Progressive Business Publications

Review: WE HAVE RECEIVED AT LEAST 2 NOTICES, ONE OF AN INVOICE AND ONE OF THE INVOICE THAT IS OVER DUE. IT IS FOR SOME PUBLICATION CALLED ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE ALERT. WE THREW OUT A FEW OF THEM. THEN WE GOT THIS INVOICE STATING WE OWED THEM MONEY. WE SENT BACK STATING WE NEVER ORDERED AND TAKE OFF OF MAILING LIST. WE PROCEED TO GET THESE COMPLIANCE ALERTS AND SEND THEM BACK STATING TO TAKE OFF OF MAILING LIST. THE LAST ONE WE GOT, WE SENT A LETTER STATING IF THIS CONTINUES, WE WILL GET THE Revdex.com INVOLVED, AS WE DID NOT ORDER AND DO NOT WANT ANYTHING FROM THEM.

ALSO A LADY CALLED HERE ASKING FOR [redacted] AND I ASSURED HER HE DID NOT CALL AND DOESN'T WANT TO USE THEIR SERVICES. SHE, [redacted], STATED THAT THEY TRY TO GET PEOPLE TO PURCHASE LAW BOOKS AND WE CAN GO ONTO THEIR WEBSITE WWW.PBP.COM TO SEE WHAT THEY HAVE TO OFFER. I STATED WE DON'T NEED ANYTHING BUT THANKS FOR THE INFORMATION.Desired Settlement: WE DID NOT ORDER ANYTHING FROM THEM AND IF THEY TAKE IT UPON THEMSELVES TO SEND OUT THINGS, IT SHOULD BE FREE. I'M SURE THEY HAVE NOTHING IN WRITING OR ON VOICE RECORDING FROM ME OR MY COMPANY STATING WE NEED THESE SERVICES. WE WISH TO BE REMOVED FROM THEIR MAILING LIST AND HAVE THIS INVOICE VOIDED AS WE HAVEN'T USED ANYTHING FROM THIS INFORMATION.

Business

Response:

June 12, 2014Dear [redacted]:Thank you for your email of 6/10/14 regarding the above referenced complaint that you received on 6/6/14. After review of our detailed electronic records we would like to respond to your letter with the following explanation.Please note that our primary method by which we secure orders is by telephone solicitation. In such cases, our representatives take orders with a 60-day right of cancellation to a 1-year subscription to one of our newsletters, books or on line programs. We have very stringent quality control procedures regarding our representatives making this offer. These include verifying the address, asking for the month and day of the person's birth date and asking for the person's email or fax number so we can send written confirmation of the order within 24 hours. This serves to encourage contact with us if there are any mistakes or changes that need to be made.Regarding the specifics of this situation, please note that **. [redacted], Treas, placed an order on 3/11/14 for our Environmental Compliance Alert publication. We were provided with birth date information as [redacted], as well as an email address. Within 24 hours of the discussion, we sent a confirmation letter that clearly restated the offer discussed, including the liberal 60-day, no questions asked, cancellation policy. Our computers show that the confirmation went through without any problems.The birth date information is obtained, in part, to verify the conversation took place. Once the order was placed, the same computer system sent the newsletters and invoices over a 2-month period of time.Thus the goods that were ordered by **. [redacted] were sent to the same address that shows on this complaint. This computer system records and tracks all confirmations, invoices, on-line programs, books, periodicals sent and cancellation requests.With all telephone orders placed, if the ordering person does not find the information helpful, all that needs to be done is to write CANCEL on the invoice and return it to us or advise us any other way and the subscription will be stopped with no payment required, as is the publishing industry's general custom.As a courtesy we cancelled this account on 5/30/14 as he requested via U.S. Mail. There is no money due or owing on the account.We initiated a request on 6/11/14 that the name, address and telephone number be removed from our computer files. This action takes approximately 30-days to process. In business we hesitate to say the company will never receive another mailing from us. If any company information changes our computers may not recognize it and something may go out. If that should happen, simply call us and we will remove that version, too.Please know that we do business regularly with thousands of companies who place repeated orders due to their continued satisfaction and our excellent customer service.All of our contact information is in our newsletter and it contains our toll free telephone number. We, also, have a 24 hour/7 days a week voice mail system due to the large amount of calls we receive daily from our coast-to-coast subscribers.Feel free to contact the Customer Service Department if you have any questions at [redacted].Thank you.

Review: We received an invoice for 6 months for a service that was cancelled. Each of these months, I placed a call and followed the directions to leave a message with my account number to cancel the account. I first did this during the trial period when I realized that this newsletter would not benefit me. I received a call this month after I sent an email requesting a call and they forced me to pay $122.92 to get my account from collections.

I pay my bills and do not have a problem with that with any other company. This company, however, refuses to take responsibility. They practically called me a liar on the phone saying that I did not call themDesired Settlement: I would like to be credited the $122.92 that I just payed.

Business

Response:

