As long as no more than 60 days passed since you first receive a statement with a disputed item.

Actually, it's a 100-mile rule.

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buying/mail.htm

I have been getting all 7 of my ValueMags subscriptions for a few months. I guess I got lucky not having "many" problems with this company. I did have a few problems with GoldPoints, but those were resolved easily.

------------------
John
www.dealboard.com
Get $10 off and free shipping on entertainment books.

If you read the FTC link above, you'll see that there are two separate reasons why you might initiate a chargeback:

1. Billing errors: This is the one most people are familiar with. It covers things such as non-receipt of goods, overbilling, double billing, use of a stolen credit card number, etc. You have 60 days from the date of the first statement that has the error, even if you pay for the charge before initiating the dispute. There are no dollar or distance limitations for this type of chargeback.

2. "Special rule for credit card purchases", as it's referred to by most banks. This is referred to as "unsatisfactory goods or services" on the FTC web site. This one has a $50 minimum and a geographic restriction (within 100 miles of your billing address, or anywhere in your home state). But, this type of chargeback has two interesting features:

- It's not for cases where there's a problem with the credit card billing, but where there's a problem with the goods or services themselves. That is, you actually received what you paid for, but there's a quality problem. There are no hard and fast rules here, and I have no idea how disputes made under this provision are actually resolved. The only time I tried to invoke such a chargeback, the front-line person at my bank (Citibank) had never even heard of this type of chargeback, even though by law it's described on the back of every credit card statement.

- It has no 60-day limitation, but only applies to the amount of the charge that you haven't paid off. That is, you could come back a year later with a quality problem, and if you still haven't paid off that item because you make only minimum payments, you could invoke a dispute under this rule. I have no idea how the bank keeps track of what purchases each payment applies to when you don't pay the account off in full each month. Perhaps there's some FTC rule on this, or perhaps each bank makes up its own policy. Again, you'd have to establish that a quality dispute a year later was reasonable for the facts and circumstances of your particular situation. In most cases, any claim for something that happened a year down the road that wasn't covered by a warranty probably would be unreasonable. But, perhaps you could have a situation like you bought something with a 10-year warranty, it breaks after a year even though you took good care of it, the company is now out of business so the warranty is now worthless, and you still haven't paid it off. I don't know.

I'd be interested to hear of anyone with experience on a "special rule" chargeback.

Steve M., I agree with your suggestiong that most of the problems fall under the first category, not the special rule.

Sorry to be giving this old thread some more life. But this is somewhat important.

As I posted here last month, I'm still missing MANY subscriptions. Since none of them have yet to start arriving, I emailed Shari at VM. I was told that most should start coming in July or August. However, I was just told that "The Week" and "WASHINGTON POST - NATIONAL WEEKLY ED" are no longer available. I was told to pick TWO others to take their place. But when I asked about a possible refund, Shari said that was not possible since I was given Goldpoints. (What's strange is that VM volunteerly credited my credit card for two other mags that are no longer available.) But I didn't push the issue since I did indeed get LOTS of Goldpoints.

What concerns me is that I may not have ever been told about those two subscriptions if I didn't complain. If anyone else ordered either of those two mags, be sure to contact VM and get replacement subscriptions. Good luck!

I'm missing 90% of the magazines I ordered. When I inquired about these, I keep getting repeated assurances by Shari and Andrew of Valuemags that they will soon be coming. Still awaiting after almost 6 months!

Two weeks ago, we asked ValueMags for a full accounting of where/when our subs were sent out. They have yet to offer an answer....NOT enouraging at all.

Anyone else not having gotten what they paid for.

I'm waiting for a Discover magazine and a year of TV Guide.

Beaubo,

I think I am getting them all... I have never seen so many subscriptions!!

Thanks...


William

I ordered 150 or so in December...only receiving 30 or so...called yesterday morning...got answering machine...and much to my suprise they ACTUALLY CALLED ME BACK...said they were going to put "tracers" on all my subscriptions and that SHOULD take care of the problem...said it would take 6-8 weeks for that to all work.

So I'm sure that is going to work!!!!!!

Ha!!!!!!!

I've been getting those two, but I'm still missing several others

I just received one of my many missing magazines which I had complained about. But according to the label, the subscription expires in February. I called Consumer Reports and had little trouble getting an extension through July of next year. So if any of your missing mags begin showing up, check those expiration dates!!

This promotion and Valuemags is an absolute scam. I too was taken. Never got the Goldpoints, never got the magazines. Called 4-5 times and was given the same line by Valuemags customer service.

It is just ridiculous the amount of time and patience Flyer Talk users have given Valuemags, even in this thread. I agree that the BBB is nonsense. The only way to resolve it is by disputing your credit card statement. This company and their "customer service" is a fraud. Would you put up with the countless empty promises and error after error from any other online or brick and mortor merchant?

ValueMags is a scam, in my humble opinion. I got all my GoldPoints, and some of my mags. But that's not good enough. Maybe we should start some threads focused on the scam artistry of ValueMags.