Active Periodicals - IRL Double billing, high pressure (ridiculing) sales tactics and customer in-service. Deerfield Florida

Below is a letter I wrote to API one week ago. All in it is true and I did write the Cc: letters (one to a publisher and one to their local BBB). I chose the publishing company for its high publishing volume and that they published two of the magazines I received from API. I received a letter today stating that the accounts were closed and they "hope to have my business again." I usually receive a charge on the credit card every two weeks and it has currently been 3 weeks with out a charge so we'll see what happens. If I receive any more charges I'll provide another post. I am not suggesting that everyone use this letter but if the same situation has happened to you this seems to have good results.

RE: Account cancellation xxxxxxxx and xxxxxxxx

Dear Sir or Madam:

I have contacted your customer service department about the cancellation of the above accounts that are currently being billed to my credit card. However, the operator was particularly rude, unaccommodating, and demeaning. At one point she asked How could you not notice this before? with a condescending noise added to the end of the question. I will not be treated in this manner and so I ended the conversation. Belittling customers is not a practice used by respectable or honest businesses. This experience added to my problems with your billing/sales departments leads me to believe your business is intentionally creating double billings and using unethical pressure techniques to victimize your customers.

In short I would like to cancel my subscriptions to your service. Your customer service agent said that I could not cancel my accounts because your company had already paid the publishers for the full subscriptions several years in advance. I have sent an inquiry to Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., Inc. (one of the publishers of magazines you offer) as to the truth of this statement along with a copy of this letter.

Since I have been a customer of your business I have received phone calls every 6 months or more frequently to make my service better. During these phone calls the representative would change the price of my subscription. An outline of the billing changes that occurred from these phone calls is below, in sequence with 1 being the original change:
1 Monthly fee reduced.
2 Monthly fee reduced and number of magazines reduced.
However I was still billed for both amounts.
3 Monthly fee doubled to reduce the amount of time I would be paying, supposedly canceling both old accounts and starting a new one. However, two billings still show up on my credit card, one for the original fee and one that was double the fee.

Again, I would like to cancel my subscriptions to your service. If you do not cancel the accounts please provide me with a copy of your cancellation policy and documentation/evidence that I was informed of it at the time of purchase. I also request that all correspondence be through written communication and not by phone. If you require more specific information I will provide it upon request.

Sincerely,

xxxxxx

Cc: Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., Inc., New York
Cc: Better Business Bureau, West Palm Beach

I hope this helps some of the people victimized by this company.

Benjamin
Knoxville, Tennessee
U.S.A.