Area Circulation Another victim for magazine sales that never end Virginia Beach Virginia

Area Circulation has yet snared another victim to its long list of unwary consumers.

I was approached in person by a salesperson to purchase magazines. The sales pitch is quite nice. They promise me only pennies per day per magazine compared to the cover price that I would pay at the stores. I admit, I'm gullible and I decided it was a good deal.

I was told that I would be charged $55.00 per month for 6 months and then nothing for the next 54 months of my 60 month (that is 5 years by the way) subscription to the magazines that I chose. Had I thought about it and done the math I would have realized that I don't need a 5 year subscription to a magazine, let alone 5 of them. But I was intuned to the sales pitch and the possible reward that was offered. There is no reward, by the way. NO sweepstakes to win. NO raffles to be drawn. NOTHING.

Then the charges started on my credit card. I got a $55.00 charge for the magazines then another $35.00 for the 'shipping & handling'. Okay, so now I started thinking SCAM. Since when does a magazine subscription from any company start charging for shipping and handling? They aren't being shipped in bulk to a business or anything. These are just magazines; being shipped via the US Postal service, not FEDEX. So why am I being charged a separate charge for shipping? I don't know so I called. I was told it was a one-time charge and it wouldn't happen again.....

They lied. I have been charged two charges each month for the last 10 months. What happened to the 6 months of payments then nothing? What is the deal with the one-time shipping charge that has evolved into 10 months of shipping on top of the 4 extra months of subscription billing.

I called and asked how many months do I have to pay and how many has been made and how many are left until the plan is paid up. The answer I received was vague at best. Almost like asking a politician a question that he doesn't want to answer. I was told that the payments are current and that they were made on time. NO KIDDING, REALLY? Would never have guessed that one. How many do I have left to make?.........UH.......nothing. How much do I still owe?.........UH......nothing. When will the last payment be made?.....UH.....nothing. So I am still being charged on a monthly basis for something that I paid for twice over. I am in the process of calling my bank and placing a fraud alert on the card because I am getting no answers from the customer service department at Area Circulation.

My advice to all....NEVER, NEVER, NEVER buy magazines over the phone or in person from any company that isn't directly associated to the publisher of the magazine or the Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts. So far they are the only ones that haven't ripped me off. I get a year at a time and I get billed only once and the Scouts get a percentage that is reasonable and I can use that percentage as a tax deduction. Unlike these people that are clearly in the scam business to make a huge profit at the consumers expense.

I am now overdrawn at my bank. My credit card is overlimit. I get magazines at my old address that I can't read because I can't even have the address changed to my new home.

All in all, the whole ordeal has been dramatic and costly. The entire Area Circulation business has been unfriendly, and unhelpful, and untrustworthy.

Broke in NC
Jacksonville, North Carolina
U.S.A.