Receiving Magazines...Never Subscribed - Bogleheads.org (2024)

My wife is receiving multiple magazines that she never ordered or subscribed to receive. And when I say multiple, I mean multiple. So far, it has to be at least ten different magazines. They range from running to popular culture to housekeeping type magazines. All name brand, i.e., People or Food Network Magazine.

There is never any contact information other than the individual publishers information on the copyright page. I have not yet tried to contact the publishers as I bet they don't have anything to do with it; it is probably a third party subscription service running something bordering on a scam

I fear that we are going to receive a big bill in the near future that will be a pain to fight.

Has anyone ever had something like this happen them? If so, what happened?

Does anyone have any advice on how to stop this?

Silk McCue wrote:Don't worry. Just wait. If you get a bill notify them they have been pranked, that you did not order, and ask them to stop sending.

Pranked? Is it possible to sign up for a magazine and not pay up front? This would seem like a classic prank to me!

new2bogle wrote:

Silk McCue wrote:Don't worry. Just wait. If you get a bill notify them they have been pranked, that you did not order, and ask them to stop sending.

Pranked? Is it possible to sign up for a magazine and not pay up front? This would seem like a classic prank to me!

I don't subscribe to magazines anymore, but when I did, it was common for prepaid postcard inserts that you send in to subscribe and then they bill you later. If you get a bill just print CANCEL on it and send it back. I doubt you will hear anything more from them.

new2bogle wrote:

Silk McCue wrote:Don't worry. Just wait. If you get a bill notify them they have been pranked, that you did not order, and ask them to stop sending.

Pranked? Is it possible to sign up for a magazine and not pay up front? This would seem like a classic prank to me!

I don't think it is these days, but it sure was when I was a teenager. Don't ask me why I remember that

I would consider contacting customer service and communicating that you never subscribed and thus requesting for the magazine to be stopped. In addition, I would run a credit report to make sure there is not a larger problem with identity theft or fraud.

Best.

abuss368 wrote:I would consider contacting customer service and communicating that you never subscribed and thus requesting for the magazine to be stopped. In addition, I would run a credit report to make sure there is not a larger problem with identity theft or fraud.

Best.

Why would someone steal someone else's identity and then use it to subscribe to magazines at their real address? It doesn't hurt to run a credit check but it seems very unlikely.

We get free magazines for answering surveys here: https://www.rewardsurvey.com

You answer maybe 30 multiple choice questions to earn "dollars" you can spend on a range of magazines. We gotten many over the years. A recent survey was about reality TV shows. It takes about 2 minutes to complete. The magazines always arrive. Fortune, Forbes, Wired, Wine Spectator, and others. Selection may vary over time.

As to the OP's concern, after our free subscriptions expire the publisher may or may not continue sending the magazine. Or they may start it up again a few months later w/o us doing anything. It's a matter of the publisher needing to show subscribers to convince advertisers it's worth advertising with them. I would not waste any time contacting the publisher. I already keep an eye on my credit cards for any fraudulent charges. If they show up, just dispute them.

BTW, were any of the magazines of any interest?

Usually when you subscribe to a new magazine, they front you an issue or two and then send a bill. I don't see any issue with keeping quiet and shredding any bill that you receive in the mail.

The magazines should not have your SSN. Plus, there's no way they can prove your wife signed up for it. Every magazine bill I have ever received, I throw away if I did not want it.

Thanks everyone, you are making feel a little bit better. I will wait to see if I get a bill or am billed in someway and take it from there.

fposte wrote:It's also common practice for free subscriptions to accompany purchases of some item or other without necessarily your being notified of that fact; sending to somebody with a relevant interest is a good way to bulk up subscription numbers for ad rates and to get a possible renewal out of it. You should be able to call to cancel if you don't want the clutter.

This is the one thing I did find while searching the web prior to posting. Magazine subscriptions can be offered while signing up for other services or when make purchases at some stores. Sometimes clerks will sign people up without even telling the customer. They may receive perks for doling out subscriptions.

Cheyenne wrote:Maybe they think your wife has a professional practice. My wife has been receiving all sorts of free magazines for years in her waiting room without ever ordering them. On a rare occasion she gets a bill and just ignores it.

She is in the healthcare field, but does not have a practice (or even work in one).

Pajamas wrote:Is your wife a teacher by chance? Prank is the first thing I though of, too.

Nope, health care field.

abuss368 wrote:In addition, I would run a credit report to make sure there is not a larger problem with identity theft or fraud.

Best.

It was about time to do this any way...it is probably a good idea.

celia wrote:You can call up each publisher and tell them that you never subscribed, if you want. They don't want to waste paper and mailing on magazines that are just going to be thrown away. Some magazines are basically "free" because they are full of ads and the ads pay for publishing the mag. But the more viewers subscribers they have, the more they can likely charge for ad space.

This is a last resort for me as there are so many, and I know each call will take so much time. Not worth it to me unless everyone started chiming in that I may be liable for the eventual bill.

Thanks everyone for the comments so far. I will keep reading and post any updates as they come.

Those calls actually don't take too long if you have the address label as that type of call is a regular thing for them. You can also ask how the subscription was initiated.

I think you would be better off being proactive. I once simply didn't renew a magazine subscription rather than cancelling it and the magazine eventually charged the credit card that I originally use but had closed many months before. That was despite them saying that I had to renew now to continue my subscription repeatedly. Then I had to call the credit card company and tell them that I was not going to pay a charge that they accepted on a credit card account that I had closed. That call took more time than a dozen calls to cancel a magazine subscription.

I've never smoked a cigar, and never would. Imagine my surprise one day when a new subscription started for Cigar Aficionado. I called them, and the explanation was pretty simple. I bought a new golf bag on-line, and they ran a promotion through the golf site that gave a trial subscription to the magazine. I wouldn't be surprised if there was never any notice on the web site that told me I would be getting the magazine. I think the magazines pay some small amount to the web site, betting that some small percentage of people will accept the magazine and re-up.

Steve

C4NT wrote:

Cheyenne wrote:Maybe they think your wife has a professional practice. My wife has been receiving all sorts of free magazines for years in her waiting room without ever ordering them. On a rare occasion she gets a bill and just ignores it.

She is in the healthcare field, but does not have a practice (or even work in one).

My wife is in the healthcare field and receives on average 10 magazines a week. Once in a blue moon, one magazine sends her a bundle of a dozen or so of the same magazine! Fortunately our town recycles magazines so the recycling collectors get a workout every few weeks when I throw all the magazines into the bin.