Best Buy gets caught defrauding customers out of discounts/rebates

[SirFozzie]

http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc...-utility-local

Anyone who knew of/approved of this 2nd website to cheat customers out of deserved discounts/rebates should be fined 10x as much and/or go to jail.

[Craptacular]

There have been times when I've found something at the store that was more expensive than at Bestbuy.com. At least once, I was told they don't pricematch their website. I didn't know if it was true or not, so I've actually purchased things online for the cheaper price and used in-store pickup. The whole thing is asinine, and if the story is true, I also hope they get fined up the wazoo.

[CU Tiger]

This may be much ado about nothing.

I find it very feasable that they ahve an intranet site that would show product,pricing and potentially even availability at other stores.

If you follow this it is CONCEIVABLE that one site could be updated and not the other.
So maybe the retail site gets a new patch loaded with lots of weekend deals and they dont bother with the intranet site as employees will already know about the deals.

The problem could then come in as over zealous sales fiolks try to get every dime out of customers to pad their spiffs.

Or of course it could be a gigantic conspiracy to defraud U.S citizens. If so I am betting Bin Laden is behind it, but the Democrats will blame Bush, and the Brits will swear no one was ever ripped off and it was all a shell game...

[Doug5984]

There have been many times I have seen something at the store, and it was cheaper on line. Just last week a friend called me from the store, and gave me his info to order his stuff and he waited in the store and did instore pickup for the cheaper price....now that is something I just don't understand.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by Doug5984

There have been many times I have seen something at the store, and it was cheaper on line. Just last week a friend called me from the store, and gave me his info to order his stuff and he waited in the store and did instore pickup for the cheaper price....now that is something I just don't understand.

That they allow in-store pickup on those items seems to defeat the purpose, but in general the idea of encouraging internet commerce so that BBY can grow revenue without incurring additional B&M expenses isn't a terribly novel idea.

[kingfc22]

Originally Posted by Doug5984

There have been many times I have seen something at the store, and it was cheaper on line. Just last week a friend called me from the store, and gave me his info to order his stuff and he waited in the store and did instore pickup for the cheaper price....now that is something I just don't understand.

Yea, that is stupid and is the main reason that at my store we just match the price for the customer. It's just silly to make the customer go through all those extra steps when we can just adjust the price and let them go with the product.

[Vinatieri for Prez]

So, I bought a wireless router after Christmas for like $69 with a $40 rebate. I sent in my rebate request right away. It's now over 60 days later and no rebate check has arrived. Based on anyone's past experience, am I screwed. I think the mail-in rebate may have been directly to the manufacture, but I can't remember. I realize there are always legal remedies but hardly seems the trouble.

[M GO BLUE!!!]

Originally Posted by Vinatieri for Prez

So, I bought a wirele/ss router after Christmas for like $69 with a $40 rebate. I sent in my rebate request right away. It's now over 60 days later and no rebate check has arrived. Based on anyone's past experience, am I screwed. I think the mail-in rebate may have been directly to the manufacture, but I can't remember. I realize there are always legal remedies but hardly seems the trouble.

Raise hell.

After my fun with Best Buy I used the $50 gift card they gave me for my trouble to purchase a $70 memory card for my camera. There was a $20 rebate on it, so my total cost was something like 60 cents. My rebate was denied, as they claimed, due to my having purchased the card outside of the rebate period. I had to argue my point that when a rebate period is from x-date until 11/4, and your purchase was made on 11/1, the 1st falls within the date range.

I got my rebate.

[rowech]

After two bigger purchases at Best Buy (washer and dryer along with a dishwasher) and have problems with both, my wife and I will never buy a major item from them again. It was nothing but a hassle, especially with the dishwasher to get them to correct their mistakes and make things right. We felt lied to several times throught the whole ordeal.

[stevew]

There was some huge thread on this at Fat Wallet.

http://www.fatwallet.com/t/24/702780

[Draft Dodger]

Originally Posted by Doug5984

There have been many times I have seen something at the store, and it was cheaper on line. Just last week a friend called me from the store, and gave me his info to order his stuff and he waited in the store and did instore pickup for the cheaper price....now that is something I just don't understand.

I was getting a PDA for my wife last year at Staples, and was surprised to see it more expensive in the store. I pulled up their website on a demo laptop, and was ready to just order it there for in-store pickup. In the end, they matched the price without too much fuss.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

This may be much ado about nothing.

