Today after 4 years of being charged $90 a month for 4 years from my checking account I called Synapse and talked to a lady named Tristin...believe that is how this angels name is spelled...lol. She is the person this company should strive to have customer service skillss of this level. The ultimate meaning customer service and this lady is a ethical, well spoken and ultimate representation for this company. I worked for Anheuser Busch for 15 years and Edward Jones Investments 5 years among other fortune 500 companies in Marketing and other high level position and I wanted to tell her and upper management of her beyond excellent service. Your company is fortunate to have such a rare and dedicated first class employee. She is honest, compassionate and just a pleasant and wonderful representation of this company. I talked to her for less than 10 minutes and uncovered 5 magazine subscriptions I did not order and money has been taken out of my checking account for years. I have tried and my bank has tried to help stop these charge for magazines I would never and have never ordered. She looked up my subscriptions by ID # from postcard I received in mail and just today I was charged $90 that was taken from my account. She issued refund that I will see within 2 business days for $96 and stopped all magazine subscriptions ( 2 I didn't even know of...started this year. She was more than happy when I asked and she gave me her name, company name and apologized for the tactics and frustration I have had trying to stop these magazines. Tristin is new to the company, she told me, and she is the face you should see if you look up "beyond good customer service" employee in an employee handbook! Synapse...you have a bad wrap online but you have a employee, Tristin...hope that is correct spelling of her correct name...connection was bad. Thank you! read more

No cancel place on the actual magazine website. You get redirected to a phone number who tries to avoid the cancellation. Waste of time. Waste of money. read more

Negative 100 stars, please. This is the worst, absolute worst scam company I have ever had the displeasure of dealing with. Note to magazines who use this company - I will never again subscribe to your magazines as long as you continue to use this horrible excuse for upping your subscription rates. They are doing far more long-term damage to your bottom line than just having fewer subscribers would. I was charged for a magazine renewal two months ago for over $100. Cancelled and asked for the unused portion to be refunded. I received a credit for $4. Total. Utter. Scam. read more

Ordered a subscription on Amazon with this company on July 7th. Now to find out that i won't get my first issue until September 22nd? What the hell could possibly take so long. Seems like a scam to me. read more

Just went through the same scenario with a National Geographic subscription which I never ordered. Why would anyone pay $46 for a subscription that can be had direct for $15 ? What a hassle getting it cancelled. read more

Fraud warning!!! Do not do business with them or accept a "free" offer for magazine subscription. Unauthorized charges. I accepted an offer for free subscriptions at Books-a-million. I did not provide credit card information. I was charged full price for the magazines on the credit card I had used at Books-a-Million. When I called them and told then I was charged without my permission, and that I had reported them to the BBB and would report them to my credit card company, they offered me a small, partial, refund. When I insisted on a full refund, they finally agreed. I will be watching my credit card statement to verify that they make good on teh refunds. I won't be buying from Books-a-million again, either, because they gave Synapse my credit card information. read more

I just checked my acct. and I was refunded for the two magazines that I was billed for - no sign or charge of the other two. Will be watching my acct. to be sure that I am not charged any more. Raising it to two stars only b/c I am grateful to receive a refund (!) ~ was not expecting one with all of the negative reviews & others not being refunded. Thank you, Synapse Group Inc. read more

This is nothing short of racketeering. I was charged over $80 today for 2 magazines I did NOT renew and for which the subscription is not even up. The same thing took place last week and the week before. It is fairly obvious they are doing some kind of scam and float operation since the refund is not executed for 1-2 days and of late a new surcharge is reducing the cash back. I have asked the US Department of Justice, the Attorney General of CT and the Attorney General of Vermont to investigate this group, and I am seeking damages through the Better Business Bureau for an annoying and time-consuming SCAM operation. The magazines they serve should know how their reputation is being hurt by these sharp practices. read more

scam! cannot unsubscribe, no matter how many times. predatory terrible company, continues to scam my family out of money for years. US companies they work with are helpless to stop subscriptions. Send calls out to the middle of India. Beware, these practices should be illegal!!!!! read more

I signed up for 4 magazines at the incredible price of $2.00 each, with delight! And then saw on another page an additional magazine I thought might please my husband, and signed up for it as well. The magazine for my husband was full price I discovered later, but having told him it was a birthday present I did not cancel it. Being aware now that this service was a tad tricky I have been attentive to the approaching automatic renewal dates. Choosing not to have this service automatically renew on my CC, I called in advance and canceled them all 2 months in advance of the subscription end date printed in the address section of the mailing label... The auto prompts were tricky as well during the cancellation process, I just kept repeating no in answer to each question, noted the cancellation confirmation number and date of my call, and then at the end asked them to give me the list of magazines, the automated system did so along with the dates of cancellation. So we shall see if this cancellation call does indeed solve the problem. I will repost if it does not. read more

