Progressive Business Publications

Review: When the sales person for Progressive Business Publications called me back in April to offer me a subscription to Information Technology Adviser, I explained that our IT group is not a site function but is managed out of our corporate office. For that reason, I explained that we did not have a use for the publication here at our site. He continued the sales pitch and asked if he could send me a free sample. I agreed and asked him to send the sample of his publication which I could forward to someone in our IT organization for them to review for value and interest. He agreed. He asked for my birthdate to verify that he spoke with me today. I was entirely unaware that I was placing an order of any sort at that time. Fast forward to today when I got a call from a collection agency stating we have not paid our $299 invoice. I explained that I had not ordered anything. She explained that I had. I asked to speak to the company and she indicated that was not possible as they turned over the bill to collections and have no interest in talking to me. Their tactics are unethical and clearly misleading at best. Furthermore the company made no effort to contact me about unpaid invoices and turned it over to collections without giving our company an option to respond prior to legal action.Desired Settlement: I would like this bill removed from their collection agency and deleted. And the "subscription" should be immediately cancelled.

Business

Response:

November 18, 2013

Dear [redacted]:

Thank you for your email of 11/15/13 regarding the above referenced complaint that you received on 11/14/13. 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 and asking for the person's 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 mistake or changes that need to be made.

Regarding the specifics of this situation, please note that **. [redacted], Global Supply Chain Mgr, placed an order on 4/26/13 for our Information Technology Adviser publication. We were provided 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 records show the email went through without any problems.

The birthday 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.

Please feel free to contact the Customer Service Department if you have any questions at [redacted]. Thank you.

Cordially,

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:

I did speak with the company as stated and I did provide both my name and birthdate. However, I repeatedly and clearly told the sales person that I was no longer in charge of IT and I did not want to order anything at the present time. When he persisted in his sales pitch, I asked if he could send a FREE sample of his publication so I could pass it on to our IT organization for review. He indicated that would be no problem. At the end of the call he asked for my birthdate to confirm that we spoke (he never indicated that it was to confirm any order). I reiterated that I was not interested in ordering anything at that time but looked forward to the free sample which I would direct to the correct person for review.

Regarding their written confirmation, if any such email was ever sent confirming the "order" that I did not want, it must have gone to my spam folder as I never receieved any confirmation.

Regards,

Review: The business called and offered to mail our a special education law guide with a 30 day free trial. Within 30 days, I was told to return to the company in the same package. I returned the materials in the time period given. However, two months later I received a bill and a phone call from the company. I told them that the materials were returned. They said they did not have the return in their records and I would still have to pay.Desired Settlement: I returned the materials and followed their directions. I do not believe I should have to pay. I truly believe this is a mail order scam.

Business

Response:

June 20, 2014Dear [redacted]:Thank you for your email of 6/18/14 regarding the above referenced agency complaint that you received on 6/17/14. 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], Principal, placed an order on 9/19/13 for our Students With Disabilities & Special Education Law book and its companion newsletter. 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 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 and cancellation requests. We did receive a cancellation request on 12/19/13 for the newsletter and that was processed the same day. However the book has not been returned.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 along with the book, 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.As a courtesy we contacted the collection agency on 6/18/14 and advised them to cease collections and cancel the book portion of the account. They have assured us that will be done. There will be no ramifications due to the account being turned over for collection. There is no money due or owing on this accountWhile researching this complaint we found 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 were cancelled as we instructed without issue.We have initiated a request the same day that the name 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 the company's name information changes, our computers may not recognize it and something may go out. If that should happen, please call and we will remove that version also.Please know that we do business regularly with many tens of 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 email, address, telephone, and fax numbers, well as our website. 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.Cordially yours,

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 disagree with some of the information provided by the company. I wrote cancel on the invoice and returned the book. I did not have a subscription for a newsletter. Nevertheless, when I spoke to the company in December about my cancelled book item, the response was "I still have to pay for it". At that time, they knew I did not want their book and wished to cancel it. So, I'm still not sure why it went to collections. But I am pleased that my account has been settled. I will not be doing business with this company in the future.

