Let's be clear on one thing, I didn't pay for my subscription to Runner's World. I can't actually remember why I started getting the magazine last May in the first place. The only thing I can think of is that I must have gotten an offer to use frequent flier miles. I would never pay for this magazine, right?

Occasionally I dabble on the website. I follow them on Twitter. Some of this content is relevant and interesting. Some. The magazine, however? Rarely useful. I've been a subscriber in the past, when I would've considered myself a noob at running. I've seen enough RW issues to know that they recycle their covers and every issue is the same.

Lose weight, get fit! Beginner's guide to...PR your 5-k, etc. These are the same stories every. single. month. zzz.

Do I really need to read how to run a 5-k? Come on! And I'm already a runner, I doubt I need tips on losing weight, really I'm the wrong crowd for this. In general, I'm kind of over you Runner's World, you're just useless to me.

Now, this wasn't enough to pick a fight. No, Rodale, the publishing company of Runner's World decided to pull a scam over the holidays using innocent subscribers such as myself. And I won't stand for it. Just two days before Christmas, I received one of these in the mail:


Except that the one I received was a bit larger and sealed flat on all four sides. As in, you have to destroy this cardboard packaging to see the contents. I didn't know what it was. I didn't order anything from Rodale. But it was two days before Christmas, so who knows what it could've been. I'm quite sure that Rodale played it that way on purpose.

I opened it up to find a 2010 Runner's World Calendar. Odd, I thought, I didn't order one and this doesn't appear to be a gift from any one as there was a bill sitting on top of the calendar. Yeah, one of those congrats on your purchase, now don't forget to pay for me kind of scams.

I have never purchased something and not paid for it at the time of purchase. (Credit cards are different). So I call the 800 number on the bill to straighten this out. Offices closed. Of course, they are East Coast and close at 6pm EST. Lame.

I called again the next day and spoke to some poor customer service rep who was working on Christmas eve. I felt bad for her. Especially because she had to take my call. Anyhoo, I explained to her that I never ordered this item. She told me to just send it back. Well, that would be great, except how might I do that without spending a dime or more than 2 seconds on this mess? Packaging is now unusable. Wouldn't fit in a mailbox anyways. I'm certainly not going to go buy new packaging and I'm absolutely not going to spend time and money at the post office for Rodale's scam. The woman also couldn't provide any explanation as to why I got the calendar or confirm any proof of purchase, likely because there isn't one! So she said okay, don't worry, you don't have to pay.

Of course, I should have known it wouldn't be that easy. Just like Hotels.com never delivering on the $100 hotel bucks they still owe me from last April (6 calls, 2 emails), Rodale was full of crap.

Today I got a reminder notice in the mail from Rodale. "Your payment is now due". Actually it was less polite and more like:

YOUR PAYMENT IS NOW DUE

So the effect of reading this is like someone shouting at you loudly. Fun, right? Right. So I call them again. Of course, they are closed.

Now, I'm pretty pissed. This whole thing is a complete scam. They send you something you didn't order, suspiciously right before the holidays when people are getting all kinds of packages, expected and unexpected. They make it impossible to send the thing back without costing you money and royally inconveniencing you, so that in the end they hope you give up and fork over a lousy $19.95 + $3.95 shipping and $1.90 tax.

Now riddle me this Runner's World and Rodale: why do you think it's cool to insult me and assume I'm some dumbass that falls for your scam? If I wanted your stupid calendar, I would've purchased it at one of the several different places I saw it - 2 different Whole Food's locations, 1 random calendar sale by my office, Amazon.com where I have an account. All places that don't charge shipping! And if you know anything about me and my buying habits, it's that I never pay full price and I never pay for shipping, especially on things I can get on my lunch break!

So enough is enough. I have canceled my useless subscription to Runner's World. God knows they will send me more issues and try to bill me for them. Please, Rodale, just stop. Try working on making a better magazine, it would be more productive.

View Original Post at seelararun.blogspot.com

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• Running, Sports, SportsPLUS, OpEd, Media/Marketing

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• Runners World
• rodale