July 10, 2014Dear [redacted] :Thank you for your email of 7/9/14 regarding the above referenced complaint that you received on 7/7/14. After review of our detailed electronic records, we would like to respond to your letter with the following explanation.Please note that our primary method by which we secure orders is by telephone solicitation. In such cases, our representatives take orders with a 60-day right of cancellation to a 1-year subscription to one of our newsletters, books or on line programs. We have very stringent quality control procedures regarding our representatives making this offer. These include verifying the address, asking for the month and day of the person's birth date and asking for the person's email address or fax so we can send written confirmation of the order within 24 hours. This serves to encourage contact with us if there are any mistakes or corrections that need to be made.Regarding the specifics of this situation, please note that [redacted], V/P Sales, placed an order on 12/17/13 for our Selling Advantage publication. He provided us with a birth date of [redacted], as well as an email address. Within 24 hours of the discussion, we sent a confirmation letter that clearly restated the Offer discussed, including the liberal 60-day, no questions asked cancellation policy. Our electronic records show that the confirmation letter went through without any problems.The birth date information is obtained, in part, to verify the conversation took place. Once the order was placed, the same computer system sent the newsletters and invoices over a 5-month period of time.Thus goods that were ordered by [redacted] were sent. This computer system records and tracks all confirmations, invoices, on-line programs, books, periodicals and cancellation requests. It does not show that we ever received a cancellation on this account or mail returned as "undeliverable”. If we had we would have cancelled the account immediately.With all telephone orders placed, if the ordering person does not find the information helpful, all that needs to be done is write cancel on the invoice and return it to us, or advise us by any other way, and the subscription will be stopped with no payment required, as is the publishing industry’s general custom. However, if neither paid nor cancelled after 5-months, 2 warning notices and an additional 30-day wait period the account may be turned over for collection. That is what happened in this instance.[redacted] contacted our Customer Service Department on 7/7/14 and verified all the information in the account was correct, at which point he was offered to pay only for the issue served on the account. Instead of the yearly subscription of $295.00 we accepted a payment of $122.92 and closed the account. We notified the collection agency that this account has been `` Settled Satisfactorily”. There will be no ramifications due to this account being turned over for collection and there is no money owing or due on this account.Please know that we do business regularly with thousands of Companies who regularly place repeat orders due to their continued satisfaction and excellent customer service.All of our contact information is in the newsletter. It contains our address and telephone. We also have a 24 hour /7 days a week voice mail system due to the large amount of calls we receive daily from our coast-to-coast subscribers.SYLVIA *. N Dir. Of Subscriber Services

Review: Received an invoice for a publication "Communication Bulletin For Managers and Supervisors" naming an employee, Robert Tomaw, as the subscriber and saying we owed $255.60. [redacted] denies having subscribed and we have in the past had the same scam perpetrated by the same company. Their website says "if you received an invoice..." generically and says that we would have received a phone call offering the subscription. [redacted] does not work in this office and could not have received a phone call here.Desired Settlement: Cancel this invoice and STOP sending any and all mail to anyone at this address.

Business

Response:

August 28, 2014Dear [redacted]:Thank you for your email of 8/26/14 regarding the above referenced complaint that you received on 8/25/14. After review of our detailed electronic records we would like to respond to your letter with the following explanation.Please note that our primary method by which we secure orders is by telephone solicitation. In such cases, our representatives take orders with a 60-day right of cancellation to a 1-year subscription to one of our newsletters, books or on line programs. We have very stringent quality control procedures regarding our representatives making this offer. These include verifying the address, asking for the month and day of the person's birth date and asking for the person’s email or fax number so we can send written confirmation of the order within 24 hours. This serves to encourage contact with us if there are any mistakes or changes that need to be made.Regarding the specifics of this situation, please note that [redacted], Program Dir, placed an order on 6/19/14 for our Communications Bulletin For Managers & Supervisors publication. We were provided with birth date information as [redacted], as well as an email address. Within 24 hours of the discussion, we sent a confirmation letter that clearly restated the offer discussed, including the liberal 60-day, no questions asked, cancellation policy. Our computers show that the confirmation went through without any problems.The birth date information is obtained, in part, to verify the Conversation took place. Once the order was placed, the same Computer system sent the newsletters and invoices over a 2-month period of time.Thus the goods that were ordered by [redacted] were sent. This computer system records and tracks all confirmations, invoices, on-line programs, books, periodicals sent and cancellation requests.With all telephone orders placed, if the ordering person does not find the information helpful, all that needs to be done is to write CANCEL on the invoice and return it to us or advise us any other way and the subscription will be stopped with no payment required, as is the publishing industry’s general custom.As a courtesy we cancelled this account on 8/25/14 as requested the same day they contacted us. There is no money due or owing on the account.We initiated a request on the same day that the name, address and telephone number be removed from our computer files. This action takes approximately 30-days to process. In business we hesitate to say the company will never receive another mailing from us. If any company information changes our computers may not recognize it and something may go out. If that should happen, simply call us and we will remove that version, too.Please know that we do business regularly with thousands of companies who place repeated orders due to their continued satisfaction and our excellent customer service.All of Our contact information is in our newsletter and it contains our toll free telephone number. We, also, have a 24 hour /7 days a week voice mail system due to the large amount of Calls we receive daily from our coast-to-coast subscribers.Please feel free to contact the Customer Service Department if you have any questions at [redacted].Thank you.Cordially,Sylvia N. Dir. Of Subscriber Services

Review: This business keeps claiming we authorized an order for newsletters--we have not agreed to anything. When I called and asked a customer service rep about the order, she claimed we verified the order by providing our fax number .... which is public information. Anyone could have given that information to them. The invoice they sent us was for $240, and said we provided the date of birth of the executive director as verification of the order, but the letter does not actually give a date, and her name is misspelled. The customer service rep claimed she would cancel the order, but I am concerned this won't happen, especially after my already terrible experience with this company.Desired Settlement: I want the company to stop sending us invoices, and stop contacting us completely.