Signed up for some magazines with them for $2 each. Great deal, right? Sure...but I don't recall seeing anything that said they would be using Auto-Renew. I just noticed that they renewed so I called to cancel because the online process was very confusing. All I wanted was to stop getting the magazines and to get a refund on magazines I have not received. They kept throwing offers at me. Long story short, I finally spoke to a live person who cancelled everything and my account shows pending refunds. Never. Again. read more

These people are totally criminal. Watch out for them. They buy your credit card info from Match.com and then billed my credit card info without my permission. They took $117 for People Magazine which I had never ordered. This is illegal. read more

This company automatically charged and renew the magazines subscription without giving me any notification before their illegally and unauthorizedly using my credit card and without any confirmation after the renew! I didn't agree with and didn't set up any auto renew and auto re-subscription! What they are doing is fraud and stealth! Using previous customer's credit card information for unauthorized payment without my permission is stealth! read more

I was just double charged for a set of magazine subscriptions thru this company. I then tried to cancel all subscriptions, went thru a runaround on the phone and online. Biz Rate is the company that funnels customers to Synapse group. don't know if Biz Rate is in on scam as well. read more

I received an unauthorized charge on my American Express bill for $80 for a "vip" subscription to Time. I immediately called Synapses to cancel, but they don't make it easy. I do not think very highly of an automated response system where my only choice is to cancel the $80 subscription but subscribe for $4.26 a month. I wanted to cancel completely, but that was not one of the options. There was no option to speak to a person. Then they offered me two magazines "Yachting" although I have no interest, and some writing/editing mag for reduced rates. I found myself screaming "no" at the phone, and I'm actually a very patient person. read more

I subscribed to the magazine as a supplement for $2 when redeeming airline points. The year ended and I was charged around $40 for renewal. I was fortunate to read yelp before I call and found how to connect to customer service. When you connect to the number, the automated voice will ask you to choose between speaking and dial tone. You should try press 000 only after you're in the main menu, not before. Otherwise it won't work. Was able to talk to a customer service representative and get everything sorted out. read more

I have the same shitty story as everyone else. Huge SCAM! My charge was $122 for supposedly $2 magazines. I called (877) 789-1194 and hit 000, got a real person who actually spoke English and said he would give me a full refund that will take place in 24-48 hours. Rest assured, I will be checking in to this. I hate companies that have to scam people to get rich. Where are the laws for this and why aren't they being stopped? Fight for what is right people! read more

I had the same thing happen to me - I thought I was buying $2 subscriptions and I ended up getting charged $70.50 without my permission on the renewals. I just called Synapse and they reassured me that I would be reimbursed within 3 days - which I will be surprised if it happens. read more

Beware of this company! They offer trial magazines (usually through your airline miles or your credit card) but they charge you immediately! It's impossible to get a real person on the line, and even if you cancel they charge for your "free" magazines. read more

Total scam artists. I spent about 15 minutes on their automated phone line canceling a People Magazine subscription my kid had foisted on her at Books-a-Million even though she is a minor who is clueless about scams like that. She still continued to receive the magazine and was charged about $80 for "continuing" her subscription a week after I canceled it. Then spent a torturous session on the phone with their live customer service department (877-755-8550) arguing with somebody I could barely understand who offered a $24 refund. After some time back and forth they agreed to a full refund, but I somehow doubt my daughter will ever see it. Do not subscribe to any magazines using this company, and do not agree to subscribe via Books a Million. read more

I called the number I found on Yelp, I got through in less than a minute, and have canceled all of auto renewals. Very nice, very accommodating. read more

Prepare to be given the run around when calling this company. 1-877-789-1194. Stand firm be prepared to repeat your request. I had to ask to speak with a supervisor. Ask for confirmation numbers and a confirmation email. Ask for a refund. You may or may not get it. Then, ask that your credit card information be removed from there system with a confirmation email. Good luck! read more

Beware the "introductory offer". Apparently participated in such an offer a year ago and then received a surprise charge on my credit card for 45$ a year later. Called 877-789-1194 and followed other reviewer's instructions to enter 000 when you get to the main menu. Was transferred to a representative who spouted "company policy" and "pro-rated" and offered a refund of $40.50 which I accepted just to be done with this mess. Got the refund 4 days later. read more

