June 16, 2006
Reader's Digest is that little magazine you used to see on your grandmother's coffee table or read in your friendly, neighborhood dentist office. A lot of people, including your grandmother, are now upset with the magazine we all loved and trusted.
Reader's Digest Assoc Inc
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Linda of Stow, OH writes, "I received a bill today for $9.98 when I never ordered anything". She said she looked for a phone number to call, but couldn't find one. She also went to the Reader's Digest website but the only option was to subscribe.
Ben of O'fallon, MO tells us that he received a bill for Reader's Digest and went on to say, "I have never read nor do I ever intend to read their magazine."
Some people just get a bill, but others get the magazine and then the bill arrives later. Thomas of Boise, ID wrote in to say, "A Readers Digest was delivered one day that I didn't order. A few days later a bill showed up." Thomas also mentioned how hard it was to cancel.
Readers Digest invoices sometime arrive in the form of a renewal.
Judy of Lucasville, OH said, "I have been receiving a bill from Readers Digest for a renewal." She said, "I have been receiving this [invoice] for a couple of months and tried to find a phone number to contact them, but one is not to be found anywhere on the statement. I have never subscribed to Readers Digest," she wrote in her complaint. She went on to say, "It states I have a 12-issue subscription but I have yet to receive a book."
And finally, Michael of Evergreen, CO actually ordered a subscription but wrote to tell us, "I ordered a Reader's Digest subscription at the advertised price of $10 per year in February of '06. I wrote a check on March 3, 2006. My April bank statement shows my check was cashed by Reader's Digest. I have been receiving my magazines monthly but have also received monthly Past Due notices saying I haven't paid for my subscription. These past due notices are irritating because there is neither a phone number nor an e-mail address where I can reach Reader's Digest's accounting department."
ConsumerAffairs.com received only one complaint about Readers Digest in 2005, however these new complaints started slowly in January 2006 and have multiplied over the last few months.
Obviously, based on the number of complaints to our mailbag this week, many people are asking the same question as Linda of Stow, OH, "Do you think this is how they have made their millions, from cheating good people?"
