Hearst Communications
Reviews and Complaints

I found an email for a world market holiday sweepstakes. Absolutely nothing about a magazine subscription on the email. I clicked 'enter now' and went to the form, which included the line "no purchase necessary to enter or win" which is par for the course with sweepstakes. Everything looked normal. I filled in the form, including my name and address, and at the part where it says "i would like to receive news and promotions from cost plus world market. " i made sure to mark no. Everything looked normal. I hit submit and then found out that i had, without warning, been signed up for a free trial of some bullcrap magazine, which would automatically continue for a fee. Apparently that's part of their 'continuous service program'.

i was checking my mail i don't remember there came some advertisement of HEALTH Magazine PREVENTION I clicked my name and as it happens that all the address and phone number and email auto fed on the columns but I did not place any order, I did not give any credit card number etc. even then this company named Rodale send me an email on 24th oct that your order has been shipped I immediately replied back to that email that I never ordered and this is fraud a packet with diary and a lot of junk paper booklet stuff along with an invoice about 35 $ saying satisfaction guaranteed or return the product. How one can dispatch an order without credit card or payment and denial of any such order. Who will pay the postage for the return? I am myself old and penniless. This is a great scam.I just disown all these corrupt despatches and request you to take necessary steps to blacklist this company for such nonsense scams.

A very short while ago, I entered a contest for wining an oven based on an email I received. Within minutes I was notified that I had subscribed to Elle Décor magazine, a Hearst publication. When I tried to cancel I learned that there is no phone number listed under customer service, AND the only way to contact Hearst publication online is to wait until I receive the first magazine and use the info printed on the label to effect contact. I rechecked the email contest offer, read the contest rules, and it states clearly that no purchase is necessary, and nowhere does it mention an obligatory magazine subscription. To my shame, this is the second time Hearst has conned me - the last time I entered one of their contests, I was fraudulently subscribed to Home and Garden magazine. Lesson learned - check all email contests to see if the Hearst company is involved, then hit delete.

Tried to cancel my subscription at the end of the promotional period and Hearst stated in writing it was not possible as my bank had already paid the direct debit before my request was received. They advised that I would need to continue subscribing for another 6 months. I checked with my bank who immediately cancelled direct debit and confirmed no monies had been paid. I emailed Hearst again to check status of my subscription and again received written confirmation that my subscription would cease in another 6 months as renewal had been paid by my bank. As I did not receive the next Country Living magazine I emailed to ask where it was! Hearst advised that my subscription had terminated. I therefore emailed back asking why they mis-informed me twice that they had been paid by my bank and would therefore not cancel the subscription - only generic replies received none of which addressed my query. I can only infer from their lack of adequate response why they said they had already received my subscription fee and therefore I could not cancel!

I am a professional who only pays professional/discounted rates and, I always pay upfront. I keep getting past due notices stating that my "renewal" is overdue. They keep getting more and more aggressive and now have become bullying. I have written them back, I have responded to their emails, I went online and "cancelled" subscription as suggested by customer service, and just today, Saturday 12/5 I received another aggressive and bullying email. Again, I sent a response explaining that not only did I not renew, but based on my experience with Veranda I will never renew this magazine again. Veranda is the only Magazine I have ever had this issue with. Both letters will now be turned over to my attorney. I have asked them to stop and they won't. VERANDA Service Alert. Pay now. PAYMENT NOW DUE ! YOUR ACCOUNT REMAINS UNPAID. PLEASE PAY NOW. MAGAZINE VERANDA TERM 1 Year AMOUNT NOW DUE $24.00 PAY MY BILL NOW Secured with SSL encryption GO GREEN! PAY ONLINE. It's the faster, easier, greener choice. Dear SHARON L CASHION, Several months ago your subscription was renewed for VERANDA. Unfortunately, we have NOT received payment for your subscription. As much as we want to keep you as a subscriber, unless we receive a prompt payment from you we will be required to terminate your account. Once we receive your payment, your subscription will be reinstated and your account restored to good standing. PAY MY BILL NOW › HEARST magazines If you prefer not to receive emails regarding the status of your Veranda subscription, click here. If you have questions regarding your VERANDA subscription, please visit our Customer Service Site. Do not reply to this email. VERANDA is a publication of Hearst Magazines Division, Hearst Communications, Inc. ©2015 300 W. 57th St. New York, NY [protected] Privacy Policy B1511DA0G This email was sent by: CDS Global, 1901 Bell Ave. Des Moines, IA 50315 US On behalf of: Hearst, 300 W. 57th St., New York, NY, [protected] US I actually also did the "click here" to receive no further emails and, of course, it stated "their is a problem" and offered a Windows email to send my issue to-which I did. I only ever order a magazine through Publisher's Clearinghouse or on my own. Again, I always pay in full, in advance, I NEVER asked to be billed which is what they are doing. I have asked for proof where I renewed and they cannot show me. I also have a bill a received which I don't know how to get onto this email. I DID NOT RENEW VERANDA AND NEVER WILL PURCHASE THIS MAGAZINE again. And, when all of my other Hearst subscriptions run out I will stop them also. Sincerely, Sharon Cashion [protected]@aol.com