Regards,

Review: Progressive claimed that they provided me a one year subscription to CFO & Controller, which I have not received. Their billing policy is charging the clients for the full year subscription unless they cancel after a 30-day trial period. The collect agency [redacted] has been calling my numbers almost every day now.Desired Settlement: They need to stop calling me about this invoice.

Business

Response:

June 12, 2014Dear [redacted]:Thank you for your email of 6/11/14 regarding the above referenced agency complaint that you received on 6/10/14. 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], CFO, placed an order on 12/9/11 for our CFO & Controller's 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 6/11/14 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 trial subscriptions had been accepted before; **. [redacted] had accepted 3 different trial subscriptions himself, but only cancelled 1-account. Other trials for the company were cancelled as we instructed without issue.We have 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 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.

Review: In November 2012, the VP of IT received a phone call from PBP regarding a "free" newsletter related to IT services. The VP provided contact information for this newsletter. At the close of the conversation, the PBP representative told the VP that if he liked the newsletter, it would keep coming to him at a charge. At that point, the VP told the representative he was not interested in engaging in any business relationship that required him to cancel a subscription in order to avoid being charged.

The VP does not recall receiving any newsletters from PBP via email or in hard copy. In June 2013, the VP received a phone call from a collection agency called International Credit Recovery regarding a $299 bill for the PBP newsletter. At that time, the VP disputed signing up for the service which required him to cancel in order to avoid being charged. He searched his "junk mail" email folder and found an unread email from PBP with those terms stated. Otherwise, the VP had no communication from PBP.

Unbeknowst to the VP, the [redacted] accounts payable department had received the invoice for $299 but did not pay it due to repeated (unsuccessful) attempts to verify the legitimacy of the order with PBP. This is not the first time [redacted] has received an unsolicited invoice from PBP.

The woman with whom the VP spoke at [redacted], offered to settle the account for $130. On a later date, the Associate General Counsel for [redacted], also spoke with [redacted] and was offered settlement in the same amount. The Associate GC also spoke with [redacted] at PBP, who offered to settle the account for $130. All those offers were declinedDesired Settlement: [redacted] would like PBP to remove the disputed amount from collection by [redacted] would also like PBP to cease from contacting any employee of [redacted] without first speaking with someone in the Legal Department at [redacted].

Business

Response:

See Attachment:

Review: I have been getting numerous invoices for a publication for which a subscription was never authorized.Desired Settlement: DO NOT SEND ANY MORE INVOICES THREATENING COLLECTION.

Business

Response:

May 15, 2014Dear [redacted] :Thank you for your email of 5/14/14 regarding the above referenced complaint that you received on 5/12/14. 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 persons birth date and asking for the persons email or fax number 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 needs to be made.Regarding the specifics of this situation, please note that [redacted], Controller, placed an order on 12/19/13 for our Keep Up To Date On Payroll 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 4-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 industrys general custom.As a courtesy we cancelled this account on 5/15/14 as requested. 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.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 trial subscriptions had been accepted before; 3-paid in full accounts while other accounts were cancelled as we instructed without issue. Also, we found that the Director of Sales has had our "Selling Advantage” publication since 2003 and has renewed each year.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.

Review: [redacted] collection agency called and claimed I had failed to pay a bill for some newsletter from Progressive Business Publications. They said I had authorized the subscription by giving my birthdate. I had no prior contact with [redacted] nor I ever seen the newsletter. She threatened to send the charge into delinquency.Desired Settlement: Cancel the bill

Business

Response:

See Attachment:

Review: Received a phone call over a year ago from the company stating that I could receive two "no obligation" free copies of their family coding mailers. A month later received another phone call from the company asking how I liked the publications and were instructed at that time that we did not want to continue with the publications and to cancel. The representative kept trying to push the product even when being told to stop the publications. The publications continued to come regardless of the written request to stop and verbal request. Never once was I informed what the cost would be. Never received another phone call until today when a collection agency ([redacted] in NY) called as a courtesy because they "know we pay our bills and didn't want our office to get a bad credit standing." Unusual is not the work for it as she proceeded to tell my date of birth and asked me to pay by credit card now or overnight a check to them asap. I refused informing her that this had to be discussed with the practice manager and she then told me I had until tomorrow before the collection process continues and the collection fees are tacked on.Desired Settlement: I would like the collection to stop, the balance to be written off, and the publications to stop coming

Business

Response:

May 12, 2014Dear [redacted] :Thank you for your email of 5/9/14 regarding the above referenced agency complaint that you received on 5/8/14. 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 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], Billing, placed an order on 10/10/13 for our Primary Care Coding & Reimbursement 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 -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 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 5/9/14 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 that [redacted] had accepted this same publication before (giving us the same information to start a trial subscription that shows on the account in question), but she cancelled that account as we instructed without issue.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 regularly business 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.

