worldwide publishers magazine scam
Don’t get duped by Worldwide Publishers!
This site is the #1 resource for information about Worldwide Preferred Publishers and what you can do to stop them from taking your hard earned money. I started this site in 2007 when my friend was duped by this company. They took 400+ dollars out of his bank account when the deal was 40 dollars for some magazines. They will tell you anything to get your credit card number and begin billing you ridiculous amounts of money. How do they get away with this?
I’ve found some important news about this company making this scam much bigger than you could imagine.
DONT GIVE YOUR CREDIT CARD # TO ANYONE
There are many comments and suggestions from others that have the same problem as you. We encourage you to follow the links below to report any fraudulent activity to the Better Business Bureau and Federal Trade Commission.
Before Reading the rest of this article:
If you have been missing lots of money from your bank account and worldwide preferred publishers service is the company taking it…
Cancel or change your credit card number by calling your bank immediately! There should be a number to call on the back of your card.
Fowler Computer Repair 
My son had the same problem. They valled & promised him free gas. However, when he tried to cancel no one would answer the phones. We faxed & then sent certified letters stating we would not put up with their extortion. They finally called & demanded almost $1000 saying it is not cancellable under any circumstances. When we refused to pay they sent him to collections. I have filed a complaint with ripoff report and am in the process of doing one for the attorney general. I will contact your suggestion also. Any other idea?
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I’m gald I google this website. Notice alot of people complaining about this. Next time I’ll Google things like this again to find out if it is a scam. I called to cancelled the magazines. But they keep sending them. Do they not understand english or what. We ahd a death in the family thats why I called to cancel. We had to go of island for the viewing. I just found out they again took money out again. I cancelled my card too. They need to really get a real job and stop taking our hard working money. We where dumb to not notice this but we are not stupid. I HOPE YOU GET CAUGHT!!!!!
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did you get this taken care of? I worked for them and when i started gathering signatures from employees for their wrong and unethical business practieces, i was let go, eventually i contacted media and eventually shut them down.. not sure what name they using now. I can help and would like to be a part of any lawsuit for them.
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Same thing is happening to me. I can’t afford to have $92 withdrawn from my account every month. I’m a part-time student with a full-time job. If you guys figure out how to beat this, please let me know.
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We just had the same thing happen-our bank took care of it.
Ate all of the charges and stopped any more coming out of our account.
Thank god they had credit card and not checking account number.
YOUR BANKS SHOULD DO THE SAME!!!!!!!
CALL THEM.
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Read my comment it will help I found a toll free # and every thing was taken care of you will need your oder # good luck
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Hi, was just scammed by one of those magazine companies. Can you give me the number you found to make it all stop. I’ve already left a message with my bank, called the FTC and filed a complaint with the AG, but they had already cleaned out my account. I am outta work right now due to an injury and I can’t afford this. Pleas help me
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I had the same problem with them. And they weren’t nice to talk to. If anyone finds a way to beat this please let me know. They need to be stopped.
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They keep calling me. I have told them “I am not interested” 3 times. They still continue to call, except now when I answer the phone, they hang up on me. When I try to call them back, I get a recording that says to leave my number and I will be taken off the call list. At the end of the message, I am never able to leave my number because the “mailbox is full”. What a bunch of crap. They are really pissing me off, and I haven’t even done business with them!
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Update… Many of you completed a “Reverse Phone Number” search for the number you have found on your caller ID. The number lists a Mr. Anderson. The Andersons have NOTHING to do with this company. PLEASE DO NOT CALL THEM. The third party vendor that makes calls for Worldwide Preferred Publishing took on this number after the Andersons’ number changed.
I spoke with a supervisor at Worldwide about removing my name from the calling list. Apparently, the actual company does not have any of our names/numbers in their database unless we have an account with them. They use a third-party vendor to originate sales. It is this third-party company that is calling you. The supervisor I spoke with at Worldwide told me he would “do what he could do” to contact the third-party company and have my name removed.
If you are not having any luck leaving your number on the voice mail that is always full, I suggest calling Worldwide Publishing directly and voicing your concern. I was able to get a new telephone number and actual address (not a PO Box). Hope this will help you out. (And I hope it helps the Andersons, as after speaking with them they are equally as annoyed with getting phone calls from irrate people for something they have absolutely NOTHING to do with).
Woldwide Preferred Publisher’s Service Inc
119 W Torrance Blvd
RedondoBeach CA 90277
310-318-5822
Thanks and good luck!
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My boyfriend and I had similiar problems with this company. I wrote them a letter stating that they tricked us into becoming one of their customers by offering “free” subscriptions and I wanted my account closed. I tried for weeks to reach them via phone, but I received no answer or I was always put on hold and I finally had enough. We ended up closing our checking acct that they were withdrawing random amounts each month from, then the collection letters started coming. So along witht the letter I sent them a money order for the past due amount and wrote in the letter that upon cashing of that money order, the account will be paid in full and therefore cancelled. And they will not contact me in any way nor send us any more magazines. I sent this as registered mail so I know that they received it and within days, they called my boyfriend to tell him that account has been closed and that the magazines we receive in the near future will be complimentary until they get the acct closed. I would definitely try a letter, because the amount of money that they got from us is ridiculous! Good Luck!
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i have the same problem with them, they call my house saying that they are going to sue me because i owe them money for the magazines, meanwhile they were taking out twice the amount that i authorized them to, i was told that i can cancel at any time, they conveniently did not record that they told me that i can cancel at any time, they tricked me into believing that i have that option. These people are scam artists and need to be caught, if any one do have suggestions as to how we can deal with this please let me know.
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I recently had the same problems. I tried many times to contact them via phone, with no luck. I wrote to the company stating that upon cashing of the enclosed check (which was the past due balance) that my account would be paid in full and therefore closed. I sent this as certefied mail. Within days they called me to tell me that my acct had been closed.
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These people have gotten me too. They contacted me back in December and promised a watch as a free prize and the magazines for $39.90 a month. I have yet to see that watch or any of the magazines. They were taking the payment out automatically every month until March when I called and revoked the payment. I was told that everything would be fine and that nothing would come out of my account that month. On March 30, they took out the payment which then caused my account to overdraw. When I called to find out why they took it out, I got the runaround. They finally agreed to send a refund check, which I was supposed to have gotten by April 6. I got it on April 30, after about 3000.00 in fees from my bank and merchants from having to wait on their refund check. Anthony, from WPPS asked me to fax him my bank statement so that they could review it and try to rectify the situation, and I have heard nothing yet. How many more people are they going to scam before justice is done
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My fiancé recently ordered magazines from worldwide publishers while I was out to sea in the Navy, when I came home he had never received any magazines, we decided to try and cancel our subscription with worldwide publishers service.
Whenever I called I was told I was not allowed to do so and when he called he got the run around.
He had luckily changed banks and closed that account so we thought we were done with all of it. Then the phone calls started, apparently they had decided to go on ahead and charge the full 19 months worth to the account that was supposed to already have been closed. What should never have been a bill was quickly a 990 dollar one!
I guess we are lucky we closed that account before they ever got their greedy paws on it.
good luck with this worldwide publishers scam.
