Third-party Magazine Sellers Are Scum
A few days ago I received the following piece of mail:
As you can see it is deceptively formatted in an intentional effort to confuse the recipient. Obviously the company is hoping a small percentage of recipients will believe they committed to receiving the magazine and are obligated to send the solicited amount. This isn’t something new. I’ve gotten a handful of these types of letters every year for longer than I can remember. This time I decided to file formal complaints with the US Postal Service (since this is mail fraud in my opinion) and the Better Business Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). I actually got a reply from the first two.
This is what I sent to the BBB (case #22441295):
The business sent me a “Notice of renewal/New Order” for “The Economist” magazine at $179.95 for one year. It was formatted in a manner that could lead a reasonable person to conclude it is a bill they must pay.
Along with the desired resolution that the company “refrain from further misleading sales practices.” The BBB forwarded my complaint to the company. They responded with
Liberty Publishers Service, Inc.
PO Box 2489
White City, OR 97503
August 14, 2014
Better Business Bureau
Complaint Department
RE: Kurtis Rader- CASE NO.: 22441295
Dear Better Business Bureau:
Thank you for your recent letter regarding the above referenced.
Magazine publishers have created the agency sale system for the sale of subscriptions. The publisher contracts with clearinghouses. Under these contracts, the clearinghouse is authorized to sell subscriptions. The clearing house then permits thousands of third parties, such as Liberty Publishers Service, Inc., to sell subscriptions, which are then “cleared” through the clearinghouse. These third parties have no direct contract with the publisher and their identities are unknown to the publisher.
Offers are sent out periodically and are marketing pieces only. We merely send out offers as stated plainly on each offer and no one is obligated to respond.
We have removed Kurtis Rader from our data base. Please note that it may take up to 90 days as files may already be at the printers.
I trust this will clear up any confusion that Kurtis Rader may have regarding the decision. Unless we hear from you within (10) business days from the date of this letter, I will assume that this is satisfactory to you and this dispute has been resolved. If you have further questions please feel free to contact me at 707-266-6673.
Sincerely,
Laura Lovrien
Obviously they intentionally missed the point of my complaint and decided to instead construe my complaint to mean I believed they had no right to solicit subscriptions on behalf of magazines like The Economist.
When your business model requires deception you deserve the corporate death penalty. Sadly in America companies seem to have more rights than people and are rarely punished in any meaningful fashion.