No sign of magazine, six months after visit from door-to-door salesman
Posted on December 31st, 2008 – 9:47 AMBy James Shiffer
Kay Wall doesn’t normally buy anything from people who come to her door in Eden Prairie. But the young man who appeared in June peddling magazine subscriptions had a convincing pitch. “It was basically giving him kind of a business opportunity to better himself,” Wall recalled.
So Wall paid $50 for a subscription to Military History, a magazine she thought her husband would like. That is, if he ever got to see it. The magazine didn’t come, and didn’t come, and didn’t come, even within the 120 days promised by the company, Urban Success, Inc. of Missouri City, Texas.
Wall called the company repeatedly. She got one “unintelligible” message in return and then finally spoke to somebody. The magazine was no longer being published, Wall was told, and she would receive a refund of her $50 by Nov. 14. It didn’t happen. Now the company’s phone number (866 617-0755) rolls over to an unintelligible person’s voicemail.
“I don’t know if this Urban Success went out of business, or was just a scam to begin with,” Wall said. “Against my better judgment, I got suckered in. I’m kicking myself for it.”
My investigation hasn’t yet solved the missing magazine caper. It did reveal some intriguing facts:
1) The door-to-door magazine salesman didn’t have a peddler/solicitor license from the city of Eden Prairie and therefore was breaking the law.
2) Military History magazine is still being published.
3) Urban Success, Inc. has an “unsatisfactory” rating from the Greater Houston Better Business Bureau because it hasn’t responded to 43 of the 45 complaints lodged with the BBB.
Two messages I left at the toll free number were not returned. I couldn’t reach company executive Timothy Moore on his cell phone either. Urban Success’s registered agent, a Houston attorney named Jeanne Fugate, told me she merely helped register the company several years ago. She’s trying to get her name off the company records because she has heard of other complaints about it.
Door-to-door magazine sales crews have stirred up quite a bit of controversy in recent years, not just for cheating customers, but also for the violence, drug use and other unsafe conditions among the young workers dispatched into neighborhoods across the country from their homes.
The Federal Trade Commission has a number of tips for those trying to avoid magazine subscription scams, including the “cooling off” law that gives consumers the right to cancel a deal within three days with a full refund. By law, the sales rep has to tell the customer about that right, as well as a form to do it with.
Christy Weigel, licensing technician for the Eden Prairie police, said that as in most cities in the metro, Eden Prairie requires door-to-door solicitors to have a city license, which typically involves a background check, and residents should ask to see the license. This is the first she’s heard of Urban Success, Inc., although the city this year denied a solicitor’s license to another magazine subscription peddler with a similar name, Urban Development Solutions.
Weigel encourages people to dial 911 if they’re suspicious about a peddler’s motives or behavior. If the sales rep doesn’t have a license, “our officers have the discretion of taking them to jail,” Weigel said.
52 Responses to “No sign of magazine, six months after visit from door-to-door salesman”
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December 31st, 2008 at 10:41 am
The same thing happened to me a few years ago-a young woman came to the door selling magazines. I didn’t really need any but I thought I would help the young lady out. The subscription was overpriced and the magazines never arrived. I tried to contact someone for a refund, to no avail. I, too, no longer fall for anyone selling something door to door unless it’s the negihborhood kid fundraising for school.
December 31st, 2008 at 10:41 am
I live in Edina and had similar salespersons for the last 2 years. They recited a typical sales pitch and make you feel guilty if you say no. Both times I said no and they suddenly act pissed off and walk away. They appeared to have an authentic name badge around their neck. Maybe I’m too suspicious, but I wondered if they are sent into neighborhoods like this to check them out. Since my kids sell magazines at school I had an excuse not to order.
December 31st, 2008 at 10:44 am
Here’s what I do. I answer the door, listen to their pitch and ask a couple questions.
Like where they are from and how many subscriptions, etc. I then tell them no, I’m not interested.
The usual response is “don’t you want me to be a successful business person?”. I say yes, and part of being successful is being able to handle rejection and close the door. I’m sorry I just don’t trust the door to door stuff from people from Indiana. I may have been born in the morning, just wasn’t yesterday morning.
December 31st, 2008 at 10:56 am
Just say no. This is at least as annoying as telemarketing. Buying things from telemarketers and door-to-door salespeople just encourages more sals pitches by telemarketers and door-to-door salespeople. Stop buying it and people will stop trying to sell that way. Neighborhood kids (girl scouts, school fund drives — maybe) - everyone else: no way.
December 31st, 2008 at 11:07 am
Guy came to my house 3 years ago. I declined. Same guy
came back next year and said since I was so generous
ordering magazines last year, would I do it again?
Uh, didn’t in the first place, won’t do it now.
December 31st, 2008 at 11:19 am
Please stop buying from these people.
You are only encouraging them.
December 31st, 2008 at 11:27 am
I never answer the door to anyone I am not expecting,
child or adult. It may seem rude to some people, but
there are too many scams. I also do not want to put
myself in any danger. I will buy from the neighborhood
kids that I recognize, but nobody else.
December 31st, 2008 at 11:31 am
I bought a magazine from the same type of outfit a few years ago. After making the deal and the guy left, I went onto the internet and released I could have bought the same magazine subscription from the magazine publisher itself for like $12.00 a year. I think I paid $35 or $40 to the guy that came to the door. As soon as I realized this and I had second thoughts, I followed up with the 3-day cooling form he provided. I also called the company to tell them I wanted to cancel. The guy on the phone told me “too bad” and that I should have thought about it more before giving them a check. I promptly called my bank, put a stop payment on the check to the tune of $21. Lesson learned I guess. Well a few months later, I started receiving the magazine. I think I got the magazine for two years before it finally ran out. Strange deal. I won’t buy anything door-to-door anymore. I learned that the best way to get rid of them is to just tell them you aren’t interested at all the very second they knock. Once you let them start with their pitch, it’s easier to get suckered in. I know that not everyone that comes door-to-door is a scam, but it sure feels like a shady situation to me.
December 31st, 2008 at 11:45 am
“but I do think this group is trying to better themselves because door to door work is extremely hard and uncomfortable”
You’re kidding, right?
December 31st, 2008 at 11:47 am
This same thing happened to me. I believe the salesperson was trying to better himself, but I think the company has some problems. I won’t buy again.