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I had fallen victim to this scam back in November f 2006. I just received a phone call from my mother saying the LBA has been calling her for my telephone number. Well, considering I was getting ridiculous amounts of calls from WWPP, I change my phone number. I called LBA back today. They told me I had 900+ dollars overdue on my account… But considering I have been making payments on this account, they will only charge me $299.90. What payments?! I NEVER made any payments! I called WWPP after my “first month free of 4 mags and a free watch” (which I never got the watch!). I got the bill, and a letter saying that I could send back this form to cancel my account. I did so. Next month, I got another bill. I called them back and told them about the form I sent back. They told me it was sent in error. What bullshit! They told me I could not cancel my account because I had agreed to a 20 month subscription. So tell me this- if this company doesn’t allow you to cancel your account- why does this cancellation form exist?! I explained all this to LBA, they said they would only charge my $199.90 due to all the crap I went through. I told them about that cancellation form- he said I had to send it back to them within a 72 hour grace period. Now, think logically… A letter from California isn’t going to make it to Milwaukee and back in 3 days! Now, I asked LBA what payment was made… Supposedly, $49.90 was taken from my SS#. WHAT?! So, as of right now, I’m on my way down to the bank and get an investigation started. That was an unauthorized transaction… and who knows what else these asses have taken from me! If anyone finds anything out- PLEASE spread the word!!!
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YOU’RE ALL CRAZY. I LOVE THIS COMPANY AND THEY TREATED ME VERY WELL
EVERYTHING CAME ON TIME, I GOT A BEAUTIFUL WATCH AND THE CUSTOMER SERVICE IS OUT OF THIS WORLD. I WOULD RECOMEND THIS SERVICE TO ANYONE WHO LOVE TO READ
WOMINA WELLS
BEVERLY HILLS CALIFORNIA
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Worldwide publishers ripped me off too.
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Just wait until your contract ends. They will come back again saying that you have not fulfilled your contract and weasel you in again.
In 2003 received a phone call with an offer on magazines from HMD&CRC Southern California. Five (5) magazines per month for a monthly fee. I was also promised a watch, which I never got. Magazines for a total of 5 years. I forgot the total amount right now. But was later called to pay a final payment to cover final expenses (11/30/2005 of $163.95). I paid from 2003 – 2005, a total of $1392.43. Received magazines from May 2003 – May, 2008. Then in 2010 received several phone calls from an unavailable number, but never left messages. Finally one day I was at home when they called and they said that they had not being able to send magazines because they were returned to them, as I had moved and that I still had not satisfied my contract. Right at the time that I’d had moved in 2008, I decided to throw the letters away. Since I had no way to prove it, I accepted the new program of 24 payments of $41.90 and nothing else thereafter. I have the letter with me. The first payment was in April 1, 2010 and then 23 months and nothing thereafter. The new company’s name Worldwide Preferred Publishers Service. I paid a total of S1,005.60 from Feb 2010 to Feb 2012. During that period I received several calls asking me to charge the remainder amount at the time and that I did not have to worry for anything thereafter. I never accepted and continued with monthly payments. However, I kept getting phone calls to revise the contract further adding more months and even higher monthly fee. I always declined. After Feb 2012 I didn’t get any more calls for a while but then the unavailable calls started all over again in October 2012. On Sat, Dec 8, 2012 they came with the same story of me having not satisfied the contract and offering me a VISA Gift Card for $150 and new terms. I told them that the terms were satisfied and complete. I declined to everything and hung up. Unfortunately the magazines have continued to arrive and even different ones that I have never requested. The excuse to continue sending the magazines was that they were unable to charge my card because it had expired. I told them that I don’t want any more magazines and hung up. Now I’m worried that they might affect my credit as they have done with others.
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They tricked me into their scam too. They contacted me back in January and promised me a diamond watch as a free prize and the magazines for $39.90 a month. And they told me that I could cancel on the magazine subscription at anytime. And when I tried to cancel magazine subscription several months later they said that I had to pay $1,200 first. They kept charging my credit card and so I cancelled that. And they kept sending the magazines and bill through the mail. I sent them a money order to take care of the outstanding balance and told them to cancel all future magazine orders. And everytime I tried to contact them via phone I always get their answering message. Although I leave them a message to call me back, they never have. If they send me more magazines and another bill, I will refuse to pay it because I already cancelled. I hope they get caught and taken to jail for all the financial trauma they caused alot of people.
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They are trying to screw me over too, but I don’t like to lose or take crap from people. Especially these kind of people. They completely misled me in my phone conversation with them and got me to somehow agree to getting these magazines. The watch they promised me never came and I randomly started seeing $50.00 charges on my credit card. After 3 payments I let my credit card max itself out at $300.00 knowing they would have no way to charge me now. This is when the 2 phone calls a day started coming. I Ignored them for awhile and finally got back to them. We agreed to a $225.00 closing cost to cancel this account out and be done with it. Later when I contacted them to pay it they told me they changed their mind and wouldn’t go through with it anymore. I hate business’s like this, making a dishonest living. Honestly, why would a company who considers this a honest income make you do voice recordings when answering? And its not cancelable? Give me a break.
I now am either going to fight this in court, or pay them. I don’t want to pay them, not because I don’t have it, but because I think they are douchebags and don’t deserve it.
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I got a call and they told me they would send watches and my payment $49.90 wasn’t due until sept, 22 2007 my bill said I owed $998.00 and i haven’t got a magazine when i was supposed to get 5 I’m pissed off what can i do because this came off my child support credit card. I tried the number no answer whats up with that?
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i would like to cancel my acoout because it was only supossed to be 25.00 and now its 39.90 a month.my account number is je0000306318-7
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i have a solution…. all you have to do is request your “contract” with your name and signature. when they send you this info you will notice that there is no “signed contract” and that they have to cancel it. If they give you any problems just threaten them with the BBB= better business beaurau and a lawer and they will for sure glady remove you and cancel everything.
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I was ripped of also worldwide publishers service and have found no way to stop the payments. I am recieving magazines but I don’t want them. When I did speak with someone I was given some bull about they had already paid for this in advance and can in no way stop this. I hope someone finds a way to put an end to this. Keep the updates coming so we may have a chance.
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I WAS TOLD BY WORLDWIDE PUBLISHERS THAT I WOULD RECIEVE A FREE WATCH AND FREE MAGAZINES THEN THEY STARTED TAKING 30 DOLLORS OUT OF MY ACCOUNT EVERY MONTH I CALLED THEM AND TOLD THEM I WANT IT CANCLED THEY SAID NO WAY I HAVE A CONTRACT NOW THEY SENT ME A BILL FROM A COLLECTION AGENCY FOR 1000 DOLLARS DOES ANY ONE KNOW WHAT I CAN DO THIS IS ALREADY ON MY CREDIT REPORT.
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I, unfortunately, was suckered into the scam this magazine company is running and had a question for both the Jen and Jen Lee. When you say you sent them a registered/certified letter with a money order for the “past due amount,” was that the amount for the past months you didn’t pay or was that the amount for the entire “yearly subscription” such as 3 years or so? Also for Jen Lee, did you send your letter directly to Worldwide Preferred Publishers? My “subscription” was for almost three years! I only paid for the first month, and its since been four months I haven’t paid. I cancelled all my accounts and cards. I keep getting constant calls from the company and want desperately to get out of this sticky situation!!
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Contact the Police Dept. of Redondo Beach-California Fraud Dept.
That is what I did recently and seems like they are looking into this company.
They have too many aliases , it is very strange…and many many more complaints!
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i just got attacked by the bastards too. they said i won $1000 internet shopping spree but i had to pay for magazines, which they would automatically take out of my account every month. i just caled my bank and told them i was scammed, and they cancelled that card and are sending me a new one….GET A NEW CARD BEFORE THEY GET THIER HANDS ON IT. good luck!!!
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I just received a statement today telling me that if I do not send a payment to them by November 22nd, 2007 that they will charge my cc.
