publications I didnt order !
Complaint
shirley sawtell
Country: United States
I just received a bill from a collection agency saying I owe money to 3 different publications that I never ordered. There must be a mistake as to why I have this bill. What do I do about it and how do I cancel these publications so there is no other billing requests ?
Comments
This may be indicative of what is apparently a common magazine publisher scam to force customers who have choosen not to renew, to renew anyway by the implied threat the "account" is now at a collection agency who will damage their credit if they don't pay anyway and renew.
Publishers always have the option of ceasing to send magazines if consumers don't renew, or if they are "forced" to renew, they don't pay. They appear to be using this practive to block cancellations.
Hearst and Sunrise show the above pattern of complaints, but since Sunrise is a debt collector, they may also be collecting on actual "orders", but those orders are unlikely to be for a whole year's subscription, since they could always stop mailing in a month if they didn't get paid.
The other sources of bogus or fraudulent magazine collection "bills" might be either identity theft (unlikely, as the publisher has the mailing address to which magazines are sent), misidentification by the debt collector (fairly common, since debt collectors collecting on small balances like this spend little to locate the correct person), or fraud by a magazine telemarketer (very common, especially when certain telemarketers are involved with very high rates of fraud complaints).
Since they have a pattern of being associated with marginally fraudulent activity, cover your bases, so you can sue if you have to.
First of all, since they are a debt collector, exercise your FDCPA dispute rights by sending a written dispute and validation request letter, indicating you never ordered these magazines, nor have you received them. Demand that they identify the original creditor and obtain proof from the original creditor that you owe this debt. Send this letter certified return receipt requested. FDCPA prohibits all collection activity until they send you proof (which does not exist, since you never ordered anything), as long as you send your dispute letter within 30 days of receiving their first collection letter.
Sunrise is a BBB member, so file a similar complaint through BBB. Look up the publisher (Hearst, I'm guessing, which is also a BBB member), and send them a BBB complaint as well.
The FDCPA letter is to establish your right to sue should they take any collection action without sending proof. The BBB complaints are to apply publicly visible pressure in response to what may turn out to be a fraudulent "subscription" generated through telemarketing fraud.
Your next steps, should you have any problems, will be to file an FTC complaint for mail fraud, state AG complaints, then find an attorney to sue.
https://complaintwire.org/Complaint.aspx/f6rmZ9FotAAmwgjMX4LhBg
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Your initial notice from Sunrise should have included language notifying you that you could request such information on the debt, including the name of the original creditor.
If they fail to sign and pick it up, in 30 days it bounces back to you as evidence that you notified them, but they failed to accept their mail. FDCPA gives you rights to dispute with debt collectors, which places an obligation on them to accept and respond to such disputes. They don't get out of that obligation by ignoring your mail.
You can also just send it certified, in which case no signature is required, but the Post Office scans it when delivered to the P.O. Box. You can download the delivery record showing the date of delivery from the Post Office website using the certified number.
http://www.bbb.org/new-york-city/business-rev ... gdale-ny-21233/
File complaints with FTC, your state Attorney General, and the U.S. Postal Inspector (for fraudulent invoicing through the U.S. Mail).
260 Airport Plaza
Farmingdale NY 11735
Oh! why not send one to the CEO's home address
Richard A. Doane
193 E. Shore Dr
Massapeque NY 11735
I always send certified and another with confirmation delivery, just to prove they got it. I always use both numbers on each letter. I like PROOF...
If you reached an agreement on payments, and you are complying with those payments, then send them a certified letter telling them they are in violation of your payment agreement, and to cease calling you.
Or just tell them you are recording the calls. They will either be more polite, or cease calling if they can't bully you without risk of getting sued.
File complaints with FTC and your state Attorney General, and with the U.S. Postal Inspector, since they are sending invoices for unordered merchandise through the U.S. Mail.