Rodale Inc.

Eric Kallgren    Boulder, Colorado USA

Posted at 11:24am on Friday, June 12th, 2009

Florida is investigating Rodale over sales tactics, WalletPop (an AOL service) reported on June 11, 2009:

"The Florida Attorney General's office is investigating the sales tactics of Rodale Inc., publisher of Men's Health and Prevention magazines, Walletpop.com has learned.

To keep private some of what has been obtained by investigators under subpoena, Rodale went to court to block its release. State lawyers and Investigators are looking into "several negative option marketing methods employed by Rodale, including automatic shipments and automatic subscription renewals, and whether the marketing materials for these methods adequately disclose terms and conditions," the Attorney General's office told Walletpop. "We are also investigating whether Rodale sends consumers merchandise that has not been ordered."

Negative option marketing means products, such as books and magazines, are sent to consumers who don't specifically decline them. It is considered a deceptive practice since consumers end up with bills for items they didn't order. The state's investigation has been ongoing for more than a year.

Rodale's marketing has come under fire in the past.

The Better Business Bureau reports receiving 219 complaints in the last year, mostly over selling practices, giving the company a D+ rating."

The full story:
www.walletpop.com/blog/2009/06/11/florida-investigating-major-publisher-over-sales-tactics

Rad Davis    Orlando FL

Posted at 4:33am on Monday, June 1st, 2009

If you ass clowns don't stop using my e-mail address to send your trash all over the internet so that it looks like I am responsible for it, I will come up there and make YOU responsible for it.

Sharon    Fort Atkinson, WI USA

Posted at 11:46am on Wednesday, May 27th, 2009

I too have been taken. I order one book that hasn't even been shipped yet and before I even noticed the email telling me about another book, I got a confirmation for a book that I didn't place an order for and now they say that it's already shipped. How's that for this so-called company??? I can't believe that they'd do that. I am turning them in to our consumer protection dept in Madison, WI. They can add this one to their compaint list.

abby    sellersville PA

Posted at 8:33pm on Saturday, April 18th, 2009

I received a flat abs book along with a great sex positions book in the mail. I never heard of these books and I don't pre order anything I don't pay for up front. I threw the outdated cheap books out like I do all my junk mail. rodale has been billing me and adding late fees. I don't know how I got involved in this or if someone signed me up to receive this. I don't have any subscriptions to magazines and never ordered these books. I buy books from local store so I'd like to know how they got my name and address and why I should pay them. I will not pay them anything and in fact am looking into ways to exposed the dark side of Rodale to everyone.

Austin    United States

Posted at 4:02pm on Monday, April 13th, 2009

This is a huge scam and I am shocked that this company would stoop to the level that they send crappy books to people and then force them to go out of their way to return them.

Ty Stebbins    Madison Wisconsin

Posted at 1:47pm on Monday, April 6th, 2009

My wife and I just ended our subscriptions to Men's and Women's Health. Rodale's marketing strategy is bs... I'm sure its making them a ton of money because most people are to lazy to mail the books back, but still!!! Now the books are great, but in no way did I ask for them.

I waited almost 30 minutes to get through to Rodale's customer service and shocking enough the rep's english was weak. It then took me more than 30 minutes to cancel... wtf??

I'm glad I saw these posts and if they bill me again I'm taking it up with the Better Business Beareau.

Unfortunately, I will still buy the magazine off newstands because it is a great magazine. It just falls under a shady publisher.

Cindy    Southern California

Posted at 2:54pm on Saturday, April 4th, 2009

I ordered Men's Health, but never any other books. In fact their sales guy called me one evening trying to send me these two books to preview for free. I told him no thanks, and he was very annoyed with me. Well, today in the mail the dang books came anyway. So now I have to send them back, and I am very po'ed. I think this is a horrible tactic because they probably figure that most people will just keep them and pay. Shame on Rodale :-(

Doris Deneys    Green Bay.WI

Posted at 12:35am on Friday, April 3rd, 2009

According to my records I am paid in full. After readind some of the other letters I will not order from you any more so take me of your mailing list that goes for my husband too James Deneys

PizzdOff    Colorado

Posted at 5:13pm on Sunday, March 29th, 2009

This crap company is now the number one source of spam.
Scumbags.

Bari Hill    Cincinnati, OH

Posted at 10:12am on Tuesday, February 24th, 2009

I received an "automatic" order of unwanted books after ordering ONLY Rodale's Flat Belly Cookbook. I had no knowledge of involuntarily "ordering" or "enrolling" in their "Annual Series" book program whereupon I would receive and be billed for unwanted hardback books (or pay to return them), and was annoyed that Rodale operates like this. It was only after calling that I was directed to a presumably free shipping label. I am on my way to that site now to see if that is true.

The customer service rep was rude and acted like this was not an "automatic" book shipment program I had been enrolled into, when I called it that. He told me "it was just part of my original order." (Lie). He blatantly denied Rodale having an "automatic book program." No of course not, it's just that once you order something from them, they'll send and bill you for anything else they feel like sending. Sure, that's not an automatic program!

Here is the wording from the leaflet enclosed with the books:

" If you decide to keep it, pay promptly and we'll send you the next product in the series. "

I consider comapanies which try to act like you "ordered" something and then harass you to pay for them or return them are operating at scam level and will be cancelling my Prevention magazine subscription now as well.