After reading this website I realize I’m not alone and I do not have to fight alone. They worded their sales pitch in such a way that I thought I was receiving a one year’s subscription for $49.90. Not so. I’ve never received the correct magazines and have to tried to change this several times. The odd thing is that other magazine companies called me and never heard of them. I have threatened them with a law suit and I fully intend to carry it out. God Bless You for
being here!!
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They contacted me over the summer, on a phone, and phone number I had just received. They said I was going to win a big prize, get a free watch, and all I had to do was pay 9.99 a month. I was so distracted, and they make you do it automatically it was crazy. How can you go into a contract over the phone? Anyhow, I am a full time college student, and cant pay off this bill that keeps coming. I owe about 600 dollars, and dont know how that many magazines cost that much (which by the way I have only seen 2 in the last 3 months) This has got to be a “under the radar” scam….
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I returned the call after getting a postcard in the mail that a package was ‘undeliverable.’ I asked for the name of the company and the first guy didn’t say anything. I said I like Time and then the guy put me through a supervisor who hung up on me. I didn’t give them any of my credit card information just my address (which they already had) and my number. Did any of you not give your card number but still had money taken out of your accounts? I am just worried that they are going to somehow say I agreed to the Time subscription and then screw me over.
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I just received a call from Worldwide Publishers (although, I quite didn’t catch this early on in the conversation since I just woke up). Their sales pitch was 4 mags free for 5 years, a Geneva watch but I have to choose one of 3 mags to pay for. It was supposedly for $3+ a week, payment terms would be up to me. And on top of that I was supposed to be entered into some sweepstakes. I asked if I can cancel anytime. She said by law I can. But that nobody had ever asked her that since mostly people who try to cancel are either moving to which they offer to just change address or due to financial difficulty to which they offer financing terms. Then I was transferred to her supervisor who repeated what I was supposed to receive. Then she started asking for my credit card info … warning bells rung, their caller ID was unknown and now they are asking for credit card info. So I had her repeat the company name to which she said is Worldwide Publisher, said they don’t have a 1-800 number. I opened my laptop and started searching for the company name. When I asked for their address, she was not as pleasant as she was earlier in the conversation and asked if this is really necessary. I told her of course since I don’t give out my credit card info to unsolicited calls. I just finish filing a complaint to DO NOT CALL. But again they don’t take individual cases, so if you all who were victims registered for DO NOT CALL but got the call anyway, please consider filing a complaint on top of the other avenues of legal actions you are taking.
I’m so glad I listened to my intuition.
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They offered me a watch with several magazine subscriptions for a one time fee of $50. Then when I got no watch, and no magazines (they had my $50) I called to see what the deal was. They informed me that I still had 19 more payments of $50 to go! I never agreed to pay 1k for magazines! Luckily i closed my bank account in time and I’m going to call the better business bureau and possibly the attorney general before the collection calls start.
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Hmmm… something to think about. A collection agency from that deals with World Wide Publishing was able to take money from my checking acccount for a collection. When I called them to inquire what the debit was for, they did not have any record of it. Further it took two days and a threat of reporting it as Fraudulent activity on my account to get them to return my calls. Eventually I did have to contact my bank and report it as Fraud. It is currently under investigation by the bank. Scary I would say.
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This company world wide publishers is the biggest scam ever. I told them I did not want anymore magazines sent to my home and they replied back that they had me on recording requesting these magazines and started withdrawaling money from my account. I changed my account information and then the unpleasent phone calls and collection letters started. Finally they had an attorneys office call me. I agreed to a settlement just to get rid of this headache and now they are telling me they never settled and I still owe they money. I’m pissed off and bond to stop them from doing this to me or anyone else ever again. Times are hard enough without scumbag companies trying to rip you off.
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I just got a yellow postcard in the mail that said, “A package was returned to our regional office as “undeliverable” for the following reason: Could not contact.” The number on the postcard was 1-888-462-9032. Before reading the above complaints, I tried to call several times with no success. I then checked with BBB only discover that this company has more than 250 complaints. After reading this blog, I will not be calling them again. I also know what to do if they call me…hang up. These people need to get a life and a new career. It’s a shame that people feel they need to run scams to be successful.
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I am currently having the same problem. I too was pulled in with promises of free watches, sweepstakes, etc. I came to my senses the next day and immediately called back to cancel to no avail. After receiving the welcome package, I continued to call, only to be put on hold indefinitely. I have also frozen my account and have called my bank to have them file a claim against this scam company.
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I paid you in full and owe you nothing. I have heard nothing from you in 1 year . Now you take $3.09 o;ut of my account for no reason. I do not want any magazines from you I told you that a long time ago. Now put it back or I will bring charges. Believe me I will do it My Lawyer is also the district attorney for this county . I have had enough of scams and crooks. I have called my bank and told them who you are and they said you are crooks. They will not let you take anything again. I don’t owe you ???????
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ripping me 16.64$ every month since last yeasr and they say i cant cancel my acc.No free gifts as promised but magzines do come.i wish to close the account desperatly
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My sister is handicapped and in fragile health. She got scammed by World Wide Publishers Service. They are taking $50 per month from her checking account for 3 magazines. She only receives $600 per month, total, to live. I told her to close the account, but now I am worried that they will start calling her to collect the “debt”. They are suppose to be cancelling the service, $250 has been taken from her, never to be seen again.
How about 48 hours or 20/20 exposing this scam. Someone is getting rich and making other’s lives a misery. Good luck everyone.
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Well they got me years ago for at least 5 years of magazines. Made promises of free gifts to go along with all the magazines. I tried to cancel and was told I couldn’t. So I toughed it out and paid it off. Today I got an invoice stating I owe them $81 right now. What the heck is that? I’ve got news for them, they’ll get not one more nickle out of me. Bastards! I wonder how those who work there sleep at night??? They’ll get theirs in the end. Too bad we can’t all be present when they get screwed like they deserve.
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I just received a letter/bill from this company telling me I owed them $42.97 from 2004. This is crazy! I do not owe them anything. I never even heard of them before today. I almost fell for it until I save the date. I feel sorry for all of those people who fall for this scam. I am contacting my State Attorney and telling everyone I know about this scam. Do not pay anything to anyone that sends you a bill out of the blue.
Annie
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I had the same with that magazine company from Ca. They called me offering the watch and to choose 4 magazines then i got mobilized and called them to cancel the subscription and they charged $200.00 to close the account. I encourage you to not to accept any phone offer.
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I got roped into the same scam, the lady told me I could cancel at anytime.. didn’t give me a phone number to call back.. I never made one payment, now they say I owe them $680… I just called them and said I had passed away, now they want me to send in a death certificate…
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I have subcribed to GIRLS LIFE for my little girl and PAID for it..DO NOT DO THIS!!! they send bill after bill after bill and your child dont get her MAGAZINE!!!! and they wont respond to you online!!!
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I had the same thing happen as well. They told me I had a trial period but it turns out that they conveniently didn’t record that part of the agreement.
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I got suckered into the same thing, I am refusing any more payments with them. They even started up a second account causing me to believe it was the first account. So I was getting charged double. I am going to talk to the law department at my university and see what they think should be done, I will follow up soon with what they have to say. This company is a scam and should have been shut down years ago.
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I tried to unsubsribe but they would not allow me to do.Initially they said its for 12 months and i just went on paying.My hopes were shattered when they called me saying i am obliged for another 9 months or pay some 300 odd dollars..freaks me out..any one with has any ideas ?
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I paid these people off when they turned me over to a collection agency. I was told I would never hear from them again. Then the magazines began coming again.I have tried to no avail to communicate with them but the nuber either does not work at all or a recording comes on giving a fake e-mail address. Now I receive a final warning in the mail that says I owe them $231.03
How do I get rid of these guys. I will never buy anything on the phone again. When I buy something I want to see the whites of their eyes and know where they live!!!!!!!!!!!!