Business

Response:

August 21, 2014Dear [redacted]:Thank you for your email of 8/20/14 regarding the above referenced complaint that you received on 8/19/14. After review of our detailed electronic records we would like to respond to your letter with the following explanation.Please note that our primary method by which we secure Orders is by telephone solicitation. In such cases, our representatives take orders with a 60-day right of cancellation to a 1-year subscription to one of our newsletters, books or on line programs. We have very stringent quality control procedures regarding our representatives making this offer. These include verifying the address and asking for the person’s email or fax number so we can send written confirmation of the order within 24 hours. This serves to encourage contact with us if there are any mistakes or changes that need to be made. Regarding the specifics of this situation, please note that [redacted], Exec Dir, placed an order on 4/1/14 for our Foundation & Corporate Funding Advantage publication and we were provided with a fax number of [redacted]. Within 24 hours of the discussion, we sent a confirmation letter that clearly restated the offer discussed, including the liberal 60-day, no questions asked, cancellation policy. Our computers show that the confirmation went through without any problems.Once the Order was placed, the same computer system sent the newsletters and invoices over a 3-month period of time.Thus the goods that were ordered by [redacted] were sent to the same address that shows on this complaint. This computer system records and tracks all confirmations, invoices, on-line programs, books, periodicals sent and cancellation requests.With all telephone orders placed, if the ordering person does not find the information helpful, all that needs to be done is to write CANCEL on the invoice and return it to us or advise us any other way and the subscription will be stopped with no payment required, as is the publishing industry’s general custom.As a courtesy we cancelled this account on 8/19/14 as requested when [redacted] called us that same day. There is no money due or owing on the account.We initiated a request on 8/20/14 that the name, address and telephone number be removed from our computer files. This action takes approximately 30-days to process. In business we hesitate to say the company will never receive another mailing from us. If any company information changes our computers may not recognize it and something may go out. If that should happen, simply call us and we will remove that version, too.While researching this complaint we did find that this company has done business with us in the past and is aware of our cancellation policy. We found several different trial subscriptions had been accepted before and cancelled as we instructed without issue.Please know that we do business regularly with thousands of Companies who place repeated orders due to their continued Satisfaction and our excellent customer service.All of our contact information is in our newsletter and it contains our toll free telephone number. We, also, have a 24 hour/7 days a week voice mail system due to the large amount of calls we receive daily from our coast-to-coast subscribers.Feel free to contact the Customer Service Department if you have any questions at [redacted]. Thank you.Cordially Yours,Sylvia N. Dir. Of Subscriber Services

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved] Review: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because: This business should not be allowed to use our "fax number" as a confirmation of an order. Our fax number is public information. Anyone can give the fax number out--that should not be a valid form of confirming an order. No other businesses use this methods but online predatory companies.

As I previously mentioned in my intitial complaint, the company claimed that [redacted] gave her birthdate as the confirmation--which they did not have. Once I called them out on not having the birthdate, they claimed she gave a fax number instead. Again, our fax number and address are all public information. That would be like me claiming they ordered 500 bottles of perfume and billing them for it, all because I have their tollfree telephone number on record. That is just ridiculous.

I also have to laugh at their mention of doing business with us before--they stated that we had accepted and cancelled their offer multiple times. So, what they really mean, is that they have attempted to scam us multiple times, and we have always cancelled the product.

I shouldn't have to constantly call this place to cancel fake orders--their predatory practices should be put to an end. Why can't they have their orders confirmed with a credit card number or a signature? That would make more sense--I will tell you why. It is because they want to fool more people and demand they pay them money for a subscription that they didn't know they ordered. Dirty tactics. These people are criminals.

Also, I am glad to see that they figured out what [redacted]'s actual name was. They had it misspelled last time; a true sign of a scammer is when they can't even bill it to the right person.

The only solution to this very big problem that I would accept is for this business to halt the practice of scamming people by using fax number as confirmation. They should ask for a signature of some kind, or a credit card number--something that only the person who really wanted to purchase the item could provide. Using a public address or fax number is not appropriate or safe. They will continue to harrass our agency--they admitted in the letter that I might still get offers. We are a non-profit--we will NEVER want to spend that kind of money on a publication that judging by reviews, is not a good product.Regards,[redacted]

Business

Response:

September 15, 2014Dear [redacted]:Regarding the above referenced rebuttal that you received we submit the following:All the information we received to start a trial subscription for our publication was given to us by someone who identified herself as [redacted] on 4/1/14, and she provided us with the fax number which we used to send a confirmation of the order.As stated in our original letter, we have already cancelled this account on 8/19/14, and have also initiated the request to remove the name, address and telephone number from our files.In the Original complaint letter to the Revdex.com, the customer’s request for desired outcome was for us to stop sending invoices and to stop contacting them. Since all the facts remain the same and we have done everything that was requested, we feel this complaint has been resolved.If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us.Cordially, Sylvia *. N[redacted] Dir. Of Subscription Services

Review: This company is underhanded in the way they do business. They speak to some random person on the phone about a subscription to a newsletter and stipulate that you have 60 days to cancel or you will have to pay for a full year. We have 200 employees working at this site and no one is authorized agree to such a thing unless it is approved by the Accounting Department. We did not receive any paperwork what so ever explaining this policy and were not aware of the billing until close to six months after the fact when received a collections letter. Poor customer service!Desired Settlement: I would like my subscription cancelled and never renewed again, I wouldn't do business with these people ever again. Customer Service was completely out of line.

Business

Response:

October 16, 2014Dear [redacted]:Thank you for your email of 10/10/14 regarding the above referenced agency complaint that you received on 10/8/14. After review, we would like to respond to your letter with the following detailed explanation. Please note that our primary method by which we secure orders is by telephone solicitation. In such cases, our representatives take orders with a 60-day right of cancellation to a 1-year subscription to one of our newsletters, books or on line programs. We have very stringent quality control procedures regarding our representatives making this offer. These include verifying the mailing address, asking for the month and day of the person’s birth date and asking for the person’s email address or fax so we can send written confirmation of the order within 24 hours. This serves to encourage contact with us if there are any mistakes or changes that need to be made.Regarding the specifics of this situation, please note that [redacted], Facilities Dir, placed an order on 3/17/14 for our Safety Compliance Alert publication and he provided us with birth date information as [redacted], as well as an email address. Within 24 hours of the discussion, we sent a confirmation letter that clearly restated the offer discussed, including the liberal 60-day, no questions asked cancellation policy. Our computers show that the confirmation went through without any problems.The birth date information is obtained, in part, to verify the conversation took place. Once the order was placed, the same Computer system sent the newsletter and invoices over a 5-month period of time.Thus the goods that were ordered by [redacted] were sent to the same address that shows in this complaint. This computer system records and tracks all confirmations, invoices, on-line programs, books, periodicals sent and cancellation requests. It does not show ever receiving a cancellation request or mail returned as \undeliverable”. If we had we would have cancelled the account immediately.With all telephone orders placed, if the ordering person does not find the information helpful, all that is required is to write CANCEL on the invoice and return that to us or advise us any other way and the subscription will be stopped with no payment required, as is the publishing industry’s general custom. However, if neither paid nor cancelled after 5-months, 2-warning notices, plus an additional 30-day wait period the account may be turned over for collection. That is what happened in this instance.As a courtesy we contacted the collection agency on 10/8/14 and advised them to cease collection and cancel this account. They have assured us that this will be done. There will be no ramifications due to this account going for collection and there is no money due or owing on this account. On the same day they emailed our Customer Service Department stating that they paid the collection agency in full. We contacted the collection agency and they told us that they did not receive payment to date.While researching this complaint we did find that this company has done business with us in the past and is aware of our cancellation policy. We found many, many `risk free” subscriptions had been accepted before; 1–paid in full account while others were cancelled as we instructed. Further, we did find a risk free subscription that [redacted] accepted entitled the Environmental Compliance Alert and he cancelled that without issue.Please know that we do business regularly with thousands of companies who place "repeat” orders due to their continued satisfaction and our excellent customer service.All of our contact information is in the newsletter and it contains our toll free telephone number. We, also, have a 24 hour/7 days a week voice mail system due to the large amount of calls we receive daily from our coast-to-coast subscribers.Please feel free to contact our Customer Service Department if you have any further questions at 1-800–220–5000.Thank you.Cordially, Sylvia N. Dir. Of Subscriber Services

Review: Progressive Business Publication has sent us an invoice of $299.00 for a subsciption that we never authorized.Desired Settlement: For any contact with us to cease as well as requesting any form of payment from us.

Business

Response:

October 30, 2014Dear [redacted] :Thank you for your email of 10/30/14 regarding the above referenced complaint that you received on 10/28/14. After review of our detailed electronic records we would like to respond to your letter with the following explanation.Please note that our primary method by which we secure orders is by telephone solicitation. In such cases, our representatives take orders with a 60-day right of cancellation to a 1-year subscription to one of our newsletters, books or on line programs. We have very stringent quality control procedures regarding our representatives making this offer. These include verifying the address, asking for the month and day of the person's birth date and asking for the person’s email or fax number so we can send written confirmation of the order within 24 hours. This serves to encourage contact with us if there are any mistakes or changes that need to be made.Regarding the specifics of this situation, please note that [redacted], Project Mgr., placed an order on 8/11/14 for our Safety Compliance Alert publication. We were provided with birth date information as [redacted], as well as a fax number ([redacted]). Within 24 hours of the discussion, we sent a confirmation letter that clearly restated the offer discussed, including the liberal 60-day, no questions asked, cancellation policy. Our computers show that the confirmation went through without any problems.The birth date information is obtained, in part, to verify the conversation took place. Once the order was placed, the same Computer system sent the newsletters and invoices over a 2-month period of time.Thus the goods that were ordered by [redacted] were sent to the same address that shows on this complaint. This computer system records and tracks all confirmations, invoices, on-line programs, books, periodicals sent and cancellation requests.With all telephone orders placed, if the ordering person does not find the information helpful, all that needs to be done is to write CANCEL on the invoice and return it to us or advise us any other way and the subscription will be stopped with no payment required, as is the publishing industry’s general custom.As a courtesy we cancelled this account on 10/28/14 @2:38PM (EST) as requested the same day they contacted us. There is no money due or owing on the account.We initiated a request on 10/30/14 that the name, address and telephone number be removed from our computer files. This action takes approximately 30-days to process. In business we hesitate to say the company will never receive another mailing from us. If any company information changes our computers may not recognize it and something may go out. If that should happen, simply call us and we will remove that version, too.While researching this complaint we did find that this company has done business with us in the past and is aware of our cancellation policy. We found many different ``no risk” subscriptions had been accepted before and all accounts were cancelled as we instructed without issue.Please know that we do business regularly with thousands of companies who place "repeat” orders due to their continued satisfaction and our excellent customer service.All of our contact information is in our newsletter and it Contains our toll free telephone number. We, also, have a 24 hour /7 days a week voice mail system due to the large amount of calls we receive daily from our coast-to-coast subscribers.Feel free to contact the Customer Service Department if you have any questions at [redacted]. Thank you.CordiallySylvia N. Dir. Of Subscriber Services

We began receiving this publication without asking for it a couple years ago so it was often thrown away. When we received the invoice, again we threw that away too. The publication is cheesy at best. Most of the information is pulled from other publications and rewritten in a cheap looking and rag format. While the information is accurate, it is done so in a non-professional looking paper. We tried to have them stop sending the publication but were harassed to pay for those previous publications until our accounting CFO finally just caved in and paid it. Since then, we immediately send the publications back saying to stop sending them and take pictures of them unopened as we send them back. For quite a while they continued to harass us but since we have proof that we are not opening them and are sending them back and are not paying for it at all, the harassment has diminished. This truly is a rag publication and a scam to extort money from unsuspecting companies/people.

