Action: Subscription renewal is canceled

I am having difficulty with Time magazine and sincerely request your assistance. I received a letter from the office of the publisher stating that my subscription was up for renewal. I sent in a check for $17.41 for the first payment of the renewal. I then checked and discovered that my present subscription does not expire until October 2001. I then began to get dunning form letters telling me to pay up now!

I sent a note to the magazine's Tampa office saying that I did not want to renew my subscription so far in advance and asking for a refund.

I have not received a refund, and the demands for payment have continued. I also asked for a copy of my original payment and stub and was told that all the originals were destroyed. Something's not right. Will you please help me obtain a refund? Phillip Little

Response: Lisa White, consumer affairs manager for Time customer service in Tampa, said she has reviewed the magazine's records, which show it received instructions to process a 54-issue renewal order for $69.66 in May 2000. This renewal extended your subscription through the October 2001 issue. As soon as an order is received, the service date is advanced, regardless of whether the subscription has been paid in full, she said. In other words, the expiration date of October 2001 which you saw on your label was the new one that reflected your one-year renewal. You were not being asked to renew over a year in advance.

When you notified the magazine in November that you wanted to cancel your subscription, it was canceled. Unfortunately, a refund check for only $7.09 was sent to you. The remaining $10.32 is now being sent, and White apologizes for the inconvenience.

Read contracts with care

I signed a contract on Aug. 3 to have a water softener installed. The total cost was $850, with a $200 down payment and the rest payable in 90 days same as cash. Unknown to me, my account was turned over to a company called American General. Within 30 days I started getting statements from American General. I started making payments to it, and on Nov. 30, I made my final payment of $202.45. My Dec. 5 statement shows a zero balance.

As you can see from a statement dated Dec. 11, American General says I have a balance of $31.52, in spite of my having made on-time payments totalling $852.45. I called American General offices in Port Richey and Charlotte, N.C., a number of times and could not get anyone to help me resolve this problem. Finally, after many attempts, I received a phone call from someone with American General in Oldsmar who gave me all sorts of excuses and said I had a balance of $129.23. That's when I got very upset and hung up on him.

I would appreciate your help in getting this resolved. Harry David

Response: David Cataldo, branch manager of American General Finance in Port Richey, said there were three parties involved in this transaction: you, the dealer and the finance company, American General Finance. According to him, when you bought the water softener, you wanted terms of 90 days same as cash. The dealer does not do the financing, but has the customer fill out an application for financing with the finance company. You signed one with the American General Finance logo on it.

After the financing was approved and the water softener unit installed, the dealer had you sign the rest of the finance papers which included (1) the certificate of completion, which verifies you are satisfied with the work performed and materials supplied; (2) the notice of cancellation, which gives you three days after the unit is installed to cancel the purchase; and (3) the retail installment contract, which breaks down the annual percentage rate, the finance charge, the amount financed, the total payment, the payment amount, the length of term for the payments, when the payment begins and the same as cash option you selected. The retail installment contract has an assignment which assigns the contract from the dealer or seller to American General Finance. He said all these forms have your signature on them.

Cataldo said you appear to be confused about American General Finance's involvement in your purchase. In fact, American General called you the day it took over your contract to welcome you and make sure that you understood the terms of the contract.

With regard to the additional amount you "suddenly" owed, Cataldo said your last payment of $202.52 was received on Dec. 4, three days after your same-as-cash date. However, after you called, he said American General agreed to accept your last payment as payment in full, given your good record with the company. He said this decision was made before you contacted Action.

As a reminder to our readers, to avoid possible unpleasant surprises, be sure to read carefully every word of any contracts you sign. Plus, when making a same-as-cash purchase, pay close attention to the due dates for payments. Failure to meet them can wind up being expensive when the finance charges that are otherwise forgiven become due.

If you have a question for Action, or your attempts to resolve a consumer complaint have failed, write: Times Action, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731, or call your Action number, 893-8171, or, outside of Pinellas, (800) 333-7505, ext. 8171, to leave a recorded request for Action. Names will not be omitted except in unusual circumstances. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright