Goldpoints Valuemags December order
 

I thought my experience might be helpful. I joined Radisson and Goldpoints on 12/27, and ordered some Valuemags on 12/27. The website said 150 points per dollar, so I called GP. They said they would honor the 450 offer.

My points posted to GP but only at the 150 rate. I called up and GP told me that the operator I spoke to did not record the 450 rate on my account, so I was SOL. Her explanation was that the promotion was yanked by VM on 12/26, but GP was not notified until 12/28. I asked how GP's mistake could affect me. She offered a manager. Manager says he will honor the 450 promotion, but it will take a week for my new points to post. I'll keep everyone updated.

So as of right now, I have a third of my points and should get the other two-thirds in about a week.

That might be a wee bit on the optimistic side.

My scenario is fairly similar to yours. I was a Radisson GP member already, and bought one magazine on 12/16, one on 12/21, and the big ones - two orders on 12/30 for $120 and $2000. This was after receiving confirmation from both VM and GP that the 450 point promotion would run through 12/31.

So far I've gotten GPs for only the first magazine (12/16) - at 450 points/$. I'm waiting for the 30-day grace period to expire before I start asking about the rest of the points...

- Sameer

I'm missing 1,100,050 missing Gold Points.

See the new consolidated thread at:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum1/HTML/006163.html

(post edited to refer to new thread)

[This message has been edited by SameerUCLA (edited 01-21-2002).]

I am missing only 50,000 gold points. I know--small potatoes compared to most of you. I did not find this website until the day after Christmas, and I was not going to spend $2000 on magazines until I confirmed it worked. So I just splurged slightly on magazines.

I posted because there seemed to be a lot of confusion about when the 450 point promotion was terminated, and I got tired of reading that huge thread that had so many other tangents in it.

I purchased over $7,000.00 worth of magazines from Valumag during the "450" promotion. It just occurred to me that after four months, I still haven't seen one of my magazines. But when I checked my original order, I found over one dozen mags that have never showed up!!

I just emailed some friends for whom I also made large purchases. I have an uneasy feeling that many of theirs are missing as well. I urge anyone who ordered from VM to check your order(s) and be sure you have been receiving all the mags you've paid for. You can see your entire order history by logging in to the valumag site.

The Goldpoints/Valumag drama continues... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

i'm still waiting on about 80 subscriptions! only a few have come so far.

This sort of thing really should be reported to the Better Business Bureau

On December 22nd I purchased $1,227.00 magazines but have only received 4 of the 23 magazines ordered.

I think that Valumags may have been a bit overwhelmed at the time. 2 of the subscriptions were fairly timely, but I've inquired about 2 more. One just received the April & May issues, and the other one hasn't shown up yet.

I too am missing more than 80% of the magazines I subscribed and already paid for. I just emailed valuemags and told trhem that I will wait about a week for a response before writing BBB. If we all threaten to write BBB I'm 100% sure we'll get a listen. Believe me, that BBB logo on their website is very, very, very important to their business.

Unfortunately, The Better Business Bureau does not amount to squat. If we were to report them, the scenario would go something like this: The Bureau would contact VM and ask that they either refund our money or get us the subscriptions we paid for. Assuming VM does one of the two, the Bureau will consider the matter closed. Then, if in the future, some individual contacts the Bureau to find out if VM is a reputable company, the Bureau will tell them that VM has resolved all complaints. There must be another route we can go.

Those of you who had paid with credit cards -- I assume that is most if not all of you -- after all got to maximize those points/miles!! -- may not be SOL as I think you are protected when things like this are not forthcoming. I know there is a general limitation of a 50 mile radius from your home -- didn't know that, huh! -- but this is a mail order company, so it may not apply.

All I can say is that when I had ordered a sub from a magazine that later folded, I was able to get the balance outstanding back from my credit card company.

Obviously, the amount that we are talking about is on another scale entirely, but I think it is worth a shot.

Good Luck!

I know I read about the 50 mile radius requirement but am not so sure it's that cut and dry. I recently had disputes with Air Candada and another one with NetZero, both of which I prevailed. Neither of those two companies are within 50 miles of me.

Furthermore, the CC companies expect you to try resolving it with the merchant first. I emailed VM and heard from Shari almost immediately. She told me to send her the magazine names and corresponding order numbers to get the ball rolling.

[This message has been edited by Neal (edited 05-03-2002).]

Can anyone elaborate on this 50-mile rule?

I agree that BBB is a waste of time. Call your local prosecutor--district attorney or state attorney. Taking money for magazines and not delivering them is criminal fraud. Of course, accidents happen so bring this to the attention of VM first and give them time to fix the situation after you have brought it to their attention.

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! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/thumbsdown.gif

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 http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/rolleyes.gif

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.

I'm glad I didn't go too deep on this one...2 subscriptions and $30 on 12/24 and they both got started in a timely manner. But: I did have the whole initial rigamarole about posting at 150 rather than 450 and having to fix that (which took some calls, a fax and about a month to do!

And the later change in conversion rate soured me on the whole thing, as I still had a few Goldpoints that got devalued in that. The main objective (topping off an account to an award level) was achieved, but I'll be very wary in the future.

[This message has been edited by RustyC (edited 06-14-2002).]

Please feel free to email any outstanding issues you have to [email protected]; these attorneys are collecting info about the ValueMags/Goldpoints situation. If they see that there is trend here, not just isolated incidents, maybe there can be a more satisfactory resolution.

You can read opinions about VM, and post your own, at Epinions.com. http://www.epinions.com/webs-Web_Ser...-ValueMags_com

You can also write a review at Bizrate.com
http://www.bizrate.com/ratings_guide...at_id--80.html

[This message has been edited by Neal (edited 06-12-2002).]

I just posted a negative review on epinions. Let's sink this company!

I've sent a fax to both Andrew with ValueMags.com, and to the attorney mentioned by "beaubo". And so far I haven't heard back from either one.

It's looking more and more like a scam.

I emailed Shari at VM exactly one month ago concerning numerous "missing" subscriptions. Now I'm told they will begin showing up in July or August. I phoned one of the publishers yesterday and was told they do not have a subscription order in my name. I emailed VM and have yet to get a reply. I have a sickening feeling that if I call all the publishers, I'll get the same answer. On Monday morning, I'm going to do just that and see what happens. I may very well be contacting that attorney too.

By the way, I mentioned in a post two days ago that one of my missing magazines showed up. But I just realized it was the Consumer Reports "Health" letter and not the "Travel" letter that I've yet to receive.

jmorieta-

The attorney received your email; he is out of office for a couple of days.

The credit card companies are being alerted, so that you might have chargeback recourse at some point.

A

beaubo

Thanks !

Magazines ordered: Dec 26

Goldpoints status: NOT received by 30 days after placing order as published on website (Jan 26 due date); NOT received by Jan 15 written memo from ValueMags (Feb 15 due date); NOT received by 45 day extension from Jan 25 per written memo from Goldpoints (March 5 due date).

Ordered $9000 worth of magazines, only $125 worth were actually forwarded to Goldpoints for posting.

Magazines status: NOT received by 6-8 weeks after placing order as published on website.
First magazine just received on June 8...two weeks after legal inquiries began.

Just curious..Is it possible that several Fters' were plants by Valumags to tout what a good deal this was for all ?