United Readers Service review: Cancellation 51

Terrible. Cited by the FCC in 2007: link here http://www.fcc.gov/eb/Orders/2007/DA-07-2062A1.html

United Reader Service Inc
aka Professional Readers Service
aka Commercial Readers Service
13400 Madison Ave
Cleveland, OH [protected]
phone: [protected]
web site: http://magazinesofamerica.com/
United Readers Service does business under many names

I, unfortunately, signed up with this company, and now when I want to cancel, they say that if you aren't within the 10 day cancellation period, that you cannot cancel because they pay the magazines up front for the year. I had left an email on their website www.unitedreaders.com asking to cancel, but they claim that they never got it. I don't know what to do now!

When they call you, hang up as FAST as you can! This is such a ripoff company! They use young sounding women and say they are in training. I was really duped! Patricia

I have the same problem with this company. I tried to call them today and cancel and they told me I had to pay for 24 months on my 48 months suscription. I have a credit card that has now an interest rate of 21% (they say because of the Economy) otherwise I have great credit. I want to get rid of the card and the charges on my card. By the time it's all said and done I will have spent almost $2, 000.00 on magazines I almost have no time to read. I want to cancel and They tell me I signed a contract with them and they would enter me in a sweepstakes. Now I am stuck with paying this ridiculous amount for another 16 months. I am afraid if I try to cancel they will probably ask for more money or ruin my credit. I was really surprised that they called me anyway since we are on the DO NOT CALL REGISTRY. Doesn't that mean anything?

Im having problems with the one in Lakewood.Ohio too. When I agreed to the deal at the end of 08 I agreed to the charge on my credit card.In Sept.of 09 they called wanting to up grade as she was selling her story I found it strange that she knew the rating on my credit score I found that to be oddand told her no when at the end my so called up-grade was going to cost me an extra 10.00 per month. A few days later I get the post card on this so called up-grade stating it would be 6 weeks for me to start receiving them. I called the Lakewood office and she acted dumb. I got in touch with my credit card and cancelled the auto charge. End of Sept. they sent me a bill due on Oct.1 sent check out Sept 25. They call on Oct. 1 wanting the money. Needless to say its been down hill with me and this collection service . They are totaly clueless as to who they are dealing with.

I also am having problems with the one in Lakewood, Ohio. There were other things involved with who did the deal but it would not have been something I would agree on. I am also on the do not call register but the thing was that the call was made to my cell phone. I thought it is illegal to solicit on wireless devices. How did they get the number in the first place. The way I found out about what had happened was that I received bill from a few of the magazines requesting money. Well I always pay for my magazines with the order so that way they do not try to trick me in paying again. Some of the magazines that are arriving are not even anything I would order. I have talked to them but they keep saying I need to pay. I was not the one who ordered or talked to them. Now I keep getting calls and they have only once left me a message to contact them. I am very tired of the harassment calls. The money you will be paying for a magazine subscription is way more than you would if you ordered from the actually magazine. The magazines even give you extra incentives like buy one and send a few gift subscription to a friend. Why would anyone want to deal with these individuals. It all seems like a SCAM to me.

I also have tried to cancel with this company they told me the same thing i can't cancel because the already paid for the magazines, i can't afford these magazine's i don't have time to read them either i don't want them so what can i do about this company? please get back to me asap thanks from cpcarol40@comcast.net

I too have had the unfortunate experince with United Readers service. They call me at work which according to our company attorney that is a violation of my rights. I was really busy and not really listening closely when they suckered me into accepting those damn magazines. I too called and tried to cancel and got the same run around as everyone else. Our company attorney also stated that she finds it hard to believe that United Readers would prepay the publisher for the magazines. I think the united readers service should be shut down. The last time I looked it was against the law to scam people and it looks like they have been doing it since 2007, come on! enough is enough !

