S O S Communications

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because of untruthful statement of SOS MagazineI was promised to get the audio tape with the conversation about the ad e-mailed to me and that never happened Sincerely, [redacted]

At SOS Safety Magazine, we take pride in ensuring that each call that comes from our office is respectful and conducted in a professional mannerIt is our mandate to ensure that only customer`s making a valid purchase receive an invoice or ad copy from our organizationOn June 12, -
our representative had initiated calls to *** in regards to purchasing the ad for *** *** ***On the call, Brittany asked for the owner of the company and had discussed purchasing an ad for his companyBrittany built an ad for *** during the call and then asked how *** wanted to receive the proof, which he said to mail itBefore the end of the conversation *** agreed to purchase the adOur standard operating procedure states that after an ad is purchased and agreed to, a specific verification process must occur prior to an order being processed and the customer receiving an invoice for the purchase (If you would like a copy of our verification (audio file) please feel free to contact me.)The customer is first asked if they have the authority to purchase the ad, then they are notified that the call is being recordedWe then ensure that all the billing information is correct and confirm the size and cost of ad the client is purchasingThe last step is to notify the client that the sale is final and that they can make corrections to the ad copy before the publication dateOn June 28, our graphics department mailed out his proof and a request for changes or adjustmentsOur proof states: Please see a copy of your ad includedTo make any text or image changes to the ad, please contact us at 1-866-*** or fax us at 780-***On July 4, we received a phone call from ***’s wife saying that her husband does not speak English and that they had received the proof and everything was wrongThe customer service department had notified her that she was able to make changes to the ad but she had refused to submit any changesThe Customer Service department had notified her of our sale procedure and advised her of the nature of our product and its benefits to the community***’s wife said we were taking advantage of her husband and refused to pay for itThe Customer Service department notified the client she would review the file and email her backOn July 6, we received the ad copy back stating “please cancel, ad wrong” which was confusing because of the client’s wife first statement that her reason for cancellation was that her husband did not speak English and did not understand that he was making a purchaseBased on the nature of our business, it is never our intent to have anyone advertise who does not wish toWe have cancelled the customer`s invoice and offered to run an ad free of charge for in good faith

The customer purchase an advertising package from us in April of During the initial contact we explained the focus of the publication and offered an opportunity to purchase advertising. As part of our sales procedure we always through a specific verification process to ensure that
our client is aware they are purchasing an advertisement with usAfter they spoke to our salesperson, they were informed that a portion of the call will be recorded for quality confirmation, they asked if the purchaser had authority to purchase the ad for the company, we also confirmed the billing information, the email, the size and cost of the ad and the fact that the booking is based on a final sale.We created their ad and sent an ad proof prior to publicationWe proceeded to publish that edition and mail out to organizations on our distribution listIn May they contacted us and requested we remove the ad from the published books and cancel any future insertionsUnfortunately we were unable to cancel the ad as it was already produced and mailed outWe made an multiple efforts to contact them, leaving messages/emails with no responseWe were able to speak with the purchaser again in Dec of At that time, they agreed to pay the cancellation fee and we closed the issue as resolved. The customer neglected to pay their cancellation fee within a reasonable amount of time, so the file was sent to our collection agencyOne year after the customer filed the complaint in question.We keep record of all communication with our customers and would be happy to provide a copy of the audio recording of the customer making the purchase as well as agreeing to the cancellation fee upon request

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/07/22) */
At S.O.S Children's Safety Magazine, we take pride in ensuring that each call that comes from our office is respectful and conducted in a professional mannerOn April - Our representative had initiated calls to *** in regards to
purchasing the ad for the *** *** *** On the call *** and *** discussed what we do, what *** does and the fact that he would send us a proof for the advertisementOur representative asked how *** wanted to receive the proof, which he said emailBefore the end of the conversation *** agreed to purchase the adOur standard operating procedure states that after an ad is purchased and agreed to, a specific verification of information must occur(If you would like a copy of our verification (audio file) please feel free to contact me.) The customer will be asked first if they have the authority to purchase the ad, then they are notified that the call is being recordedWe then ensure that all the billing information is correct and confirm the size and cost of ad the client must agree before the ad purchase is finalizedThe last step is to notify the client that the sale is final and that they can make corrections to the ad copy before the print date
On May 5, 2014, our graphics department emailed *** his proof and a request for changes or adjustmentsWe also have the original email that we sent, date stamped to show we followed procedureOur email states:
Hello,
Here is how your ad will appear in the upcoming issue of SOS Children's Safety MagazineIf you would like to make any changes, or add any additional logos / images, you may send the requested changes to this email address within business days and we would be more than happy to rework the ad for youIf we don't receive a response within business days your ad will run as is
*Please note changes may only be submitted once*
On June we received a phone call from *** explaining that he never received the ad copyThe customer service department forwarded *** the original email to show we had sent the proof for changes to the email he had requested us toWe tried to contact *** by phone to resolve the issueWe had offered him a new ad in our next edition with his changes, and to move the invoice over to the new edition that the correct ad would run inHe said he would not pay for anything and to send him to collectionsWe tried to contact *** again Dec 2.2014, and he replied by email:
Your company did not fulfill its obligation with my order and published an add that I did not authorizeThe ad was totally fabricated and did not represent me at allI asked for a proof of the ad before it was published and did not receive itWithout my approval you should not have published the adA simple phone call would have been all it would have taken
You are welcome to do whatever, but in response I will report you to the Revdex.com of Canada
*** ***
We fulfilled our obligation and followed all steps to correctly run this ad for ***We also are happy to re run this ad in the upcoming edition with ***'s changesAs our disclaimer states:
Although great detail and attention is taken to avoid any ad copy or editorial errors, any errors or omissions on the part of the publisher are limited and dealt with solely by printing a letter of retraction and / or correction in the following edition
*** If you would like a copy of the audio file of the purchase, or the emails please feel free to contact me

