Shame on you, Sports Illustrated!

Apparently they have a company sanctioned scheme: They offer a free 14 issue trial period. All you have to do is cancel it before issue 15 and there is no charge. Or that's what...Read complete review

Apparently they have a company sanctioned scheme: They offer a free 14 issue trial period. All you have to do is cancel it before issue 15 and there is no charge. Or that's what they said. They were, of course, flat out lying. After about 5 issues they charged me $40. I guess they were hoping that, like most people, I would be too busy, tired, or confused to want to wait on hold until someone could help me. I was tired. I had just come home from work, and had to deal with this scam. But I find it totally insulting when another company that I thought was honest tries one of these apparently legal scams. So I called. First, the woman kept on insisting that I'd had 10 issues, though I'd only had SI for 5 weeks. She said some issues are double issues. Some? That would be all! I didn't remember any 'double issues.' And - AND - in any case, even if it were 10 - which I kept repeating, it wasn't - even if it were, I was told I would get 14 free issues, at which point I would have to decide whether to continue. She made it seem as though nothing could be done, it was too late - I'd been scammed by the magazine of my youth! I thought it was amazing that she, a fellow human, would sit there lying to an honest person for a living. Some people have no principles. In any case, I got so upset, she finally decided to reverse the charge, which, obviously she was authorized to do in the first place. I guess the POLICY is to pretend that nothing can be done until the customer becomes irate. Great POLICY, SI! So, Sports Illustrated, that seemingly innocent magazine of yore, the magazine where one can disappear into the happy landscape of sporting drama, runs the same kinds of schemes that email spammers do. Their word is not worth a thing. If allowed they will purposely trick a person into a $40 subscription and then lie to you about it on the phone. This is the type of business chicanery that would have gotten someone tarred and feathered once upon a time. It saddens me to think of all the elderly folks who can't understand such schemes who must get suckered. Or kids. Shame on you, Sports Illustrated! Shame on you, for resorting to lies covered by lies in order to get a few more bucks. You are no different than the athletes who cheat. Shame on you for tricking honest people. Shame on you for making it your POLICY to deceive and for having your operators lie on the phone repeatedly. I will now place you with all of the other schemers and liars. Decent magazine...beware of slimy business tactics!