I was offered a subscription to Country Living for $12.95 with an offer to pay a further $5 to receive another magazine. I paid this via Visa. This offer was mailed to my home in Canada and at the bottom of the form it states that the offer is only good in Canada. I mailed this form to an address in Markham, Ontario. There was nothing on the form about US dollars. When I received my Visa, the amount had been charged in US dollars, therefore, resulting in an exchange rate being charged. When I contacted the magazine to complain about this occurring. The email I received stated that their information states I paid $12.95 plus the $5 and to contact my credit card company if an exchange rate was paid. I replied noting that if the charge was made in USD obviously they were going to charge an exchange rate and that it had nothing to do with them. I noted that they would have other customers in Canada and each time they were charging in USD without telling customers it was fraud. I received no answer to that email. I have since sent another one asking them to cancel and to provide a full refund.

This subscription service is by far the biggest group of bullies ever known. It's deceptive, it's threatening, and it borders consumer harassment. I "renewed" and "paid" my last year's subscription out of getting a notice it would be sent to collections. A magazine subscription should simply just stop at the consumer's choice. This group of corporate parasites have essentially found methods to create deceptive and intimidating language in order to coerce a consumer to yield out of fear to renew this contrived magazine. This is not only unethical business practice but a huge slap to the "Oprah" Brand. Let it be known this will be escalated to the FCC if I receive one more threatening letter from this corporation for monies I am NOT obligated to pay.

for the past year i have been receiving many magazines i never ordered and receiving bills for them
i have already spent quite some time looking online and sending invoices back with notes telling them i never ordered their magazines
last year after many hours of calling i finally contacted on individual who was able to cancel all subscri[tions and stop delivery after a peaceful 4 or 5 months without all the unwanted magazines arriving they have started again except this time different magazines
i no longer have the number i used about a year ago that was able to help me and stop all magazines and bills and now the horror has started allover again
What if anything do i have to do so i will not be held responsible for some thing i never ordered

My daughter and I ordered online through a company called QSP, which partners with schools to have part of magazine proceeds go back to schools, for a 1yr subscription to Seventeen Magazine. Placed order 10/04/2011 and paid directly with credit card through QSP website. Shortly thereafter, started getting "past due" notices from a company called "Hearst magazines". We were unfamiliar with this name, but noticed at bottom of statement not one but two 1yr subscriptions to Seventeen magazine! We didn't think too much of this, assumed company's wires must have been crossed and that our payment and this noticed must have crossed in the mail. But we continued to get them, and now, my daughter is receiving threatening text messages from them, stating they are going to place her on some kind of notorious list for not paying up! Well, now, the gloves come off! I retrieve the last statement sent from Hearst, which believe it or not, has no phone number on it! The only website listed is for payment to Seventeen magazine. So I start researching to try to find some kind of phone number. I find one, get sent to other 800 numbers and finally get the rudest lady who tells me that my daughter placed an additional online order on 10/06/2011 (2 days after QSP order). First of all, I could not figure out without investigating, how to get in contact with this company, let alone figure out who they are and why I would go thru them when we order through QSP, to order 2 additional subscriptions on top of the order I placed 2 days ago. Really? You think my 13yr old daughter could figure out and initiate this transaction. And how can we be past due on a product that not only did we not place with you, but you never sent to us! It's one thing to get another company's info on customers to solicit their business, but to generate a fraudulent order and threaten my family to pay? This is wrong and disturbing on so many levels! Oh, not to mention, the lady I talked to was so rude and could not answer my questions and hung up on me after I asked for her name. I know companies all have problems in one way or another, that we, the consumer can not see from their side of the fence, however, I obviously, am not the only one who has been threatened. This company needs to fix this business tactic soon. No matter how big you are, fraud never pays off! This problem will soon become very viral, very public, in a very short amount of time. No one takes well to threats to their family!

