Say What?

I used to think that Reader's Digest was a respectable publication. For several years I subscribed to RD and enjoyed the short articles that are ideal for a bathroom reader. But as time passed, I grew tired of the magazine, and decided not to renew my subscription anymore. I received the final issue of my subscription in August, and figured I'd put RD behind me. However, they still send me notices from the billing department about once a month. I'd like to share the content of one of these letter with you.

IMPORTANT - YOU SHOULD READ THIS CAREFULLY

By failing to pay the sum of $17.98 now seriously overdue in regard to several issues of a magazine subscription mailed to the above address, we must assume that there is no doubt that you owe the amount shown on the attached bill. It is our responsibility to collect.

Take notice, we are giving you this last opportunity to make payment to us. So that we may both avoid unnecessary expense, we strongly urge you to MAIL YOUR PAYMENT TODAY in the enclosed reply envelope.

--BILLING DEPARTMENT

IF THE ACTION REQUIRED BY THIS NOTICE IS TAKEN BEFORE THE DATE SHOWN NO FURTHER ACTION WILL BE TAKEN WITH REGARD TO THIS NOTICE.


I had to read that letter about five times to make sense of it. It's so wordy that I can only assume they are trying to scare and confuse me into thinking I am late in paying. Also, there is no customer service phone number on the letter anywhere, which I find unacceptable given the context of the letter. Since I think the majority of the RD subscribers are age 50 and up, I find this to be a very shady practice of trying to deceive older people.

For what it's worth, I paid for a year's subscription in August 2005, and just as I expected, August 2006 was my last issue. Because of the wording of the letters I am receiving, I will never subscribe to Reader's Digest again, and I encourage you to boycott them as well.