Submitted by Carol Hetzler
Many businesses that rely on subscriptions use sales techniques that, while legal, are not completely ethical. When parents begin to age, they sometimes forget this fact and wind up paying for subscriptions they don’t need or use.
Most magazines start sending renewal forms as early as a year before payment is needed, and several times thereafter. When faced with such requests, my parents would view them as invoices and return each renewal form with a check for payment. When we started looking at their magazines there were more than they could possibly read, and many subscriptions were paid up for the next five years. We spent some time canceling duplicate magazines and those that were never read.
There are many other businesses that operate this way. Others to be especially watchful for are those that note that they will renew the subscription automatically, charging the credit card given for payment. Examples of this are book and music clubs, wine clubs and many magazines. Unless membership is cancelled, it continues to renew.
Occasionally businesses send products that are not ordered, and charge you for them if they are not returned immediately. My parents believed these items sent to them were free, and kept them. When we became aware of the situation, there were closets stuffed with unopened product boxes, and charges were about to go to collection agencies. Like many adult children, I was too far from my parents’ home to keep close track of such signs.
The best course for children who care for aging parents is to, at some point, take a complete inventory of all subscriptions, clubs and other membership to which they belong, and determine when each expires or renews. Cancel those that are unwanted in writing, and make notes about what’s been paid and when for the rest. You can save your parents much money and aggravation if the subscriptions are managed in advance.
