Action: 'Atlantic Monthly' is now in the mail

Please help me get my subscription to the Atlantic Monthly renewed. I sent a check for a year's renewal in January. My magazines stopped coming, and, unable to find an issue on my local supermarket's news shelves, I didn't have an address or phone number for the subscription department.

A couple of months ago I received a form letter from the magazine saying that I had a full year's subscription paid for, but for some reason there was a hold on it. I was asked to verify my address and return the letter so my subscription could start. It still hasn't. Can you find out who put a hold on my subscription and get it started for me? Gail Axtell

Response: Adam Cohen, circulation for Atlantic Monthly in New York, said he is sorry you had such a problem with your renewal. The subscription was probably put on hold because the post office returned one of your issues as undeliverable. He said he plans to look further into that and also into why your reactivation was not promptly handled. In the meantime, he is sending you all the issues from 2001 and extended your subscription, at no charge, through December 2003.

You mentioned that you were unable to contact the magazine's subscription department because you could not find a copy of Atlantic Monthly at your local supermarket. For the future, many larger bookstores carry this and other hard-to-find magazines. In addition, any library should be able to provide the address for just about any publication.

Buy pump while you can

I feel I've been patient long enough. On my doctor's advice and with his prescription, I purchased a Simmons air mattress for $981.31 from Sleep Masters in Palm Harbor. The mattress came with a three-year, 100-percent warranty for any problems, followed by a pro-rated amount.

On Aug. 17, my pump did not function and I called my sales representative. He told me to call the phone number on the pump box. In calling that number, I find out it is in Canada and the name of the company is Price Manufacturing. It turns out that Price imported the pump boxes for Simmons Air Beds which has gone belly up. To get a new pump would be $120 as the warranty no longer applies. I also talked to the Simmons representative who told me nothing could be done.

The mattress I purchased has a Simmons label on it. Had it said Price, I wouldn't have purchased it, knowing nothing about such a company. Can you help me get a new pump? Gladys Allstaedt

Response: H. Leclair, president of Sleep Masters in Palm Harbor, said that Simmons Air Beds has indeed gone out of business and the warranty therefore no longer applies. He suggested that you purchase the part you were offered while you have the opportunity.

Mail-order delays

I sent away for "Walk Away the Pounds" tapes on July 9 and enclosed a $52.90 check. They were supposed to arrive within six to eight weeks. I have called and been told that the tapes are out of stock and it will take a little longer. I wrote to the company and never received a response. I called again and was told I'd receive them soon, that they were still out of stock. Each time I call I get the same answer and I still don't have the tapes. I would appreciate anything you can do. Dolores Parente

Response: We never heard from Walk Away the Pounds in Hickville, N.Y., so were glad to get your note that you had finally received the tapes.

Did the company ever contact you to ask whether you agreed to a delay in shipment? The Federal Trade Commission's mail or telephone merchandise rule states that merchandise must be shipped within 30 days of the order's receipt unless a longer time was clearly indicated. If the company can't get the order to you on time, it must notify you of the new shipping date and give you the option of canceling your order and receiving a refund.

Given that the holiday season is fast approaching, and we know a lot of you like to use mail order to make your purchases, we will go through the FTC's rule in detail in Thursday's column.

-- 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, (727) 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.

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