United States Magazine Services overpriced magazine subscription impossible to cancel ripoff Lolo Montana

Over the weekend my 17year old son asked me what PERIODICALS LOLO MT meant on an online bank statement. I didn't know, googled it up, and found many reports of this magazine subscription scam company.

Today he received a letter in the mail from this company. "Congratulations! Tou are officially entered in "Super Prize" Sweepstakes. Please retain this letter as winners will be notified." Yeah. Right.

"Our plan guarantees protection (?!) against inflation despite any increase in the cost of paper and printing. The magazines you selected are: Maxim (4 yrs) Outside (4 yrs) Hot Rod (3 yrs) The Sporting News (2 yrs) 5.0 Mustang and Super Fords (3 yrs)"

Here's where it gets interesting:

Your average cost: $3.83 per week = $16.60 per month.
Payment arrangement: 16 payments of $49.81

That's $796 for 5 magazines. That works out to $2.77 per issue of whatever. A quick check of Maxim shows a 3-year subscription for under $30, working out to 75 cents per issue. I didn't check the others, but come on. I'm sure they are comparable.

Another interesting inclusion in this envelope is the "Official Award Release Form" that authorizes the "release of my gift that I'm entitled to for participating in the magazine offer. I acknowledge and accept the terms of my magazine subscription on page 1. Please send it to me immediately at:" You may select your choice of a "man's" or a "ladies" watch, and even get second one for $7.95 to be billed to the credit card on file. In addition you can elect to receive any of the following magazines for up to 3 years at no cost.

For $800 I'd expect more than 5 magazine subsciptions and a cheap watch.

My son is underage, he's had his debit card only a few months, and I am pretty sure he signed up for something not understanding the full ramifications of his actions. He is a little overwhelmed by this so I called the company on his behalf. (The one good thing I have to say is the woman I spoke to, however rude, spoke American-style English.) The woman seemed more than happy to look up my son's account information, until I informed her that he was under 18.

All of a sudden, the tone became rude and hostile, "He would have told us he was 18." When I asked how he was signed up for this offer, she rather snottily stated "By credit card." Well, yes, obviously by credit card, but how was he *targeted* for this "offer"? At that point she cited Montana privacy laws, and was unable to answer any more questions. I said we'd handle this from the other side then, and hung up.

Since he doesn't remember how they might have gotten his debit card number, I advised him to call his bank immediately and dispute the payment. Fortunately, his bank (B of A) is working with him and assures him the charges will be stopped. They have credited back the initial payment. I've advised him to take the letter he just received up to the bank so that they understand what is happening.

I'm hoping he's learned a good lesson, and I'm hoping that B of A protects his account. I just wish the envelope they included to return the Official Award Release Form was postage paid, so I could send them something heavy.

Michelle
Casselberry, Florida
U.S.A.