I am another victim of the telemarketer soliciting for magazine sales via a great prize or sweepstakes contest that I do not recall entering. They called me on the phone and said they were sending me a Womens diamond watch because I'm a preferred credit card holder and the same thing happens to me as it has to all of you. I stupidly gave account info over the phone and now they wont let me cancel. I recorded the telephone conversation when I signed up and this statement below made me believe I can cancel at anytime, but they would like me to stay the full length without cancelling (of course they
would). Here is the statement directly from the recorded call:

"You do understand that we must make a financial commitment to the publisher for the full length of your service in order to garauntee you a frozen price; so of course, you need to stay with us for the full length without cancelling, but don't forget you can change your magazines at any time during the life of the order at no charge. After the tone please state Yes or No"

My problem is that they stated I need to stay with them. Alot of people say they needs things and don't get them, which made me believe they would really like me to stay with them without cancelling. When I called to cancel, they told me they have already paid the publishers and cancelling is not an option. If cancelling wasn't an option, then why didn't the phone call state, "you HAVE to stay with us for the full length without cancelling". My thoughts exactly, they word it to where you believe you can cancel at anytime, then when you try they tell you that you never can cancel. I'm not looking for any
reimbursement, but I just want this cancelled. This is a scamming company that I should have done more research into. They have hundreds of BBB complaints and are all over the web. On another note, the magazines I signed up for never come. I was supposed to get 6 a month and I might get 2-3. Horrible service, no real savings, bad customer service, and a locked in contract that I never knew about? Please, let me out of this mess now...

So what am I doing about it: I filed a formal complaint with the Georgia Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs. Yes, that's right... We as consumers do have rights and your consumer affairs office will help you out. In most states, you can't even legally enter into a contract that can't be cancelled. And because it's phone based, most have to give you a couple of weeks to cancel. All in all, do something about it guys. I just filed mine this morning and will fight this to the end. No matter how much they threaten you, they can't send this to a collection agency because they don't have your SSN... Ahah! You may get "FAKE" calls saying it's a collection agency trying to collect a debt, but pull your credit report, I guarantee you, you won't see it on there. You don't have to pay these folks a penny, but there is one bad thing... The phone calls. So file a compliant and get it cancelled. If you can't, change your bankcard/credit card and change your phone number... I know it sucks, but that'll be the end of it.

I have been dealing with this company for more than five years . Now they are threatening to take me to small claims court. Thanks for the info on filing a complaint against them. They tried to take money from my bank account when I was duped into thinking they were U.S. Readers(because they kept telling me they were agents of U.S. Readers).U.S. Readers called me a week after united called to tell me to beware of a company trying to pass themselves of as a division of U.S. Readers. I asked the operator(from United Readers) repeatedly why U.S.Readers was changing my payment amount and style of payment(bank withdrawal instead of check). They never corrected me that they were not U.S. Readers and in fact took $100.00 out of my bank account. I turned them in to U.S.Bank as not having authorization to take the funds. They had to return the funds because they were passing themselves off as another company. This was five years ago, and today their phony collection agent called and told me that if I paid her 500.00 that they would close my account. $500.00 to close an account that I never opened in the first place.When I refused she told me(in a very threatening tone) that they would take me to small claims court for $1500.00 and win. I told her that I was not going to pay anything and to take me to court.

I have a same problem here. They talked me into this and told me to just pay 68 dollars once. but then they are taking that amount every month.I called them to cancel this they said that I have to pay 330 dollars to cancel it. I called them again, they reduced the amount to 244 dollars. This is clearly a scam right? I have filed a claim to Indiana attorney's office, but if anyone knows what I should do about this, please send me an email to kim23@indiana.edu. Thank you.

I agree these people are running a scam. Don't know what to do about it.

Nikkoscooter

I filed the complaint to BBB yesterday. Today received a call form their manager, she was tellinh me that I don't understand how their services are great and blah blah blah. Anyway, she said she will cancell the service. It happened only after I filed a complaint to BBB. before theyrefused to cancel this stupid service. Anyway, if you screwed by them just file BBB complaint, that should work.