Hello, I have been receiving emails, letters and a couple phone calls from this company (Progressive Business Publications) despite cancelling them altogether. One specific letter I received involves an invoice in which they were charging my company for $299.00 which I never authorized. Upon further investigation into this company, I've found several sites containing hundreds of negative reviews about this company soliciting individuals and businesses, carrying the same issue regarding soliciting and unauthorized services. Please do anything you can to assist in stopping these fraudulent activities from this company. Thank you

Review: Received a call from Progressive Business Publications. Offerering free subscription to The Nonprofit Board Report. Can cancel free subscription. Faxed a copy of cancelation to company (fax) [redacted]. They keep sending bills and calls from a collection agency. Have spoke with collection agency and they are part of the company. Hmmm, conflict of interest. They said I should of mailed a cancelation. I had called and was told to fax. No you have to mail. I said ok, I will mail. Too late we owe $249. They keep calling different departments about this. They said it will show the not-for-profit company in the collection agency.Desired Settlement: Would like them to quit calling and harrassing company and departments. They said it will show the not-for-profit company in the collection agency.

Business

Response:

See Attachment:

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. Progressive Business Publications has agreed adn canceled the invoice and removed our business from their mailing. I thank Revdex.com for their time and effort to resolve this issue. Thanks!

Regards,

Review: We recently received a phone call from a [redacted] at Progressive Business Publications stating that we owed them $299.00 for a year subscription to a magazine we never received. [redacted] stated that we were in a verbal contract but was not able to provide any proof of the agreement when asked numerous times. She then claimed that this amount would be sent to collections for delinquency. I nor any one in my office have any record of talking with this company and agreeing to a subscription. If she were able to provide information stating that we agreed to this I would have no problem paying it.Desired Settlement: I would like to make sure that this amount is not put against our current credit record. as I do not believe that we owe it.

Business

Response:

See Attachment:

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

Review: Salesperson states trial offer-you can cancel if you don't like it on the first invoice. Invoice and product not sent, but billed sent to collection!

The salesperson stated I could try out their magazine and website for environmental alerts and that we could cancel when we got the first invoice. We did not receive any magazines or invoices. So I thought it must not have gone through. I did get some e-mail about articles to read but I was not interested in any of them so I ignored them, but kept waiting for the magazine and invoice. The company then sent us into collection after not providing the magazine or any invoices. They are threatening our credit and demanding payment for something I never got.Desired Settlement: I want them to cancel my subscription that I never used and take us out of collection for something they never gave us.

Business

Response:

May 1, 2014Dear [redacted]:Thank you for your letter of 4/28/14 regarding the above referenced agency complaint that you received on 4/25/14. After review, we would like to respond to your letter with the following detailed explanation.Please note that our primary method by which we secure orders is by telephone solicitation. In such cases, our representatives take orders with a 60-day right of cancellation to a 1-year subscription to one of our newsletters, books or on line programs. We have very stringent quality control procedures regarding our representatives making this offer. These include verifying the mailing address, asking for the month and day of the persons birth date and asking for the persons email address or fax so we can send written confirmation of the order within 24 hours, as well as to encourage contact with us if there are any mistakes or changes that need to be made.Regarding the specifics of this situation, please note that [redacted], Environ. Mgr., placed an order on 9/23/13 for our Environmental Compliance Alert newsletter and she provided us with birth date information as [redacted], as well as an email address. Within 24 hours of the discussion, we sent a confirmation letter that clearly restated the offer discussed, including the liberal 60-day, no questions asked cancellation policy. Our computers show that the confirmation went through without any problems.The birth date information is obtained, in part, to verify the conversation took place. Once the order was placed, the same computer system sent the newsletter and invoices over a -month period of time.Thus the goods that were ordered by [redacted] were sent to the same address that shows in this complaint. This computer system records and tracks all confirmations, invoices, on-line programs, books, periodicals sent and cancellation requests. It does not show ever receiving a cancellation request or mail returned as undeliverable. If we had we would have cancelled the account immediately.Please be advised they should not be expecting a magazine, our publication is in newsletter form and is sent by U. S. Mail.With all telephone orders placed, if the ordering person does not find the information helpful, all that is required is to write CANCEL on the invoice and return that to us or advise us any other way and the subscription will be stopped with no payment required, as is the publishing industrys general custom. However, if neither paid nor cancelled after -months, 2-warning notices, plus an additional 30-day wait period the account may be turned over for collection. That is what happened in this instance.As a courtesy we contacted the collection agency on 4/28/14, as they requested that day, and advised them to cease collection and cancel this account. They have assured us that this will be done. There will be no ramifications due to this account going for collection and there is no money due or owing on this account.While researching this complaint we did find that this company has done business with us in the past and is aware of our cancellation policy. We found several trial subscriptions had been accepted before; 2-of which are ongoing at the present time. We found an open trial subscription for the Quality Managers newsletter that Mr. Paul Henderson, M, accepted on 12/13/13. He gave us a birth date of 12/30, as well as an email address. He received -months of issues and invoices and we cancelled this account on 5/1/14. Other trials were cancelled as we instructed without issue except [redacted]s account.Please know that we do business with thousands of Companies who regularly place repeated orders due to their continued satisfaction and our excellent customer service.All of our contact information is in the newsletter and it contains our toll free telephone number. We, also, have a 24 hour 7 days a week voice mail system due to the large amount of calls we receive daily from our coast-to-coast subscribers.Please feel free to contact our Customer Service Department if you have any further questions at [redacted].Thank you.

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

Regards,

Review: This company deceived my assistant into believing that she was receiving a complimentary subscription. They called and asked her if she would like to continue receiving her free subscription. She said if it is free, then yes. They asked for her DOB, which she gave them. We have no record of ever receiving a bill from them for this product, or a fax, or any other correspondence other than their newsletter. Then this week a collection service called my assistant to collect the debt. This made her very upset understandably. We are a small, non-profit organization with limited budget. We would never spend $299 a year for this product. A scam through and through.Desired Settlement: We would like for this company to cancel the "free" subscription that they want us to pay for and call off their credit collection service. They have not been truthful at all in handling this, and any reputable service would simply cancel the subscription for non-payment and move along. Companies that operate in this manner should not be allowed to continue.

