I noticed lately that the renewal forms are rewritten to say you have to respond to DECLINE by a certain date. If you don't then you are automatically renewed.

well I had their envelope sitting here ready to mail....for several days now I just kept forgetting it. If they do business that way I don't want their magazine! Tore it up and put it in the trash. Thanks for saving me a headache next year!

I am sorry to say but many compainies do this. My husband and I were very upset with these letter. Every one was on the mark who said that you must send a written cancel note and also return all those nasty letters in there prepaid envelopes.
I hope that we could all be of some comfort to you.
This site has been very helpful. It is good to know that you are not alone . christina B

When any or and all of my magazines run out I will not be renewing them, I don't think it is legal to automatically renew them. I would treat them as a gift. I no longer take the time to read them and hate the clutter of them.

I usually write on the last invoice no thank you in large letters and send it back to them.

This is why I chose NOT to renew my subscriptions this year.

tell them you are putting them on your "bad magazine" list.

One thing about this that surprises me is that I would think magazine subscription (or in this particular case, quilt magazines) and sales must be in a decline due to the vast amount of information on the Internet. Seems to me like that would call for better customer services rather than what lots of us are receiving from them. I decided last year that I was not going to renew any subscriptions mostly because I cannot possibly live long enough to make all the quilts I have patterns for right now. If there is anything I do want I will be looking for it online or on the QB and my guess is I would be able to find it without buying an individual copy or subscribing to a magazine.

I've had this happen with other magazines. And you're right - it makes the blood boil. Another thing that happens is that magazines send renewal notices months (even years) before the subscription runs out. I've resorted to a list of all publications I get with dates of renewal and length of subscription.

Ditto "no more subscriptions in my life."

Wow haven't had quite that miserable experience with F&P or American P&Q

This just very poor business practice and I would tell them so when I called to let them know I no longer want their magazine. Oh, and by the way, they are now on YOUR poor business list! I don't do business with rude people or companies.

Eddie, I am so proud of you for bringing this to the attention of those who may not have been attacked...I have, I am not sweet nor gentle and am on predisone for a bad back and I am dangerous....so good for you.. I have had a something similair and I sent out notices to BBB, anyone and everyone I could think of....I have nothing better to do, as I tell AT&T everytime they bill me for the $10 I do not owe them...I can set and wait on their lines to be free as well as set and watch the weather channel....or I had rather quilt, but have done that...while I wait also....thanks again...made my day...memepeggy

Hooray for you. You just scored a point for all of us.

I have dealt with something similar, and this upsets me a bit just hearing about it..............go get 'em!

This is one reason I don't take any quilt magazines at all. Too many times they are the same thing over and over again but with just a different color added or color change.
I don't see that I get anything educational from it and I tired of the advertisements....

I hate it when this happens. They try everything. I've even got notices to renew halfway through my subscription.

Thanks for posting--guess who will never subscribe to that magazine.

I am having the same problem Better Homes and Garden. I sent back the bill twice for them to cancel my subscription. Still receive magazine with invoice. Wrote a letter to cancel and any future magazines is at there expense. The other day I received magazine and invoice. Took invoice out of package and resealed magazine and taped the invoice on top marked "REFUSED" return to sender. I wonder if that will get there attention. They are very pushey about keeping your subscription. I no longer subscribe to magazines.

Don't you just love automation. Suppose to make everything easier, well nothing is better than talking to a real human.
Put back real people to create jobs and so many of these mistakes will not happen.

I hate it when a magazine is no longer being published and they send you (their choice) another in its place with the intention of having you accept and pay for the subscription. I had subscribed to a number of mags from the same company and just received another of their magazines with an invoice for a year's subscription. I just black out my address, point a large arrow towards the return address, and write Return to Sender (or RTS will do - the PO understands what you mean). I find that they all have essentially the same quilt patterns, only in different color combos. If I want to find something different, I usually go to online quilting patterns.

Most magazines belong to a corporation. Their subscription is handled by a different company. As an example Quilter's Newsletters is written (published) in Golden, Colorado. Their renewal office is in Palm Coast, Florida. They now belong to CK Media.You can always find those informations in an inset at the beginning of the magazine.

I would deal with the Florida office to subscribe, renew or cancel the magazine.If I am not satisfied or have problems with them, I would let the Editor in Colorado know. It is a case of the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing.

Another magazine doing something similiar is the cooking magazines put out by Reiman publications. They sent a "double issue" of Simple and Delicious magazine and Taste of Home and included an insert with all the other junk normally enclosed that stated that since this was a "double issue" they were reducing my subscription accordingly. I had actually thrown away the insert notifying me that they were going to short my subscription by one issue and only found it when the trashed tipped over. I am sure many other subscribers missed this. I cancelled all my subscriptions with them. I did not feel like continually checking up on my 4 magazine subscriptions with them to make sure it did not happen again.

Not almost sounds like a scam to me.

Another clever little thing that mags do (I did not read all of the responses yet, just page 1 & 2 so far, so I hope this has not been mentioned already. Sorry if it has):
Years ago I went with the 3 year subscription option, as I liked the initial mag enough to commit to it and save "a few bucks", and also not have to hassle with re-subscribing. "MY choice" .
........However,,,,,,,,,,,,within 8 months, I was already getting notices to renew, and that stated that the mag subscription was expiring soon (Perhaps they figure you will have forgotten having prepaid 3 years and just send more $'s). I have never done that again and I am not big on mag subscriptions, anyway. If they are not "exceptional", I don't waste my time. There is better info on this board, than in most redundant mags, anyway.

Just try getting rid of the Readers Diget!!!
For years we got notices to renew, sent some back saying, no thanks, quit sending notices, been over 15 years and we still get a renewal notice now and then.
The garbage is full of unwanted mail, fill it up, keeps the post office in business carting advertising and political propaganda.

