National Geographic Society

My heart fell as I read the articles in this issue. After such a traumatic year for all of us I was surprised to see so much more bad news. I think we need to focus more on the positive things that are happening in our country and around the world. I have never in all the years been more disappointed in your magazine. Sincerely, Gregg Ann Sweeney

Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] , and their letter unfortunately just added to the confusion by stating in the letter that one of the subscriptions was activated for a BOY (listed by name) and that its first issue had been sent to another person- A GIRL (listed by name) that I also paid a subscription for) so it is still unclear if they are sending the right, specific suscriptions to the right people Regards, [redacted]

September 22, 2014Dear [redacted] ,I am sorry for the delay in respondingOur Books Division has now completed their investigation of this complaintBe assured that the book in question, The Body, has been cancelled and no money is due at this time-We have also posted a do not promote to [redacted] ’s name, physical address, email address and phone number as provided in the complaintThere may be items already in the system which we are unable to stopPlease allow sufficient time for these items to clear.Sincerely, Sandra A Manager, Customer Care

I am sorry to learn that there is a problem with the gift subscription going to [redacted] daughterI have reviewed our files and found that we have an order on file for National Geographic Little Kids magazine from [redacted] and going to [redacted] at ** [redacted] *** Little Kids magazine is for children between and years of age and is published times a year: January/February; March/April; May/June; July/August; September/October; November/December (Please note that our National Geographic Kids magazine is for children between and years of age and publishes times a year: February; March; April; May; June/July; August; September; October; November; December/January.) I have requested a copy of the form submitted to the Society for verification of what the donor ordered.Yulina's Little Kids subscription was posted to our files on August 27, It can take 4-weeks to receive the first issue depending on where we are in the labeling process By August 27, we had already selected and mailed the September/October issue of Little Kids magazine which reaches households the month prior to cover date The next available issue of Little Kids to be selected was November/December issue and should have arrived betwen October and October Our records indicate that we have mailed issues of Little KIds magazine to [redacted] : November/December 2014; January/February 2015; March/April 2015; and May/June We have labeled the July/August issue and will drop that issue into the mail around May 29, for delivery in JuneRegarding the renewal policy, over years ago the Society adopted a policy to begin to send renewals approximately half way through a membership This was to allow members to renew at a time they selected instead of everyone having to pay in December of each year As we bagan to publish other titels, this policy was adopted at the default option However, it is an option We are able to offer other renewal options including a no early renewal option which would begin renewaal notices approximately months prior to expire Please keep in mind that our account system will show an account expired for a publication when it is labeled which is approximately weeks prior to cover dateI Trust this information is helpful Please contact me with any further questions or commentsSincerly, Sandra A [redacted] Manager, Customer Care ###-###-####

On January 19, 2016, we received an email from [redacted] asking about his refundUnfortunately [redacted] did not provide any order information We responded to him advising that we were not able to locate any returned merchandise but also requested additional information from him such as an order number and what merchandise was returned, so that we could conduct further research Our records do not indicate that we received a response to our request [redacted] indicated that he sent a follemail on February 5, 2016, but it appears that he responded to an auto-generated email from us which goes to an unattended mailbox as indicated in the body of our email [redacted] was refunded $ for order # [redacted] on January 21, as he acknowledged in his complaintWe checked our warehouse records for a return for order # [redacted] and verified that it was also returnedA credit of $was processed today In conclusion, [redacted] has been credited in full for both orders that he returned

[redacted] failed to complete all aspects of her son’s scholarship application within the extended time frame provided her

