The guy on the other end told me I had won a $1000 Target gift card and asked me for some information in order to process it all. I gave him my information, attempted to verify that this was a legit thing and after talking me into getting a magazine subscription for $3.97 a week or $19.95 a month for five magazines (what a deal!), I was transferred to his "supervisor," a rude, fast-talking gentlemen who then informed me I was going to be charged double because charging for 60 straight months was just too difficult ... [I know, by this point I can imagine you shaking your head at my stupidity but let me finish]. I went ahead and agreed to it because who doesn't want a gift card to Target for $1000? I thought that this deal (if you want to call it a deal) was too good to be true, but I decided to go for it.
After giving out my information (address, marital status, age, credit card number, pretty much everything short of my social), the fast-talking, rude dude went over everything again, told me I would be charged $39.90 monthly for the five magazine subscriptions, I would get a gift basket worth over $500, an iPOD, and of course my Target gift card. I hung up with the guy with dreams of strolling the aisles of Target picking whatever I so pleased in my head because hey! I would have a grand to spend there! As the day went by, I thought more and more about the situation. When I got home last night from work, I decided to jump on my computer and Google the company (Southwest Periodical Service), and to my horror, came upon pages and pages of people talking about how they had been scammed and ripped off, how they never received their gifts, how they tried to cancel their accounts with them only to be rudely threatened with going to a collection agency to get the money they "owed" for the magazines that they never got. Of course, by this point, I am shaking my own head at myself and wondering how I could be so naive, trusting, dumb ... you name it, I felt it. I decided to go ahead and call my bank, explain the situation, and cancel my credit card. They were very understanding and helpful, and they certainly did not make me feel dumb for getting caught up in a scam.
I went ahead and called the company today to cancel my account. I was fully prepared to bring out the big guns, yell, stand my ground, all of that, because from what I had been reading the previous night from people in similar situations, I was ready for a fight. I actually was pleasantly surprised to receive no trouble at all; they canceled everything without question and promised to refund the money. I certainly was taken aback with how simple it was to get rid of them, but I am glad that I was able to. Who knows the trouble I could have been facing days or months down the road.
Let this be a lesson to all you trusting, unsuspecting people out there that think you won something fabulous. I read some wise advice from those in similar situations as mine - if you have to buy something in order to get your "prize," it is not legit. I guess I'm going to go back to clipping coupons and saving money in order to get the things I want to get.
Man, and I was really looking forward to buying all new curtains for the house.....
My wonderful husband was incredibly supportive as I told him the story and asked him for help. He did not make me feel badly, but instead hugged me as I laughed-cried about it all. He also made this hilarious meme describing basically how I feel about it all.....
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