Death Records Now

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.

EDINBURG — Federal marshals arrested a man Wednesday accused of kidnapping and beating his ex-girlfriend to death with a stone.

Jose Juan Sanchez, 33, had evaded authorities since the body of Laura Isabel Reyes was found in a field near Hargill on July 13.

The U.S. Marshals Service located Sanchez outside a relative’s house in Cicero, Ill., near Chicago, where he was arrested without incident, Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño said.

The search for Sanchez led authorities to Houston, Dallas, across Indiana and finally to Greater Chicago, where a cross-check of his relatives’ phone records led authorities to the fugitive.

Sheriff’s deputies are on their way to interrogate him in Illinois, where he awaits a hearing on his extradition to the Rio Grande Valley. Authorities plan to arraign him on one count of capital murder once he is brought back here.

Deputies believe Sanchez kidnapped Reyes, 35, from the McAllen baseball park on North Ware Road on July 12. She managed to dial 9-1-1 before Sanchez and an alleged accomplice, Ernesto Castillo Rodriguez, tied her up and loaded her in the back of her Dodge Caravan.

On the recording of that phone call, Reyes can be heard pleading for her life and asking Sanchez not to kill her, the sheriff said. A male voice on the recording tells someone to stay down. The phone cuts out about four minutes into the call.

McAllen police have said attempts to contact the 9-1-1 caller after the phone conversation ended were unsuccessful.

Investigators said Castillo and Sanchez took the woman to a field near the intersection of M. Davila Road and Farm-to-Market Road 490 near Hargill, where she was beaten to death with a large stone.

Castillo, a Mexican national and illegal immigrant living in Mission, confessed to helping with the kidnapping and slaying, court records state. He told investigators he acted as a lookout for Sanchez and restrained the woman.
http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/slaying-100246-arrest-suspected.html

More Americans are killed by illegal aliens than were in Viet Nam, Iraq and Afghanistan.