Dear [redacted] , I am sorry for the confusion regarding the naming on direct mail items you have received from the Society. First may I explain that due to child protection regulations, name selections for both our National Geographic Kids and National Geographic Little... Kids files are not pulled with first names. These files must be promoted only as a generic listing. We choose to use the family name such as "The [redacted] Family," for our promotional selection so we are not selecting a child for promotions. This policy covers both the donor and gift recipient names noted on the files. Please be assured that your renewal notice will come with the " [redacted] " designation. I have requested that we remove your Kids account information from future promotions by marking your account to only receive renewal mailings. I trust this is acceptable. If you do not want your account mark as no promotions, then please contact our call center at 1-80-NGS-LINE (###-###-####) and a representative will assist in re-marking the account. Thank you for your patience in this matter. Sincerely, Sandra A [redacted] Manager, Customer Care

Revdex.com of Metro Washington DCMay (day ago)to me ---------- Forwarded message ----------From: *** *** Date: Wed, May 6, at 10:AMSubject: Re: You have a new message from the Revdex.com of Metro Washington DC & Eastern Pennsylvania in regards to your complaint #***.To: ***re this entry....what was the resolve?The Bureau has judged that this complaint has been adequately resolvedDate Sent: 5/1/2:58:PMDear B R : This message is in regard to your complaint submitted on 3/12/12:28:PM against National Geographic Society Your complaint was assigned ID ***.The Revdex.com, in reviewing the complaint that you submitted to us about National Geographic Society, has closed the case The outcome of this complaint will be included in the company's Business Review for years If you wish to further pursue the issue, you might contact a legal advisor or the Attorney General's office Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us - we are happy to assist you Regards,*** *** The Revdex.comOn Fri, May 1, at 2:PM, wrote:

I am sorry to learn that *** *** continues to have concerns about his National Geographic magazine titles As I understand the current message, *** *** no longer wants to receive promotions from National Geographic Be assured that we have post do not promotes to his account and
all promotions should stop Please keep in mind that we may not be able to stop any promotions that may be in the "pipeline."
As to his subscriptions:
National Geographic going to ** *** will expire with delivery of the July issueNational Geographic Little Kids to *** *** will expire with delivery of the July/August issueNational Geographic Kids too *** *** will expire with delivery of the June/July issueSincerely,
Sandra A***
Manager, Customer Care

Dear *** ***,
I am sorry that you have concerns regarding the National Geographic pricing policy. May I explain that the Society is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to inspire, illumintate and teach others about the world we live in. We do this
through educational programs and geographic/scientific exploration/expeditions. A portion of the funding for these programs come from our member and subscribers to our various magazines. Although 90% of all rates paid to the Society go toward the production, printing and delivery of the magazines, the remaing 10% is earmarked for our mission programs.Regarding the rate increase: the basic rate for a subscrpton to National Geographic Kids magazine is $for delivery in the United States. There may be additional taxes aplied as well depending on the State. Colorado is a taxable state. I have reviewed your account information and found that the order form you used last year was an introductory online form located on our website. Many times the Society offers introductory offers to encourage new members and subscribers. It is the policy at the Society that we increase the rate at renewal each year until the newer subscribers are paying the equivalent rate as our long time subscribers. Since you paid the introductory rate of $for Emma Poole in May 2014, your renewal rate increased to $plus Colorado taxesI trust that this information is helpful. Please feel free to contact me directly with any further comments or questions
Sincerely,
Sandra A***
Manager, Customer Care
phone: ###-###-####
email: ***@ngs.org

Dear *** ***,The National Geographic Society is pleased to provide you with the following information regarding your order #***This order was placed through our catalog/online store on 2-26-You ordered these two books for an order total of $88.05:#*** National
Geographic Complete Birds of North America, 2nd edition#*** National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, 6th editionOur catalog/online store call center located in Margate, FL, has no record of any communication with you regarding this orderOur catalog/online store warehouse in Memphis, TN, has no record of receiving your returnIt appears that you were communicating with our Books division in Des Moines, IA, and our Magazine division in Tampa, FL.If you returned the package as indicated, it should have gone to our Memphis, TN, warehouse since you ordered it from our online storeHowever, it appears that you may have sent it to one of our other divisionsEven though the return was not received, we have processed a full refund on your order.We trust this adjustment is satisfactory.Sincerely,Nancy C***Customer Experience ManagerNational Geographic SocietyCatalog and Online

