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Florida probes Rodale's business tactics [The Morning Call, Allentown, Pa.](Morning Call (Allentown, PA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Jun. 18--Florida consumer protection authorities are investigating the marketing tactics of publisher Rodale Inc. of Emmaus. The attorney general's office started investigating last year after receiving two complaints. One person alleged being unable to cancel a magazine subscription. The other complained of being billed for a book and magazine she didn't order. The probe is focusing on "negative option" marketing methods, such as automatic shipments and automatic subscription renewals, that require consumers to take action to reject products instead of take action to buy them. Authorities are examining marketing materials to see if they adequately disclose terms and conditions to consumers. Rodale has not been accused of wrongdoing and says it stands by its business practices. "Our practices are compliant with the law," Paul McGinley, Rodale senior vice president and general counsel, said in a written statement. "We have had marketing materials reviewed by outside counsel consistently for several years." Rodale said it provided the information that was requested in the subpoenas. Investigators requested complaints from Florida customers who received or were billed for books or magazines they didn't order; were billed for books or magazines they'd already paid for; had magazine subscriptions renewed without consent; and had a hard time canceling a subscription. Also requested were promotional materials, phone sales scripts and copies of Web pages used during transactions, and the names and addresses of Florida residents who were mailed certain Rodale publications. Rodale publishes books and magazines on fitness, cooking, gardening and similar topics, including Men's Health, Prevention, Women's Health and Organic Gardening. Wednesday morning, the company had a D+ rating from the Better Business Bureau, with 162 of the 372 complaints filed in the past three years involving the company's selling practices. While nearly all of the complaints had been resolved, the BBB said reasons for the poor rating included the number of complaints and Rodale's failure to respond to three complaints. After the Watchdog asked Rodale about it, the company checked into it and showed the BBB proof it had responded to those three complaints. Late Wednesday, Rodale's rating was adjusted to a B+. The report is on my blog at http://blogs.mcall.com/watchdog/ . McGinley said customer service always has been a priority at Rodale, and the fact its customer base continues growing -- at 25 million active customers now -- "speaks volumes." He said customers ordered more than four million books in 2008 and Rodale had a complaint rate of 1 percent, based on the number of book returns. The Watchdog is published Thursdays and Sundays. Contact me by e-mail at [email protected], by phone at 610-841-2364 (ADOG), by fax at 610-820-6693, or by mail at The Morning Call, 101 N. Sixth St., Allentown, PA, 18101. Follow me on Twitter at mcwatchdog. |