Carol J.

that is so strange...I have let 2 mag lapse and kept getting renewals but No magazines and eventually the notices just stopped...never a notice that I was going to be put in collection LOL...so weird

You rock, Eddie!

Thank you so very much! I was considering subscribing to that magazine (local school is doing a magazine fund-raiser drive), Instead I'll give the school a donation, and stick to this site! I find much more helpful info, and pictures of breathtaking quilts on the Quilting Board than in any magazine. :)

I user to subscribe to 4 quilt magazines but I have stop them all because of the thousand of reminders they send all year. Most of my magazines I renew for 2 years so I didn't have to get the reminders but they still come. Now I only have one magazine and I can go to the bookstore at my leisure and check out new issues. I wish my coupons to purchase magazines I want.

Beware, I don't get any subscriptions and more because of their tactics. Sometimes I used to try a magazine for a year but now I glance at them in the store and if I want it, I buy it. Some issues don't have a thing that interests me and a year subscription is long enough to know if it is worth it or not. Then when I don't get an issue it drives me nuts...sometimes they would replace it but most times it was forgotten. When are they going to wake up. So many of my friends are giving them up also.

I don't want to hurt the magazine compaines but! At the news stand you can browse,get only the ones that you will use and no hassle a year later.
Myself,I like to be thrifty. The older magazines at the thrift have the same New patterns. I have a book from 1940 and I have found the same patterns listed as New on the stand.
Christina B

I have been sent renewal notices that look like bills for past commitments, no phone numbers listed to call on any of these so called invoices. Needless to say I'm not playing with them anymore! With my mind aging I wonder if I did ask to renew. I don't think so, I keep a file on all transactions I make.

All the magazines I subscribe to seem to have the same new trend of automatic renewal. I do not like this way of doing business. As much as I like my quilting magazines, I am not renewing any of my subscriptions.

I ordered Family Circle so my grandson could get the credit. Bought it for one year. That was two years ago and I'm still getting it and I've told them over and over with each annoying call they make to me that it was canceled. grrrr I agree with another post that said this is why she doesn't subscribe to magazines. It's sad that more and more companies are getting this way.

I am in the same boat with "Quilter's Home". I asked for the "free" magazine back in October - an internet offer. It is now Jan. 22 and all I have received is bills for the remaining 5 issues. I have called in Dec. and said I am not paying this bill till I receive my "free" issue and they said fine. I would not be receiving my "free" isse till the Feb/March issue. Now the notices are getting nastier. Still have not received my issue. Called this week and explained again that I was not paying this bill as I still had not gotten my magazine and that I did not appreciate the "nasty grams" that I was getting. She then said that it was in the mail this week, and it was the only one I would get till the invoice was paid. I don't care how much I might like this magazine - I am not going to take the subscription. Thanks for listening to my "vent"

I stopped getting magazine subscriptions and now rely on the public library for all the magazines I could possibly want. They store them and I have access to years worth - its wonderful!

Another magazine scam although it wasn't a quilt magazine- it could have been. We were checking out at 1 of the bigger name book stores - cashier told my husband he could pick 2 magazines subscriptions for free for so many months (5 or 6 issues free), just to see if he was interested in subscribing. He picked out 2 and the mags started coming in. A month or two later, I was checking out our balances on our credit cards and getting ready to pay bills. There were subscription charges for both magazines on his bill! Called them up - what's going on? Turns out he had used his credit card when checking out at the bookstore and the magazines were set up as an automatic renewal on that card. I gave them a BIG piece of my mind on what a rip off they were running. They did cancel the subscriptions and we got the money refunded. Have NOT been back to the book store either if they are going to be involved in scams like this, I don't want to be their customer.

Quilting magazines - I love em but they are just getting too expensive. I have let all of my subscriptions expire. We like to check out the flea markets and thrift stores and I have found tons of the mags for .25 and .50 each. At present, I am going through all of my magazines and cutting out patterns I want to try. Bookcase is just too full. Most mags only have 1 or 2 patterns I am interested in making. Then I will donate what is left as there are still lots of patterns in each mag. After going through about 20 of them last night, I was amazed at the patterns that are duplicated. So many patterns are available for free on the internet , I just can't see spending a lot of money on magazines anymore. Gives me more fabric money. :-)

Didn't mean to write a book here this morning. Hope everyone has a nice day.

Magazine subscriptions are also making me very angry. I get notices for renewal 4 to 6 months before they expire. If you look at your mailing label it clearly notes the exact date your subscription will expire. I try to keep a note on my calendar when it expires so I won't be fooled into renewing so early. Bonne Chance Eddie

I don't believe this is from Quilt magazine...go to quilt magazine, and call their number, not this one. I did a reverse number look up, and got this
800-866-2886 / 8008662886 / (800) 866-2886 - Report a Call
from http://www.callwiki.com/phones/
Since 800-866-2886 belongs to the 800 area code, we also know that the local time in is 15:36pm. The phone number 800-866-2886 is assigned to and the actual exchange location is in . Technically, the telephone exchange switch is identified as a Central Office or CO. The description we have for the 800 area code is: US/Canada toll free (see 888, 877, 866, 855, 844, 833, 822). Other phone numbers in the 800 area code that also have comments are 800-000-0001, 800-000-2233, 800-000-6677, 800-009-7350, 800-013-0051, 800-015-0082, 800-015-1455, 800-015-1940, 800-015-3022 and 800-015-5880. The owner of 800-866-2886 can be obtained through a detailed report. As well, the address and number type is also available in a detailed report.
We had gotten a call from a number also out of Toronto, 416-123-4567. It lists as the same company..