Business

Response:

May 19, 2014Dear [redacted] :Thank you for your email of 5/19/14 regarding the above referenced agency complaint that you received on 5/15/14. After review, we would like to respond to your letter with the following detailed explanation.Please note that our primary method by which we secure orders is by telephone solicitation. In such cases, our representatives take orders with a 60-day right of cancellation to a 1-year subscription to one of our newsletters, books or on line programs. We have very stringent quality control procedures regarding our representatives making this offer. These include verifying the mailing address and asking for the month and day of the persons birth date.Regarding the specifics of this situation, please note that [redacted], HR Coord, placed an order on 10/14/13 for our Whats Working In Human Resources publication and she provided us with birth date information as [redacted]. Prior to ending the call we clearly restated the offer discussed, including the liberal 60-day, no questions asked cancellation policy.The birth date information is obtained, in part, to verify the conversation took place. Once the order was placed, the same computer system sent the newsletter and invoices over a -month period of time.Thus the goods that were ordered by [redacted] were sent to the same address that shows in this complaint. This computer system records and tracks all confirmations, invoices, on-line programs, books, periodicalis sent and cancellation requests. It does not show ever receiving a cancellation request or mail returned as undeliverable. If we had we would have cancelled the account immediately.With all telephone orders placed, if the ordering person does not find the information helpful, all that is required is to write CANCEL on the invoice and return that to us or advise us any other way and the subscription will be stopped with no payment required, as is the publishing industrys general custom. However, if neither paid nor cancelled after -months, 2-warning notices, plus an additional 30-day wait period the account may be turned over for collection. That is what happened in this instance.As a courtesy we contacted the collection agency on 5/19/14 and advised them to cease collection and cancel this account. They have assured us that this will be done. There will be no ramifications due to this account going for collection and there is no money due or owing on this account.While researching this complaint we did find that this company has done business with us in the past and is aware of our cancellation policy. We found many, many trial subscriptions had been accepted before; 4-paid in full accounts while others were cancelled as we instructed without issue.Please know that we do business regularly with thousands of companies who place repeated orders due to their continued satisfaction and our excellent customer service.All of Our contact information is in the newsletter and it Contains our toll free telephone number. We, also, have a 24 hour 7 days a week voice mail system due to the large amount of calls we receive daily from our coast-to-coast subscribers.Please feel free to contact our Customer Service Department if you have any further questions at [redacted].Thank you.

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. I do, however, continue to disagree with their practices. Although having a person's birthdate may prove a conversation took place, it in no way reflects what the actual contents of that discussion were. At any rate, it was a lesson learned by my employee that not all companies operate ethically.

Regards,

Review: I was offered a free trial to a business publication on the phone. The caller called me at least three times trying to get information about me and my business. She asked if I would consider paying $299 for a business publication. I told her no. Undeterred, she then asked if I could budget for something like that. I told her I could, as I do have the authority. She then asked for my birth date, at which point I hung up on her. She then called back, but I did not pick up the phone. She called the next day, but I did not pick up the phone. On April 24, 2014, I received a letter from the company welcoming me to my new subscription. I immediately wrote CANCEL on the letter and faxed it back to the company. On May 19, 2014, I received a $299 invoice. My Accounts Payable Specialist immediately called the office and verified with [redacted] that the account was closed and the subscription cancelled. Today, May 29, 2014, I received another newsletter. I immediately wrote a letter to the company detailing the above actions, and requesting the newsletters stop. In addition, I am filing this complaint.Desired Settlement: I would like the company to cancel my subscription during the trial period as promised, delete the invoice, and stop sending me newsletters.

Business

Response:

June 5 , 2014Dear [redacted] :Thank you for your email of 6/3/14 regarding the above referenced complaint that you received 5/29/14. After review, we would like to respond to your letter with the following explanation.Please note that our primary method by which we secure orders is by telephone solicitation. In such cases, our representatives take orders with a 60-day right of cancellation to a 1-year subscription to one of our newsletters, books or on-line programs. We have very stringent quality control procedures regarding our representatives making this offer and they include verifying the address.Regarding the specifics of this situation, please note that [redacted], CFO, Placed an order on 4/10/14 for our CFO & Controller Alert publication. Prior to ending the call we clearly restated the offer discussed, including 6the liberal 60-day, no questions asked, cancellation policy.Once the order was placed, the computer system sent the newsletters and invoice over a 1-month period of time.Thus the goods that were ordered by [redacted] were sent to the same address that shows on this complaint. Our computer System records and tracks all confirmations, invoices, on-line programs, books, periodicals sent and cancellation requests.With all telephone orders placed, if the ordering person does not find the information helpful, all that needs to be done is to write CANCEL on the invoice and return it to us or advise us any other way and the subscription will be stopped with no payment required, as is the publishing industrys general custom.As a courtesy we cancelled this account on 5/19/14 as her AP Specialist requested. There is no money due or owing on the account.[redacted] should know that our computers have subscribers information ready to send out another issue 2-weeks in advance, so if she received another newsletter that issue had already been set up to go out automatically; that will be the last newsletter she will receive. The account was, indeed, cancelled and a zero” balance shows on said account.While researching this complaint we did find that this company has done business with us in the past and is aware of our cancellation policy. We found several different trial subscriptions had been accepted before; 1-paid in full account while other accounts were cancelled as we instructed withoutPlease know that we do business regularly with thousands of companies who place repeated orders due to their continued satisfaction and our excellent customer service.All of our contact information is in our newsletter and it contains our toll free telephone number. We, also, have a 24 hour7 days a week voice mail system due to the large amount of calls we receive daily from our coast-to-coast subscribers.Feel free to contact the Customer Service Department if you have any questions at [redacted].Thank you.

