Progressive Business Publications

Review: Progressive Business Publications originally called our office and offered [redacted] a free Enviromental Compliance Alert. We did not ask for the alert or authorize it to be sent to our office but we received a bill several months later for $299 dollars. I then called and complained after spending several hours finding a number and was told that we did order the Environmental Alert and that we needed to pay. Progressive Business Publications has no record of our order but stated that they sent us email confirmations. They also stated that any orders cannot be cancelled by phone only by the original email sent to the original contact person. We stated that we would not pay their bill and finished the conversation. About 1 month later I received a new bill stating that I, [redacted] had now ordered another years subscription. Seriously this company is an absolute fraud and should not be allowed to be in business.Desired Settlement: This company needs to be shut down for fraud. They get you on the phone and ask your name and then send you a bill stating you owe them money or they will send you to collections. What an abuse of our credit system.

Business

Response:

See Attachment:

Review: We received a notice from this company, but it was titled "3rd notice", as if we had been ignoring previous notices. They are trying to collect $299.00 for subscription to a publication we never ordered. After doing some looking online, I discovered Revdex.com has 1850 complaints against them, and they will use predatory collections tactics. They are completely fraudulent.Desired Settlement: That I do not receive harassing collection calls or correspondence. Would like to know if they are breaking the law, so I can take legal action.

Business

Response:

See Attached:

Review: They keep calling for a debt for a magazine I never received or ordered. They have [redacted] calling, threatening people here that we will be sued and be sorry.. Horrible service. I have never signed up for this and never gotten any magazines. I want this debt to go away and they stop harassing my coworkers.Desired Settlement: Just stop calling and don't send to collections.

Business

Response:

See Attachment:

Review: A telemarketer from this company called this department and requested permission to email samples of their materials. I gave them permission and my name and email address. A short time later we started receiving bills in the mail for books we did not order or receive. Within weeks we were contacted by a collection agency demanding payment. I called the collection agent and explained the matter and was told they would advise their client. A couple of weeks later another letter was received from the collection agent threatening to report our department to a credit bureau. I have attempted to resolve this matter but they insist we ordered and received books, which is absolutely not true.Desired Settlement: This company and their collection agent need to stop contacting this department requesting payment for their fraudulent business practice.

Business

Response:

See Attachment:

Review: Progressive Business Publications alleges that [redacted] subscribed to a publication called "Environmental Compliance Alert" in March 2013. We have no record of ordering this publication. We are now being contacted by a collections company called "[redacted]." who is demanding that we pay them for this publication. We have tried to explain that we did not order this publication and do not want to receive it.Desired Settlement: Progressive Business Publications and [redacted] should correct their records to show that [redacted] has not ordered this publication and owes nothing.

Business

Response:

November 7, 2013

Dear [redacted]:

Thank you for your email of 11/5/13 regarding the above referenced complaint that you received on 11/4/13. 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], Owner, placed an order on 3/27/13 for our Environmental Compliance Alert 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. 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.

We did find that we were contacted on 5/14/13 and were informed of their new address from [redacted] to [redacted] and that was changed the same day.

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 11/6/13 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 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.

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

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.

It is my understanding that the business will (1) stop sending the non-requested publication, (2) notify its collection agency to stop contacting me, and (3) update any records to show that I do not owe money.

Regards,

Review: Received an invoice for a product never ordered and never received.Desired Settlement: Nullify invoice [redacted] for account [redacted]. Not ordered. Not requested. Not received. Not wanted.

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 10/17/13. 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 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, 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], Grants Mgr, placed an order on 8/13/13 for our Nonprofit Board Report (packet 5 per month) publication. We were provided with the month and day of birth only, 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. 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 newsletters and invoices over a 2-month period of time.

Thus the goods that were ordered by [redacted] were sent to the same address that shows on this complaint. This computer system records and tracks all confirmations, invoices, on-line programs, books, periodicals and cancellation requests.

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 it to us, or advise us by any other way, and the subscription will be stopped with no payment required, as is the publishing industry's general custom.

