Death Records Now

He was a 6th generation Houstonian, and his original obituary is located at www.chron.com (or via the Houston Chronicle, which features mostly all of Houston’s deceased in their "Obituary" section, and the only problem I’m having accessing his obituary, is monetary-wise. They want me to put in my credit card number and charge me $2.95, to actually read my best friend’s obituary. I wasn’t able to make his funeral, because it was private, and none of his friends went (thanks to his sadistic parents) and I REFUSE to pay for something that ought to be FREE! Not to mention that if they charge my credit card the $2.95, it costs about that much to place a charge with the card anyway, so the total would be around $5.00 for reading an obituary of a dearly departed friend of mine, when it should be absolutely free and public (since it’s a public record) anyway. So, if anyone finds Matthew Mark Baker Herzog’s obituary, I would greatly appreciate it, and you would be putting 6 years worth of uncertainty behind me, and help me start to heal my inability to have some closure, seeing that I not only wasn’t allowed to view my friend being placed to rest at his funeral, but also never being able to read anything that was said about him in his final eulogy. He died in Houston, Texas on October 14th of 2004, he was 18 year old, and was killed by off-duty, uninformed police officers, whom he was involved in a lawsuit with, and they had been harassing him for years, ticketing him, etc.. until they finally got what they wanted, which was his death. They harassed him so badly, it started driving him crazy, making him extremely paranoid and emotionally unstable (which is exactly where I think they wanted him to be, mentally) so they could catch him in a snare (that they made) in order to cost him something as precious as his own life. And yes, they sure did, shoot him dead, after years of harassment, lawsuits, and cops following him everywhere he went (which was an everyday occurrence, and many of the times, I was with him, witnessing this crap taking place) to make his short life miserable, and they did that admirably.

So what’s your question?

Was it even worth writing all this for $2.95?

This morning, as I have many times before, I did a search for my old 7th grade history teacher from 14 years ago (96-97), only to be redirected to a page demanding my Credit Card Number which I shall not give! They promised a "free trial," but I didn’t even attempt to proceed because I’m afraid it might not be as "free" as they say it is. But still, I kept searching for records on Ron Kolodzy (as well as Ronald J. Kolodzy and other forms of his name), and it kept telling me the same thing — that he has 1 birth, 1 marriage, 1 divorce, and 1 death record that cannot be accessed without membership to archives.com. So is there any possibility that this is a mistake or something standard they use to try to hook you? I’ve tried doing similar searches with other names but didn’t find any records in that box. So could you please tell me if it is possible that 53-year-old Ron Kolodzy in Texas, born on April 29th of 1957, is still alive? Is there any hope that he isn’t really dead? And what can I do to find out more information about him if he really is? How do I find-out when he died, what from, and where he’s burried if it turns out to be true that he has passed away?

When u do searches that result in an immediate response for your credit card info, aren’t technically completing your request.. (so 9 out of 10, it’s just a default response)but maybe you should higher an investigator or try to locate family members to be certain… or look up the obituary in the news paper for that timeframe… wish u luck…

Today my wife received a call from someone claiming that we had been entered in a sweepstakes or something. Anyway, they ended up telling her we could get some great deal on a magazine. They called her and then had someone else call back and ask for a credit card number. Unfortunately she gave it to them and agreed to 70 bucks or so that was supposed to last 4 years. I love my wife to death but this is probably the dumbest thing she’s ever done and I’ve told her about 100 times to NEVER give our card number out over the phone.

She knew she’d screwed up right after she hung up the phone, so she went ahead and called the credit card company and cancelled our card. They said we could file a complaint later.

I told her to call back and cancel the subscription and the guy on the phone gave some stupid story about them already pre-ordering the magazine and couldn’t give her a refund. When I called to talk to them he said that she agreed to $70.00/month and we really owed them over $800 for the year she agreed to. They said they had the recording to prove it. I told them I had cancelled my credit card and that I would fight the charge. They tried to threaten me by saying I couldn’t win because they had a recording (he mentioned something about the laws in Florida???) and that I would end up having to pay the whole $800. I told them I was calling the better business bureau and would fight it with my lawyers if I had to. He then tried to make me some deal for only $99.00 for the whole thing. He wouldn’t let me off the phone and I had to hang up on him. He called back like 3 times trying to intimidate me by playing my wifes phone conversation, saying that the credit card company couldn’t win because he had her verbal agreement. My wife says she never ever heard them say anything about $70/month. And who’s ever heard of a magazine subscription that you couldn’t cancel and had to commit to for a year?

I have already cancelled the card, alerted the Credit Card Company, and will be calling the BBB in the morning.

