posted
We have that same policy. I got one tele-charity person that was pretty good at rolling with it though -- when I told him that we don't give over the phone and he was welcome to send information he said, "Oh, of course not! We don't ever expect people to donate over the phone! I'll just take down your pledge information and then we'll send you the information." After I clarified that I wouldn't be making a commitment on the phone his voice got all puzzeled as he explained that he had to have the amount I planned to pledge in order to send out the material. I told him that was a shame, since I would have been willing to look at the material if he'd sent it, but since he couldn't do that I hoped he had a nice day. And then I hung up.
Posts: 9866 | Registered: Apr 2002
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posted
You might also want to contact the credit review companies (Experian, TRW, etc.) to alert them to the likelihood that these scammers (yes, you've been scammed) are going to start tying to affect your credit. A pre-emptive strike, as it were.
Posts: 1862 | Registered: Mar 2000
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posted
My mother in law gets calls like this all the time. Being 85, she says yes to everything. She's been known to have two different subscriptions to the same magazine, renewed for 12 years, and as you've found, rather than being discounted, they charge a premium subscription rate.
We have to chase around after her to make sure the subscriptions are cancelled, and it's a lot of work. These people aren't nice. They usually refuse to cancel the subscriptions. In one case, the magazine went out of business, so she was still paying a monthly charge on a magazine she wasn't recieving, and they still said they'd sick a bill collector on her and mess up her credit rating. Another company somehow got permission to make withdrawals directly from her checking account.
As for the sending materials in the mail: I stopped even talking to police benevolent associations when I told them to send me information in the mail, and they send me some raffle tickets, and a bill for an amount that hadn't even been mentioned in the phone call.
Posts: 3735 | Registered: Mar 2002
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posted
I'll keep an eye out in case anything else happens. I'm really hoping nothing does, though.
One hopeful thing, though. When I was speaking to the girl a couple of mornings ago (when I got the thing canceled), she mentioned that the first charge that appeared wasn't a real charge. It was meant to just test whether my card was active, or something. She said it'd go away in a couple of days. I thought it was hooey at the time, but...
I just got back home and I checked my account and that charge was there. Was this to be expected, or can I be allowed a little hope it means they were being honest when they said they'd erased me?
Another question: If giving them permission over the phone to charge me is legally binding, wouldn't them telling me they'd erase me from their system be legally binding as well?
Posts: 450 | Registered: Nov 2004
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