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

Regards,

Review: They sent a notice of collection to [redacted] regarding a publication (Keep Up To Date on Payroll) that they were supposedly sending via e-mail and posted mail to my company email and also the business address. I have no proof of delivery to either my email or the business mail. I check my e-mail and my Junk mail and have nothing in either box regarding this company. I received a faxed copy of an invoice they supposedly sent and I've never saw a single piece of information from them. Now the collection agency is telling me that since they never received anything back either from my e-mail or any publications that they "supposedly" sent saying that we didn't want this therfore we are responsible for paying the $230.00 bill. I have never heard of a company that can call and solicit business...get your business information and then use it to try and get money for something they never produced and I nor the company have any need for.Desired Settlement: I would like them to void this bill and remove my name and the business from their solicitation list. This is not a product I nor the company would ever use.

Business

Response:

June 26, 2014Dear [redacted]:Thank you for your email of 6/26/14 regarding the above referenced agency complaint that you received on 6/24/14. After review, we would like to respond to your letter with the following detailed explanation.Please note that our primary method by which we secure orders is by telephone solicitation. In such cases, our representatives take orders with a 60-day right of cancellation to a 1-year subscription to one of our newsletters, books or on line programs. We have very stringent quality control procedures regarding our representatives making this offer. These include verifying the mailing address, asking for the month and day of the person's birth date and asking for the person's email address or fax so we can send written confirmation of the order within 24 hours. This serves to encourage contact with us if there are any mistakes or changes that need to be made.Regarding the specifics of this situation, please note that [redacted], Bkkpr, placed an order on 11/22/13 for our Keep Up To Date On Payroll publication and she provided us with birth date information as [redacted], as well as an email address. Within 24 hours of the discussion, we sent a confirmation letter that clearly restated the offer discussed, including the liberal 60-day, no questions asked cancellation policy. Our computers show that the confirmation went through without any problems.The birth date information is obtained, in part, to verify the conversation took place. Once the order was placed, the same computer system sent the newsletter and invoices over a 5-month period of time.Thus the goods that were ordered by [redacted] were sent to the same address that shows in this complaint. This computer system records and tracks all confirmations, invoices, on-line programs, books, periodicals sent and cancellation requests. It does not show ever receiving a cancellation request or mail returned as "undeliverable". If we had we would have cancelled the account immediately.With all telephone orders placed, if the ordering person does not find the information helpful, all that is required is to write CANCEL on the invoice and return that to us or advise us any other way and the subscription will be stopped with no payment required, as is the publishing industry's general custom.However, if neither paid nor cancelled after 5-months, 2-warning notices, plus an additional 30-day wait period the account may be turned over for collection. That is what happened in this instance.As a courtesy we contacted the collection agency on 6/26/14 and advised them to cease collection and cancel this account. They have assured us that this will be done. There will be no ramifications due to this account going for collection and there is no money due or owing on this account.While researching this complaint we did find that this company has done business with us in the past and is aware of our cancellation policy. We found several trial subscriptions had been accepted before; 2-different trials for [redacted] herself (all information given to start a trial matches the account in question) , as well as 1-paid in full account while others were cancelled as we instructed without issue except this account.We have initiated a request on the same day that the name, address and telephone number be removed from our computer files. This action takes approximately 30-days to process. In business we hesitate to say the company will never receive another mailing from us. If any company information changes our computers may not recognize it and something may go out. If that should happen, simply call us and we will remove that version, too.Please know that we do business regularly with thousands of companies who place repeated orders due to their continued satisfaction and our excellent customer service.All of our contact information is in the newsletter and it contains our toll free telephone number. We, also, have a 24 hour/7 days a week voice mail system due to the large amount of calls we receive daily from our coast-to-coast subscribers.Please feel free to contact our Customer Service Department you have any further questions at ###-###-####.Thank you.

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

However, I would also like to add that in the past I have received subscriptions and have canceled several. That being said I don't believe I received this call nor did I ever receive an e-mail or mail correspondence from them regarding this matter. And just because they didn't receive a fail message from my e-mail address or a returned mailing does not constitute it being received. I take responsibility when the responsibility is mine but this time I believe it wasn't.Regards,

Review: Supposedly one of my co-workers said he would take a 30 day free trial and that he would receive notification when this was up as we would then be charged for subscription. My boss never received any invoices, until a collection letter came via fax on 8/22/14 in the amount of $299.00 from [redacted] in NY [redacted]. I called today and spoke with Michelle at the collection agency she said we had to pay at least for publications that we rec'd which was 5 mos to the tune of $130.00. I then also called Progressive Business Publications and spoke with Denise at ext 2[redacted]. She told me the same thing....she also said my co-worker provided his year and month of birth. I have seen online alot of people have encountered the exact same thing as we have. I don't even know if we ever received any of the magazines that we didn't want. My boss has never received an invoice until we got this fax.Desired Settlement: Publication cancelled and no money due....making a zero balance for my company[redacted] Acct # [redacted]

Business

Response:

