| Newsmax Media |
| Newsmax Media ...beware underhanded tactics.... West Palm Beach, Florida |
| 19th of Aug, 2011 by User380996 |
Newsmax offers an ostensibly "free" copy of the book, Aftershock, and free trials to 3 newsletters as part of their offer, for just the price of $4.95 shipping. That is the only information given before filling out the order form and submitting a credit card. After filling in the form to order the book, a welcome email is sent informing you that the different subscriptions will be billed at different intervals after the trail period if one does not unsubscribe. Aha, when you try to unsubscribe you are told that one must wait to be notified for the end of the trial periods at 2, 3 and 4 month notifications for the different unwanted subscriptions.
When you email customer service to unsubscribe you are then informed of the undisclosed terms and conditions: if you want to unsubscribe you will be billed $27.95 for the full retail price of the book. They've got you!! Adding insult to injury your email is distributed to their affiliates and all the tentacles are out. Please beware and read all the complaints consumers like me have filed. If you do business with Newsmax, use Paypal so they will not be able to bill your credit card for unwanted publications. |
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As an employee of Newsmax Media, Inc. I’m very familiar with the Aftershock offer. The comments made above are simply not true or are highly inaccurate.
As part of our Aftershock Survival Guide offer, customers pay $4.95 and get the bestselling Aftershock book. They receive the book (list price of $27.95) and other bonus items for just $4.95, the cost of shipping and handling. The offer makes clear to the customer
that they get the free book and materials in exchange for agreeing to a trial subscription to 3 investment advisory letters.
The offer also makes clear that there is no obligation to subscribe to any of the 3 newsletters and there is no penalty for canceling our newsletters before the trial period ends.
In fact: please read the Cancellation Policy at the bottom of this page below the Submit button:
https://www.newsmaxstore.com/nm_mag/aftershock_2.cfm
We hope customers who take the free book will try out the newsletters for the trial period. We ask this in good faith in exchange for us sending the $28 book. However, if the customer doesn’t want to receive the subscriptions, the book is theirs to keep at no additional cost.
We never bill $27.95 for this complimentary item, even if a customer cancels.
We advise all of our customer’s that they may cancel their trial subscriptions by phone, email, fax, or postal mail.
We never fool people about the trial periods or the fact we have convenient renewal by credit card if they do not cancel.
Every customer who takes the offer receives a website notice of our cancellation and renewal policies and an email. Additionally when they receive their book in the mail, an insert repeats how the trial subscription works and their right to cancel.
Moreover, 30 days before each of the newsletter trial periods end, we send the customer a letter by US mail stating the renewal period is about to end, and providing them with an easy form to cancel.
Additionally, if the customer does not cancel despite the notice, and is charged, we will immediately refund the customer the payment if they so request, no questions asked!
The complaint above also claims we send out emails without permission. This is also not true. Also we include a link to unsubscribe from any emails we send, which is in the email for easy use.
Also a customer may unsubscribe by calling our emailing our Customer Service Department. Our contact information is also included at the bottom of every email. And we strictly adhere to our Privacy Policy of NOT sharing your contact information with anyone.
Our Privacy Policy can be reviewed here:
http://www.moneynews.com/Privacy/
We would greatly appreciate the opportunity to resolve this issue to your satisfaction and hope to hear from you soon. |
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i just finished watching the Aftershock sales video promising a "free" copy of the book. I have a degree in economics and cannot argue with any of the findings and suggestions by the author. I might buy the book from Amazon directly, used. What is off putting for me is the cheesy late-nightesk infomercial style and goofy number-of-books-left count down ticker popping up every 2 minutes. Realy now, topics as serious as a national economic meltdown should garner a little more realistic grasp of non-fiction than a fictitious ticker counting down books sold. LIke this isn't an internet video, with the same books countdown ticker each time a person watches it. Just the fact you're trying to fool the consumer makes me think your book could also be crap.
All the information looks good and if it is real it should be left to stand on its own merits and not be pushed using pitchmen. If Billy wasn't laughing in heaven he would probably have been conducting the interview. |
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| That's really tihnknig out of the box. Thanks! |
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I beg to differ with CS1422. I ordered the book and no specifics were given regarding the three news letters until after the order was placed. When I got the welcom email, I used the link that said I could cancel the subscription to them anytime prior to the end of the trial period and received a VERY CURT reply that I would have to pay the full price for the book for cancelling early.
The welcome letter also stated that I would receive notification of the end of the trial period prior to billing so I could cancel in time to avoid the automatic billing of nearly three hundred dollars to my account. The trial period was for three months and although I only ordered the book in mid July I received a bill by mail at the end of August.
This is a total scam to set a person up to subscribe to a very expensive but worthless newsletter. I haven't read the book yet because my disenchantment with the way Newsmax has done business makes me skeptical about the quality of the information.