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the same thing happened to me.a magazine never showed up till 6 months later.i called to cancle they said i cant ,with in a month i got a letter from there collection manager saying i have to pay them $1,163.they played the voice recording and it wasnt even me.
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Here is a toll free number for the company
888-875-3259.
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See also, (352)200-4761 for stories worse than mine
Called via (352)684-1826, (352)684-1280, (352)684-1826, (352)688-3611, (352)688-3613
NCP / Nature Coast Publishers’ Service
I’ve been receiving calls from this number for at least a week, but when I call back, it sends me straight to a tone. This time, I answered and was told that because of my relationship with “the publishers,” I was eligble for a $1000 online shopping gift certificate and 60 issue subscriptions to 5 national magazines (two of which, I alreay subscribe to, so they clearly weren’t in league with the actual publishers). They told me that 3 were free, and 2 would be at a discounted fee of $3.83 a week, to be billed monthly. But their behavior and questions seemed very off. They were clearly in possession of my full name, my phone number, and my address.
The first person, Danielle, failed to adequately answer my questions, claiming she was new. She said she couldn’t give me a company name better than NCP, although she started to say Nature Coast, and then corrected herself. She asked what I do for a living and my age, in order to help the publishers better target consumers. I was very skeptical, but she said there were no automatic payments and that some information would come in the mail. Then she told me her supervisor would call back to confirm some information. She said that the order had already been put through and that my order number was…. 1221.
When the gentleman, Nathan, called back momentarily, he repeated the profession and age I gave the first person and asked what the name of my company was and what year I had been born. When I told him that I wanted more information from them before I was willing to give him the information, he said “This is just for the records. I could care less. For all I care, you can make something up.” When I continued to question him, he screamed “Ya’ know what? We don’t need your business,” and hung up on me. This is clearly and evidently not normal.
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Well just like everybody else i got scammed. I got my welcome pack and then i looked at this blog. I called the credit card company and put a scam notice on the account and the transaction is being disputed.
In their paperwork it says that I am able to cancel with 7 days of the recpt of the package and i am in the middle of doing that now.
I wonder how far they will take this since i am brand new to this situation and they only took 24.96 out of my account, I havent gotten scammed big so far. I am making photocopies of everything I am sending them, sending certified, priority mail for 2 day service. I am not taking any chances. Wish me luck!!
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Update. Well I sent out 3 priority envelopes with certified return receipts to it on it and it cost me 30.00 total. Why? Well, I am covering all of my bases and looked on the internet and found a 3rd address. as well as the 119 W Torrance blvd i found 400 Torrance blvd all with the same zip code
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THEY ARE STILL DOING IT. WE HAVE TRIED TO CANCEL THE ACCOUNT AND RECIEVING MAGS. THEY HAVE TURNED US OVER TO COLLECTIONS FOR $848.30. THIS COMPANY REALLY SUCKS
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I am having the same problem, I sent them a letter before I even got any of the magazines, now every time I get a magazine I email the magazine company and cancel the subscription. I asked if i could cancel and was told that I could but they would prefer that I did not, they say that I was told that I could not cancel which is not the truth. I had to put have my bank put a stop on my debit card for that company, but they keep on trying. The last time I talked to them I told them to take me to court.
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They did the same thing to me. Promised me a diamond watch, and chance to win 25.000. They wanted my debt card number & they said they would not run it thru until the 12th of aug, which is when I get my ssn check. They ran it that very same day. She left me a number to call her, because I told her that I did not believe that she was who she said she was. I called the no.& noone asnwered. I called the bank & they gave me the number of who made the charges. I called that no> & they told me that they were customer service of a no. of publishers. We had a security co. come out & put a recorder on our phone just for this reason. People try & scam older people. Because they think they can. I am not going to let them get away with this. I have every thing that they said on my tape. Can you please help me to do the right thing?
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This place is a scam!!! They told me I was a finalist for a cruise and a 6 day vacation to Rome! They told me that I could pick a number of different magazines to be sent to me for no charge and if I didn’t want any others I didn’t have to pay. I changed my card number so hopefully they don’t get any money.
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I also got sucked into this scam. I was never told that I couldn’t cancel, and was kindly asked not to because my payments helped fund the sweepstakes I had supposedly won. When I started receiving all variety of magazines that I didn’t even sign up for, I tried to cancel and was told that I could not cancel, but they would settle for half of the remaining balance. I said that I never signed any contract or had ever received anything in writing and they said that they could replay the tape that recorded my agreement (that one of their reps guided me through — in fact, when I gave a “wrong” answer, the rep told me that I needed to say yes, instead of no). As a full-time student, I didn’t have that kind of money.
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my sisterinlaw , who is 82 years old, was duped by this company,she has dementa, and they got her bank account number and took 49.90 a month. never received any mag or anything.i called 888 875 3259 today 08 20 2008 he said would refund last payment taken out . will let you know if she gets it.i told hom that i was reading all the complaints here on this site and was going to inform the attorney generls office
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I received 19 phone calls from this company in two days. After which law enforcement was involved. I later tried to call this company back. I was actually able to talk to a woman who told me i was not in their system. When i asked for their information she hung up on me…I am currently pressing harassment charges on this company. We’ll soon find out if i am in their system or not..HAHAHA !
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I got sucked into this joke too. I was supposed to receive a watch and my first magazines but it has been almost a month and nothing. They told me I could cancel at any time but when I tried to cancel the said they would have to check the tape and get back to me. I have read a lot of these comments and now I’m worried that I’m going to get stuck paying for something that doesn’t exist. Has anyone had any success getting away from this company? Have the courts been any help?
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Today I tried to cancel my account, and like the multitude of other stories before mine, they said I would have to first pay $300+ then the number was suddenly $500. Can’t we all get a petition going or something, so that the Better Business Bureau knows the scam this company is pulling? If so many people have been misled, this company has to be stopped.
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I had the same thing happen to me with WORLDWIDE PREFERRED PUBLISHING!!! They called and told me i could get a free subscription and asked me that i please do not cancel. But in fact when I called later to cancel they told me i couldn’t and sent me to a colletion agency. I had perfect credit and now not so much becasue they mislead me into thinking there was a way out when in fact there wasn’t. So now i’m paying every month for a bunch a magazines i don’t even read. If they call you just hang up, becasue if you do get mixed up with them theyll be VERY rude and sneaky. I can’t even imagine the type of scum that they hire to do their dirty scamming for them!
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Has anyone actually gotten out of this scam w/o paying? I just canelled my card to prevent access to my account. I think they have a new alias, Active Periodicals, i canceld with them in the time alloted and now have a letter from worldwide with exactly the same info.
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how do they know your name when calling, i got one of these calls today and my number is not published and is blocked from caller id and they asked for me just by first name…how do they know this information?
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They called me about a month ago and I answered and they said I had won a diamand designer watch, but I had to buy a subscription of 24 months at $39.98 a month. So I was hesitant about it but they somehow knew I was engaged and used that, I gave in. As a full time student working three jobs I can’t actually afford there payments. Then I looked at my online banking and they had already taken the payment out that wasn’t suppose to be taken out til November 1. I was furious but when I gave them a call today I cancelled and am now having to pay $400.00 to do so. I told the girl straight up that I did want them taking anymore money directly out of my account. I am so pissed though with them but especially myself for even doing such a dumb thing. Think twice people, it is a scam.
