I tried to cancel a free trial magazine subscription, but now have been billed an invoice...help!?

Question

I think I might be okay on this one, but need opinions of people who may have been in a similar situation.
I filled in a form on the internet to recieve a free trial of an international magazine which was Swedish (I live in UK) and after about 3 weeks I got the mag in the post. The letter that came with it stated you had to inform them you didn't want to continue with the subscription within 14 days of receipt otherwise they will continue to send you the monthy mag and bill you.
Now much to my stupidity I forgot to do this up until about 17 days later, by which time I had recieved an invoice for the full subscription. (But how would they know when I recieved the mag in the post? As UK post can be pretty unpredictable due to recent postal strikes).
Anyway - I heard nothing back from the email I sent to them requesting that they cancel my subscription, and just recently they sent another copy of the mag! They only have my name and (temporary rented) address - no credit details at..

- no credit or debit details - and more importantly no bank details so they cannot actually charge me - Will I get away with this? Or is there anything they can legally do?

Answer 1

Keep copies of the emails that you have sent cancelling the request. It could be that they shipped the magazine out to you in error as sometimes there is lag time between when you cancel a subscription and when it stops due the the magazine's internal system, nothing you have done.

To be sure, email them again and remind (sending a copy of your prior email if you still have it) them that you previously notified them that you did not want to subscribe beyond the free trial issue and that they have mistakenly sent you another issue and ask that they please rectify their records and email you back confirming this (they usually never do, but since you asked, if they don't it is on them).

As long as you stay on top of this now and keep records for about 6 months, you should be ok with not having to pay them a dime. If you let it go and do nothing for month, you could end up having the matter turned over to collections, but they will always warn you first.

Answer 2

in US Law if they send it to your home it is yours free if you did not order it. If you cancel make sure you have names and dates. a Judge would most likely go with you as the Publications trades do this all too often. I do not know UK law but I am assuming it is similar enough, don't freak out it should be fine.

Answer 3

If there is no way they can charge you credit card or bank account, you have nothing to worry about. Bur morally, if it is your fault that you didn't get the cancellation notice to them in time, you should buy the subscription.

Answer 4

Write "CANCEL" across the invoice, make a copy to keep for yourself, then send the original back.