I find it very feasable that they ahve an intranet site that would show product,pricing and potentially even availability at other stores.

If you follow this it is CONCEIVABLE that one site could be updated and not the other.
So maybe the retail site gets a new patch loaded with lots of weekend deals and they dont bother with the intranet site as employees will already know about the deals.

The problem could then come in as over zealous sales fiolks try to get every dime out of customers to pad their spiffs.

Or of course it could be a gigantic conspiracy to defraud U.S citizens. If so I am betting Bin Laden is behind it, but the Democrats will blame Bush, and the Brits will swear no one was ever ripped off and it was all a shell game...

I don't think the blue drones get spiffs. Just the management.

[gstelmack]

This is typical of the attitude I've seen from Best Buy employees that made me stop shopping there long ago (do a search here so I don't have to go into details, but I have YET to find a helpful employee at a Best Buy). Whether or not it is coroporate policy to use that site, it would not at all surprise me that their employees would use it to deny cheaper prices to customers.

Circuit City has been great on this. They've pricematched their website twice for me, predating their in-store pickup capability (which I now use). They just checked the price and adjusted it, no hassles whatsoever. Sure, I'd love the store to have the same price to begin with, but I understand the whole B&M thing being more expensive (and being a separate division), and they didn't give me any issues. As I said in one of my earlier Best Buy stories, I've had Best Buy refuse to take a check because it wouldn't scan, while Circuit City had no problem calling it in and accepting it. Their like the anti-Best Buy...

[JonInMiddleGA]

The differences in chains from one place to the next that's evident from discussions here is becoming a steady source of amazement to me. Okay, "amazement" is probably a little strong, but you know what I mean.

Originally Posted by gstelmack

Their like the anti-Best Buy...

I would probably agree, but in the opposite direction. Pretty much every CC I've been to has the same two problems: higher prices on the majority of items and some of the worst customer service I've ever seen. Well, "worst" might not describe it as well as "completely absent". Around here, trying to find anyone to help with anything at Circuit City is about like trying to find a Wal-Mart employee that's actually working instead of hiding from customers. Best Buy on the other hand seems to border on having too many employees on the floor & the majority of them actually make an effort to be helpful. Doesn't always work, but they do seem to try. Probably accounts for why most Circuit City's I see are notable for their empty parking lots while you're lucky to find a parking place in the same zip code at most Best Buy's.

[rowech]

Funny.....everyone around here has slowly transitioning to Circuit City over Best Buy. There are several complaints about Best Buy throughout the area and many are leaving the stores.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

I would probably agree, but in the opposite direction. Pretty much every CC I've been to has the same two problems: higher prices on the majority of items and some of the worst customer service I've ever seen. Well, "worst" might not describe it as well as "completely absent".

I've had the same experience as you. I once stood in the checkout line at a Circuit City to buy a $5 item, and the employees literally stared at me while I waited at the only register at the front of the store. The guy at the front door stared at me. The girl at the customer service counter stared at me. A couple of employees roaming the store walked by and stared at me. Obviously, I could have asked if I was standing in the wrong spot, but I had time to kill, and it became a war of wills. After five solid minutes, I left the empty checkout line, put my item back on the shelf, and walked out the front door, right past the employees who had stared at me.

Not one of them said a damned thing to me.

[M GO BLUE!!!]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

I've had the same experience as you. I once stood in the checkout line at a Circuit City to buy a $5 item, and the employees literally stared at me while I waited at the only register at the front of the store. The guy at the front door stared at me. The girl at the customer service counter stared at me. A couple of employees roaming the store walked by and stared at me. Obviously, I could have asked if I was standing in the wrong spot, but I had time to kill, and it became a war of wills. After five solid minutes, I left the empty checkout line, put my item back on the shelf, and walked out the front door, right past the employees who had stared at me.

Not one of them said a damned thing to me.

Not even "Sir, would you mind terribly if we requested when shopping at our store that you please put some clothing on?"

[panerd]

A month or so ago I went to the local Besy Buy to get a look at the back of the Directv HD-DVR and possibly ask some questions if someone was around. So an employee comes over and I ask him some basic questions about HDMI output and multiswitches and when he was unable to answer any of them he told me I needed to buy some cables from them. I decided to play along just to see where this would go and he told me that HDMI cable costs about $15 a foot! I said that I would probably go online seeing that I needed a 35' foot cable and didn't have $500 cash on me. The guy starts laughing at something behind me and tells me to look at the alligator on the HD-TV behind me and then when I turn to look starts fastly walking away the other way away from me. It was too absurd a situation to get mad about but it seemed like something that my 6-year old niece would do. Is it that hard to just say you don't know what the hell you are talking about?