I feel that Newsmax has damaged their credibility by perpertrating this scam and now question the reliability of any of the information they publish. |
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The below email to Newsmax outlines the issue, what I expect from them in to remedy the situation and the action I will take if they do not respond. Fortunately the State of Michigan has an Attorney General's office that takes an active interest in such complaints.
___________
On July 10, 2011 I accepted a trial offer (Order ID # ____; Customer ID #_____) that included the following:
-trail subscription to Newsmax
-trial 3-month subscription to The Dividend Machine
-trial 2-month subscription to Financial Intelligence Report
-copy of the book Money Mischief for $4.95
Sometime after I placed this order I received a mailing indicating that within 6 to 8 weeks of the order I would receive my first issue of the trial subscriptions.
I have yet to receive a trial copy of The Dividend Machine. I received, last week, a first copy of the Financial Intelligence Report. Much to my distress I also discovered I have been charged $99.00 for the Financial Intelligence Report. This is supposed to be a trial subscription yet my credit card account was charged the $99.00 nearly one week before I received the first copy of the supposed trial offer.
Documentation I received from Newsmax stated "A month before your trial subscription will expire we'll kindly send you a renewal notice making you aware that your subscription will renew automatically. Of course, if you decide you do not wish to continue your subscription, simply write "cancel" on the renewal notice and mail back."
No trial subscription has yet started (other than Newsmax magazine itself for which I have received two copies), I have received no such renewal notices that would offer me the opportunity to respond as you described in your mailings.
This leads me to believe that Newsmax's offer is nothing more than a fraudulent scam to induce individuals into subscriptions that they ultimately may not desire to maintain.
In order to remedy this belief I expect the following:
1. The $99.00 charge to my credit card is to be credited back. The trial subscription to both the Financial Intelligence Report
and the The Dividend Machine are to be cancelled and there are to be no further charges to my credit card for these publications.
2. I receive no further issues of Newsmax nor any further email notices. My credit card is not to be charged for any subscription amount.
3. I will return the copy of "Money Mischief, for which I paid $4.95. I should note that this book is available at Amazon for $7.98 and eBay for $11.00 and there is a free download also available on the internet. I will also return my two copies of Newsmax and the first copy of the Financial Intelligence Report that I received last week.
I am deeply disappointed and angered by such a scam offered by what is alleged to be a reliable and respected conservative news source.
Failure to accept this offer or respond, in any way to this email, will result in my turning this matter over to the Attorney General's office for the State of Michigan
Regretfully,
R. Brown |
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| Well done you guys for writing up your experiences, it saved me the same problem. I live in the UK. Our economy is only slightly behind yours but more precarious as we're linked to the EU sinkhole. It costs me loads more to subscribe! But now I won't! I was worried because of the cheesy sales pitch - hook, doubts calmed, close thing they've got going on. It's a classic format rolled out by lots of large companies. I looked for reviews as this kind of 'scam' is common with this kind of product sales pitch. |
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I also beg to differ with CS1422's statements regarding Newsmax and their policies. I have received MULTIPLE unsolicited emails from Newsmax regarding many other financial products that were not included in my initial offer. NONE of those emails included an "unsubscribe" or "opt-out" link. The only links included were a link to their Terms of Use policy and their Privacy Policy. Neither of which were of any use to me.
I finally sent an email to Financial Customer Service <[email protected]> to complain about the fact that their company website had absolutely NO options to unsubscribe, or manage electronic subscriptions, and that I wanted the unsolicited emails to STOP. I received the following email from: Karen Sullivan, Financial Services Representative, Newsmax Media Inc, www.newsmax.com, P.O. Box 20989, West Palm Beach, FL 33416, 561.686.1165 ext 1350, 888.766.7542, 561.868.3350 Fax
"I’ll be happy to help you. We need to clarify a couple things due to some conflicting information in your emails before we cancel everything. I understand you want to cancel the emails, that is clear and that is being done for you.
However, you explained you wanted to cancel all emails, but to have the ability to manage your subscriptions from the site. Once we cancel everything, this includes the subscriptions there will be nothing to manage. Right now, there is not a way to manage your subscriptions online.
As part of this offer, customers pay $4.95 (the cost of the shipping and handling) The offer makes it clear to the customer that they get the free book in exchange for agreeing to a trial subscription to 3 advisory letters. There is no obligation to subscribe to any of the 3 newsletters and there is no penalty for canceling our newsletters before the trial period ends.
However, there is an automatic renewal on these subscriptions if a person does not cancel them out.
We hope customers who take the free book will try out the newsletters for the trial period. We ask this in good faith in exchange for us sending the valuable book. However, if the customer doesn’t want to renew subscriptions, the book is theirs to keep at no additional cost. This was all explained in the promotion and in your confirmation email and will also be included with your order when received.
