Deceptive magazine renewal notice

Notice of renewal for 2 years. Not valid. Have been fooled by similar offers before.

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I was fooled--the bill arrived at the "right time" for renewal, and though it was more expensive than I wanted to pay, I thought I was still helping the school fundraiser through which I'd originally subscribed 2 years ago so I went ahead and sent in the check. I've filed a complaint with the San Diego Better Business Bureau (just fill out a form on their website); though I am not expecting they will be able to do much for me personally, I hope at least they can shut the business so no one else will get cheated!

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I received "Notice of Renewal/New Order" from "National Magazine Services, Inc." with note on the back: "...You may cancel your order within 7 days, after which there may be a $20.00 cancellation fee."

This company must be prosecuted for such dirty tricks.

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I got the same notice for my DISCOVER MAGAZINE. While I did not fall for it (my subscription won't expire for another three years), I contacted DISCOVER MAGAZINE about it. How did NPBS know that I subscribe to DISCOVER MAGAZINE? How did they get my name and address? There's only one way: DISCOVER MAGAZINE gave it to them, meaning that DISCOVER MAGAZINE is in on it. Think about it: What did DISCOVER MAGAZINE have to gain? More importantly, what do they have to lose?

I contacted DISCOVER MAGAZINE and they replied, "We are not able to verify whether National Publication Billing Services, LLC is an authorized agency for Discover Magazine. If you would provide a copy of the billing that you received we will further investigate the company that has contacted you. Please be sure the company's name, address, and/or number is on this information."

When asked as to whether or not I would be informed of the outcome of their investigation, they replied, "We will not contact you about the outcome, as we are constantly monitoring the agencies that are selling or allegedly selling Discover Magazine."

Naturally, this is unacceptable, since my personal information has been compromised. There is no reason why I can't and shouldn't be informed when it's my information that has been compromised. Needless to say, I cancelled my DISCOVER MAGAZINE subscription, even though I've been a subscriber for over 25 years.

DISCOVER MAGAZINE, if you're reading this, you have no one to blame but yourself. You had a chance to fix this, but you didn't. I hope that you realize that you have a fiduciary responsibility to me in protecting my personal information. GOD ONLY KNOWS WHAT NPBS IS GOING TO DO WITH IT NOW.

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They have been sending these fake "bills" to me for years. Many are fooled, though the form contains an inconspicuous "not a bill" statement. I can't understand why they aren't shut down. How they get the subscription lists is also a puzzle. "American Artist" magazine posted a "Consumer Alert" indicating that they operate under the names "National Publication Service", "National Publication Billing Services, LLC", "Publisher Billing Center (PBC) or Readers Payment Service (RPS)", "National Magazine Services" or "Publisher's Billing Exchange".

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I got suckered into this for a renewal of my US Weekly subscription and am furious. Sent a check for $49.50 and have to send my request for a refund to their mailing address. So annoying and deceptive. They better make-good on this or I'm reporting them to Better Bus Bureau!