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I got hit by this company too and they were great at first, but then they suckered me into more payments by leading me to believe the payments I WAS making were being reduced, but no they started a whole new account. When they called in May 2008 to try collect, I decided to give them my personal story of how the most recent call came on the day I was making funeral arrangements for my mother, and told them I was out of my mind with grief when I agreed (legal term is duress) which I was, and they agreed to cancel the account if I paid just half of what I owed and they would write off the rest. This came from a Supervisor named Anthony. Well today I get a call AT WORK asking if I am getting all my magazines, which I was (I thought) then the woman mentioned some other ones I had asked for and I said “no I’m not getting them and I don’t want them, I really want People. So she made a note of that and transferred me to Gerald, a supervisor, to verify she was polite and stuff, which she was, then HE proceeded to offer me a DISCOUNT on my outstanding balance. I explained to him this was taken care of in May with Anthony who let me cancel for half of what I owed, and he was all “Anthony who? What was his last name?” and I said he didn’t give me a last name because he didn’t. Gerald kept trying to get me to agree to pay the $500 ballane and I told him I am done, I am not paying it thank you and goodbye, and hung up. So we will see where it goes. They have been calling my house when I am not home and not leaving any kind of message, I just see them on the caller ID and I am a busy mom who has no time to fool around with a deal that is over, so I will not call them back unless they leave a message with a specific person to speak to. And when I do speak to them again I will tell them to leave me alone or they will be hearing from my attorney.
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they tried to get me but i dont have an account so i got them they picked me a poor person with no credit they want 2000 bucks hahahahahah thanks for the free mags
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Almost there. I just had a conversation with Worldwide Publishers and I almost agreed on subscribing to 8 magazines for $4.99 a week. It’s good that I asked for their name and tried to search on the web and presto! It’s really a scam. Thank God.
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This is B.S., they freakin told me that i won a damn diamond watch… and when it arrive it looked like some cheap shit…they said it was water resistant but hell no it ain’t… the magazines came weekly but it’s been over a year now and they won’t stop sending those magazines… I called to cancel but they said it will cost me 999 for cancellation… I finally just realize that i need to do a research on it… and thank god i found this page… So its a scam?!
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important question — did you give them your credit card information, or did they have it???
B/c i got called by these people as well — i didn’t give them any information, but they had my address on file!?
Answer from Author: I did not have this happen to me. It happened to my best friend and I thought others should know about them. They do not have your credit card information just your address and phone number.
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if you dont give your credit card info, do they still send u bills. cause i said no and no i dont want anything. but they kept trying to convince me. i really dont need these bills coming to me
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These people have called our house about seven times in one day. How can we make them stop?
donotcall.gov has a form you can fill out to stop telemarketers. hope that helps.
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I unfortunately just signed up with these polesmokers. $1,000 shopping spree?! I should’ve known it was ludicrous. As soon as I get my “welcome package” I’m gonna cancel. And I’m in law school, so if it doesn’t go well we could be talking class-action suit here. If that happens I’ll try to get as many of you guys together as possible. If they’re really that bad of a scam, then they’ll be screwed once they get their day in court.
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I unfortunately did the same as you… I was told I won a $1000 shopping spree just this afternoon and agreed to the mags, but researched worldwide preferred publishers right away because I had a bad feeling about it. That’s when I found this site and called my credit card company. The Magazine Service company said they wouldn’t charge my account until the first of the month, but they already had a charge pending and it was the WRONG amount they told me! (more than what they said) so I told the lady at the credit card company to cancel my card but she said the charges were still pending so I had to wait a day. I then called the Publishers Magazine Service and told them I would like to cancel, and said that they lied to me and already charged my credit card. She said she would cancel the subscription and no charges would apply since I didn’t even receive my “Welcome package” in the mail yet. I’m worried sick about it, but I think I took all the right steps to cancel the account. I’m going to check tomorrow with my cc company to make sure the charges were dropped. If not, I’ll definitely band together with you and sue them!!!!! I’m 21 and in college and don’t have much money as it is.. I don’t want to have bad credit!!
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What number did you call to cancel your account?
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ya what # did u call to cancel?
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Update: I still have yet to receive anything—magazines or rewards or instructions of any sort. I’m going to check my mail in a few minutes; maybe whatever it is came today, but I doubt it because it’d most likely be a package and if I receive a package too large for my box I get an e-mail telling me so.
I’ve called customer service twice: once Monday, and once yesterday. Their customer service is located in Montana, which makes very little since as the company is in California, but whatever. On Monday the lady said my welcome package had probably been sent around Thanksgiving and I should be receiving it shortly. I called back again yesterday (Friday, December 5) and was told that the lady had had the package sent to me after I called on Monday, and to call back if it wasn’t there by Monday the 8th “at the latest.” Even if I do get this $1000 shopping spree, it isn’t worth the combination of the trouble and the three years of bimonthly magazine payments and the feeling that I’m dealing with a very unscrupulous business. I’m going to try from here on out to not deal with dishonest businesses, and to look it up if I have a doubt.
Just a note: I signed up on Nov. 14, but that was not the first time they called. The first time was a couple weeks before that, and they were offering the watch this time (which has apparently been sent to me along with the spree—go figure); once I realized that the price was six bucks a week I backed out. Unfortunately, by this time I was speaking to the supervisor character. Shortly after this I received a call from a blocked number, and a voice sounding a lot like that of the salesman, after ascertaining that it was me, said, “I’m gonna f*** you in your a**, boy.” I can’t guarantee that it was him but I sure think so. If so, how professional!!!
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By the way, if anyone else wants to speak to someone in customer service, the number there is 406-727-2384.
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This speaks as much about the quality of service provided by the State Attorney General’s Office and business regulation in general, as it does about this sleeze-ball publisher.
The fact that the comments on this article extend beyond a year and this company is still engaged in fraudulent activity, is discouraging to say the least (they are still ripping my 87 year old Mother off).
There should be a link to an article detailing the successful prosecution of the principals of this company.
Who are the officers of the company? Who serves as their law firm? What action has the state Attorney General’s Office taken to stop these scams? What sort of punitive legislation has been directed towards companies engaged in this activity?
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Yeah, they just called me too, and I googled their company’s name and no legitimate website seemed to come up. I was actually reading this blog as I was talking to the guy. He seemed overly friendly, trying really hard to get me to buy into this scam, but I could tell it was a joke just by the sound of his voice. Something really needs to be done to stop these scams! I’ve been scammed before and it’s really irritating. I think that this company is affiliated with whatever company it was that scammed me originally. I’ve cancelled my credit card and filed for a claim. If this is also happening to you, you need to cancel your card. If this deceitful company has your card number, telephone number and your address, you don’t know how many other affiliate “companies” have this information. THEY ARE STEALING FROM YOU. Don’t let them. this isn’t fair. Think about it… if this were happening in person with cash, would you willingly hand them the hundreds of dollars that they stole from you?
I can’t believe these guys. Our economy is crumbling and their best idea to make money is to steal from people who are either too young to know any better (i’m only a freshman in college.. 😦 ) or people who are really gullible. I am going to report this to the goverment, and I am going to tell my local news network. If this has happened to you, please do the same. The word needs to get out about these stupid internet and telephone scams.
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HI Everybody,
I Need everyones help i am 19 years old and i high school senior.This company did the same thing to me that they did to you and now i am taking a stand against them.i took the step in being the one to lead this issue if it means bankrupting the company so help me god i will take them for everything they have.I filed a lawsuit today January 5,2009 at 6:55 pm eastern. i need everybody to go to this website below and file everything that this company did to you so far i am the first person that has filed i have told the law firm about the countless number of others who have been duped by this company who call themselves worldwide preferred publishers.please flood this website with your reports.