I keep receiving the Good Housekeeping Magazine every year without ordering them. I receive a bill in the mail to pay for it. There is no phone number, email to ask them to stop sending me this. I have not read this magazine for the last year, I give it to the local library. The last bill, I wrote on it and sent it out say I did not reorder this magazine, I will not pay for it and please stop sending it to me. I do not understand how they can just assume I want this magazine every year. Pretty BOLD of them, it looks like to me their company is not doing well so they just will keep sending the bill / magazine and people will just have to accept it. Well I am not going to. I would like this company to email that they have stopped sending me this magazine and will not bother me again. And I'm sorry would not hurt either. What every you can do would be a great help. I am sure there are other people out there with this same issue.

I received an Invoice in the mail from this Company thanking me for my order! And welcoming me to Popular Mechanics magazine!And my first order should be arriving soon! I did not order this magazine which I don't even read, and it says my payment of $17 is due upon receipt. There's no contact phone number. Only an address in Harlan Iowa, with a return envelope to an address in Markham, Ontario. I"m sending the invoice back to them. I've looked for a phone number on the internet and have not found one.

I had placed an order in March for some cookbooks and some fitness DVDs. Rodale’s offer, a very common one, was 21 days to preview with the option to return and nothing owed.

So, I returned an order via US Postal Service Priority Mail (2 day service) with Tracking and Signature Confirmation on April 6, 2010. (This was well before the 21 days was up.) It arrived at their post office on April 8, 2010 and has been sitting there since waiting for someone from Rodale to pick it up and sign for it.

The USPS Tracking number is: [protected] 08. The return shipping cost me $12.15.

Upon speaking with THEIR Post Office, I was told that Rodale was notified that this package needs to be picked up and signed for but that no one has yet bothered to retrieve it. I was also told that the items will be returned to me should no one pick up the items within 15 days of delivery.

Therefore, the post office will return the items to me after that time period, on or about April 23, 2010. If they think I’m going to pay for another return, they are very, very mistaken. In the meantime, I keep getting bill upon bill in the mail to pay for these items.

I have made numerous calls to their customer service department and they are like robots – telling me that it can take 4 weeks for items to be received – what? I have tracking to prove it is sitting at their post office waiting for someone to pick it up. Because of this I also refused delivery of two other items. I have also filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.

I never knew this company was so unethical. Buyers beware!

Rodale keeps sending me books that I have not ordered. I have received duplicates of many of their books and they are agressively mailing me bills for these books. I have written three times to them requesting them to stop mailing me anything but I still get books. What agency handles such unethical fraudulent business practices? Has anyone ever successfully stopped Rodale or received a credit from them?

I am so sick of the Hearst Magazine Corp. I received 4 subscriptions with them as a birthday gift. I canceled the subscriptions before the automatic renewal and am now constantly getting their bullying letters trying to trick me into resubscribing. The latest one stating "Your delinquent account with us has been brought to my attention for collection. . . .Take a moment now to settle your obligation with us. . . " I have no obligation with them and despite liking their magazines doubt I will subscribe with them ever again and their letters that are on the brink of harassement.

My mother ordered a spanish language book about home remedies. It was sent on a trial basis with 3 smaller books that were to be kept as gifts if the book was returned. I returned the book within 3 wks instead of the 4 that I was told I had to try the book out. I have postal proof that the book was received; however, she continued to received bills for the amount of the book. The statements did not include a telephone # nor any other contact information. As far as I know, every reputable company has a dedicated customer service department and/or some type of contact information.

In addition, she has now begun to receive notices from a "collection agency" named North Shore Agency, which according to the complaints on this board, also seems to be a bogus agency.

Buyers beware. DO NOT DO ANY BUSINESS WITH RODALE BOOKS. They do not stand by any guarantee that they offer. I hope that by my posting here, it will prevent others from the headaches and inconveniences that I'm incurring.

Look, if you want them to pay for return shipping, all you have to do is call the number on your bill, enter your account number (on the bill) when prompted, then select the return option and then the automated system will mail you a return envelope. Mine better come with postage paid. And if they try to charge me a late fee...

We are receiving invoice for magazine subscription that terminated several months ego. We have not received magazines for long time. I have replayed by mail to PO Box 6093 Harlan, Iowa ( the address on the invoice) to the Hearst Corp subscription service advising that no further magazines are desired, and that any subscription for future magazines must be canceled. There is no phone or address on the collection letter to contact this company and stop this type of harassment letters to collect $19.97 for services that we don't want.

i received a letter with an invoice attached stating that i had chose to be part of a CONTINOUS SERVICE PROGRAM and that my renewal had been processed ? i have never ordered a magzine in my life with a renewal order. beware of scam. also notified in letter that a payment is now due. BEWARE OF THIS COMPANY