions
Complaint 6673 Details

I received a phone call from Sunset Publications in April on my cell phone while I was on my way to school. The company representative said she needed to verify my account information for my magazine subscriptions. I answered all of her questions and confirmed all of my information. It wasn't until the end of the conversation that I realized that I was completing an order for magazine subscriptions. The agreement was a start-up charge of $79.95 and a monthly charge of $39.95 every month afterward for 5 years. However, the representative told me I could cancel within 30 days, and that's what I planned to do. Two days later my account was charged twice for $79.95, and I immediately tried to contact the company to cancel. However, when I tried to return the call with the phone number they called me with I got a message saying it was out-of-service or disconnected. I tried searching the internet for directory information and found another phone number, but this too was out-of-service or disconnected. A few days later I received another phone call about my magazine subscriptions, they said they were affiliated with Sunset Publications. I told them they overcharged my account and that I wanted to cancel, then they hung-up. A few days later the second charge was removed from my account, but I still could not find any way to contact Sunset Publications to cancel my account. I was supposed to receive something in the mail with all my account information as well as information on how to cancel my account. I waited for this but never received it. Finally on Jun 17 I received a phone call asking about my subscriptions. I asked if the company was affiliated with Sunset Publications. The representative said he was calling from Magazine Solutions, and that Sunset Publishing buys subscriptions from them and sells them to others. The representative confirmed that my magazine subscriptions with Magazine Solutions were purchased through Sunset Publications. I asked if canceling my subscriptions through Magazine Solutions would cancel the fees that Sunset Publications was charging. The representative said that since the subscriptions were purchased from them that Sunset could no longer charge me if my subscriptions were canceled. However, since the magazine subscriptions were already paid for five years by Sunset, I would have to pay a termination fee of $250. I agreed to this charge and it posted to my account a few days later. To make sure that I was not charged again, I went to my bank to stop payment on charges from Sunset Publications. I told them I had canceled my account, but thought they might try to charge me again. They told me it usually takes 15 days for cancellations, but to contact the merchant if a charge shows up. The bank gave me the phone number attached to the merchant when they debited my account. I tried to call the number but only got an answering machine. A couple days later Sunset charged me again. I tried calling again several times without success. I left messages but no one ever called me back. Knowing that they would charge me again I was going to cancel my debit card, but it was too late - Sunset Publication had already charged me. I called Sunset immediately and was able to talk to someone. The representative told me that I had not canceled my account, that anyone else I talked to was not affiliated with them, and that I could not cancel now because it was after the 30 day cancellation period. He told me they sent out the cancellation information and I failed to cancel within the first 30 days and that now I just had to deal with it. I told him that I did not receive anything in the mail and did not receive the magazines that I paid for. He said it wasn't his fault I tossed the letter out as junk mail and that my magazines would start coming in the next few weeks. I told him that his operation was fraudulent and that I was going to report him, he said I could threaten him all I want, but he was not going to cancel my subscriptions. I immediately hung up and called my bank. I could not refute the most recent charge from Sunset Publications, but I could refute the charge from last month. I have yet to see what will happen, but I am doing everything I can to refute this fraud.