Rodale, if you have never heard of them, is the publishing company that publishes many magazines, including Reader’s Digest, Women’s Health, Men’s Health, and others.
So on January 21 we got a bill from them for $65.22 telling us that they hope we enjoyed the SET-WH TOTAL FITNESS GDE 2009 they’d sent us. According to the very loudly colored and detailed invoice, we could examine the SET-WH TOTAL FITNESS GDE 2009 for 21 days with absolutely no obligation, but otherwise we’d have to send them $65.22. Despite arriving on Jan. 21, the due date on the invoice was January 17.
This was very curious because we had never asked them to send us a SET-WH TOTAL FITNESS GDE 2009, whatever that is, and were not, so far as we were aware, in possession of a SET-WH TOTAL FITNESS GDE 2009.
So about three weeks later - a period of time suspiciously similar to the 21-day “Free trial” limit cited in the invoice - we received a package from Rodale that looks like it contains a book; from he feel of it a bit smaller than a hardcover novel. I am guessing that the contents of the package are the SET-WH TOTAL FITNESS GDE 2009. The package is notable for its lack of external markers, such as no postmark.
We attempted to contact Rodale, both after receipt of the invoice and the package, to explain that we did not want their SET-WH TOTAL FITNESS GDE 2009. Our attempts to contact them were remarkable unsuccessful. Nobody answered the phone at any hour and there is no answer to our emails.
So I’m curious;
Since we did not ask for a SET-WH TOTAL FITNESS GDE 2009, do we have to pay for postage to send it back, or can we keep the SET-WH TOTAL FITNESS GDE 2009 as unsolicited merchandise? (By “keep” I mean “throw into the recycling bin.”)
Is it legal for them to do this?
If I do not send them their SET-WH TOTAL FITNESS GDE 2009 or any money, will this go on my credit report? How would you explain to the credit bureau that you never wanted or asked for a SET-WH TOTAL FITNESS GDE 2009?
Does anyone else get stuff from these Rodale people, be it a SET-WH TOTAL FITNESS GDE 2009 or anything else with a weird name?
I got a similar gift last year, although mine was timed to arrive just before the holidays and I opened it thinking it might be something I had ordered. The invoice arrived a few days later, just past the due date printed on it.
I ended up boxing it all up - invoice too- and taking it to the post office to send back (I had to pay a few dollars). The postmaster told me that next time just write “refused” on it without opening it, and bring it in, they would send it back for free.
I never heard any more about it, and they never stopped sending Men’s Health, which I imagine they would if they thought I owed them money.
I also took pictures of the stuff in the box, then the addressed box and my postage receipt together, just in case.
You are under no obligation to pay for unsolicited merchandise sent through the mail, regardless of how much they try to guilt you into paying for it.
You have 3 choices:[ol]
[li]Keep it. If they demand payment, demand to see any proof that you ordered it.[/li][li]Mark it “Return to Sender” and take it back to the Post Office (or UPS or whoever delivered it).[/li][li]Throw it away.[/li][/ol]
Is the law about receiving unsolicited merchandise the same in Canada as in the US? And it’s interesting that the invoice arrived ahead of the merchandise. Does that change anything about the idea that the merchandise was unsolicited?
And it sounds like you have haven’t opened the package yet. In that case, you may want to write refused on it and leave it at the post office.
You are under no obligation to accept or pay for any merchandise you receive in the mail that you did not order.
In most provinces and territories, when the sender asks for the merchandise back, you must return it at the sender’s expense; however, in some provinces and territories you cannot be required to pay for the goods or services unless you agreed to do so in writing.
To complain about unsolicited goods, contact your provincial or territorial consumer affairs office.
Twice, I received a package of bodice-ripping Harlequin romance crap books, along with a nice thick wine glass. I had not ordered these.
I called the company, they stopped shipping. I kept the wine glasses and donated the books.
I agree with** FatBaldGuy.**…unless they can prove you ordered it, it’s a gift. You can also say you never got the package OR the invoice, and then what are they going to do?