Review: Our non-profit agency is being harrassed for payment of subscriptions/publications that we did not order. The Center for Education and Employment Law has been billing us since last October for materials that we did not want. Now a collection agency, [redacted]. is sending us threating emails for payment. Based on the research that I have found on [redacted], they have many complaints for this excact situation.Desired Settlement: Have [redacted] and [redacted] stop contacting us and remove the NON APPROVED charges to us.

Business

Response:

May 12, 2014Dear [redacted] :Thank you for your email of 5/9/14 regarding the above referenced agency complaint that you received on 5/8/14. 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 persons birth date and asking for the persons email address or fax number 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], Principal, placed an order on 10/4/13 for our Private School Law In America book and its companion newsletter. [redacted] provided us with birth date information as [redacted], as well as an email address. Within 24 hours of the discussion, we sent a confirmation that clearly restated the offer discussed, including the liberal 60-day, no questions asked, cancellation policy. We do 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 book, newsletters and invoices over a -month period of time.Thus 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. 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 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. 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 5/9/14 and advised the agency to cease collections and cancel the book portion of the account. They have assured us that will be done. There will be no ramifications due to the account being turned over for collection. There is no money due or owing on this account.On 3/24/14 we did receive a request to cancel the newsletter portion of this account and that was done immediately. There are no monies due or owing on this 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 the Companys name information changes, our computers may not recognize it and something may go out. If that should happen, please call and we will remove that version also.While researching this account we did find that this school has done business with us in the past and is aware of our cancellation policy. We found many trial subscriptions had been accepted before; 8-trials for [redacted] herself, as well as 2 paid in full accounts and all other cancelled as we instructed without issues except this account. To date the book still has not been returned to us.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 our newsletter and 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 subscribersFeel free to contact the Customer Service Department if you have any questions at [redacted].Thank you.

Review: April 29, 2014 Revdex.com Dear Sir or Madam,I have repeatedly responded to your billing for Private School Law in America with a request for cancellation. I have received NO publications, nor do I wish to. I will be sending a copy of this communication along with the photocopies of previous requests to cancel to the Revdex.com as well as our diocesan lawyers. You have taken more than enough of my time in repeated for cancellation. I do not expect to receive bills from you or any agency acting on your behalf in the future. Thank you for your immediate attention to this matter. Sincerely, [redacted] Principal [redacted]Click Here to Get the File[redacted]Desired Settlement: see Attached document

Business

Response:

May 8, 2014Dear [redacted]:Thank you for your email of 5/8/14 regarding the above referenced agency complaint that you received on 5/7/14. 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, 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], Principal, placed an order on 11/1/13 for our Private School Law In America book and its companion 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 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 and the book 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 5/6/14 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. In this complaint [redacted] states, "they did not receive" any material from us but on 1/22/14 we did get a request to cancel the newsletter portion of the account and that was done immediately. To date, we have not received the book.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 ###-###-####. Thank you.

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:

Review: False Contractual Agreement-UNAUTHORIZED-I received a call from [redacted] from [redacted], NY on 10/15/13 from [redacted] stating she was collecting $240.00 for a service we agreed to on 2/13/13 from Progressive Business Publications providing subscriptions via email and online-"Foundation and Corporate Funding Advantage Newsletter". I did not authorize this nor receive this product in any way shape or form. I never received invoicing to our address. I have never confirmed, endorsed, or agreed to any payment of this product. This has been elevated to a collection agency-[redacted] - and will be reflected on my credit rating!!Desired Settlement: I expect the $240.00 completely rescinded in writing with ZERO Balance indicated to me, and a Letter from [redacted] indicating this debt was resolved DUE TO the account balance being erroneous.