1. Do they have any legal way to scam me out of the $800? We haven’t received any magazines and I have told them I was cancelling the subscription (probably never would have seen them anyway)

2. What other steps do I need to do to protect myself?

Thanks,

You’ve been the victim of Magazine Fraud. Go to this site:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/tmarkg/magzn.shtm
from the FTC:

Be careful what you say on the phone to the seller. In some states, your verbal agreement to buy obligates you to pay. Frequently, the salesperson tape records the conversation, perhaps claiming it’s for your protection. Later, the company may use the tape to "prove" you agreed to buy the magazines, selected a payment method, and understood the terms of the agreement.

If you don’t want a subscription, and you don’t want to be called again, tell the caller to put you on the company’s "do not call list." If the company calls again, hang up. It’s breaking the law. Report it to your state Attorney General and the FTC.

If you think you’ve been involved in a magazine subscription scam, contact your state Attorney General or local consumer protection office. They’re listed in the Blue Pages of your telephone directory.

You can register your phone number at www.DoNotCall.gov, or by calling 1-888-382-1222 (TTY: 1-866-290-4236) from the number you wish to register. If you register online, you must click on the confirmation email you receive to complete your free registration.

Your registration will not expire. Your number is on the list until you take it off, or your number is disconnected and re-assigned to someone else.

Report a Scam

Fight telephone fraud. Report telephone scam artists to the Federal Trade Commission and your state Attorney General. The Telemarketing Sales Rule gives these local law enforcement officers the power to prosecute fraudulent telemarketers who operate across state lines.
To learn more about how to recognize and report phone fraud, go to
www.ftc.gov/phonefraud.

The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint or to get free information on consumer issues, visit ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The FTC enters consumer complaints into the Consumer Sentinel Network, a secure online database and investigative tool used by hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.

I wish you all the best

ps found similar situation but in CA.
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/264/RipOff0264165.htm

Today my wife received a call from someone claiming that we had been entered in a sweepstakes or something. Anyway, they ended up telling her we could get some great deal on a magazine. They called her and then had someone else call back and ask for a credit card number. Unfortunately she gave it to them and agreed to 70 bucks or so that was supposed to last 4 years. I love my wife to death but this is probably the dumbest thing she’s ever done and I’ve told her about 100 times to NEVER give our card number out over the phone.

She knew she’d screwed up right after she hung up the phone, so she went ahead and called the credit card company and cancelled our card. They said we could file a complaint later.

I told her to call back and cancel the subscription and the guy on the phone gave some stupid story about them already pre-ordering the magazine and couldn’t give her a refund. When I called to talk to them he said that she agreed to $70.00/month and we really owed them over $800 for the year she agreed to. They said they had the recording to prove it. I told them I had cancelled my credit card and that I would fight the charge. They tried to threaten me by saying I couldn’t win because they had a recording (he mentioned something about the laws in Florida???) and that I would end up having to pay the whole $800. I told them I was calling the better business bureau and would fight it with my lawyers if I had to. He then tried to make me some deal for only $99.00 for the whole thing. He wouldn’t let me off the phone and I had to hang up on him. He called back like 3 times trying to intimidate me by playing my wifes phone conversation, saying that the credit card company couldn’t win because he had her verbal agreement. My wife says she never ever heard them say anything about $70/month. And who’s ever heard of a magazine subscription that you couldn’t cancel and had to commit to for a year?

I have already cancelled the card, alerted the Credit Card Company, and will be calling the BBB in the morning.

1. Do they have any legal way to scam me out of the $800? We haven’t received any magazines and I have told them I was cancelling the subscription (probably never would have seen them anyway)

2. What other steps do I need to do to protect myself?

Thanks,

With any agreement (verbal, written, or otherwise), the consumer has a 3-day right-of-rescission, where you can cancel any agreement within 3 business days of entering into a contract (Saturdays are considered business days – only Sundays and Federal holidays are not business days). This is supposed to be in writing. But, since you don’t have any way of contacting the company in writing, your verbal rescission should do. Besides, if they can play back a recording of your wife ordering the magazines, where’s the recording of you cancelling?

The best thing you did was to immediately cancel the credit card. It’s useless to them now. And, if they somehow did make additional charges to the account, you can dispute those. When you called the credit card company, did you instruct them to nullify and not accept further charges from that specific company?

The next thing to do is to write down a log of everything that happened, including the times and dates of the calls you made, who you talked to, what was said, etc. This is your record to counter their recorded message.

Personally, I think that what’s going to happen is that they may send you bills or something for the magazines and demand payment. Keep those and don’t respond. Send the magazines back (on the cover, write "Unsolicited – Return to Sender").

Also, follow up with the BBB. There is also a website you can go to to file a complaint with the US Consumer Protection Agency. They do follow up on these things.

But, rest assured that you don’t owe those idiots anything. They operate using confusion and intimidation. And, again, you have the right to cancel any contract within 3 business days with no penalty.