Womens Health Magazine/a warning

I subscribed to this magazine last year, but quickly discovered that I'm really not part of its targeted demographic. I was disappointed in the content, but that's beside the point.

Yesterday, I get a postcard telling me that I am enrolled in their automatic renewal program and will be billed for a renewal in a few months. Surprise to me. So I try to contact Rodale, the publisher, as instructed on the postcard, to ask them NOT to renew me. When I called, all I got was the greeting --- no instructions on how to proceed. It just kept playing. Pushing buttons on the phone didn't make a difference. So I gave up and wrote them an email, canceling the subscription.

I get a response. Basically a form letter, telling me where to go to subscribe to their various magazines! Incredible.

When the invoice comes, I'll return it to them, with the a copy of that email I sent. I think I might just cancel the subscription to Bicycling, too. What awful customer service.

That's very surprising. I've subscribed to numerous Rodale magazines over the years and never had such a problem. I wonder if there's a sneaky middle-man blaming the auto-renewal on Rodale when it's really elsewhere. Magazine peddlers (not necessarily publishers) are notorious for underhanded maneuvers.

I'm sure you started with calling the number printed on the postcard, but have you tried googling for a different number?

Be careful if they have your credit card number -- on those auto-renewals they will just go and charge it without your approval. I had a computer virus protection program from CA that they told me had an auto-renewal a year after I bought it and they just charged me for the renewal. I never signed up for auto-renewal! I tried for a year to get them to stop, but ended up canceling the credit card the 2nd year to prevent them from charging me again. They sent me emails for 2 months complaining that they were unable to charge my credit card! But anytime I tried to email them back, I got a "this is a no-reply email address". This is such a scam these days... beware.

I had the same problem with Rodale when I tried to cancel my Bicycling subscription. In fact, they sent me to collections for the $15 price! I finally called ALL of the numbers on the inside cover of the magazine and got a real person who was able to help me.

Can you contact the magazine directly? At one point they were sending me two magazines (although only charging me for one) and when I contacted them directly, they were very helpful.

I would never charge a magazine subscription to a credit card. Not a criticism of anyone who does, but I'm old school when it comes to these things and try to go "cash only" where possible.

They make it pretty impossible to contact them by phone. As I stated before, the number they provided was the correct one --- the automated voice that answered said, "Thank you for calling Rodale Publications automated subscription line..." or something similar. It kept repeating that message.

I'm not surprised that they put out a collection on you, Roadie Girl. For $15, no less, sheesh. I think I will do what you did and call every number listed on their masthead until I can speak to someone. I wish I could charge THEM back for my time (ironically, the calls would "cost" them more than the subscription would have cost me, if I charged them my "hourly wage" at work. I'm sure I'll spend a lot of time on hold, being directed elsewhere, being cut off...).

I had the same problem with some other magazine many years ago.

It annoyed me enough that I've avoided subscribing to magazines since.

I had the same thing happen with Women's Health. My subscription was up and they kept trying to auto renew it. I did their automated phone service to cancel the subscription, but still get the magazine, even though my card was never charged again.