Business

Response:

October 21, 2013

Dear [redacted]:

Thank you for your email of 10/21/13 regarding the above referenced complaint that you received on 10/18/13. 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 and asking for the person's 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], Co-Owner, placed an order on 2/13/13 for our Foundation & Corporate Funding Advantage publication. We were provided 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 records show the email went through without any problems.

The birthday 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 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. 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 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.

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 did contact the collection agency on 10/21/13 and advised the agency to cease collections and cancel the account. They have assured us that will be done. There will be no ramifications due to this account being turned over for collection or will their credit rating be affected. Too, there is no money due or owing on the account.

We initiated a request on the same day that the company 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 1-different trial subscription had been accepted by [redacted] before and all information to start a trial subscription matches this account. That account was cancelled as we instructed without issue.

Please know that we do business continually with thousands of companies who place repeated orders due to their continued satisfaction and 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 called to cancel this service within the time period stated on the notices. NO ONE has answered the calls or returned the calls. We have only spoken to a voicemail. We have answer sent numerour emails to cancel. The time has long passed the cancellation period they allow and they are now looking to collect $230.00 which my company WILL not pay. This company is very much a scam. NO one should have to go through this much trouble to cancel an account.Desired Settlement: We would like for them to cancel the service..STOP sending me emails. And to reverse the $230 charge, that was canceled MONTHS ago.

Business

Response:

September 18, 2014Dear [redacted]:Thank you for your email of 9/16/14 regarding the above referenced complaint that you received on 9/15/14. 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 guality 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], Payroll Mgr, placed an order on 3/25/14 for our Keep Up To Date On Payroll 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 liberal60-day, no questions asked, cancellation policy. Our computers show that the confirmation went through without any problemsThe 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 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 writeCANCEL 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 9/15/14 as they requested the same day they contacted us. There is no money due or owing on the 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 a few different trial subscriptions had been accepted before and those 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 ###-###-####.Thank you.Cordially,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: We did contact the company in writing and when we still received invoices we tried calling(leaving voicemails because no one would answer) and emailing. We received ZERO response. We appreciate them canceling the account on the 15th of September, we just do not feel the facts given are accurate.

Regards,

Review: Progressive Business Publications continues to send the company I work for invoices for magazines we do not receive; hard copy or digital. We have requested that they take us off their call list, never a send any type of publication or correspondence of any kind several times beginning in 2012. They continue to send invoices for publications we have not asked to receive and they make harassing phone calls trying to collect monies for services we have not requested and they are not providing.Desired Settlement: We insist that Progressive Business Publications stop contacting us for any reason either by mail, phone, email or fax.

Business

Response:

April 10, 2 014Dear [redacted]:Thank you for your email of 4/9/14 regarding the above referenced agency complaint that you received on 4/4/14. 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, 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], Safety Officer, placed an order on 9/24/13 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.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 4/9/14 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 a few trials subscriptions had been accepted before; 2-paid in full accounts while the others were cancelled as we instructed without issue except this account. Further, when we checked the account information to start a trial subscription it all matches **. [redacted]'s first 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 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 you have any further questions at ###-###-####.Thank you.

Review: I was contacting over the phone regarding signing up for a newsletter. I said sure, but I was not told that I would be billed. I get a lot of pamplets/information because of my job title and certification, so I did not realize that this would be billed. I now have a bill that I will not pay.Desired Settlement: They should disclose the cost. I get information for free because of my position or my title and I didn't realize that they charged for this service. Nor did I realize how expensive the publication was. I will not pay this bill.

Business

Response:

September 22, 2014Dear [redacted]:Thank you for your email of 9/22/14 regarding the above referenced agency complaint that you received 9/18/14. 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 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], Fin Mgr., placed an order on 3/12/14 for our CFO & Controller 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 5-month period of time.Thus goods that were ordered by [redacted] were sent. Our computer system records and tracks all confirmations, invoices, on-line programs, books, periodicals sent 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 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. 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 9/18/14 and advised the agency to cease collections and cancel the account. They have assured us that will be done. There will be no ramifications due to the account being turned over for collection. There is no money due or owing on this account. We did discuss that matter the same day they called (9/19/14 @ 11:35AM EST). They advised us that they disregarded the invoices and that the information to start the no risk subscription is, indeed, correct. They were told that we did cancel the account with the collection agency at that time.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 no risk subscriptions had been accepted before; 6-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 regularly place repeat orders due to their continued satisfaction and excellent customer service.All of our contact information is in our newsletter and 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

