Rethink Your Strategy, Rodale

I am sitting here on a Saturday night fuming instead of enjoying my
one night off. At least I know I am not crazy after reading the last
post. I was on the phone today trying to get through Rodale's
customer service with no luck. they sent me a book I NEVER ordered.
It had an added bonus of a great sex positions book. First of all I
don't need a flat stomach and am pretty thin so it was insulting to
receive this book and secondly, I don't want a great sex positions
book lying around my home.
What makes me upset is they are threatening to take me to collections.
I threw the cheap books out when I got them. Because I never ordered
them and I didn't want them. When I order stuff I pay up front and do
not wait to be billed. I thought the books were cheap and I was not
about to pay for postage or take the time to return a product I did
not order or even know anything about. Now I have to pay in postage
anyway to send a nasty letter along with the bill. does anyone know
what people can do or who they can turn to before this company ruins
the credit of innocent people. I am livid they can get away with
this! This situation has already taken up my valuable time and now
money in postage, so I am seeking legal help in exposing the dark side
to this company.

I got a magazine subscription as a gift and after the subscription had
ended, I got a box of 3 books. I had no idea why I got them or who
they were from. It was right before Christmas so I figured they were
Christmas gifts. When my brother came to visit he was reading them and
I told him he could have them. A month later I get a bill from Rodale
for $50.90 for the books. It states that I had 21 days from the time I
received the books to return them in order to avoid having to pay for
them. I called the number on the bill (8008206077) and hit '0' to talk
to an agent and was told that their call volume was too high and they
hung up on me. I tried back 10 minutes later and got through. I stated
that I got a bill for books I did not order and I would like them to
remove me from their list so that I no longer receive books or bills.
The agent informed me that when I subscribed to the magazine I elected
to have some books sent to me to preview (I later confirmed with the
person who bought me the subscription that they did not elect to have
books sent to me). I told the agent that I never elected to receive
any books and the books did not come with any paper work saying who
they were from, no account information was included, and nothing was
included that indicated I needed to return the books if I did not wish
to keep them. I told her that I no longer had the books so I can not
return them and I am not going to pay for them because I did not order
them. She said that just this one time she would cancel the bill, as
if she was doing me a favor. RODALE- Do me a real favor and don't send
me anything I did not order!

I wonder how many other people are being duped by this company and
paying for books that they receive magically through the mail. There
really should be
some kind of law against this type of harassment. I have a private
life and a private home. I have recently come to realize that there
are people and companies out there that just don't care. They want
money and will do anything to get it. I have told more companies and
people to take my name off of their phone lists recently. I have just
been bombarded. I am an active person but I see no reason for people
to send things to me that I have to send back. They are using my home
and my time for their convenience. The only way to stop all this is
to be a hermit and I won't do that.
I'm glad you did the right thing and sent back the books.
Unfortunately, I paid for them. Lessons learned! I hope others will
read and learn from this site but they probably are unaware. Carol

This just happened to me this week. I got an invoice in the mail
saying "by now you've received you free preview of a book". I hadn't
ordered or received a book from Rodale publishing. Two hours later
the door bell rings and it is Canada Post with a package for me. I
tried probably 100 times to phone Rodale over the next 3 days but it
either rang busy or said their call volume was so high that they
couldn't take my call. I went to their web site and found a link to
return unwanted books. I was soooo angry when I read that I had to
pay to return the book. I have never ordered a book from Rodale and I
am certainly not in a book club. My invoice is for $65.22 and it
has to be paid by Jan. 17 (The book came in the mail on the 6th). My
package was never opened so I took it to the Canada Post office and
told the woman that it had come to my house by mistake. She said they
would return it to the sender.

thanks for reading my story.

Nicole

Don't pay the bill and tell them that you didn't order. Red is right.


I would also reccommend that you send a paper copy to their customer
service or corporate office with delivery confirmation or signature
confirmation (About 75 cents). There will then be a record as to its
receipt in case any further disputes arise.

There was another letter to this company in the last month or so, with
the same complaint.

Just an FYI, if you receive merchandise that you did not order,
legally you can keep it and not pay for it. I know that's not your
point, but at least maybe with that knowledge, you can hurt them a
tiny bit financially.

Do not pay the bill. Don't bother going to the post office to return
the books. I suggest you donate them to your library or to Goodwill.

Good luck! I like the letter!

Holy library!

Rodale is the worst about this. Anytime you order anything for them,
the hide in this superfine print with a clause authorizing them to
send you all of these books. And they just keep coming and coming and
coming.

I did it once. What a nightmare. I finally got to where I'd mark out
my address with a sharpie, write "Did not order, return to sender" on
the box with the same sharpie and drop it back at my local p.o. Books
finally stopped. Now I avoid Rodale like a bunch of Tarheel fans.

Good luck. Hope they pay attention.