Magazine Scam

Bigdeal.com & PennyAuctionWatch.com - The Best Misleading and The Worst Scam

2010-11-19T21:16:00.001-05:00

Bigdeal.com & PennyAuctionWatch.com - The Best Misleading and The Worst Scam

Today I came across another scam on our internet. As I was searching for a new Macbook Pro, a link was displayed on my Google search engine results page. The link stated, "80% off retail value." Of course that caught my eye! So, I clicked on the link with caution.

Immediately upon entering www.bigdeal.com , there was a Better Business Bureau accreditation. As nice as it looked, I did not fall for that. It appeared that payments are accepted via Paypal. That was a plus, since paypal has a buyer protection program. Despite that, I still felt a risk. I decided to do more research on my own.

After some research, I found Bigdeal.com & PennyAuctionWatch.com - The Best Misleading and The Worst Scam where research was done on www.bigdeals.com. I learned that this site uses bots to outbid users. You also have to purchase bid tokens for 0.75 cents a piece. The bid tokens must be purchased in bulk, starting at packaged of 30 bid tokens for $22.50. So an initial investment is required.

Make sure you do research on a website prior to giving away personal information, including email addresses. When checking on the credibility of a website, I normally google the company name and/or website with the word scam. To give you an idea of what I mean, I would type this in the google search box: "International Marketing Association scam".

FTC laws for Telemarketers!!

2010-09-08T01:52:00.001-04:00

To get the whole report, visit the link http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/telemarketing/tel15.shtm

The Telemarketing Sales Rule

The FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule requires telemarketers to make certain disclosures and prohibits them from lying. It gives you the power to stop telemarketing calls you don't want and gives state law enforcement officers the authority to prosecute fraudulent telemarketers who operate across state lines.

Some tips to keep in mind when you get a telephone sales pitch for magazine subscriptions:

The caller must promptly identify the seller and the purpose of the call. If the offer includes the promise of prizes or gifts, the sales pitch for the magazines must come first. If it doesn't, hang up. The caller is breaking the law.

If you ordered magazines over the phone once, you may be called again. Although you may think the call is about customer satisfaction, chances are it's about renewals and additional subscriptions. Listen carefully to the offers to make sure you understand the terms.

You may be called to renew your subscription, but the caller may not represent the publisher. Before you agree to renew, check the expiration date to determine how close it is. It's usually on the mailing label. Or, you may want to call the publisher to verify the expiration date and to confirm that the caller is authorized to renew your subscription.

Ask for a written copy of the contract before you agree to buy any subscription. Read it. Make sure you understand what you'll get, the cost of each magazine and each subscription, and the cost of the entire package.

Keep information about your bank accounts and credit cards to yourself - unless you know who you're dealing with. You may get a letter or postcard soliciting your business, or telling you that you've won a prize or a contest. Often, this is a front for a scam. Instructions tell you to respond to a promoter with certain information. If you give your bank account or credit card number over the phone to a stranger for "qualification," "verification" or "computer purposes," it may be used to debit your account without your permission.

Discount for Preferred Customers

2010-08-10T15:06:00.000-04:00

The magazine company calls you because you are a preferred customer this month! They want you to pay your entire balance with a 10% or 20% discount! If you do, you account will be marked paid in full! They will also send you a confirmation letter, a gas rebate card, and give you a confirmation number over the telephone. Be careful before you take action!

The Community Reading Club of Virginia, aka National Reading Service or NRS, sells their magazines packages for $1,200. Of course, you are not aware of the price during the initial conversation. So, the promotions department is a select few of individuals who randomly choose customers out of the database telling them they are a preferred customer. It is the promoter's job to get you to pay a lump sum of money! They get commission from your payment and you ultimately save money, right? Wrong! You can just cancel the account without having to pay $900.00. Are you sure you want to purchase this very expensive magazine service?

When making a large purchase, you would want to deal with a reputable company. Do the research. You shouldn't feel pressured into buying anything! $4.99 to $68.28 monthly is a huge jump! Remember, the customer is called thinking the package is only five dollars a week. By the end of the call they are told its $68, $49, $39, $24, or $19.99. Either way the package totals anywhere from $600 - $1,200 dollars.

Even if I was filthy rich, I wouldn't want to pay this misleading company anything for some magazines. If they were more honest and straight forward, giving a way out instead of making it difficult for me to cancel, I would pay.

Do not believe all the hype of being a preferred customer because really you were just randomly picked out of a list of thousands of customers and you answered your phone. They just want your money, thats all.

This company sells more than just magazines!

2010-05-13T04:12:00.001-04:00

After a business celebration, it was announced that International Marketing Association was expanding to Canada. To file a complaint against a business in Canada, follow the links below:

International Marketing Association located in Virginia Beach, Virginia is also selling products other than magazines from within their facility. To sell products other than what is listed on the merchant account agreement, a separate account must be purchased or the account will be closed.

This magazine company is not in good standing with the Better Business Bureau

2010-04-29T01:29:00.002-04:00

The sales department script clearly stated that National Readers Service has been in good standing with the Better Business Bureau for over 25 years. The Better Business Bureau website allows you to search businesses, and view their credentials. You can view their BBB accreditation, business profile, contact information, and much more.

International Marketing Association is the corporate office for the other subsidiaries. The list of company names and phone numbers provided in this blog are the subsidiaries of International Marketing Association. They are all owned by Darryl DeCroix, the initiator of this magazine service. Read more of the initiation of this company, and how Darryl DeCroix started it HERE.

According to the BBB accrediation, International Marketing Association (IMA) has an A+ rating with zero complaints in the last 36 months. IMA has been an accredited member for since 11/09/1994. See IMA's BBB listing HERE. IMA has an immaculate rating with the BBB because none of it's subsidiaries are listed on on this particular site. Therefore, when consumers are filing complaints, they are doing so under the subsidiary or Doing Business As (DBA) name and not under International Marketing Association. IMA's previous location was 460 Investors Place ste 102, Virginia Beach, VA 23452.

Example:

Century Marketing Incorporated : rating C-
International Marketing Association

Century Marketing Incorporated is a subsidiary of IMA. Century Marketing Incorporated customer service department is located within the IMA headquarters. Robert Smith was the Vice President of accounts receivable until mid 2010. He was employed with IMA for more than four years, and very close to the owner, Darryl DeCroix. He was demoted until he could stabilize another job (fired) due to disloyal tendencies toward the owner (for not notifying the owner of another supervisors intentions of quiting without notice.) Robert Smith's job was to oversee the customer service and collections departments. That department is now ran by Brenden Ryan.

It was stated that the reason for all the subsidiaries was to confuse customers, and to assist in purchasing multiple merchant accounts. A merchant account is a type of bank account that allows business to accept payments by debit or credit cards. Merchant account are close for many reasons:

unusual processing activity or volume
to many charge backs
selling products or services not listed on the merchant service agreement
unusual high ticket averages

Source: http://www.merchantcouncil.org/merchant-account/operation/merchant-account-mistake.php

Introduction

2010-04-25T01:23:00.005-04:00

This blog was created to help you learn more of a particular scam that is plaguing our nation via telephone! The goal of this blog is to expose information that is rightfully yours, so that you can make an informed decision on what you would like to do next. Whether that be to cancel your service due to misleading sales men and women, receive a refund, contact your lawyer with the company's information, or simply continue service. Whatever you decide, as a consumer you have the final decision of what you would like to do with services you are receiving. This magazine service is not a binding contract, and by law you can cancel at ANY TIME.

WWW.IMACORPORATE.COM
click the link for more company information