[fjvieane]

Hmm, I have only had good experiences with products from Best Buy and bad experiences at CC.

Best Buy has always priced match for me. Fixed 2 laptops or rather exchanged them for better ones since they didn't carry the ones I had anymore. Did the same for a digital camera.

Now I usually go to one of those Personal Shoppers and she is always very helpful.

Now when I went shopping for a PC for my mother in law Best Buy was pretty bad as the guy we went to basically just tried to get her to buy everything under the sun, lol. But I was like she only really uses it for email, roflmao, but he tried to sell her that insane gaming machine. It was too funny.

But all in all great experiences at Best Buy.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Originally Posted by M GO BLUE!!!

Not even "Sir, would you mind terribly if we requested when shopping at our store that you please put some clothing on?"

I don't know how you knew I was naked. I didn't even mention the girl vomiting in the mobile phone section.

[st.cronin]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

I don't know how you knew I was naked. I didn't even mention the girl vomiting in the mobile phone section.

M Go Blue = Tanya????

[gstelmack]

Interesting the differences. I've had a Best Buy employee snap at me, I've had them try to tell me their clearing company was refusing to take a check when I could clearly see the "Error" message up when they tried to swipe it (I walked away from the purchase and had both Circuit City and Toys R Us take the same checks by calling it in), I've had two of them walk away from the electronics counter to continue their conversation an aisle over when I walked up to buy something, and other similar experiences.

I've actually received good enough service from a Circuit City employee when asking questions that I asked for him by name when going back to make the purchase. No questions on returns, always helpful, no questions asked on web site matching, etc etc.

I guess it depends on regional managers and how well they pay or something. Around here, the good people go to Circuit City, the scrubs seem to end up at Best Buy. I guess some of the rest of you have competent regional managers for Best Buy.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

I've had a Best Buy employee snap at me

And I've been snapped at by more than my fair share of customers who are pissed off that I can't magically pull product out of my ass when it was advertised a week ago, or pissed off that a wave of their hand and "that game" isn't enough information for me to instantly divine which of thirty games in a locked case is the object of their heart's desire.

Being a customer doesn't entitle anybody to treat a salesman like shit, number one.

Number two, being a customer isn't some magical shield against human nature - i.e., inappropriate response to inappropriate conduct - although management will pretend it is because they don't want to lose your money.

Basically, what I'm saying is that to tar an entire company with the the brush of one employee's response, particularly absent contextual information like "how did the interaction go and in what way did they snap at you," isn't really fair to the other 10,000+ employees.

If the employee just flew off the handle at you for no reason, that's one employee, not an entire company. If every Best Buy employee you've ever dealt with has done the same, that's cause for concern.

But that's probably also hyperbole, isn't it?

Not saying the employee was justified in snapping at you. Just that, well, we're getting one side of the story - yours - and it's still just one out of almost 13,000 employees.

Transferring one person's behavior to an entire workforce, while it might help to justify why you don't shop at a retailer, really isn't fair to people in that company who wouldn't know you from Adam.

[gstelmack]

Sack, I gave several examples of poor customer service I've received at Best Buy. That was just one example. And for the record, the entire exchange was:

(I walk in, pick up a flyer, and see that FPS Football Pro, I think the '98 version, was on sale. Go to games area, can't find it)

Me: Do you have any more copies of FPS Football Pro?
Employee: If they're not on the shelf, we don't have any.
Me: Are you getting any more in? There's a sale on them.
Employee: No Rainchecks! It says so right in the ad! (storms off)

I'm not exaggerating. He just went off.

And I wouldn't use just one incident to tar a whole group. I gave several others. Take a friend in to buy a soundcard, head for that area. They are behind a desk where there are two employees talking. As we walk up, they walk out from behind the counter, head down the wall about 20 feet, and continue their conversation. We stand at the counter for 5 minutes with these guys 20 feet away studiously ignoring us before my friend walked behind the counter, grabbed the soundcard we wanted, and we left (I would have just left without buying the thing).