EDITED BY AUTHORPlease email me with your name, address, and phone number, you will be contacted by an attorney shortly.
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This is a form of identity theft because they obtain information through false means. For example, they knew my name yet my cell phone is under my grandmother’s name only in a family account! They knew the last 4 digits of my credit card too! That’s why I was sure it was legit. I called my identity theft protection through discover and I’m covered. If they ever send me to a collection agency then they will take them to court and will spend up to $25,000 dollars on my behalf to stop it. They’re not getting a nickel out of me.
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Same thing happened to me and I just got of the phone with the FBI and they have forwarded the case to the LA FBI office. I think we could possibly have a class action lawsuit on our hands. I am also going to call dateline, CNN, ect. and see if they have any information on this, clearly there are to many people being affected by these thieves.
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I was contacted by this company, they told me i would get 4 subscriptions free, and then they will call me back to c if i wanted to continue, i started getting the magazines, but they never called me to ask if i wanted to continue to get them. Suddenley they start calling me everyday to arrange payments, i told them i have never ordered this magazine, and that they never called me to ask if i wanted to subscribe. Now they are telling me they are sending it to collection agency. Thank god, they don’t have my social and other personal info, but i’m still afraid they will do something to my business creidt. because they do have my business name and address.
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Jeremiah Eradiri , i don’t see in your post any name of a website.
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I just got off the phone with them and they said I could only cancel if I pay 200 dollars by February 9th. When I first signed up the person I talked to said I could cancel any time! I don’t know what to do, I have no job and now I have to pay 16 dollars for 60 months…
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i scammed them i have no bank acoount any i wrote on my application for free magazines i did. then all of sudden i recieved over 125 different magazines. they tried to take the money out of a bullcrap account so HOW DOES IT FEEL BABY
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I’m sad to say that I didn’t find this sight soon enough. I have yet to receive a $1000 gift card that was promised. I have been receiving numerous phone calls a day stating that the other callers are fake and to go with them. Don’t. Still waiting to see what happens. Seems like a very good rip off job to me.
Debbie in Arkansas
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How do I make them stop calling me? My sister just died and I am grieving. I told them this last time and some guy said he understood and kept telling me the new “lower” price he would charge me for magazines. This is insane!!!
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I never order anything over the phone. My complaint is that I was in the middle of work and they called me and then the girl got smart with me when I bitched about her calling me out of the blue. I’m on the “dot gov” Do Not Call list and I suppose I can report them. Scammers.
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i just one and they sent me a letter did any of you received this? it states that we could cancel anytime
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id just received a letter from them
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If anyone here, had got a telephone call with the telephone number 310-318-0779. That number is from World Wide Publisher, they lied to many people that the number that showed up on their caller ID’s, did not belong to them is FAULSE!!.
The company wont even pay their employees. They are a bunch of scammers. And as well lie to the public, about the Sweepstakes and the $1,000.00 gift certificates. No one EVER WON the Sweepstakes nor Got anything that was promised. All they want is your money swiped from people credit cards. Once thats done youre SCREWED!!.
TAKE MY ADVISE, SEE LEGAL PROCEDURES TO PROTECT THE INOCENTS.
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To the person, who claims to love this company. Heehee, he or she works in this company. Dont believe a word of that person’s comment. No one can actually say that WorldWide Publisher, is a great, honest, and loyal company with the public. Bull Crap!!..
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We got called about one week ago from someone asking if they could charge my credit card for the magazines I ordered. I did not order any magazines. My wife spoke to the person got a customer service # – called it and it was Global Crossing – not this company. Got another call today saying that if I don’t pay will turn for collection. Called # back, told them to get this straightened out or I would call Attorney General’s office in my state. Will call them anyway and report.
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About two years ago I was scammed into these magazines. Worldwide Publishers Service told me I could cancel at anytime. I tried to cancel and they said I couldn’t. I ended up paying them like $900 no they are calling again telling me I owe for another 24 months of payments. I am not giving them anymore of my money. 4 magazines for over 10.00 a piece is rediculious. I live in the Virgin Islands and our magazines here aren’t even 10.00. Major scam. Spoke with a man named Dan today and ask for a number to call him back and said he didn’t have one.
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hello,
I was recently called about this scam but i have found a phone number to call and i have successfully cancelled my subscription before they got any money from me….The phone number is 1-866-900-2719…i hope maybe this info can help u guys as well!!!!
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the number for worldwide publishers doesn’t work anymore
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Hey guys ai have great news for all of you.I have found a toll free # it is 888-878-8655
Whrn I called it yesterday it was answered on the second ring by a very nice lady. I WAS NOTVERY NICE AT THE START BUT WHEN i TOLD HER THE PERSON THAT CALLED ME said she was from PCH and I was upset about how everthing was handled she asked me for my order #. She than said she was sorry to hear I was not happy and promised to cancel everything. She did say that they would not refund the $43.90 I had already paid but said there would be no more $ taken from my account. I cried a little to no avail. I think however it is worth that money to learn a lesson lso I taped everything that was sais in case they do not do what was promised. I hopefully this will take a load off of some of you
Good luck Captbob
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Boy. What a scam. I want out too.
Five magazines for 20 dollars a month, with a simple two year contract. Sounds like fun, right? I can do that, you can do that, right? I was in college, I was busy, I had a good job, they were persistent, I agreed – even though they didn’t have the magazines I really wanted. Why not?
Too bad its all bull. I actually did receive my magazines, regularly, and on time, unlike some people. The 1000 worth of coupons I received were for some site with a specialized credit card. And one of my magazines wasn’t what I asked for, but I could not seem to get it corrected in the two tries I made.
Every once in a while they would call me, offering me some kind of ‘settlement’ in the neighborhood of $600 to close out my contract. I could NEVER get a straight answer about how long my contract had left in it, or when it started. They would also call me to confirm something or other, and then send me to their confirmation system, in which I would agree to paying more money. I strongly suspect they were using clever wording, and sometimes outright lying, to get me to renew my contract.
Eventually, after I closed out that PO BOX and changed my credit card, I simply forgot about them altogether, hoping that eventually, my account would just close.
My most recent call from them was to ‘let me know’ that I could save money, paying only $41 instead of $50/month. I was shocked that I was paying that much. I finally got an answer about the length of my contact, they told me i had completed 24 months and that it extended another 24 months. I was more than shocked. I gave them my new address and asked for a financial statement from them. They just wanted my new credit card, and were completely unaware that it had changed.
I hadn’t been responsible, I couldn’t even remember when I had originally gotten the service. It may have been closer to four years ago, but that was enough. The asking for the credit card really let me know how much of a scam these guys are running.
They were very frustrated with me requesting financial information in print before giving them my credit card number. They had an “answer” of some sort for every question (it sounded scripty towards the end), but when I asked for paper, they just couldn’t stand it. They said they’d send it to me, we’ll see.
And it was silly, saying they didn’t keep financial information in the system and then asking me to confirm the expiration date on my old card. It made no sense.
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I just got a phone call from these people! They put me on hold so I goggled their name. Ever hear, if its too good to be true it usually is? Well there ya go! Thank you to whoever started this, I think you just saved me a bundle! Ha losers offered me $1000 internet shopping spree… and for no reason! I’m not a dummy!