Review: I received a phone call from Progressive Business Publications asking to send me a free newsletter regarding Human Resources. Because the woman on the phone wouldn't take no for an answer, I reluctantly said yes and made sure to confirm that this was not something we were going to be paying for as we did not want it. We have since received an invoice from them stating that we owe $230. I never entered a contract with them and NEVER agreed to pay for newsletter that I specifically told them we did not want.Desired Settlement: I would like this invoice to invalid and erased from our credit history.

Business

Response:

March 6, 2014

Dear [redacted]:

Thank you for your email of 3/4/14 regarding the above referenced complaint that you received on 2/21/14. 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 month and day of the person's birth date.

Regarding the specifics of this situation, please note that [redacted], A/A, placed an order on 11/20/13 for our Administrative Professional Update publication. We were provided 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 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 3/6/14 as requested. There is no money due or owing on the 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 different trial subscriptions had been accepted before; 1-paid in full account and other accounts 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 ###-###-####.

Thank you.

Review: This company alleges that we agreed to purchase a newsletter called the Non-Profit Board Report. We have never received an invoice for this newsletter. A collection agency called [redacted] called me today and is stating if I do not make a payment this will show up on our business credit report at the end of the day. I ask for proof that we agreed to receive this publication and have not been provided with that information. The address [redacted] informed me that this publication was sent is not our business address..Desired Settlement: This is obviously a scam and should be illegal. Correspondence stating this is resolved is needed or next step will be the Attorney Generals office!

Business

Response:

March 6, 2013

Dear [redacted]:

Thank you for your email of 3/5/14 regarding the above referenced complaint that you received 2/28/14. 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.

Our computer system sent the newsletters and invoices over a 5-month period of time.

Thus goods were sent. Our computers records and tracks all confirmations, invoices, on-line programs, books, periodicals sent 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 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. 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.

Until being contacted via phone on 2/28/14 we were not aware that the mailing address and email address were incorrect and [redacted] did not receive a written confirmation nor the publications and invoices.

Thank you for bringing this information to our attention, we have referred this account to our Security Department.

As a courtesy we contacted the collection agency on 2/28/14 and advised the agency to cease collections and cancel the account. They have assured us that will be done. There will be no ramifications due to the account being turned over for collection. There is no money due or owing on this account.

Please know that we do business regularly with many tens of thousands of companies who regularly place repeat orders due to their continued satisfaction and excellent customer service.

All of our contact information is in our newsletter and 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 ###-###-####. Thank you.

Review: I received a phone call from [redacted] stating that I had authorized a newsletter to be sent to me from Progressive Business Publications. They had my name, contact information, and birthday. I never authorized a publication to be sent to me or agreed to pay for said publication. Furthermore, they claim that they have sent this newsletter to me since December, yet we have never received any publication as stated. The collection agent said that they have been tryign to collect from our non-profit for several months and that we would be turned over to collections if we did not settle the payment of $240 immediately. I told her I wasn't paying for anything I didn't authorize or receive. We never authorized or received anything from Progressive Business Publications and will not pay for this. From the long list of complaints filed against this company and [redacted], it appears that this is a SCAM.Desired Settlement: This company has hundreds of complaints filed against them for the exact same fraudulent activity. My desired outcome is for the government to get involve and prosecute them for fraud. I will settle with them just leaving us along and stop pursuing this bogus claim. I do not want them to contact our office again.

Business

Response:

August 22, 2013

Dear [redacted]:

Thank you for your email of 8/22/13 regarding the above referenced complaint that you received on 8/21/13. 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 and asking for the person's 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],. Develop Dir, placed an order on 12/20/12 for our Foundation & Corporate Funding Advantage publication. We were provided with a birth date of 11/28, 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 birthday 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 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. 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 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.

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 did contact the collection agency on 8/22/13 and advised the agency to cease collections and cancel the account. They have assured us that will be done. There will be no ramifications due to this account being turned over for collection and 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.

