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I agreed to order a magazine from a girl who was trying to get points toward a trip. She told me that I could order, give her the check, then cancel my order (by following the instructions on the back of my receipt) and my money would never be taken. She said that she still received points, even if I did cancel the magazine subscription and that, if I didn't order with her, then I would be bothered non-stop by other groups trying to do the same thing.
Yes, it probably was stupid to listen, but one of my friends who was there had dealt with this same group before and he said that it was true that there would be more groups coming and that they wouldn't take my money (because they hadn't taken his money). So, I ordered some magazine and the very next day (September 2, 2008) I followed the cancellation process. It told me to sign my receipt, requesting the cancellation, then either mail it, email it, or fax it to them. Of course I wasn't about to send it to them & be left without proof that I did cancel, so I chose to fax the receipt. On Thursday September 4, 2008 (the day my cancellation deadline was up) I saw that the $71 had been taken from my account. So, I emailed customer service to explain that I had cancelled and wanted to know why my check was cashed and to have them please refund my money immediately. I eventually heard back from a woman named Kristen which spawned a few weeks long email battle between us. She told me that I had to send them my "proof of payment" from my bank to show that they had, in fact, received my money (which is stupid, I gave you all a check, you cashed it you don't need proof), but I got it anyways and immediately scanned it to my computer & sent it to her. (I have copies of ALL of our emails and ALL of my faxes in this process.) Basically what happened was that, though I sent this to her, she began to claim that I had not and, therefore, had completely missed the deadline. She actually even claimed that I clearly spoke to one of their other representatives who clearly told me that I was to send them a proof of payment and that I had not done so. I had to then explain to her that she was the ONLY person I had spoken to unless there was another woman names Kristen with the same email address and I forwarded her the email that SHE sent telling me what to do. I then called customer service and they acted like the Kristen woman was crazy and that I was in the right and told me to fax them the proof again and I would have my money in 4-6weeks.
It's now November 5th, 2008. I have not received any money and, so, I called customer service again. This time I spoke to Marsha who clearly thought I was stupid. She told me that I never sent them my "proof of payment" to which I immediately exclaimed that yes I had and I have the fax transmission sheet to prove it. I told her I sent it on Septmeber 15th to which she claimed that on September 16th & 17th I had called them (not true) and that they didn't have it then. She finally shut up and just asked me for the date & time of the transmission, which I told her. She then told me that they did received a fax on that day at that time but, because it wasn't in PDF format she was unable to view it &, therefore, unable to believe that I had sent it.
I then calmly explained to her that a fax cannot be sent in PDF format it's a fax. You put a piece of paper in the fax machine, it gets sent, and comes out on the other end as a copy of that piece of paper. I told her that if she wanted a PDF then it would have to be transmitted through a computer (such as through email) or on a disc, etc. She was taken aback by the fact that I knew this, but continued to claim that it was not in the right format. So I asked her if whether their faxes came through a fax machine or if they were on a computer - she told me that she was looking at the computer database and that it was unviewable, but that if I wanted to email it to her directly, that would be fine. WHAT?
These people are ###s and they need to be shut down. I won't get my $71 back, but I'm still going to be sure to annoy the hell out of them as long as I can. If I had the time and they weren't in Colorado (I'm in Kentucky) I would take them to court (as I do work in the legal field, it wouldn't be hard).
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
I had almost exactly the same situation! Im in NY and on August 6th, i got a knock at the door.. Cut kid, very sweet talking.. got me to buy a magazine.. he explained everything.. So later that night i decided that $57.00 was too much to be spending on a Rachel Ray magazine, which i probably wouldnt be able to read half the time... I also requested a refund.. My check was cashed almost immediately.. The company wanted a copy of my cashed check and receipt.. i also faxed it to them 2x to be sure and mailed a copy.. They admitted it was received and it usually takes about6 weeks to be processed .. Needless to say the next excuse i got was it is here ready to go.. but did anyone tell me about there banking problems of late? Well it seems they were banking with Washington Mutual, which went under and the refunds were put on hold(ha ha, what a surprise, that was a good one).. but it will be sent, look for it at the end of October..Okay its Novemner 13th and this was all done back in August... Im super mad, i wish they had an office here i could storm into!
That Joey kid that knocked on my door that i felt so bad for, i hope when u get older your kids fall for something like this and come complaining to you..Maybe then you will understand what kind of idiot you really are!