Please let me know if you want me to cancel ALL the mailed subscriptions included with this promotion and I’ll take care of it for you.
Or, if you prefer to get a couple of issues first and then cancel when you get the renewal notice."
Obviously, from the wording of the email above, the customer is being asked to "try out" their VERY expensive newsletters *in exchange* for getting the Aftershock book for $4.95. This is very different from the wording of the original offer, which offers the "trial subscriptions" as a "wait--there's MORE!" type of perk.
I have seen the Aftershock book on Amazon and it certainly looks like legitimate information. But I wish I had looked up Newsmax before taking their offer...I would have just paid for the regular edition of the book on Amazon and skipped the scam. |
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I also beg to differ with CS1422's statements regarding Newsmax and their policies. I have received MULTIPLE unsolicited emails from Newsmax regarding many other financial products that were not included in my initial offer. NONE of those emails included an "unsubscribe" or "opt-out" link. The only links included were a link to their Terms of Use policy and their Privacy Policy. Neither of which were of any use to me.
I finally sent an email to Financial Customer Service <[email protected]> to complain about the fact that their company website had absolutely NO options to unsubscribe, or manage electronic subscriptions, and that I wanted the unsolicited emails to STOP. I received the following email from: Karen Sullivan, Financial Services Representative, Newsmax Media Inc, www.newsmax.com, P.O. Box 20989, West Palm Beach, FL 33416, 561.686.1165 ext 1350, 888.766.7542, 561.868.3350 Fax
"I’ll be happy to help you. We need to clarify a couple things due to some conflicting information in your emails before we cancel everything. I understand you want to cancel the emails, that is clear and that is being done for you.
However, you explained you wanted to cancel all emails, but to have the ability to manage your subscriptions from the site. Once we cancel everything, this includes the subscriptions there will be nothing to manage. Right now, there is not a way to manage your subscriptions online.
As part of this offer, customers pay $4.95 (the cost of the shipping and handling) The offer makes it clear to the customer that they get the free book in exchange for agreeing to a trial subscription to 3 advisory letters. There is no obligation to subscribe to any of the 3 newsletters and there is no penalty for canceling our newsletters before the trial period ends.
However, there is an automatic renewal on these subscriptions if a person does not cancel them out.
We hope customers who take the free book will try out the newsletters for the trial period. We ask this in good faith in exchange for us sending the valuable book. However, if the customer doesn’t want to renew subscriptions, the book is theirs to keep at no additional cost. This was all explained in the promotion and in your confirmation email and will also be included with your order when received.
Please let me know if you want me to cancel ALL the mailed subscriptions included with this promotion and I’ll take care of it for you.
Or, if you prefer to get a couple of issues first and then cancel when you get the renewal notice."
Obviously, from the wording of the email above, the customer is being asked to "try out" their VERY expensive newsletters *in exchange* for getting the Aftershock book for $4.95. This is very different from the wording of the original offer, which offers the "trial subscriptions" as a "wait--there's MORE!" type of perk.
I have seen the Aftershock book on Amazon and it certainly looks like legitimate information. But I wish I had looked up Newsmax before taking their offer...I would have just paid for the regular edition of the book on Amazon and skipped the scam. |
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THANKS A BUNCH GUYS!!! MY INTUITION SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME THAT WHEN THEY SAY " F R E E "
BUT THEN WANT TO CHARGE YOU $4.95 AND THEY CONVENIENTLY MAKE SURE THERE IS NO WAY TO DOWNLOAD A " F R E E COPY " OFF THE INTERNET (I KNOW, I ALREADY TRIED, COULD NOT FIND ONE). THEN IT IS A SCAM!!! What part of 'they are lying to you" do you not understand? T H E R E I S N O
F R E E C O P Y A N Y W H E R E TO B E F O U N D ! ! ! ! maybe at a local library, but they already paid for it.