I have reviewed the Society account files and found a National Geogrphic print and digital order placed via our website on May 11, for Mr***. I am sorry to learn that Mr*** is no longer interested in our magazine. We have cancelled the order and a full refund of $
has been credited to the credit card used at the time of purchase. The October issue of National Geographic is the last issue Mr*** should receive.I apologize for the incorrect information. The Society does utilize a select group of carefully screened magazine agencies to market our magazines. However, Mr***'s order was handled directly with the Society. We have retrieved the email Mr*** sent and will be speaking with the reprentative who provided the erroneous information
Sincerely,
Sandra A***
Manager, Customer Care

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted],...

and their letter unfortunately just added to the confusion by stating in the letter that one of the subscriptions was activated for a BOY (listed by name) and that its first issue  had been sent to another person- A GIRL (listed by name) that I also paid a subscription for) so it is still unclear if they are sending the right, specific suscriptions to the right people.
Regards,
[redacted]

[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.]
Revdex.com:
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]

I was sorry to learn that Mr. [redacted] did not receive his May and June 2015 issues of National Geographic.  tI can take 6 weeks for address changes to hit the labeling system.  The lsat address change on Mr. [redacted]'s account is dated May 26, 2015.  This means that the May...

and June magazines went to the old address.  Also on May 26 and again on June17, replacement issues were requested  It can take 2-4 weeks for issue to be received as the account system in Florida generates the label which goes to our printer in West Virginia.  As the printer is also labeling next issues, they may delay doing the labeling of replacements.  I am unsure why a representative would have stated 7-10 days to receive replacement issues but be assured we will speak with the rep on this topic.
I am able to send replacement copies again to Mr. [redacted] via express shipping and these will go out on Monday, July 27, 2015. 
I trust this information is helpful.
Sincerely,
 
Sandra A[redacted]
Manager, Customer Care

I have researched this complaint with [redacted], the 3rd Party Vendor that handles our billing and payment processing. They have no record of having received or processed the check which the customer states was cashed. I will continue to investigate this further, but in the interim, I have...

instructed [redacted] to clear the balance due on this customer's account and instruct the Collections Agency to stop sending out notices. It may take 2 weeks for this request to be actioned. The customer should disregard any additional notices they may receive in the interim. I've also requested that one of our Customer Service Representatives contacts the customer to explain the situation and confirm that the collection notices will be stopped. 
Aled G[redacted]
VP Inventory & Operations
National Geographic Books
[redacted], NW
Washington, DC 20036

[redacted]'s allegations are simply false.  Significant time was spent in an effort to understand her concerns.  She was granted an extension to file a completed application, but failed to do so.  Further correspondence on this matter is unlikely to be productive.

On January 19, 2016, we
received an email from [redacted] asking about his refund. Unfortunately [redacted] did not provide any order information....

We responded to him advising that
we were not able to locate any returned merchandise but also requested
additional information from him such as an order number and what merchandise
was returned, so that we could conduct further research.  Our records do not indicate that we received
a response to our request.  [redacted]
indicated that he sent a follow-up email on February 5, 2016, but it appears
that he responded to an auto-generated email from us which goes to an
unattended mailbox as indicated in the body of our email.
 
[redacted] was refunded $179
for order #[redacted] on January 21, 2016 as he acknowledged in his complaint. We
checked our warehouse records for a return for order #[redacted] and verified that
it was also returned. A credit of $169.00 was processed today.
 
In conclusion, [redacted] has
been credited in full for both orders that he returned.

[redacted] failed to...

complete all aspects of her son’s scholarship application within the extended time frame provided her.

Unfortunately, I work in magazines and not books.  However, I have forwarded to staff in the books division to look into.
 
Sandy A[redacted]
Manager, Customer Care