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Please do not fall for it. Best solution is to cancel anything linked to the account you gave, if any. If is a credit card, cancel it, if is a debit card, I would strongly suggest you to close that account as well. If it was by mail your safest bet it to shred everything and forget about it, unless you’re saving it as evidence. they might seem very menacing with their phone calls and letters but they got noting on you, please, please, please do not send them money as if you owed them… specially you young guys and gals they got no way of ruining your credit, believe me they will use that scare tactic to get you to send them money. Also if they already got some of your money contact your bank and file a claim with the fraud department you might even get some money back.
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I got scammed this morning! I was told i won a 1000 shopping spree and the gift card was through visa so they needed my credit card #, to make sure that I really had a visa. Told me the info about the mags and were suppost to send me info about them. Checked my account later today and there was a charge for 50 dollars from them.
I was never told about the charge.
I got a call from them just a bit ago and I asked to cancel everything. the customer service # is 866-900-2719.
also let your bank or credit card co. to watch out for these charges.
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I got a call earlier. they said I won 1000.00 gift card. gave me a claim #. I called back and talked to the lady. then when she was talking to me about it, she was like yes this all free, theo nly thing we ask for your help on is shipping and handleing then the phone hung up….is this a scam. they called them selves Publishers service. please email me back about it. mjsellars8764@live.com
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We have been receiving calls from Worldwide Pref. Pub according to the name on the caller ID. I have not answered the phone,as I do not take calls from #’s I don’t know (thank GOD for caller ID). Since we had received several calls I did reverse look up and came across this site, and glad I did. I have read all complaints and have put a call block on my ph for their number. I makes me worry as people have said they didn’t order anything, yet still got stuff sent and they have your name, address. I want to make sure they don’t send me anything and I get billed for. Has anyone avoided their calls and have received a bill from them?
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I am scared. I just got a call from them and it all seemed too good to be true. I did agree to the magazines, but when they started asking about my credit card info, I hung up. I am scared that they will still send the magazines or bill me even though they don’t have my credit card info. I just don’t want them to send me to collections. I called all the prior listed numbers and they are no longer in service. The only name they gave me was the “publishers”. I called the number brad had listed, but they said that they are another company and they have no record of me. Some one help me! What do I do next?
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Someone just called and offered me a free watch for being a preferred customer of the “Publishers” and said I had been entered in their sweepstakes. Then he said I was going to get some fitness magazine and Redbook free for 2 years along with the watch. He never asked for credit card information but did ask out of Visa, MC and Discover which I had the best service from which I thought was wierd. When I asked him to tell me who I was a preferred customer of he hung up. I’ve never heard of these people and I certainly don’t want any magazines free or not.
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My mother was scammed by this company. She apparently to pay 30 payments of $45
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To finish my earlier comments-my mother is 87 years old with some dementia. I believe she was taken advantage of by a “salesperson” who confused her. We tried to cancel by phone and on the internet. They are now threatening her with a collection agency. We do not intend to pay any more money to this company–we even cancelled the credit card they were making charges to.
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For all of you going through the same thing, file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. I went through this for months with these people, and the second I filed that complaint, it all stopped. Not only did they stop calling for money, but I demanded and received a refund from the first date I attempted to cancel on forward. I received a check in the mail for almost $400.00.
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Everyone that feels they have been rippED off by these A)(*&#$ should contact the BBB and file an on line complaint as I did.They were a great help
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I have been scammed by these people,and have been sent to creditors because of them I have also tried to cancel them 8 times in the past 4 months.They keep changing their phone numbers and the4n when they do call they hang up when you need to speak with customer service.I have had 6 different phone numbers all of them non ligit.Even from the creditors.I will not be paying them any more money this is a huge scam and no one should have to go thru this..
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So I try to cancel my account with them only to realize I cannot. I also learn FROM the customer service that many people cancel their account due to mislead information. I soon learn from that lady that I was doing business with the wrong people. Please help me get out of this mess.
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This is definitely a rip-off. I tried reasoning with them, but they persist on calling. They claimed I had gone past my time to cancel even though I never chose any magazines on their list and explained to them the magazines I currently get direct from the publisher are much cheaper than their scam. I am very surprised there are no attorneys general involved in stopping this scam. Any posts claiming this company is legit are obviously from the scammers, and not true. It is scum like this that are ruining the internet community.
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they are slicksters allright a few months ago i was called to order four magazines for 49.90 a month when i ordered they told me i could chooes my payment method by billing through mail well they slicked me for my debtcard number what a mistake that was! every time the call me they ask me for it and debet my account thst very day and say its been taken care of and next time they will bill me through mail and i cant cancel for 20 months what a load of crap i may change my account numbers and my phone number what a hassle!!!
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Wow… I’m glad I never agreed to buy anything from them. They called my cell phone today and my phone reported an unknown number (caller id blocked). I should of pulled information from the rep. On the other hand she was very polite with me otherwise and when I refused she didn’t push back and respectfully ended the call. The watch was described as an item with no obligation and when I asked about cost she indicated there would be none. It was mine for free just for participating. I don’t know if that meant just the call or if I had to actually sign up. I did give them some generic demographic information (age, address verified, credit card used, etc.).
Please note that I am on the federal do not call list so either they violated it or I am indeed in a business relationship with them in one form or another. A long time ago I had a run of free magazine subscriptions that may of been coming from the same place. They were prepaid and cost me nothing at that time.
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When they called me, (Sept 09) the person said I owed 24 payments of $41.95, just out of the blue cold call and showed up UNKNOWN on my cell. I said I didn’t order anything, he said OK, well there was an outstanding balance that needed to be credited back to my card so he just needed the card # to transfer back the credit. I foolishly gave it to him, he said he would send email verification and verification through mail of my cancellation. 15 days later $41.95 was charged to my card, and both phone numbers were bad, so I started an internet search, but found 10 other bad #’s for them. 15 days later another $41.95 was charged. So I lost my card and got a replacement with new account. Then July 13, 2010 received an UNKNOWN # and I was waiting for a call for work from Oregon, so I thought it might be them, but no, it was Kelly from WPP asking for $351.96 past due or $896.66 in full. I couldn’t speak I was so frustrated, I went through this in 09, and now they are trying again with the collections threats. So I have done the following.
1) Filled out Consumer Complaint form and mailed to my State Attorney General Office
2) Filled out online Consumer Complaint form for BBB in California (your local state BBB will automatically route you the State in question).
3) Filled out Federal Trade Commission complaint online
4) Went to http://www.naca.net/help-protect-consumers/ and used the search feature for my State to find an Advocate Attorney. They are going to contact me when they are available, and after they contact me and if they are willing to take the case, WPP has to call the attorney’s office to deal with them not me, the attorney will contact me.
5) Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, if and or when they contact me after the Consumer Advocate is retained, WPP will be fined up to $1000 per phone call to me and/or $10000 depending upon your State’s Consumer Protection Laws.
When they are backed into a corner, an attorney I work with believes (has had experience with these situations) they will close up shop, change numbers, stop calling and sending info, or any combination above, but I will need to be very diligent, after changing locations/numbers, they may/will try to contact me again unless I have moved and changed my phone # cell or otherwise.
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My son, a college student, no job was scammed too! want to know how to file a complaint against this company.
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I’m so glad for this site! I had a rep call me today from (954-414-7313) World Wide Preffered Publishers Service saying I won $1000 in an online shopping spree and 60 issues of free magazines. While he was explaining everything to me, I did a search and found this page. After he finished talking about his magazines, he asked what “categories” I might be interested in. I said “I’m not interested in any magazines at this time” and he said “okay, thank you for your time … goodbye.” I guess the shopping spree wasn’t exactly “free”!