These people should be taken out and shot for their lack of integrity!!! At best someone should teach them the definition of "FREE". I would like to give them a "free one way ticket to HELL!". Maybe God will see to it they reap what they sow and my prayers will have been answered. It is time these sheisters get what they deserve. This is just what is wrong with America today, businesses lying to people trying to con them out of their money. Their deeds will catch up with them, it is just a matter or time...Maybe we will all get to see it on the internet news. ya think???? |
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| I got the Aftershcok e-book for $11 at Amazon-- |
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| This seemed like a scam to me and I am glad I found this site. Thanks very much everyone for sharing your experiences. Unfortunately, as has been said, it casts a shadow on the reliability of the analysis. Is it just "shock and awe" to sell books and subscriptions? |
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| BEWARE!!! SCAM, SCAM, SCAM. DO NOT ORDER AFTERSHOCK. YOU CLICK TO ORDER A FREE BOOK AGREE TO PAY POSTAGE ONLY. BOLD WARNING DO NOT PUSH ORDER TAB MORE THEN ONCE. I PUSHED ONCE AND THEY BILLED MY C.C. 3 TIMES. INSTANTLY YOU GO TO THE NEXT PAGE AND CAN'T GO BACK AND THERE YOU FIND OUT YOU'VE AGREE TO RECEIVE 3 TRIAL NEWS LETTERS FOR 3 MONTHS. YOU CAN ONLY CANCEL BY TYPING NO THANKS IN A BOX THAT IS IS AVAILABLE IN THREE MONTHS HIDDEN IN A HAYSTACK OF E-MAILS. YOU HAVE ALREADY AGREED FOR THEM TO AUTO BILL YOUR CARD. YOU UNKNOWINGLY AGREE TO TERMS BY PUSHING THE ORDER TAB ONLY THEN DO YOU FIND OUT THE TERMS WHICH IS TOO LATE. AFTER WHICH YOU WLL BE BILLED $99.00 A YEAR FOR EACH NEWS LETTER THAT, S A TOTAL OF $300.00 DUPLICATED 3 TIMES BY THEM DUPLICATING YOUR ORDER WHICH IS A TOTAL OF $900.00 THEY LIST 3 PHONE NUMBERS TO CALL NONE OF WHICH ARE WORKING NUMBERS. THIS IS WHEN YOU RECEIVE THE AFTERSHOCK . CALL YOUR CREDIT CARD CO AND CLOSE YOUR ACCOUNT AND GET A NEW CARD NUMBER ASAP. THIS IS THE ONLY THING YOU CAN DO, THIS IS CRIMINAL, A CRIME. AND NOBODY IS STOPPING THEM. DON'T EVEN CLICK TO SEE THIER VIDEO. WHO KNOWS WHAT THEY'RE UP TO. ALL THE TERMS ARE ALL THERE BUT IT'S A TRAP YOU CAN'T GET OUT OF UNTILL IT'S TOO LATE. THEY HAVE THE NADS TO CALL IT AFTERSHOCK !!! |
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I was SUCKED in to the "free" offer! I clicked NO to all of the "free" trial offers, I was sent a "confirmation" for $300 worth of CRAP!!! I just tried to call to cancel and of course it was an office that is not open. I am coming out of a horrible divorce that has devastated me financially - This $300 subscription is the difference between me feeding my family!
I wish that I had found this site 20 minutes ago (before I just gave Rupert Murdoch my last few pennies!). I will be notifying my bank to reject this charge right now. |
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| I'm very glad that I found this site. I do NOT have a degree in economics, but I did pay attention in middle school. I think that there is a lot of accuracy to what is stated in the video. Printing money gave us problems in the past. However, I'd like to offer an alternative to the scam. If you're concerned about your monetary situation, check out Ramsey's A Total Money Makeover. Granted it comes from a religious perspective (discussing tithing for church) but the full message is for anyone from any religious background. How to live beneath our means. Hope this is helpful. |
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| Thanks for the warning, if it sounds to good to be ture if phrobably is. This offer sounds to good to be ture. |
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| The same trick was pulled on me! They offered a hat for $2.00 then sent me a bill for $59.xx for a subscripton to a magazine I never ordered. Same marketing ploy, you must wait for three billing cycles to cancel! BS. I just called the bank and put them on a NO BILL status for my CC. I called them 7 days later and my "subscription" was cancelled. They are definately crooked marketeers!! |
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| I found full book downloadable for free online. Search it, you will find it. I do not want to put it here to be forced to bring down the website. |
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| Their video was terrific and I'm very interested in several topics. However I'm not impressed with this type of marketing and wanted other user reviews. I do appreciate all of the info listed and will not be ordering from Newsmax! |
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Well well... In my opinion, what they did not say is that they were writing about our AFTERSHOCK... meaning the state of our finances after we accepted their "offer"...
They know what they are doing. They know a large number of people will subscribe just to get the free copy..
If they really want to avoid all these negative reviews.. it is simple:
1. Invite people to subscribe to the trials, but do not ask for any credit card information, perhaps only
the s&h if sending a hard copy of any book.
2. Allow people to download the eBook, right there at the time of subscription (no tricks).
3. When the trial period expires, meaning after having sent the complete set of trial issues, if
anyone wants to continue, they can provide their credit card information to accept the charge for
a full year starting from the time the first issue was actually sent.
4. Still allow for a no-questions-asked cancellation and refund the prorated portion of non-sent issues.
If they are so confident that there is value to their material, they will provide valuable trial issues and
a valuable book to read, and people who really like it, will continue with subscriptions.
Regardless... In reality the entire video exists to sell us their book, which is presented as if this guy was a brilliant (almost out of this world) economist.
But just below the video you see the disclaimer, that tells you that you should not really believe anything they say or write,
I was about to order, but then I read the disclaimer, then therir terms of service... That turned me off. |
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