I complietly agree with this! This company is a scam! I was really preoccupied when I got suckered into this one, I was getting ready to get married in 3 weeks and a lady called telling me I had won a prize. I normally hang up right away, but she was nice so I infortaintly gave her a chance to suck me into her scam. Before I knew it I had signed up for 5 magazines that I didn't really want and she never told me that it was impossiable to cancel in the future. It's redundant to pa the publishers up front for two years, also I am suppose to get magazines for 4 years if they just stop sending them then I have no pull because I too was made to pay in advance! I am very angree and they should be shut down!

I agree with all of you! I just now filed a complaint to BBB. The united readers service people called me 3 times and the 2 times they hung up on me when I told them I never signed up for a membership. The 3rd call was from the collection agency! oh ya and I also filed a complaint to the federal trade commission. I hope all this mess gets fixed because I can't be stressing anymore I just had my new born and dealing with a 2 year old..GRR!

I also was taken in on this scam, didn't realize what i was getting into until it was too late. They say 10 days and you can cancel, well the first intro letter and such came almost 2 weeks after, so it was too late. I paid about 3 months of this crap, while trying to figure out what to do about it, i think i got about 8 magazines...far from 6 a month. Anyways i lost my credit card and had to get it canceled so, that ended them automatically charging it. They call like 3 times a day almost everyday. Finally when they called me at 9pm i was fed up, they wanted me to pay money that i owed, i told them i tried to cancel 2 other times, they didn't want to accept that, "we'll take you to collection agency you need to pay the full 24 months cause we pay in advance 4 years" go ahead i told em, hung up and filed a BBB complaint, we'll see how it goes. It is a scam, cause like someone else said on here, if you got a subscription direct from the magazine, (without specials and discounts) you would be paying A LOT less.

Same situation here. They took my elderly father by siphoning $150 out of his bank account before I caught it, and now they are sending him collections letters. I tried speaking to them on the phone twice but they are quite hostile. I called my dad's bank and started a fraud investigations claim. I've called the police and they told me to document everything and consider filing a civil lawsuit. It makes me sad and angry to think of all the people getting taken advantage of.

It seems to me that this is happening to so many people that there must be enough evidence by now to do something about it. I am going to do some research and see what it will take to start a class action lawsuit against this company.

If anyone that reads this wants to join me in this effort, please email me at stop-urs-fraud@earthlink.net.

I dont understand what all the fuss is about. I've been with United Readers Service for 14 years and the ONLY problem I had was lack of receiving my Forbes Magazine for 2 issues about 3 years ago. and they extended my service for three months free of charge... I intend on staying with this company for years to come. After reading these complaints I think people may have been mistaking different companies with similar names? Alot of the claims are completely different with one another, and sound nothing like the company I am with? Maybe, as a suggestion to you all, make SURE of the company you are doing business with--alot of these sound like scams, and I know from personal experience with being with this company for over a decade, United Readers Service LLC isnt a scam; i can gaurantee you i would NOT have been with them continuously as I have?!

I am also having these problems. I also had to cancell all my credit cards and have not paid them (URS) for about a year now. They just called yesterday, and said they were taking me to court. They said they have recordings of me agreeing to everything, which they probably do. They said they will add legal fees, court costs, etc. Has anyone been taken to court by them? I don't want to get stuck with a judgement for several times what they say I owe now.

I also am having problems with this Company. They called me and I was in a grocery store with 2 elderly people in a wheelchair running around, and it was urgent that I keep track of them. They lead me to believe they were Publisher Clearing house. I had been dealing with Publisher Clearing . They told me I had a close chance of winning bathroom makeover. They knew I needed to go to look for these two people I had with me. They told me someone would be calling me back, and when this person called me back she tricked me into saying ok.

I had the same problem I got hooked into this deal get mags for four years and only pay for two. Before I knew it I was subscribed. I didn't know I only had 10 days to cancel, and it was day 11. They called me on my cell which was on the Do Not Call list. The monthly amount is horribly overpriced and I had two end up paying for 4 years just to afford it. I am on my last year and plan 2 pay it off this month and cancel. I was promised 6 magazines a month and over time I now only receive one. I hope others will read these reviews before agreeing 2 anything and see how much of a scam this is.