The same thing happen to me. On Halloween I had two people that came to my door about points for a trip. I ordered one magazine and they told only one person would get the points so I had to get another subscription. So I wrote two checks for $54 each. After they left I went to the post office and mailed off my cancellation. They cashed my checks on November 14th. Every time I call I get a voice mail message. I want my money back and probably won't received it.
I GOT SCAMMED TOO! FOR $65.00. I TRUSTED THE YOUNG MAN WHO NEEDED PINTS FOR HIS SCHOOL TRIP AND...FELL FOR IT. NEVER RECEIVED AN ISSUE, ALMOST A YEAR LATER, I AM STILL TRYING TO COLLECT. I HAVE E-MAILED, FAXED, CALLED, WRITTEN, TO ALWAYS EXCUSES AND MORE EXCUSES FROM THEM TRYING TO GET THEIR MONEY FOR THE SUBSCRIPTION TO THEM CLAIMING THERE BANK WAS WITH WAMU WHEN IT CLOSED AND THEY WERE HAVING FINANCIAL PROBLEMS. I WAS ALWAYS TOLD THEY WERE DILIGENTLY DOING THEIR WORK ON MY REFUND AND IT WAS ALWAYS ON HIGH PRIORITY. I AM FED UP WITH THEIR ABUNDANCE OF LIES AND FALSE PROMISES. THIS WHOLE COMPANY IS A SCAM! ALL I WANT IS MY HARD EARNED MONEY!
The exact same thing happened to my daughter. She was napping on the couch because she works nights. These kids woke her up out of a dead sleep & talked her into buying a subscription, with the promise that she could cancel within 3 days.
She went to the post office & paid to have a copy of her reciept mailed to them. Then she spoke to someone who promised to overnight a check to her. Needless to say, over 3 months later, no refund, and their voicemail is full.
Not to mention the fact that a $10.48 subscription, plus a $15 processing fee resulted in a grand total of $68 dollars. How does that add up?
I am going to write to the Colorado Better Business Bureau, as well as the Consumer Protection Bureau, and the FBI. These are illegal business practices. I am thinking of contacting a lawyer as well. My daughter may never see her money again, but I will be happy if these people are permenantly shut down.
Contact the Jefferson County District Attorney Office (Golden, CO)[protected]. Tell them you were ripped off by GLC, Inc. a/k/a American Cash Awards.
I too have been taken by this company. I live in NC and both myself and son-in-law were hounded by two young girls stating they were sellinng magazines for a trip. After writing my check I changed my mind and followed all the instructions on the back of my receipt (same day). I got a letter stating they needed a copy of my canceled check which we both sent to them. I didn't hear anything from ACA at all. I finally got a post card saying my order had been canceled. Still no refund, I called the company actually spoke with some named Erica and she told me it was moved to priority status, that was done Jan 5, 09. Still nothing. The purchase of these magazines were in July of 08. Now when I call the number it just goes to voice mail stating they are on the phone with other satified customers, another lie. We were both taken for 60 dollars. I hope someone puts a stop to this company. clh0104@yahoo.com
The Jefferson County District Attorney referred my case to the Colorado Attorney General's Office. If you were ripped off by Great Lakes Circulation (GLC Inc.) a/k/a Magazines Inc. also d/b/a American Cash Awards contact the Colorado Attorney General's Office, 1525 Sherman Street, 7th Floor, Denver, CO 80203. [protected] FAX: [protected] Consumer Complaint Line - in Denver and Out of State - [protected]
In June of 2006, a young girl approached me while I was pumping gas late at night. She told me she needed a ride home because her sales group had abandoned her. Being an impetuous 20 year-old, I decided to give her a ride to a motel (to meet her boyfriend) 70 miles away. We didn't talk much on the way there, but I remember pulling into the motel and her begging me to buy a magazine subscription. She went on and on about how she was a struggling college student who needed to make sales so she could accumulate points for text books. As if I hadn't already made enough dumb decisions, I gladly forked over $58.00 for a 1-year subscription to Maxim magazine. Obviously, I'd forgotten about this incident until I found the Magazines, Inc. receipt earlier today. (FYI, today is January 12th, 2016.)
I'm not mad or anything. I just wanted to add my two cents. If anyone's interested, the girl's name is Tabatha Price and the number she gave me was [protected].