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I was almost scammed!! This company TEXTED my cell phone today at work. I didn’t recognize the number (number on caller ID is (408) 520-8475) , but it said, “Thx 4 Visiting Our Site Call 1-877-676-1511 To Claim Your $250.00 Gift Card! Txt Stop 2Quit Help 4 Help” (everything was written JUST like that, by thee way, verbatum, all the caps, lack of spaces, and shorthand words…)
Well, I do NOT call numbers I don’t know–I figure if they really want to get ahold of me, they’ll leave a message. However, for some reason, I decided to call them to find out what this was all about–BUT I called from my work phone (I hope that was a good move!) and a girl named “Kelly Woods” answered the phone right away. She proceeded to tell me that she was from a publishing company and that I had been submitted by a credit card company to receive a $250 gift card as a thank you for either making purchases online, paying bills online, or just for paying my bills on time.
She kept talking about this gift card and what was required to get it–and then the truth came out: I was to receive a “welcome package” with the $250 gift card along with 3 different magazines (I could choose which ones) and I’d only have to subscribe to one. I’m very wary of things like this, offers that you are automatically signed up for, and if you don’t call to cancel, you’re continually charged, etc. so I kept asking her a bunch of questions like how long this subscription is for–she told me it would be for 60 MONTHS! Now that was a big red flag!
She continued on, very nice and bubbly, calling me “honey,” and she kept telling me of the magazines she had “already signed me up for”–but she kept changing the titles; it was never the same three! Another red flag!
As I was trying to ask her some questions, she became very chummy, asking me where I live, saying the office is near my home, that we sound like we’re about the same age, etc., halfway avoiding my questions. I asked her about cancellation policies and all she would say is that “you just call us up and we will take care of you.” Another red flag if a company can’t disclose their policies!
She transferred me over to her “supervisor” (which I’m pretty sure was done via 3-way call…) and his name was “Donny” and he kept complimenting me on how nice my voice sounded…kinda creepy if you ask me and not professional at all! He then recounted everything “Kelly” had told me that I was going to receive and that he just needed some info from me. He verified my address and asked for the exp. date on my debit card, asked if it was Visa, debit/credit, etc. Last, he said to me that “the card number should start with a 4 and that he would just need me to give him the rest of the numbers” and that’s when I’d had it–HUGE red flag–I NEVER EVER EVER give my account info over the phone or to anybody I don’t know, that isn’t from a company that I trust (or have at least heard of!), or that I can’t see face-to-face. So I asked him, “Why am I giving you the card information?” and he replied that it was necessary to set up automatic payments for the magazine subscription and kept trying to assure me that they were registered with the BBB and had been for 50 years (although “Kelly” told me it had been 60 years). I asked him the official name of his business and he said it was “World Wide Publishing.” And that’s when I wrote down the name and just hung up.
I typed “World Wide Publishing” into Google and voila! I found this glorious little site! Glad to know I’m not nearly the only one targeted! Good for you, those of you who paid attention to the red flags and listened to your intuition! For those of you who got snagged: I am SO sorry this has happened!! These scammers are very believable, smooth-talking, and convincing! They almost got me, too, and I’m notorious for being a very private and discerning person!!!
Now, having read everyone else’s entries, my only concern is that they will start to send me unsolicited stuff and threatening bills and such. If I do receive anything, though, I’m going straight to the police. As it is, I plan on contacting everyone I can, from the local police and news, to the BBB, to the FBI. These people need to be STOPPED FOR GOOD!!!
As someone said above, this is IDENTITY THEFT. It is highly illegal, morally corrupt, and will not be tolerated. I am also on the official “DO NOT CALL” list and they have violated this! And how are they getting my information, like my name and phone number? I WILL get to the bottom of this. They have messed with the wrong person, I can tell you that!!
Again, so sorry to everyone who got caught up in this. I would try any and all of the sound advice on this site–calling local authorities, calling your bank–DO NOT send these people money. GOOD LUCK and GOD BLESS!!!!
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i have been scammed by this “worldwide preferred publishers service” and i am pisssed! they have took money from account 3 times this month of course without me agreeing to it. i get this message “unable to complete your call” when i call this 1-800-830-7753 number. of course i’m going to close my bank account but what do i do when or if it goes to collections?
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It’s a scam and everyone that works for them is a scam artist. They will make threats but that’s all they are.
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I like all of you have been duked as well. They made all the promises and didn’t fulfill one of them. On top of all that they sold my information to a company call Midwest Publishers. Midwest Publishers called me saying there has been some complaints and they are going to reduce my bill. They had my last 4 digits on my credit card and needed the rest. I gave it to them (dumbass move I know). I was then being charge two $50.00 charges by WWPP and now Midwest. After that I went to my bank and have my card cancelled. NO MORE CHARGES!! Months and a million calls later and I finally answered them. This time it was LBA saying that I owe Midwest publishers $900 but would knock it down if I pay today. I explained that I don’t have a subcription through Midwest and this guy kept giving me the runaround. So I’ve learned my lesson here..never give your personal information out over the phone..never!! All three companies are fraudulent( WWPP, Midwest Publishers, and LBA) DO NOT GIVE THEM ANY MONEY!! Finally thanks WWPP for the magazines every month that I’m not paying for..douchebags!!
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I guess from my experience I got by with scamming this company( in a way). For 60 bucks( 30 up front and 30 later on) I got 5 magazines for over three years now. The only problem I’m having with them is they use to send me updated magazines available and I could change them all the time. As soon as I finished paying them they stopped any correspondence with me. At least I got the magazines for that many years and I still get magazines that are off the wall. I guess when they stop contacting you for money they’ll send you whatever they can get. So overall I got way more than my money ou of them. Whats interesting is how many people on here complain but had no braqins about giving some strange company acesss to their credit card. Stupid. I gave them numbers to a prepaid card and they could’nt pull money until I put some one there. Got everything I wanted out of them. Now if they’d just answer a phone I could see how much longer these off the wall magazines are gonna last and can I still change them.
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Sad to say I have fallen victim also.Tried numerous times to cancel,but never got an answer now they put it with a collection agency.They are trying to get money out of me saying the State on Montana will garnish my pay.All the phone #”s here for they company do not work, They must be changinging there numbers all the time.What a mstake I made.Anyone out there with any info on how to stop these people.
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you can’t stop them. They are owned by Hearst Media and their political and economic reach is global.
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true… you know what they say…Attention spans are embarrassingly short. People will forget about worldwide preferred publishers service and something else will come up. We’ll always remember though thanks to our subscribers.
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Excellent points altogether, you simply received a new reader. What could you recommend in regards to your submit that you made some days in the past? Any positive?
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Donna W.
June 28th 2012
I didn’t know they where a scam so I been scamed When I stopped payments and blocked my checking account, they call me all day long. I nolonger plan on paying them. They have cost me to much. they took out of my checking three times in one month and the deal was 25 dollars every month. I am on disablity and have a limited income. now that I know all this they can try to get my money but the bank knows now who they are and blocked them. thanks for the info
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I have asked World Wide Preferred to stop magazines for months and they won’t. I am unable to pay for these magazines for I am disabaled and I have to pay for hospital bills and Dr. Bills and I am unable to pay for anymore magazines. This company is harrassing me two to three times a week to keep paying for these magazines. Some of these magazines are double magazines and I cannot get them to leave me alone. Please can you help me. Virginia Simpkins Berry November 27, 2013
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If they don’t have your credit card number then all they can do is call if you have given them your credit card information then cancel the card.
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I was just mentioning the other day that we’ve been able to help others from getting scammed by worldwide publishers. To those of you that googled this magazine company before handing over your credit card, Bravo!
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New address for Worldwide Publishers Service
653 W Fallbrook Ave Ste 101
Fresno, CA 93711-5503
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