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/06/16) */
At S.O.S Children's Safety Magazine, we take pride in ensuring that each call that comes from our office is respectful and represents what we believe in*** *** *** *** purchased advertising with SOS Children's Safety Magazine in
the past without any discrepanciesPart of our standard operating procedure is the client is contacted via telephone and informed about The SOS Children's Safety Magazine and the new issue that is availableWe then inform that the magazines are made possible through advertisers in different provinces thus making the magazine free of charge to the publicAfter the client agrees to purchase the advertisement, we ensure that all the billing information is correct, confirm the size of the ad that the client has agreed to purchase, and the costThey are then transferred to the billing department where the sale is confirmedThe client is clearly notified that "the call is being monitored and recorded for quality assurance and confirmation"The billing department will also confirm that the client does have the authority to purchase advertising for the company
On February *** spoke to our representative and agreed to purchase the advertisementWe then as per his request mailed his ad proof February
February we received a fax which was noted by the client that they did not approve the ad, and to not proceedThat day our customer service representative left a message for *** to call us back in regards to the purchaseFrom February to May we left numerous messages to please contact us to resolve this issue, with no responseWe received ***'s email on May and sent our audio confirmation for him to reviewThis was to show we would never place an advertisement without his consentFollowing the email, customer service did not receive any follow up until June where *** asked to be removed off all call lists
We have removed *** *** *** *** off our nation call list, so they don't receive calls from us
Based on our internal investigation, our conclusion is that our company policy was followed to the letter and the evidence confirms that a purchase was made willingly by the customer and the expectation is that the invoice will be paid
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/06/18) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
SOS did not have ANY problem contacting us at allI have communicated with them via phone, fax and emailI asked to hear the 'so called' verbal confirmation that *** agreed to purchase advertising with their company, and have never received it, so I assumed it didn't existRegarding using them for advertising in the past, this is true, but unfortunately, it was this exact same scenario of NOT agreeing to any advertising, receiving an invoice, and then finally we just paid it as we were so tired of the harassmentThis was a number of years agoThey stopped calling us for years, then started again***
Final Consumer Response /* (4200, 19, 2015/06/30) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
I am still waiting to hear the audio of ***'s conversation with SOS
All of the records SOS has of their 'attempts' to contact the customer were AFTER they had been advised TO NOT PROCEED with the ad! In addition, *** works out in the bush hours away from the office, so they had no choice but to deal with ***, as he is not in the office very frequently
Final Business Response /* (4000, 22, 2015/07/06) */
Business provided audio information
Good after noon ***, here is the audio confirmation from the date of sale

The original purchase was made by [redacted]. He was asked if he had authority to purchase the advertisement, and he said yes. On the date of sale [redacted] mentioned to the billing department that he did not want to purchase the ad without seeing it. Our billing department explained that we do not ask for...

payment until you receive the hard copy of the magazine. We explained our process to him, including the fact that the space was booked based on a purchase and final sale, [redacted] then proceeded with the purchase, and agreed.Our customer service department had contact with [redacted] on numerous occasions. The purchase was made on Feb.11, and the email to cancel was sent to our office Feb 18.2016, which was a reply to the already created ad copy/proof. At that point the work order had already been processed and the ad placed into the layout of the magazine.It is not in our company policy to process a work order or invoice a company for a purchase without proper evidence to ensure that the customer did in-fact make a purchase .To show we followed procedure I would be more than happy to forward all information we have on file. I have removed him from our calling lists, and they will not receive any further calls from our office.  The account was voided approximately a month ago. If you require any further information please feel free to contact me

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because of untruthful statement of SOS Magazine. I was promised to get the audio tape with the conversation about the ad e-mailed to me and that never happened.
Sincerely,
[redacted]