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 trial subscriptions had been accepted before and all accounts were cancelled as we instructed without issue except this account.

Please know that we do business continually with thousands of companies who place repeated orders due to their continued satisfaction and 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 ###-###-####.

Thank you.

Review: On 2/15/13, I received a collection call from [redacted]. attempting to "collect" on an invoice (#[redacted]) from Progressive Business Publications (PBP). I have researched here at our business and confirmed that we have no knowledge of ordering any publications from PBP, and that we also have no record of actually receiving any publications from them. Information that was verbally provided to me by [redacted]. representative [redacted] clearly does not substantiate that any purchase was made (she could not provide a copy of the claimed recording of the transaction or of our required Purchase Order) or that any PBP publications had actually been mailed to us (although she claimed that she somehow had USPS proof of mailing the publications to us). I do not believe that a legitimate sale exists to either pay for or cancel. PBP does not provide its phone number.Desired Settlement: I request that both Progressive Business Publications and [redacted] (a) immediately cease and desist contacting us, and (b) immediately cease and desist attempting to collect on the "invoice" either by themselves or by any other means. I also request that our business be placed on their Do Not Call lists.

Business

Response:

See Attachment:

Review: We started receiving an invoice for a product that was never purchased by our organization and never received as well. We did not contact this company to request this publication they simply started sending us a bill. We are a school district and we do not have money to pay for fictitious subscriptions to publications never received or requested. We have sent the company a request via US mail to stop sending the bills not less than 3 times. The most recent notice we received from them is threatening to send us to collections.Desired Settlement: We request that PBP please stop any an all future communication with us as well as clear the balance that they say we owe. Our Acct # is [redacted] we request that it be closed and any outstanding charges credited!

Business

Response:

August 21, 2014Dear [redacted] :Thank you for your email of 8/20/14 regarding the above referenced agency complaint that you received on 8/14/14. 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 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], Asst Principal, placed an order on 2/21/14 for our Keeping Your School Safe & Secure : A Practical Guide book and its companion newsletter. [redacted] did provide us with an email address at that time. 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 book, newsletters 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 and the book 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 8/14/14 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. Our computers do show that the school cancelled the newsletter portion of the account on 4/21/14.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 were cancelled as we instructed without issue.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 if you have any further questions at [redacted].Thank you.Cordially Yours,Sylvia N. Dir. Of Subscriber Services

Review: [redacted] called stating we were being turned over to collections for a newsletter we agreed to. We never agreed to pay for a news letter from them. They claim that I gave them my birth date to authorize that I wanted the newsletter. They ask for the birth date whether you want the news letter or not. We don't want to never have received any newsletter from them.Desired Settlement: We would like them to stop all contact with us now and in the future.

Business

Response:

See Attachment:

Review: Progressive Business Publications has referred my non-profit business to a collections agency for products I have not requested. I did not give them authorization to send me these products. They did not truthfully divulge their billing practices. They should not be able to send me to collections for materials I have not requested and for lying about agreements and charges. I have tried emailing them but it comes back as "undeliverable," and I have also tried calling them but they do not respond. I should be able to talk to a human being about incorrect charges.Desired Settlement: I would like Progressive Business Publications to stop sending me materials and emails that I have not requested. I would also like my account deleted and the charges revoked. This must not affect my non-profit organization's credit or my credit. I request that they call me personally to assure me that this will not be affecting my credit and all charges are dropped.

Business

Response:

December 9, 2013

Dear [redacted]:

Thank you for your email of 12/9/13 regarding the above referenced complaint that you received on 12/6/13. 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 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 needs to be made.

Regarding the specifics of this situation, please note that [redacted], Office Mgr, placed an order on 8/12/13 for our Nonprofit Board Report publication (packet of 5 newsletters per month). 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 5-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. It does not show we ever received 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 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 12/9/13 as requested, prior to receiving this complaint. Also, this account never went to the collection agency. There is no money due or owing on the account now.

We initiated a request on 12/9/13 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 continually with thousands of companies who place repeated orders due to their continued satisfaction and 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 our Customer Service Department if you have any questions at ###-###-####.

Thank you.