As a courtesy we cancelled this account on 10/15/13 as they requested the same day they called us. There is no money due or owing on this account.

We initiated a request on 10/21/13 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 the company's name is misspelled or the zip code incorrect, 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 complaint we did find that this company has done business with us in the past and is aware of our cancellation policy. We found several different trial subscriptions had been accepted before; 1-paid in full account and others cancelled as we instructed.

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 our excellent customer service.

All of our contact information is in the newsletter. It contains our address and 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.

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, although the claims they made were still untrue. I find their argumentative and defensive nature unprofessional, as verified by the "F" rating they maintain. I only hope other customers don't fall into the same trap of "ordering" on the phone.

Review: They are a scam, sending you free issues and then claiming you signed up because you did not open their junk mail and send it back to cancel. Are threatening to send to collections for something not signed up for. Dozens of complaints online about this business.Desired Settlement: Have PBP stop contacting me and threatening collections

Business

Response:

September 28, 2014Dear [redacted]:Thank you for your email of 9/26/14 regarding the above referenced complaint that you received on 9/25/14. After review of our detailed electronic records we would like to respond to your letter with the following explanation.Please note that our primary method by which we secure orders is by telephone solicitation. In such cases, our representatives take orders with a 60-day right of cancellation to a 1-year subscription to one of our newsletters, books or on line programs. We have very stringent quality control procedures regarding our representatives making this offer. These include verifying the address, asking for the month and day of the person's birth date and asking for the person’s email or fax number so we can send written confirmation of the order within 24 hours. This serves to encourage contact with us if there are any mistakes or changes that need to be made.Regarding the specifics of this situation, please note that [redacted], Payroll Mgr., placed an order on 5/20/14 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 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 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 9/25/14 as requested. There is no money due or owning 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 did find 1-different “no risk” subscription had been accepted before and was cancelled as we instructed.Please know that we do business regularly with thousands of companies who regularly place repeat orders due to their continued satisfaction and our excellent customer service.All of our contact information is in our newsletter. It contains our address and telephone number. We also have a 24 hour /7 days a week voice mail system due to the large amount of calls we receive daily from our coast-to-coast subscribers.Feel free to contact the Customer Service Department if you have any questions at [redacted]. Thank you.Cordially Yours,Sylvia N. Dir. Of Subscriber Services

Consumer

Response:

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

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:This companies deceptive business practices are well known and their form letter response is not going to get it done. Please work to put them out of business.

Regards,

Business

Response:

November 9, 2014Dear [redacted]:Regarding the above referenced rebuttal that you received, we submit the following:All the information we received to start a "no risk" subscription for our publication entitled Keep Up To Date on Payroll was given to us by someone who identified himself as Steven Wheeler on 5/20/14.Please be advised we did cancel and suppress his name from our computer files on 9/28/14 as stated in our letter to [redacted]. This action takes approximately 30 days to complete.We have done everything that has been requested and feel this complaint has been resolved.Cordially Sylvia N. Dir. Of Subscriber Services

Review: Pressured to pay for publications we do not want and don't think we ordered. Say invoice was turned over to credit recoveryDesired Settlement: Stop contacting and remove name and phone number from their contacts

Business

Response:

October 10, 2013

Dear [redacted]:

Thank you for your email of 10/10/13 regarding the above referenced complaint that you received on 10/7/13. 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], Fundraising Dir, placed an order on 2/5/13 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 10/10/13 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 several different trial subscriptions had been accepted before; 4-trials for **. [redacted] himself that he did cancel. All other 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,

Consumer

Response:

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

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

Regards,

Consumer

Response:

From: Revdex.com of Metro DC and Eastern PA <[email protected]>

Date: Tue, Oct 29, 2013 at 4:45 PM

Subject: Fwd: Complaint [redacted]

To: [redacted] <[redacted]

---------- Forwarded message ----------

From: [redacted] <[redacted]>

Date: Tue, Oct 29, 2013 at 4:13 PM

Subject: Complaint [redacted]

To: [email protected]

Thank you for the expeditious handling of the captioned claim. We do appreciate your help.