Let me help all of you nay-sayers on here! I am very familiar with United Reader's Service, Inc. and it is a legitimate company that has been around for almost 40 years. There are many companies that create names that seem and sound extremely similar to United Readers but when you are an actual customer of United Readers they will be able to tell you exactly what magazines you should be receiving, they will give you an account number, and if you ask for your account number they will always have it. Most other companies that are pretending to be United Readers will give you an excuse as to why they can't give you the number, i.e. computers are down; I don't have access to that information, etc...If you are really getting a call from United Readers and you are supposed to be receiving magazines from them they will always have your account number. Not too mention, they will know when you started with them. I have been a satisfied customer for many years, and I would recommend them to anyone! Oh and by the way, new customers are really entered into a sweepstakes!

It isn't a scam but they are crooks! I was told all the same information but only part of my conversation to agree was recorded, the part where you answer yes or no questions. The part of my conversation that wasn't recorded was when I was told I could cancel at any time. When I called back to cancel, because I realized I was paying for more than what I agreed to, they played me back the portion of the conversation that where I agreed. The entire phone conversation wasn't recorded after they told me I would only pay for 2 years and get 4 free and could cancel anytime then they said for "training purposes" they were going to record the call. What a crock! I am not paying these @$$! holes another dime! They are breaking the law when they tell you they are taking you to court and don't file, because then they are using illegal tactics (threats) to receive payment. Only their legal department can contact you on that matter. I closed my bank account and return every magazine that they send me. I have also written letters detailing my experience, phone call and all, to their office. I let them know that I don't want these magazines and wanted to cancel my subscription with their company. I want nothing to do with these people. They still continue to send bills and magazines and I continue to return them and not pay!

These people are out of their minds! I got conned into getting a magazine subscription with this company 1 year ago in September. I got this super-great deal for a 1 year subscription(normal is 2 years @ $39.95, or so I was told), only problem is that after the 1 year @ half-price($19.95) subscription ended, they are hounding me and harrassing me, saying that I still owe them money and that it has gone to the collection department. I know what I was told over the phone, as I have a habit of taking notes whenever I have to deal with sales associates. The calls happen from morning until 9:00pm at night, monday through sunday. Whatever any of you do, do not, I repeat, DO NOT get a subscription whatsoever. If you do, you'll be extremely sorry later.

I just got a call from their collection agency. They wanted to offer me an opportunity to settle for less. I am clueless as to who they are, I don't have a magazine subscription and I don't receive any magazines...The woman said a funny thing..."Did you try to cancel?" No, because I never agreed in the first place. Now, reading the complaints...I get it. She must get a lot of people who say they did and couldn't. I told her to prove it, that I had ordered, she said she didn't have anything but my name. I asked her to tell me what magazines I "supposedly" ordered...she didn't have that. I asked for an account # and when this transpired...she didn't have that either. If these people thing that I'm just going to hand over money...fat chance. I am going to report them to the BBB as soon as I am done here. Good luck everyone. These people are slime.

esta conpania es pura mierda no la recomiendo!

I received a call on 4/11/12 stating that I owed for magazines that I did not order nor did I receive the magazines they told me about. I refuse to pay for anything because they are a scam. You try to call the number that they call from and get no answer. They are saying the magazines are for 60 months. I only ordered Soap Opera Digest which was for 52 weeks for $27.00 which was paid for at the time of purchase and I did not order them from United Readers Service. They were ordered through Family Reading Program through a school function. I am not going to United Readers Service a penny. They are telling me that they are located out of Denver, CO. Something needs to be done to them from harassing people.

