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Lapsed Judgment, need a bit help with scam situation?
so i get a phone call today and its some telemarketer, it was such an ambiguous call that my initial curiosity got the better of me. i half made the assumption it was something with student financial aide or something. anyway, the women on the other end starts goin on and on about magazines and shit and i then make the stupid half assumption my parents got me some subscription or something, shes talking numbers blah blah blah. before i know it, i realize i just agreed to a verbal contract for this subscription bullshit that adds up to like $240 per year, but when it gets time to my credit card, i purposely give them the wrong number so of course it wont run. did i say i am an idiot for not seeing the scam? i could make excuses, but either way i was wondering peoples opinion on this, since they cant bill me, do you think the scam will still get me? words from personal experience would be most helpful here, do they give up and move on?
RetorhicallyDisabled,
In my personal experience and through the subsequent reading of MANY consumer complaints against magazine telemarketers, if this is a scam company I certainly would not assume that giving a non-billable card number will make them simply “give up and move on”.
Debt collection efforts With Magazine scam companies can be relentless including threats of legal action and ruining your credit. While these threats seem to be rarely carried out, the harassment can be relentless for years and years. Even victims who have paid their original account in full aren’t safe from the fraudulent companies as they will re-scam their customers with claims of remaining balances, lapsed grace periods, or other duplicate accounts!! BTW, be sure to watch closely for any “junk mail” that may actually be other third party offers that you have inadvertently agreed to during the initial solicitation. These programs may have non-refundable activation fees and monthly charges that require specific cancellation requests. You’re on the “once a victim… always a prospect” list now:(
Since the legality of verbal contracts and cancellation rights for telephone sales evidently vary by state, it is possible that your verbal contract could be considered legally binding. Your local consumer protection agency or Attorney General can best answer any specific questions.In attempting to cancel the account it should become immediately apparent whether this is a legitimate magazine subscription agent or a fraudulent one. While it may be difficult to cancel a scam account, it is certainly not impossible (in my experience it took notification that specific fraudulent business practices had been reported to the FTC and Attorneys General to really get their attention).
In the case of scammers, expect claims that the account cannot be cancelled (even if cancellation rights are legally guaranteed in your state) or to be offered some ridiculous settlement as your only option. Just be very straightforward in dealing with them and hopefully they won’t give you too much of a hassle. Be sure to get WRITTEN cancellation confirmation from them if they agree (Magazine Companies seldom honor verbal cancellations).
There is help in dealing with scam companies if needed.
• Local consumer protection agencies can be found here: http://consumeraction.gov/state.shtml
• Any Attorney General can be found here: http://naag.org/attorneys_general.php
• Contact the BBB with complaints here: https://odr.bbb.org/odrweb/public/compla…
• FTC complaints can be filed here: http://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/
• Consumer law attorneys can be found here: http://naca.networkats.com/members_onlin…
BTW, you’re not “an idiot for not seeing the scam”. I am completely convinced that preparing young adults to be defensive consumers must be an intentional lesson … a lesson that parents often overlook. Take the opportunity to tell your friends what you’ve learned. You’ll be surprised how many are just as unsuspecting as you were.
Best of luck! D/