Director of Administration

Direct Line - [redacted]

TollFree - [redacted]

Fax - [redacted]

Review: We received a call from [redacted] (hereinafter referred to as [redacted]) claiming they were trying to collect on a debt of $230 owed by our company to Progressive Business Publications (hereinafter referred to as Progressive). The details of the alleged debt was disclosed to me by [redacted] as an order placed by myself for 23 issues of a subscription titled, "Keep up to date on Payroll" in late August 2013, and upon questioning of [redacted], I was provided with an invoice dated 9/24/13. I do not recall reaching out to Progressive to order this product. [redacted] informed me that Progressive asks one of a few personal questions when a customer is placing an order so they can verify the identity of the individual making the order, if necessary, at a later date. One of these bits of information is date of birth. [redacted] indicated to me via phone, that Progressive's records indicate that I told a Progressive representative my date of birth was [redacted]. This is, in fact, an incorrect date of birth and not the correct month. I also received no email from Progressive indicating that I placed an order. It would seem logical that if I did place an order for the above publication, I would have received a confirmation email documenting this. Progressive does have my email on file as I receive numerous emails from them in any given month (most of which I would consider as SPAM).

I did proactively reach out to Progressive in early 2012 for a trial subscription to Keep up to date on Accounts Payable. However, I canceled this trial subscription and have an email from Progressive confirming this. Since this time in early 2012, I have no recollection of talking to any Progressive representative, nor visiting their website, nor having any communication with them via email.

Progressive and [redacted] contend that they sent multiple invoices to the mailing address for our company's corporate headquarters. This may be true as the mail may have been treated as junk solicitations and shredded. Merely sending invoices for unsolicited services does not constitute a contractual relationship - especially given the fact that Progressive cannot substantiate with any accuracy that I personally ordered the publication as they claim I did.Desired Settlement: Eliminate any balance owed by [redacted] to Progressive.

Business

Response:

May 1, 2014Dear [redacted]:Thank you for your email of 4/30/14 regarding the above referenced agency complaint that you received on 4/28/14. 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 someone who identified himself as **. [redacted], Accting Dir, placed an order on 8/29/13 for our Keep Up To Date On Payroll newsletter 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 4/30/14 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 that were cancelled as we instructed without issue.Please know that we do business regularly with thousands of companies who place repeated orders due to their continued satisfaction and our excellent customer service.All of our contact information is in the newsletter and it contains our toll free telephone number. We, also, have a 24 hour/7 days a week voice mail system due to the large amount of calls we receive daily from our coast-to-coast subscribers.Please feel free to contact our Customer Service Department if you have any further questions at ###-###-####. 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:The data provided by [redacted] and Progressive Business Publications to verify that the order took place (my birth date) is incorrect. I understand the procedures Progressive Business Publications has for securing orders as [redacted] has outlined them. Those procedures, in fact, help to substantiate my claim that I did not make the order in question. Progressive's records, as well as [redacted]'s response letter, indicate my date of birth is [redacted] based on the information they are erroneously claiming I provided them. My birth date is not [redacted]. It is not on the [redacted] of any month nor is it in the month of [redacted].My email address, name and title were all information that Progressive previously had based on the only order I have ever placed with them, which was in early 2012 - an order which I canceled within the 60-day window. None of these prove that I placed the order in question for a subscription to, "Keep Up to Date on Payroll." The only information that would verify I placed the order in question is the date of birth, which Progressive has incorrect. [redacted] also contends that 5 months worth of subscriptions were provided to the email address on file. Whether or not this happened is irrelevant if someone within our company did not pro-actively seek these subscriptions. The practice of merely sending invoices to someone for something they did not ask for is an unethical practice and it is one that has been at the core of a great number of the complaints filed against Progressive with the Revdex.com. Progressive Business Publications has an "F" rating with the Revdex.com and has well over 2,200 complaints filed against it with the Revdex.com. Many of the complaints against Progressive stem from unethical practices of "invoicing". See attached file for a Revdex.com alert issued on Progressive Business Publications in July 2012. Progressive has a 1 star rating (1 being the worst) with Consumer Affairs. Progressive has 115 reports filed against it on the website [redacted].com. The information Progressive has provided which they feel verifies that I placed the order in question, is incorrect. The facts and circumstances presented clearly indicate that neither myself, nor anyone at our company placed an order with Progressive Business Publications for the subscription "Keep Up to Date on Payroll". While we feel Progressive did the right thing in asking their collection agency to cease action against us, we still want to continue our complaint in the hopes that it will deter Progressive from using these tactics on other business in the future.