August 28, 2014Dear [redacted]:Thank you for your email of 8/28/14 regarding the above referenced agency complaint that you received on 8/26/14. After review, we would like to respond to your letter with the following detailed explanation.Please note that our primary method by which we secure orders is by telephone solicitation. In such cases, our representatives take orders with a 60-day right of cancellation to a 1-year subscription to one of our newsletters, books or on line programs. We have very stringent quality control procedures regarding our representatives making this offer. These include verifying the mailing address, asking for the month and day of the person’s birth date and asking for the person’s email address or fax so we can send written confirmation of the order within 24 hours. This serves to encourage contact with us if there are any mistakes or changes that need to be made.Regarding the specifics of this situation, please note that [redacted], Facilities Mgr., placed an order on 1/15/14 for Our Safety Compliance Alert publication and he provided us with birth date information as [redacted], as well as an email address. Within 24 hours of the discussion, we sent a confirmation letter that clearly restated the offer discussed, including the liberal 60-day, no questions asked cancellation policy. Our computers show that the confirmation went through without any problems.The birth date information is obtained, in part, to verify the Conversation took place. Once the order was placed, the same Computer system sent the newsletter and invoices over a 5-month period of time.Thus the goods that were ordered by [redacted] were sent to the same address that shows in this complaint. This computer system records and tracks all confirmations, invoices, on-line programs, books, periodicals sent and cancellation requests. It does not show ever receiving a cancellation request or mail returned as \undeliverable”. If we had we would have cancelled the account immediately.With all telephone orders placed, if the ordering person does not find the information helpful, all that is required is to write CANCEL on the invoice and return that to us or advise us any other way and the subscription will be stopped with no payment required, as is the publishing industry’s general custom. However, if neither paid nor cancelled after 5-months, 2-warning notices, plus an additional 30-day wait period the account may be turned over for collection. That is what happened in this instance.As a courtesy we contacted the collection agency on 8/28/14 and advised them to cease collection and cancel this account. They have assured us that this will be done. There will be no ramifications due to this account going for collection and there is no money due or Owing on this account.While researching this complaint we found the [redacted] contacted us on 8/26/14 G 4:14 PM (EST) and verified all the information we have to start a trial subscription for [redacted] is correct. At that time we offered for him to pay for "issues served” only or $130.00 and she advised us she would get back to us with an answer but no one ever called back.Please know that we do business regularly with thousands of companies who place "repeat” orders due to their continued satisfaction and our excellent customer service.All of our contact information is in the newsletter and it contains our toll free telephone number. We, also, have a 24 hour/7 days a week voice mail system due to the large amount of calls we receive daily from our coast-to-coast subscribers.Please feel free to contact our Customer Service Department if you have any further questions at [redacted].Thank you.Cordially Yours,Sylvia N. Dir. Of Subscriber Services

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. Regards, [redacted]

Review: This company has sent multiple invoices to our company for publications that we never ordered nor received. They never took down any employee's date of birth to confirm order, nor did they send a fax confirming the order. They sent our company to collections, and the collection agency threatened to take our company to court. They provide no phone numbers on their invoices, and they do not respond to correspondence.Desired Settlement: My desired outcome is that this company go out of business as they are a scam and provide no legitimate service.

Business

Response:

See Attachment:

Review: Progressive Business Publications has been sending me invoices for publications I did not order and when I called to speak with their customer service department to inquire about the invoice, I was told there was a mistake. This was back in June 2012. Now in Feb. 2013 they have sent this unpaid invoice of $195.00 to their in-house collections agency, [redacted], telling me they will list my employer ([redacted]) with the credit bureaus for unpaid debt. This is blackmail and aggressive collections behavior. This was not a service I ordered and never received the "publications" in question; in fact these "publications" are just junk mail they claim are what I ordered. I was told if I paid the debt, then [redacted]. would be placed on the "No Call" list in the future so this wouldn't happen again! This is a scam.Desired Settlement: I do not want PBP or [redacted] to contact me or my employer again.

Business

Response:

See Attachment:

Review: I was contacted by Progressive Business Publications at my Office. I told them I was not interested in what they had to offer. The lady said that for verification purposes she will need my DOB. I gave my DOB for the sole purpose to not order anything. I started receiving bIlls by mail. I called numerous times without no sucess. I wrtoe on one of the bills telling them I did not order and to stop send ing a bill. Last week I got a call from [redacted] saying I owe a bill. They used my DOB against me and told me I had to pay the 230.00. I gave them my Card information. I than googled the name and come to find out they made their own collections department for scamming purposes. Something needs to be done about this company and them be prosecuted to the fullest.Desired Settlement: I want my money back that they scammed. I also think they should be closed down as they are not honest and this is not what AMerica Freedom is to be used for.

Business

Response:

See Attachment:

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

Regards,

I have a copy of a bill they sent to me dated 10/18/2012. I wrote on this saying cancel this order "Scammers". So for her to say they did not receive anything from me cancelling that is a lie. This company has found a legal way to go around scamming companies for money. Fact of the matter is that I was told a different reason on why they asked for my DOB and email address. I did not see this address in her reply. I want nothing to do with this company they scammed [redacted] for 230.00 tell them to cancel the mailings. I have cancelled multiple times and they do not stop. I am frustrated that companies can go on scamming. I have called there business and left a voicemail numerous times to cancel with leaving the account number. NO reply no calls back. It is my word against theirs. This is the loop hole they can slide through. If you want a copy of this bill please let me know. I would like a copy of the recording where I agreed to order this publication letter from them. I also want to see the emails for them. I did try to reply to the email and tell them to cancel. I do not remember a 24 hr email. Please email me the these copies. I would like all the email confirmations mentioned showing the attempts they gave. The letter I threw away all those months. Than I got involved when I found out they had a collections. I see that I am not the only person that is complaining about this company. Maybe Revdex.com needs to go in and see how they call companies and lie and not record the whole conversation. I am truly frustrated. The reply from them is not satisfactory just legal mumbling lies.

Review: We never order product and return it when it arrived but have received several notices for unpaid bill. I have contacted company and they were very rude and said I would pay for the book that I returned.Desired Settlement: To stop receiving invoice.

Business

Response:

See Attachment:

Review: The company of Progessive Business Publications in [redacted], Pa contatced me about a Safety Compliance Alert flyer that they publish. The sales person said that they would send me a couple of the flyer to see if I was interested in them. After two flyers they would send me an invoice for a years subscription. If I was not interested in them I would write "Cancel" on the invoice or there would be a toll free number I could call and also cancel it. I received two flyers which consist of two 8 1/2" x 17" pages folded in half with a couple of acticles on them. In neither envelope was there an invoice for the flyers. Today I received a past due notice for one years subscription for $299.00.Desired Settlement: Cancel the subscriptions and cancel the $299.00 invoice.

Business

Response:

See Attachment: