• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Bill Collector is coming after me..

Papagayo

Papagayo

Platinum Member
Every year we go to a Golf Show in Mason Ohio. At the entrance they have a form for 1 year of Golf Magazine for Free. Even on their website (Golf Show), they are promoting free 1 year subscription. I have been getting the magazine for 2 years (been to the show 2 years).

Well yesterday, I got a mail from the Bill Collector that states that I owe $15.97 for the magazine. It states that the Golf Magazine has turned over the bill to them.

Who do I contact for this? Golf Magazine, Bill Collector (long distance phone number), Golf Show Promoter?

Oh yeah, My father got the same bill the same day (he also filled out the free subscription form)

Anyone? Anyone?

 
The free subscription forms usually have fine print saying that they'll automatically roll over to the paid price once your year is up, sending you the bill for the full year as soon as it's up. It's only $15, just pay them and be happy you got 2 years of it for a few bucks. If you don't like it, pay them anyways and then call them and say you want to cancel the subscription.
 
Originally posted by: Electric Amish
Golf Magazine is who I'd call. You'll probably end up calling the Collector as well.
Click to expand...
Yeah....call them or pay it. It's not worth the bad credit marks.
 
You probably got billed for the 2nd year when you failed to cancel the subscription after the 1st year. Since it was only 1 year free and you received 2 years worth why don't you just pay the bill?
 
I think the situation here is that they sold the amount to a bill collector. Better go check your credit.

Call up golf, say that you never got the bill, and you'll pay it if they rescind the report.
 
First call the collector and tell him you dispute the bill. Then call the golf magazine and work it out. But is your time worth less then 15.00?
 
This is not legal advice, but if that happened to me I would throw the bill in the trash. And if anything about it ever showed up on my credit report, I would sue them.

But, I also know that i would never have agreed to any free subscription that automatically authorized a paid subscription at a later date, and since I am notr you I don't know what agreement you made with them.
 
Originally posted by: Tom
This is not legal advice, but if that happened to me I would throw the bill in the trash. And if anything about it ever showed up on my credit report, I would sue them.

But, I also know that i would never have agreed to any free subscription that automatically authorized a paid subscription at a later date, and since I am notr you I don't know what agreement you made with them.
Click to expand...

EVERY free subscription has a clause that says after x ammount of time they will roll you into a paid subscription. Why do you think they give you the free subscription in the first place? Throwing the bill into the trash isn't going to help at all... by the time they've gone to a 3rd party collector it's already on your credit and you've got 2 options: 1) pay them, or 2) let it sit on your credit until you want a house loan, at which point they will say "you need to take care of this before we can help you." At which point, you will still pay them.
 
Originally posted by: Tom
This is not legal advice, but if that happened to me I would throw the bill in the trash. And if anything about it ever showed up on my credit report, I would sue them.
Click to expand...

And if that day ever came, you'd look back and think, "Boy, I sure wish I had just paid the $15.97 instead of having to deal with this massive headache."

 
Originally posted by: Tom
This is not legal advice, but if that happened to me I would throw the bill in the trash. And if anything about it ever showed up on my credit report, I would sue them.
Click to expand...
And in the mean time, your credit score is hurt, your car insurance bill goes up $500 a year due to it, and you pay $10,000 more in interest for the house you bought. But you are right, you will win that $15 in court...

 
Originally posted by: Papagayo
Every year we go to a Golf Show in Mason Ohio. At the entrance they have a form for 1 year of Golf Magazine for Free. Even on their website (Golf Show), they are promoting free 1 year subscription. I have been getting the magazine for 2 years (been to the show 2 years).

Well yesterday, I got a mail from the Bill Collector that states that I owe $15.97 for the magazine. It states that the Golf Magazine has turned over the bill to them.

Who do I contact for this? Golf Magazine, Bill Collector (long distance phone number), Golf Show Promoter?

Oh yeah, My father got the same bill the same day (he also filled out the free subscription form)

Anyone? Anyone?
Click to expand...


Its a magazine subscription! Did you give them any of your pertinent info such as SS? If not, they can't do much to collect on that.

Your credit is not going to be dinged if they do not have your SS info. nor can they report anything on your credit without your SS info. Your credit would barely suffer over a 15$ magazine subscription anyway..

You also have the right to send them a letter demanding that they stop calling you. And they have to once they receive it in writing.
 
Originally posted by: dullard
Originally posted by: Tom
This is not legal advice, but if that happened to me I would throw the bill in the trash. And if anything about it ever showed up on my credit report, I would sue them.
Click to expand...
And in the mean time, your credit score is hurt, your car insurance bill goes up $500 a year due to it, and you pay $10,000 more in interest for the house you bought. But you are right, you will win that $15 in court...
Click to expand...

No kidding. That's a lot of hassel for a $15 bill that the OP may legitimately owe. I would just pay it.
 
Originally posted by: ValkyrieofHouston
Originally posted by: Papagayo
Every year we go to a Golf Show in Mason Ohio. At the entrance they have a form for 1 year of Golf Magazine for Free. Even on their website (Golf Show), they are promoting free 1 year subscription. I have been getting the magazine for 2 years (been to the show 2 years).

Well yesterday, I got a mail from the Bill Collector that states that I owe $15.97 for the magazine. It states that the Golf Magazine has turned over the bill to them.

Who do I contact for this? Golf Magazine, Bill Collector (long distance phone number), Golf Show Promoter?

Oh yeah, My father got the same bill the same day (he also filled out the free subscription form)

Anyone? Anyone?
Click to expand...


Its a magazine subscription! Did you give them any of your pertinent info such as SS? If not, they can't do much to collect on that.

Your credit is not going to be dinged if they do not have your SS info. nor can they report anything on your credit without your SS info. Your credit would barely suffer over a 15$ magazine subscription anyway..

You also have the right to send them a letter demanding that they stop calling you. And they have to once they receive it in writing.
Click to expand...
/endthread
 
Originally posted by: foghorn67
Originally posted by: ValkyrieofHouston
Originally posted by: Papagayo
Every year we go to a Golf Show in Mason Ohio. At the entrance they have a form for 1 year of Golf Magazine for Free. Even on their website (Golf Show), they are promoting free 1 year subscription. I have been getting the magazine for 2 years (been to the show 2 years).

Well yesterday, I got a mail from the Bill Collector that states that I owe $15.97 for the magazine. It states that the Golf Magazine has turned over the bill to them.

Who do I contact for this? Golf Magazine, Bill Collector (long distance phone number), Golf Show Promoter?

Oh yeah, My father got the same bill the same day (he also filled out the free subscription form)

Anyone? Anyone?
Click to expand...


Its a magazine subscription! Did you give them any of your pertinent info such as SS? If not, they can't do much to collect on that.

Your credit is not going to be dinged if they do not have your SS info. nor can they report anything on your credit without your SS info. Your credit would barely suffer over a 15$ magazine subscription anyway..

You also have the right to send them a letter demanding that they stop calling you. And they have to once they receive it in writing.
Click to expand...
/endthread
Click to expand...



No SS number.. just name and address.. Honestly, I don't know how they can even bill people. Anyone can just go up to the stand and fill out a form for anyone..
 
It's a little odd the way this magazine is doing things.

I've subscribed to 3 free month promotions, and at the end of the 3 months they send me a post card asking for payment to continue. If I don't send payment, they stop sending the magazine. Same deal with annual subscriptions that I pay for...
 
Next time the bill collector calls... tell them not to call back and that you will handle the bill with Golf Magazine.

They can't legally call you unless it's not taken care of in a timely manner.

Call Golf magazine and raise hell. Tell them that you signed up for 1 free year, and you never agreed to receive a second year or be billed for a second year. Ask them to remove the bill or produce a copy of the form saying that you ordered and agreed to pay for another year.

Grow a pair of balls. Unless they have a signed form saying you agreed to pay for it, they can't do anything to your credit. They are simply trying to extort money out of you.

If they could damage your credit, what would stop a person from going there and filling out a bunch of the forms in someone else's name and in the damaging their credit?
 
Originally posted by: ValkyrieofHouston
Its a magazine subscription! Did you give them any of your pertinent info such as SS? If not, they can't do much to collect on that.

Your credit is not going to be dinged if they do not have your SS info. nor can they report anything on your credit without your SS info. Your credit would barely suffer over a 15$ magazine subscription anyway..

You also have the right to send them a letter demanding that they stop calling you. And they have to once they receive it in writing.
Click to expand...

:thumbsup:

I can't possibly fathom how people can think this affects your credit. That's probably the most absurd thing I've heard today and I've been reading ATOT for an hour.
 
And next time, when you get the bill in the mail, take a bold marker and write CANCEL on it, then mail it back to them. Once you've done that, if they continue to send the magazine, it's at THEIR cost, not yours!

I did that a while back, actually got one year sub as a gift, paid for a 2nd year because I enjoyed it, then decided to cancel the 3rd year, since I was about 6 months behind in reading the darn thing. One day I get a letter in the mail from them, stating in no uncertain terms that if i don't pay for the subscription that they automatically rolled over (without my permission) for the 3rd year immediately, they're going to send it to a collection agency. I wrote the CANCEL on the bill, then added a note that since they had rolled over the subscription without my permission, and now wanted to bill me, illegally, that I'd be more than happy to contact my state's attorney general about their fraudulent activities. I stopped getting their magazine, and didn't hear anything else about the bill.

Like a previous poster mentioned, sometimes ya just gotta grow a set with these people, ya know? 😉
 
Originally posted by: dullard
Originally posted by: Tom
This is not legal advice, but if that happened to me I would throw the bill in the trash. And if anything about it ever showed up on my credit report, I would sue them.
Click to expand...
And in the mean time, your credit score is hurt, your car insurance bill goes up $500 a year due to it, and you pay $10,000 more in interest for the house you bought. But you are right, you will win that $15 in court...
Click to expand...


If that scenario occurred, it would be possible to sue for a lot more than $15. Collection agencies can't put bogus reports on someone's credit report willy nilly.

Consumers don't have to accept mistakes, and fraud, by business, although business has done a good job brainwashing the public, apparently, into thinking they are all powerful.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top