Hello I am going through the same thing can anyone help me file a claim. They suckered me into signing up thinkin i won a sweepstakes. If I didnt need to purchase anything for the sweepstakes why would they sign me up for this? I have tried to cancel and they said it was pass my 10 day cancellation but the woman I spoke to NEVER told me that. My email is daniellejhnsn1202@gmail.com someone please help me :(

I don't even know how I ended up mixed up with this. I never ordered these magazines yet these rag magazines just started filling my mailbox. The credit card they were originally charged to had been fraudulently used 2 years ago on New Year's Eve and cancelled and that's when this all started. What a horror this has been. I am one of the millions who are unemployed so why in the world would I agree to pay close to $1500 for magazines that I wouldn't even look at. The selection that was sent to me I wouldn't even line a litter box with that's how trashy they were. The only people who contacted me was the collection group because the card had been cancelled and they claimed to have no information on the order process or how to cancel. They couldn't give me a phone number or any means of contacting United Readers Service. To avoid damaging my credit score I provided them with my new account and only then did I receive via snail mail information of the magazines that I ordered. Strangely enough this order confirmation listed totally different from the magazines that I had been receiving. They wanted to confirm if they had gotten the order correct. Well once again there is a listing of magazines that I didn't pick (I didn't pick the group that I currently am receiving so why would I think that the new listing would be something I picked). I'm sure if you signed up for this it is a great service, but I never signed up for this and no one that I could contact or that contacted me was willing to help me resolve the issue. Hell I don't even read magazines so to me this service is useless.

My husband just received a call from them a person by the name of Dennis area code 310 don't know if that's Ohio but when i told him that I know it was a scam he gave me the website which I immediately looked up and first thing I saw was a list of complaints My husband told him to cancel luckily they don't have CC# I knew it was a scam from the get go this guy trying to explain that its not

I worked for one of the United Readers Service offices in Dayton Ohio, KC Marketing. Let me just say this, This whole entire company is a big scam. Do not give these people your credit card information! I worked with Kc Marketing for almost 3 years the owners name is Carol Wheeler and Kenneth Pack. Carol is bi polar and doesn't know if she's coming or going half the time. The cheat people, so if you get a phone call from anyone affiliated with United Readers Service OR KC Marketing, get their information and report them to the BBB imediately!

They are PRIMETIME readers service now and the lady said i could cancel -and i called back to cancel because i read the paper work and it wasn't what she said it was - i called back and said this is robbery and a scam there is no way i wold agree for magazines for 6 years and she said she would play me the recording of my agreement, So i asked her to play me the recording of me because she said it was recorded and she was bluffing there is no recording and i have a very sharp memory and i know what i said and i didn't- i have 5 kids and i need to get a lawyer or something i worked very hard to have credit and now its being ruined by a scam!

I have tried to cancel my "subscription" with United Readers and I keep getting bills. The charges on my credit card have stopped, but instead I get paper bills now with "Past Due" amounts. I have tried to call them a couple of different times from my house phone and I get the message "The number you have dialed is not answering. The number you have dialed is not available." The number I am using is the one printed on the paper they sent me! I continually receive long distance phone calls on my cell phone, but do not answer it because I do not remember giving that number for me to be contacted at. What does anyone recommend that I do? I have thought about taking it to my local AG Consumer Division. Any advice would be most welcome. Oh, and I do not live Stateside, but in the territory of Guam.

It comes down to this. I thought it was a scam and a rip off! But I did get a sales call I did agree to it and then changed my mind. The call explained everything. The total cost monthly price mailing info everything. I was also sent paperwork in which I just tossed aside and waited for magazines to come. When it took 6 weeks I was impatient and called to cancel. Though I was told it would take that long. I was then referred to the paperwork which explains I have 10 days to cancel so my time was up. I DID GIVE MY CREDIT CARD NUMBER AND ORIGINALLY AGREED so I stick to my commitment. They will and can play for you the recorded verification of the order where you give them your payment info and address. When its all said and done they get their payments from you they have no way of having your credit card number without your giving it to them. Take responsibility for your actions and carelessness with your credit card or bank information they are a business making money that you the customer agreed to. Simple as that.

I unfortunately was also taken by United Readers. Was told to pay x amount on a monthly basis and after speaking to my husband he requested I cancel as we were unable to afford it. I called several times and they told me was unable to cancel my subscription and reduced my monthly payments (that told me straight away it was a scam). They have made several phone calls to me and I have given them my husband's number to call which they apparently are not happy with. Thank goodness for blocking options on the phones in the States. I continue to receive mail demanding payment to which my trash bin gladly accepts. I refuse to pay for something I do not want and have politely told them on several occasions. There has been no paperwork received with regards to a legally bound contract. It is sad that United Readers cannot respect a customer can change their mind!

