We do love our ex-neighbors, but we don’t tend to send them Martha Stewart mags as gifts. We’re on the record as being against superbikes, so it’s unlikely that we’ll be reading Cycle World. We’re against the wedding industrial complex, so Bride Magazine isn’t usually in the house. Husband, god love him, isn’t a supermodel worshiper and would not, no matter what the lady in the subscription office says, be suckered in to signing up for Sports Illustrated just to get the swimsuit DVD. Yup, it’s scam central in our mailbox.
I made about ten phone calls to subscription centers today to cancel Spin, Rolling Stone, Real Simple, Time, Maxim, Metropolitan Home, Sports Illustrated, Cycle World, Bride, Martha Stewart Living, Men’s Journal and, jeez, I don’t know what else. I can’t remember. Right now, I’m on hold with some OTHER call center listening to, god help me, an easy listening version of Runaway. Who is this song by? And why are they torturing Spin magazine subscribers with it?
We screened all of our bank accounts to check for any “unusual” activity. We called the friends that we supposedly gave Martha Stewart Living to. We called an identity fraud service and to my unbelievable irritation they spent the first 5 minutes of the call trying to sell me services. (Wells Fargo, hello. When I am trying to find out if I am a victim of fraud, I do not want to be sold to. I want common sense advice.) The BBB was not home, nor was the FTC or the Postmaster, but you can bet they will hear from me on Monday. As will Spin Magazine. Hello, if you’re going to shop out your call center, could you not at least give me some decent hold music?
A-hem. Anyone else had this happen to them? It’s not really very funny. No sir.
Update: We know who did this. We filed a police report and were informed by the very nice officer that doing this is indeed a crime, it’s harassment, theft, and mail fraud, all punishable with jail time. In the meantime, the harassment has stopped.
[tags]mail fraud, magazine subscription fraud[/tags]
What a royal pain. I hope you get to the bottom of this mail fraud. At the very least get fradulent magazine subscriptions that you like.
asked & answered; bon jovi!
I got a bill from “Better Homes & Gardens” recently saying I have taken up on their special online offer. I was like, Huh? (I don’t own a home and I consider gardening as moving dirt around.) I called and the phone rep. cancelled the subscription order that I never placed.
I myself am unsure how they got my address. Privacy is dead.
What would possess someone to do this? Truly a pain. I’m glad it’s all worked out by now, but sorry you had to go thru it all.
We are getting the same thing. We just bought a house and two days before the closing, someone entered 25 subscriptions in my wife’s name. Everything from Forbes and Golf to Essence to Oprah to ESPN. How did you find out who did it? Would love to find out also.