Regards,

Review: I received a call from Progressive Business Newsletters approx. 1/2013. I was offered to have them send a newsletter, at no cost, to our business and if we wanted to continue to receive the newsletter, we could sign up for a yearly program. I declined all offers and never received anything in the mail or any call backs. Yesterday I was contacted by [redacted] stating that myelf and the business I work for had an outstanding invoice for this newsletter, to which we never said we wanted and have never received.Desired Settlement: There should be no outstanding invoice and I would like this company to stop contacting our business.

Business

Response:

See Attachment:

Consumer

Response:

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

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

Regards,

Review: Company sent my account to a collection agency for publications that I did not receive and did not ask for. They called offering a 30 no strings free trial, but continued to bill me. They were using deceptive sales and billing practices, offering something for free and then charging without approval. They use [redacted] as a collection agency. I never saw anything, or got a call from the company until the collection agency called. Obviously they had my phone number if they wanted to get in touch with me.Desired Settlement: This company should be prosecuted as they have received thousands of complaints across the nation. They are parasites.

Honestly, after several phone calls they agreed to back the collection agency off, but I should have never been put through this in the first place.

Business

Response:

[redacted]

Revdex.com

1880 J.F.K. Blvd.

Ste 1300 Phila, PA 19103

RE: COMPLAINT LETTER/FILE #[redacted]

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], Exec Dir, placed an order on 1/21/13 for our Foundation & Corporate Funding Advantage publication. We were provided with a birth date of 8/23, as well as an email address. Within 2 4 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 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. 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 8/21/13 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 and there is no money due or owing on the 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.

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: This business called me and asked me to take advantage of an offer for a publication for 30 days and at the end of the 30 days I could cancel. I tried to call their customer service and talked to no one. A few months later I got a call from a collection agency wanting 299.00 dollars and an immediate response.Desired Settlement: I do not want to be charged and I do not want any further dealings with this group. I also want others to know about their business practices.

Business

Response:

November 29, 2013

Dear [redacted]:

Thank you for your email of 11/26/13 regarding the above referenced complaint that you received on 11/25/13. 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 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 corrections that need to be made.

Regarding the specifics of this situation, please note that [redacted], Safety Coord, placed an order on 3/15/13 for our Safety Compliance Alert publication. He provided us with a birth date of [redacted], as well as an email address. Within 24 hours of the discussion, we sent a confirmation letter that clearly restated the offer discussed, including the liberal 60-day, no questions asked cancellation policy. Our electronic records show that the confirmation letter went through without any problems.

The birth date information is obtained, in part, to verify the conversation took place. Once the order was placed, the same computer system sent the newsletters and invoices over a 5-month period of time.

Thus goods that were ordered by [redacted] were sent 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. It does not show that we ever received a cancellation on this account or mail returned as "undeliverable". If we had we would have cancelled the account immediately.

With all telephone orders placed, if the ordering person does not find the information helpful, all that needs to be done is write cancel on the invoice and return it to us, or advise us by any other way, and the subscription will be stopped with no payment required, as is the publishing industry's general custom. However, if neither paid nor cancelled after 5-months, 2 warning notices and an additional 30-day wait period the account may be turned over for collection. That is what happened in this instance.

As a courtesy we contacted the collection agency on 11/26/13 and they advised us that they did receive payment in full ($299.00) on 10/24/13. They have marked this account "Settled Satisfactorily" and have reinstated the account so that he will get the remaining newsletters of the 1-year subscription. A "do not renew" was placed on the account so that once it expires there will be no further issues, invoices or renewal notices sent. 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 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.

While 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 many different trial subscriptions had been accepted before; 2-paid in full accounts and others cancelled as we instructed without issue except 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 the newsletter. 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.

Consumer

Response:

From: Revdex.com of Metro DC and Eastern PA <[email protected]>

Date: Tue, Dec 17, 2013 at 12:14 PM

Subject: Fwd: You have a new message from the Revdex.com of Metro Washington DC & Eastern Pennsylvania in regards to your complaint #[redacted].

To: [redacted] <[redacted]>

---------- Forwarded message ----------

From: [redacted] <[redacted]>

Date: Sat, Dec 14, 2013 at 7:54 AM

Subject: Re: You have a new message from the Revdex.com of Metro Washington DC & Eastern Pennsylvania in regards to your complaint #[redacted].

To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>

Thank you, I will make arrangements to pay them but they are still sending me their letters. I don't want to continue year after year after year after year paying them $299.00. I can see myself going through this again soon.

Review: Progressive Business Publication -was a publication that was subscribe by our deceased (6 years ago) Executive Directors and took several times to cancel over 6 years ago.

Since then no other subscriptions have been made. We are refusing to pay for the Foundation & Corporate Funding Advantage 12 issues and FCFA Online & Newsletter. The invoice we received claims that Original order date & Confirmation was sent on 4/7/2014; claims our Online Access is Active. Account#[redacted]; Invoice [redacted] in the amount of $240.00. This is the amount we are disputing.Desired Settlement: Please cancel and void this transaction. This is not authorized by SAFE Shelter. Subscription is backed by a 100% guarantee. Due to the problems in the past we believe this to be a gimmick, using an old mailing list.

Business

Response:

June 12, 2014Dear [redacted]:Thank you for your email of 6/9/14 regarding the above referenced complaint that you received on 6/9/14. 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], Exec Dir, placed an order on 4/7/14 for our Foundation & Corporate Funding Advantage 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 1-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 6/10/14 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 ourcancellation policy. We found many different trial subscriptions had been accepted before; as well as 7-of those were accepted by **. [redacted] herself. All information we require to start a trial subscription matches those accounts. We found that all other accounts were cancelled as we instructed without issue.Please know that we do business regularly with thousands of companies who place repeated orders due to their continued satisfaction and our excellent customer service.All of our contact information is in 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: I keep getting invoices stating I owe or past due when I don't purchase anything from these people its fraud, I don't know who they are and they keep putting different staff members on the invoice which do not order anything. I have no way to communicate with them, no phone number/email. Thank you for your help. [redacted]Desired Settlement: Just want them to stop sending me bills that are fraud

Business

Response:

April 17, 2014Dear [redacted] :Thank you for your email of 4/17/14 regarding the above referenced complaint that you received on 4/15/14. 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 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 is that this is the only account we found for this complainant; therefore, please note that [redacted], Nursing Dir, placed an order on 2/21/13 for our Quality Managers 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 1-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 4/18/13 as they requested via U. S. Mail. There is no money due or owing on thePlease advise us if this is not the account in question and we will gladly research another account. We will need an account number to aid with our research.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 hour7 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.

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.]

Its odvious that they are not telling the truth and its sad how many other business are taken advantage of from these people. If you look at their invoice you can not contact them to cancel any order, also you can get anyone birthdate on line. [redacted] must have a purchase order before placing any order. We I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

Regards,

Review: The company offered us "free" newsletters on OSHA Safety Compliance in May of 2013. We never received any of the newsletters or had any further contact with PBP until 11/5/13 when we received a phone call from [redacted], a collection agency working on behalf of PBP, saying we have past due invoices but were willing to waive collection fees and 7 months of service fees if we pay the initial cost of $299 immediately, otherwise they would be forced to report against our credit and turn it into a lawsuit. $299 for an alleged free service that never occurred.Desired Settlement: Would like the company to stop contacting us over this scam.

Business

Response:

November 7, 2013

Dear [redacted]:

Thank you for your email of 11/6/13 regarding the above referenced complaint that you received on 11/5/13. 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], Safety Mgr, placed an order on 5/1/13 for our Safety Compliance Alert 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 11/6/13 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 a different trial subscription had been accepted before and 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 ###-###-####.

Thank you.

Review: Late 2012/2013 I received a phone call from Foundation & Corporate Funding Advantage (FCFA) publication of Progressive Business Publications. I was asked if I would like to receive a complimentary copy of their publication outlining grant opportunities for Non-Profits. I told them I was not sure if this would be something we would like to commit to, I was told, not to worry, they would send a copy out and we could decide if we wished to continue. I was never told a price or anything about a fee. The publication arrived, it was not something we were interested in. The publication continued to arrive. I called the Subscription services number provided. The message said that we are to leave the information regarding the account but that they are busy and not to expect a call back. The publication continued. Eventually a letter from a collection company came for $240.00 approximately Oct/Nov 2013. I called the company and explained the situation, they sympathized and assured me this is not the first that they have heard of this from this publication, that they take agreement of the initial let me look at it copy to set up an account. I again called the FCFA to no avail.Not wanting our company to be in default I paid the fee. I have called every month since to stop the publication. I have gone to the website, I have emailed the editor-in-chief, and I sent a fax to the company on April 30th. The June issue arrived on May 12th.Desired Settlement: Ultimately I would like my money back, and I want the subscription to end, and not be charged an additional, nor sent to collections.

Business

Response:

May 15, 2014Dear [redacted] :Thank you for your email of 5/14/14 regarding the above referenced complaint that you received on 5/13/14. 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 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 corrections that need to be made.Regarding the specifics of this situation, please note that [redacted], Branch Dir, placed an order on 2/8/13 for our Foundation & Corporate Funding Advantage publication. She provided us with a birth date of [redacted], as well as an email address. Within 24 hours of the discussion, we sent a confirmation letter that clearly restated the offer discussed, including the liberal 60-day, no questions asked, cancellation policy. Our electronic records show that the confirmation letter went through without any problems.The birth date information is obtained, in part, to verify the conversation took place. Once the order was placed, the same computer system sent the newsletters and invoices over a -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 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 5/14/14 and they advised us that they have received payment in full ($240.00) on 10/23/13 for the subscription. They have marked this account "Settled Satisfactorily". They have reinstated the account so that [redacted] will get the remaining issues of the 1-year subscription. We sent the last newsletter on 5/2/14. The account has now expired and there will be no further issues, invoices or renewals sent. A "do not renew" was placed on the account. There will be no ramifications due to this account being turned over for collection and there is no money due or owing on this account. Once the collection agency receives payment there can be no refunds made.While researching this complaint we did find that this company has done business with us in the past and they are aware of our cancellation policy. We found a few trial subscriptions that had been accepted before and those accounts were cancelled as requested without issue.Please know that we do business regularly with thousands of companies who place repeated orders due to their continued satisfaction and excellent customer service.All of our contact information is in the newsletter. It contains our address and telephone number. We, also, have a 24 hour /7 days a week voice mail system due to the large amount of calls we receive daily from our coast-to-coast subscribers.Please feel free to contact the Customer Service Department if you have any questions at [redacted].Thank you.Cordially,

Review: A salesman from Progressive Business Publication called me asking if my organization was interested in receiving their Foundation & Corporate Funding Alert. I indicated that we were not interested. They insisted that they would send a free trial offer that we could cancel within 30 days. I declined again. They were incredibly persistent. I was assured that we could cancel within 30 days by simply marking "Cancel" on the invoice if we were not happy with the publication. I caved and said okay. When I received the first publication and invoice in the spring, I marked it “Cancel” and returned it, as their salesman and website instruct. I received a second invoice and called the customer service number on their website to, again, request that the publication is cancelled and that we do not receive further invoices. That was no later than May. The publications stopped being delivered and I had not heard from or received additional invoices from them since.

Twice last week, on Monday of this week, and today – I received a call from [redacted] at [redacted] who says that the account has been forwarded to her in collections and that she is attempting to collect this debt. Now, she is requesting dated copies of the returned invoice (even though their website does not indicate that this is required) and is threatening to send this to collections against my company or me, personally. This is unacceptable.

The pushy salesperson indicated multiple times that we could cancel in 30 days with "no problems" - and refused my multiple attempts to decline the offer to begin with.Desired Settlement: We did not want or receive this service and I would like for the invoice charges to be dropped. We were not interested initially, were falsely promised that we could cancel in 30 days without any problems, and now are being harrassed by a collections agent. Please just drop these ridiculous charges.

Business

Response:

October 24 2013

DIRECTOR OF SUBSCRIBER SERVICES

[redacted] Revdex.com 1880 J.F.K. Blvd.

Ste 1300 Phila, PA 19103

RE: COMPLAINT LETTER/FILE #[redacted]

Dear [redacted]:

Thank you for your email of 10/24/13 regarding the above referenced complaint that you received on 10/23/13. 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], placed an order on 2/12/13 for our Foundation & Corporate Funding Advantage publication. We were provided with a birth date of 8/30, 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 10/24/13 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; 4-paid in full accounts and others 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 ###-###-####.

Thank you,

Review: The company sends unsolicited materials to a business address (employment law newsletters, books, etc.). The correspondence says you must notify them you do not want the materials. If you fail to do so, you are billed for them. Approximately a year ago I apparently received a sample newsletter from them which I threw away because it did not seem to be of interest. I was upset when I received a bill, but agreed to pay it. In exchange, I made it clear I did not want to be contacted ever again by them. Today I received a book titled "Higher Education Law in America". With the book was an invoice for $104.95. A letter that accompanied the invoice said "Ordered by [redacted]". I never ordered this book. I suspect the same thing happened; at some point they have sent me some correspondence saying that if I don't want this book I need to notify them. I don't recall ever receiving anything like this, but I do know I have never ordered a book from them.Desired Settlement: I want to be purged from their system. I don't want them to ever contact me by phone, fax, email, mail or any other means. Someone might admonish them about this unethical practice, but that's not my ultimate concern.

Business

Response:

November 6, 2014Dear [redacted]:Thank you for your email of 10/31/14 regarding the above referenced complaint that you received on 10/20/14. After review of our detailed electronic records we would like to respond to your letter with the following explanation.Please note that our primary method by which we secure orders is by telephone solicitation. In such cases, our representatives take orders with a 60-day right of cancellation to a 1-year subscription to one of our newsletters, books or on line programs. We have very stringent quality control procedures regarding our representatives making this offer. These include verifying the address, asking for the month and day of the person's birth date and asking for the person’s email or fax number so we can send written confirmation of the order within 24 hours. This serves to encourage contact with us if there are any mistakes or changes that need to be made.Regarding the specifics of this situation, please note that Chief [redacted], Police Chief, placed an order on 1/18/13 for Our Higher Education Law in America book and its companion newsletter. 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 12-month period of time.Thus the goods that were ordered by Chief [redacted] were sent to the same address that shows on this complaint. This computer system records and tracks all confirmations, invoices, on-line programs, books, periodicals sent and cancellation requests.With all telephone orders placed, if the ordering person does not find the information helpful, all that needs to be done is to write CANCEL on the invoice and return it to us or advise us any other way and the subscription will be stopped with no payment required, as is the publishing industry’s general custom.As a courtesy we cancelled this account on 10/22/14 as requested. There is no money due or owing on the account.We initiated a request on 11/6/14 that the name, address and telephone number be removed from our computer files. This action takes approximately 30-days to process. In business we hesitate to say the company will never receive another mailing from us. If any company information changes our computers may not recognize it and something may go out. If that should happen, simply call us and we will remove that version, too.While researching this complaint we did find that this would be the 3rd year Chief [redacted] renewed his account. He renewed and paid for 2013 then again for 2014. Please advise Chief [redacted] this was just a renewal notice he received and it has been cancelled as he requested when he contacted us on 10/21/14.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.Please feel free to contact the Customer Service Department if you have any questions at [redacted].Thank you.Cordially Sylvia N. Dir. Of Subscriber Services