They Called And Acted Like I Was Already Getting Mag's From Them. I Told Them That I Was Not Giving My Card Number Out Again.I Said That If I Was Getting Mag's From That They Should Already Have That Information. They Claimed To Be Making Sure That Everything Was Right. I Got A Letter From Today Showing The Mag's That I Would Be Getting And What May Payment's Would Be. I Tried To Contact Them, But They Were Closed, So First Thing Mon. Morning I Will Call And Cancel .

I didn't know I signed up with this company. I kept getting calls from companies wanting me to sign up with them to get magazines. I always hung up on them knowing that it was going to cost me money that I knew I didn't have. Then this year I started getting 5 different magazines. Then last Friday on Aug 14, 2015 I got a phone call from a lady that wanted to know about my magazines. I gave her my debit card number and told her not to put it through till the middle of September. She put it through on Aug 15. I called my bank and got their phone number which was suppose to be for Braden Magazines according to my bank. The phone number I got was a fax machine. Well after doing some searching I got a customer service number and called that. I am getting my money back and canelling all of my $49.99 payments for the next 24 months. Once I told her that the company was a scam and I threatened to turn them over to the FBI she is refunding my money and cancelling my contract. The lady that I talked to said my contract was with United Reader Services and they are not a scam. She told me that I should have my money back in 7 - 10 business days.

hi these people at united readers service r automatically nenewing service without asking they call and demand payment or they get collections involved when will this stop please help

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Hi, I signed up for the readers subscription service on Feb. 22nd. I don't know why I signed up, the lady on the phone was just really nice and I ended up agreeing. I was out somewhere shopping and so I was busy doing other things and they read some 5 minute long spiel and I finally got off the phone. They told me they were Publishers Clearing House, and I knew I had an account with PCH so I trusted the lady. She said they were going to bill me $40 every two months for two years. Anyway, two months go by and I never received any magazines but I did receive something in the mail and it was from this company, and it said they were going to bill me $40 a month. I was charged again on April 4th for forty bucks, and still hadn't received anything. I called the company. The lady I spoke to was very rude and nasty to me, telling me that I can't cancel my subscription and that I was going to keep being billed. She said "oh you signed up for a two year contract and you can't cancel it. Either you pay it or we send you to collections." I told her to remove my payment information and to cancel me from the service. She said I can't do that, so I asked to speak to her supervisior and she said there aren't any supervisors and hung up on me! I called my credit card company, Capital One, and explained the situation. The CapOne account manager was a very nice lady and helped me through and through. She called up the number I gave her and it went directly to the same operator at the "subscription company". The lady from CapOne had me with her on the line and next thing I know this operator is being all nice about it and she's like oh sure Mr. Quinn I'm removing your payment information and you're all set, have a great day! I even told her specifically that I wasn't going to dispute the two times I was charged and that I just didn't want to be billed again. At this point I think everything is settled and go on with my life. Today, May 13th, I get a call from Tanya with Readers subscription service asking me how I'm going to pay my bill. I was very polite and I said thank you for calling Miss but I canceled this service last month. She said no you can't cancel, you need to pay your bill. I politely said, "no miss, this account was canceled last month." She says to me (!), "no MICHAEL, it's not cancelled!" and keeps going about me paying the bill. At this point I got mad and told her this was already disputed with my bank last month and that the matter was handled. She kept being nasty and told me "so don't pay it and we're gonna keep calling you, call you next week." I told her I wanted to speak to her supervisor and she said "I'm your account supervisor" and hung up the phone. (Don't forget, this is one month from the last payment but I'm only supposed to be billed every two months) I called my credit card company and had to block the company through Visa. I spoke to another wonderful lady at CapOne who blocked the whole company so at the very least they can't charge my card again.