Total fucking scam! I've been receiving "People En Espanol" and "Better Homes and Gardens" for about a year. Never ordered them. Tired of receiving them. Tried to cancel by contacting People. Can only do it through email. The auto message from People said to contact Synapse Group because People cannot cancel when an "agency" is involved. No live person answers at Synapse. After a lot of hassle, the automated machine says I filled out a survey at "Freebizmag.com" and "agreed" to two subscriptions. Total bullshit. I only called to cancel because I was tired of getting these stupid magazines. I never filled out a survey to agree to get these magazines. read more

I ordered sports Illustrated through the recycle rewards points program with our local waste management for $2. for the year. The expiration date for the magazine is December 2013. On my January 2013 VISA statement I saw a charge of $51. for the magazine renewal. I called them and after going in circles with someone who did not speak the best English they said they would refund the amount. I just saw the VISA credit and it is for a lesser amount of $43.71. Now I am in the process of trying to get that resolved via a customer service internet message. Never again, this is a real scam and I plan on reporting SYNAPSE GROUP INC. to the California Attorney General's consumer fraud dept. How many people would have even questioned the charge and let them get away with it, I bet many. read more

Continually charges debit card for magazine subscriptions...had to make 4 calls to get credited back. Then don't expect a full credit back, they claim you have gotten one magazine so they do partial credits...you complain more, they state, "We will have our customer service group review your claim" Who am I speaking with????? If there was a zero rating, they would get it.. read more

I saw a $52 charge on my credit card a few days ago for a magazine subscription that I did not authorize. I did some quick googling on the phone number associated with the charge and quickly found out that I was not alone...this has happened to a lot of people. In my particular case, I had signed up for a one-year subscription to the Atlantic through my American Airlines "miles for magazines" program. The deal was X number of miles plus $2.00 for a one-year subscription. I used my CC to pay the two dollars. One year later to the day, I find this unauthorized charge on my card, apparently to "renew" the subscription, at a huge mark-up. There was never any notice about auto-renewal or anything like that. I called the number associated with the charge and was greeted by a friendly automated system. The automated system will take you through a maze of options designed to keep you on the hook -- my advice is to be like Nancy Reagan and just say "No". I finally reached the end of this "choose your own adventure" journey, and was told I would get a refund in six weeks or something like that. Meanwhile I've disputed the charge with my bank. This company and the many spin-offs like it are one step away from being a total scam -- the only difference being that I did get a magazine subscription for one year...which I won't be renewing. read more

Never, never, never sign up for 'free trial' magazine subscriptions from 'BizRate' or Synapse group, Inc. They are a 3rd party that represent Time, Inc and Conde Nast magazine subscriptions. Quoting a Time, Inc. customer service representative; they are not fair, they're offers are unclear and their terms are not transparent! read more

Today, my boyfriend received a very suspicious phone call from magcustomerservice.com (I only know this because I called the number back after the call ended, the number was 877-210-0582). When I checked the website, it was listed as being a Synapse Group business, hence why my review is on this company. The call started with a gentleman named Julian who asked for a person that no longer lives with us. He proceeded to ask where that person was at and how long it would take him to get here. We didn't want to give that information out as "Julian" was very vague and would not tell us where he was calling from. After we asked several times what the purpose of the call was, he said he was calling to profess his love for the gentleman that no longer lives here and would like to ask him to marry him. My boyfriend was obviously annoyed by this, and after they exchanging insults for a moment, my boyfriend finally hung up on "Julian." I can't understand for the life of me why a company would pay a person to call and harass people like this, especially after we have made it clear that the person who had done business with them in the past is not available at the number they are calling. The person was rude and unprofessional and I obviously would not recommend doing business with this company! read more

My experience just like everyone else's. Unauthorized charges. You cannot speak to a human to resolve your cancel request. Never get refunds. read more

