Readers Digest con?

retiredlady

Christmas before last my daughter gave me a gift subscription to Readers Digest magazine which I sent off a few months later and duly received the magazines each month.
Today I got a magazine from them, a free pen and a bill for next years subscription and thanking me for agreeing to take out another years sub! Apparently with last months magazine there was a letter that said my subscription was finished but if I wanted to renew I didn't have to do anything as it would go ahead on its own. There are always loads of leaflets and advertising bumf included with the magazine and I always put it straight into the recycling before putting the magazine in the reading room (downstairs loo ).
Now they want my bank details and/or payment as they said I have agreed to another years sub?

Help! There is no information on how to contact them other than the direct debit form to fill in and put in the envelope along with a sticker telling them what colour car I want!

Marion

scotsbob

Presuming you no longer want to susbscribe, just do nothing. You have signed nothing and agreed to nothing.

I thought this kind of inertia selling had been made illegal some years ago.

Savvy_Sue

Write across the DD form that you do NOT intend to resubscribe and send it back.

when future mags arrive, send them back unopened.

It will take another year to get them off your back, but it can be done in the end ...

tanith

I did the same thing for my MIL.. and when the year was up the continued to send them so I rang to cancel it and they then started to send one to her and one to me.. as I had given my address when ordering her subscription, there is a website and I tried with e-mail to sort it out but in the end I think it was 6mths before it was sorted.. I never did pay anymore though.. and I didn't send any back..

PaulBear

I just looked this up and thought it might be useful.

http://www.out-law.com/page-430#Inertia


Inertia selling / unsolicited goods

It is an offence under the Regulations for a supplier to send unsolicited goods and then demand payment or threaten legal proceedings to get payment for the goods. The recipient of the goods may use, deal with or dispose as if they were an unconditional gift.


Hope it helps :A

retiredlady

PaulBear wrote: »

I just looked this up and thought it might be useful.

http://www.out-law.com/page-430#Inertia


Inertia selling / unsolicited goods

It is an offence under the Regulations for a supplier to send unsolicited goods and then demand payment or threaten legal proceedings to get payment for the goods. The recipient of the goods may use, deal with or dispose as if they were an unconditional gift.


Hope it helps :A

Thank you and the everyone else who have replied, much appreciated. I have looked at the pages and will read through them. I am not sure if they are unsolicited goods or not because they said they send a letter with last months magazine that said if I wanted to continue my subscription I was do nothing and they would take this as my acceptance of wanting to have another years sub. Problem is I didn't see this letter because I just assumed it was more advertising stuff and just put in into the recycling.

Errata

Sorry - I'm afraid you did see the letter, decided you knew what it said and dealt with it accordingly. I can't see how you can blame RD if you decide not to read your mail.

McKneff

Have you thought about how your daughter paid for the first subscription, they may actually be taking the money from the card she paid with, i would check with her.

retiredlady

Errata wrote: »

Sorry - I'm afraid you did see the letter, decided you knew what it said and dealt with it accordingly. I can't see how you can blame RD if you decide not to read your mail.

I repeat I DID NOT SEE the first letter they included with the magazine. I did see the second one they sent the following month telling me that they had sent one the month before. I do read my mail, I do not read all the advertising bumph that is sent along with the magazine. I can only guess that is where the letter was hidden, thats where the second one was - inbetween a leaflet advertising walk in baths and another one for a free car contest.

retiredlady

McKneff wrote: »

Have you thought about how your daughter paid for the first subscription, they may actually be taking the money from the card she paid with, i would check with her.

No it is ok, she bought it as a giftcard sort of thing at Tesco and her name never came into it. She doesn't have a credit card. Thank you!

margaretclare

It's a lesson - don't dispose of ALL mail unread! Didn't you remove the letter that had your name and address on it, and shred it first? Don't tell me you put mail with your name and address on it into the recycling!