Review: Despite repeated attempts to STOP Progressive Business Publications from contacting many employees at our companies, we have been unsuccessful. The continually call and call and call AND harass. Here's the kicker...once they talk to an employee on the phone, Progressive Business Publications establishes that as a contract for purchasing their mailers, when clearly all they have done is talked to someone who has repeatedly told them WE ARE NOT INTEREST IN YOUR [redacted]. This has been going on for years, and YES, I do mean YEARS. Everyone in our company is well aware of this shady "publisher" who calls to confirm our address and then suddenly we are getting "past due invoices" for something we did not order, nor did we receive. Then to top this all off, they have a "collection agency" call and get RUDE with me! I cannot believe that something has not been done about this scam after all of these years and now they are employing a new tactic of adding a scam collection agency that is not even real - it's the same company. Invoices that are received have NO phone or fax or other contact info to cancel a subscription that was never ordered, and when you finally find their phone number with the Revdex.com, you can't speak to anyone that will help you, rather rude people who yell at you and tell you that you are lying. Who is going to do something about these SCAMMERS? PLEASE HELP!Desired Settlement: We respectfully request that ALL CONTACT CEASE from Progressive Business Publications - FOREVER. That's it. Nothing more. Do you think you can help us make this happen?

Business

Response:

See Attachment:

Review: Company maintains I authorized the purchase of their publication over the phone. They have my birth date as a signature that I authorized the purchase. I do not remember this phone conversation but I acknowledge I must have authorized it because they have my birth date. I question their method of operation of securing a sale. This was a subscription for a newsletter that cost $200. I do not have the authority in my company to make such purchase without prior authorization. They say it was on a trial basis and after a certain time period if I did not want to continue the subscription I was to send the invoice back with a notation to cancel the subscription. I did not read any of the newsletters. Perhaps it was received but I did not read them. They said they sent 5 newsletters then stopped sending any more because of lack of payment. I do not know how many issues was in the subscription. It seems to me they should have stopped sending newsletters after one issue if they did not receive payment, not after five. I checked online about this company, and lo and behold!, there are many complaints of this very nature. This company is aware that their method is causing problems for many people but they continue with this way of conducting business. I do not want their newsletter. I did not read any of their newsletters. They should have stopped after the first issue if they did not receive payment. They have to be aware that not receiving payment means problems ahead but they continue and then go about trying to collect payment for newsletters not received. I have seen complaints online dating back to 2008 so this has been going on for awhile. Their methods are problematic, they should acknowledge it has generated a lot of complaints against them, and they should stop what they are doing. I do not want to pay for something I did not use. They said this happened in 2012 or 2013.Desired Settlement: I will not pay for something I did not use. $200 for a newsletter! Stop contacting me.

Business

Response:

April 7, 2014Dear [redacted]:Thank you for your email of 4/4/14 regarding the above referenced agency complaint that you received on 4/3/14. 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], H/R Mgr, placed an order on 3/11/13 for our What's Working In Human Resources 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.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 4/4/14 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 trials subscriptions had been accepted before; another for **. [redacted] herself. All were cancelled as we instructed them except this account.We have initiated a request on the same day that the name, address and telephone number be removed from our computer files. This action takes approximately 30-days to process. In business we hesitate to say the company will never receive another mailing from us. If any company information changes our computers may not recognize it and something may go out. If that should happen, simply call us and we will remove that version, too.Please know that we do business regularly with thousands of companies who 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.