This company is the epitome of unprofessional. They lure you in by getting you to think you're getting magazines for free. I signed up after a survey I did after purchasing photo books from Groupon (I believe the actual company was Printer Pix). I was initially charged $1-2 per magazine I wanted with the intention that I would get a certain number of months subscription for free (I think three months) in exchange for the small processing fee. They say if you cancel within the time period, you will not receive any charges. That is an utter lie because they charged me for three magazines (at ridiculous rates of $100+ each) BEFORE the free trial ended. I called and tried to dispute the claim with a customer service representative that sounded like he was reading straight from a manual. He claimed if I canceled that day, they would not be able to give me a full refund. However, if I agreed to renew for an additional trial period, I could get a full refund if I canceled any time during the new trial period (another three months). I asked him when the first day was that I could cancel and get a refund. They try to avoid giving you straight answers, so he said "Any time within the trial period." So I said "Tomorrow then? I can cancel tomorrow?" He tried to talk me out of it, saying he hoped I would wait and "enjoy" my membership longer. I laughed and called back the next day and canceled and was assured I would never get charged again. I also requested an audio file of my call, which they refused to give me (because they don't want to issue proof that they are in the wrong). I was issued the refund the next day, but continued to receive magazines at no cost to me. I even began to receive other magazines that I did not initially sign up for (Oprah, Bazaar, Redbook, and a few others), but no charges for months. Then I received two additional charges today. I fought with them and will get them fully reimbursed, but they claim the other magazines were not sent through them. They must sell customer information, because there's no other logical explanation as to why I suddenly have all these additional magazine subscriptions. For those of you having trouble getting a full refund, here's how you cancel your magazines. Do NOT call the number listed on your credit card statement. I tried that and it was completely automated with absolutely NO option to speak to an actual human. They also canceled a subscription I did not authorize them to. When you cancel a subscription through the automated service, you have two options. 1. Get a prorated refund based on the number of magazines you have received. 2. Get a "full" refund, but then get charged an additional fee ($2 or something like that) to RENEW the magazine for another few months and deal with this misery again a few months down the road. The automated service automatically chose option 2 for me, even though I said "No" every single time it asked me if I wanted to renew or cancel. Call the number listed on yelp. Be pushy. I asked to speak to a supervisor. My agent initially said his supervisor was "on a call" but I pushed and miraculously he was suddenly available. I believe they are constantly afraid of being sued as it seems they are doing seriously illegal activity. I said I did not authorize any charges, I wanted a full refund, and I never wanted to be charged again. They complied with everything (except sending me an audio file of the call). The only charge I have to wait on being reimbursed is the $2 or whatever they charged me when they claimed I "renewed" on the phone which needs to go through billing, but should be processed within 3-5 billing days. You bet they will hear from me again if this does not happen. Not giving this company another penny! As this is the second time this has happened in less than a year, I am requesting a new card number from my credit card company as I believe that is the only way to ensure I will not be charged again. So in short, I'd rate this company negative stars if I could. Do NOT agree to any "trial" periods. read more

A very deceitful operation. Do not do business with them. Magazine subscription issues and very poor customer service. I finally resorted to filing a complaint with the BBB after not being able to speak with customer service regarding a credit card charge. read more

You guys obviously don't read the terms and conditions YOU agreed to for the $2.00 magazine offers. I can understand if you're on the phone ordering something else, or in a store shopping and the person presenting it to you signs you up for it after you say no, but anything over the internet is your own damn fault. You know how to read. Do it. Quit wining like a bunch of little toddlers because you couldn't spend 10 minutes to read an offer you're accepting. read more

A year ago I ordered magazine subscriptions by using expiring airline miles. This month one of my credit cards was charged over $100 for individual renewals of the magazines. I did not renew the mags and any automatic renewal was not mentioned in nor was part of the airline offer. I called Time Magazine to cancel this and Time distanced itself from knowledge of this, but said an independent company (Synapse) had renewed my subscription. I then researched Synapse only to find it is a Time Magazine company. My lengthy auto phone cancellation (one magazine at a time) said that I had ordered/renewed the magazines on a popular web site...absolutely false. Not an honest business practice by Time Magazine. read more

You are right! This company is one of the biggest rip offs I've seen. I can't seem to get rid of them either! Though I thought I had cancelled all of the magazines, I'm still getting them and getting charged! read more

Even though I have never ordered a magazine through this company, my account was charged $40 for an automatic renew. Then they had the nerve to only refund me $36.67. What a scam of a company. read more

My throat is sore, from yelling at the stupidly placid automated voice. 20 minutes and nothing changed. the very, very, very worst.

Magcustomerservice.com is their "storefront" and they will charge your credit card without authorization. Very tricky and suspicious business practices. Buyer Beware. You think you are getting a "deal" but most assuredly you will be getting a big huge protracted headache, if you choose to pay any attention at all to your credit card statements in the months ahead. read more

I have been told everything about my account, and then they say I have no magazines ordered with them. I want my $24.50 refunded for TIME that I did not authorize effective 8/20/12. No human voice available. Will have to resort to snail mail. NEVER TRY THESE OFFERS. read more

Beware! I ordered a subscription to Time through this company and when I tried to cancel before the charge date, they said I was not in their system. It's because they had my name spelled wrong and I was charged $24 to my credit card because I had no idea I should be looking for a different spelling of my last name. I got the refund through the company, a hassle for sure, but at least I got the refund. Two weeks later, they levied an additional $45 charge on my account for two magazines I had previously ordered through a different company whose subscriptions just ended. Synapse renewed my subscriptions without my permission and though they assured me I would see a refund in 48 hours, no refund is to be found! stay away from any "great deal" magazine offers you find because Synpase is probably behind them and they will screw you over. read more