Walk in to buy something else, go to pay with a check. Check won't go through, so cashier asks for help. While I can see the "Read Error" message sitting on the monitor, the new guy tells me that their check service is refusing to honor the check, and asks if we have an alternative form of payment. I end up leaving the items and the sale. On that same shopping trip, both Toys 'R Us and Circuit City had the same issue with the checks, both called their service, and both took the checks (must have been a bad print run on those checks).

These events occurred at 2 separate Best Buys in my area. We had stopped going to one due to the snapping incident and continued troubles with how they ran VHS sales (lots of sale items in the flyers, but good luck finding them on the shelves) and some other incidents, then they opened a different store. We gave them a shot and then had the 2 latter incidents plus some other minor fits, and gave up completely.

When you continue to have problems across multiple stores in an area, you tend to decide that there is something wrong with the company in general. Maybe other areas have much better setups, but I'm telling you my only decent experiences at Best Buy have been when I did not need any help at all (and even that backfired once with the check writing incident), or if I had one simple question and managed to track down an employee who could actually answer it (and that backfired once when I had them snap at me). I never had anyone go out of their way to help.

The point is that I've had a pattern of bad treatment across multiple stores in the same area. I'm not taking one incident and extrapolating. And as for my contribution to these, when it comes to retail I tend to not stand up enough for my rights. Rather than start yelling or shouting or going after a salesperson, I have a tendency to just walk away and never shop there again. I'm only confrontational with people I've known a long time (like here )

[terpkristin]

I dunno, I think wherever you go, you run the risk of having to deal with someone stupid. That said, the people at my local Circuit City seem smarter and nicer than the ones at my local Best Buy, so I tend to go to CC, but if it were opposite, I'd go where I get the best service. I would imagine that all that tends to vary locale to locale, store to store, etc, so I can't say "I'll never patronize X big chain store again."

Though while we're on the topic of Best Buy and their website, I ran in there a few weeks ago to look for something for my mom (her birthday was 10 Feb). I was already in that shopping center so it was convenient to go in, and I'd been looking on their website at the Palm TX PDA. I ask one of the store people "where do you keep PDAs" and he replies, "I don't think we sell those anymore, you should try out Circuit City, I'm sure they do." Dumbfounded that he told me to go to the competition, I mentioned to him that the website said that the store had them in stock, he said "well, I guess they'd be with the mp3 players then." In the end, the PDA was in the computer section, with the computer accessories, they did in fact have them, it just amused me that this guy was sure they didn't have it and told me to go to a rival store (granted, he looked and talked like he'd been getting high before coming to work, so who knows). In the end I didn't buy it but that's another matter.

/tk

[fjvieane]

Ok well anyways, if you ever go to the Porter Ranch, CA Best Buy ask for Corrine Smith (she is a Personal Shopper Supervisor I think), she is great, answers just about every question and if she doesn't know she finds out for you.

And no this is not a peronal friend, she just helped my wife and I one time and provided great service. I have stuck with her ever since when making a big purchase.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Originally Posted by fjvieane

Ok well anyways, if you ever go to the Porter Ranch, CA Best Buy ask for Corrine Smith (she is a Personal Shopper Supervisor I think), she is great, answers just about every question and if she doesn't know she finds out for you.

Is she hot?

[fjvieane]

She is alright, but I really didn't look at her that way LOL, too busy with the wife being with me

[gstelmack]

Look, I know it seems I'm pretty harsh on Best Buy, and I'm sorry if the guys here that work there are offended, but I want you to understand something: I've REALLY been pissed on by both local Best Buys, and it remains the only retail store that I absolutely refuse to do business with anymore. I've had bad experiences other places but gave them second chances or given them the opportunity to fix things and they usually do. Every time I give Best Buy another chance, they find some other way to tick me off. The ones around here are really special about that.

Maybe every other Best Buy is fine. Maybe it's an aberration. But I'm 2-for-2 around here and that's enough for me.

[larrymcg421]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

This may be much ado about nothing.

I find it very feasable that they ahve an intranet site that would show product,pricing and potentially even availability at other stores.

If you follow this it is CONCEIVABLE that one site could be updated and not the other.
So maybe the retail site gets a new patch loaded with lots of weekend deals and they dont bother with the intranet site as employees will already know about the deals.

Sorry, I don't buy that it would be so difficult for them to update the intranet prices at the same time as the internet prices. Alos, they originally denied that the intranet site even existed. That certainly doesn't make this seem like an innocent mistake.

[johneh]

One thing I've noticed over & over again at Besy Buy.....
They assign their slowest employees to the customer service desk in hopes that if you are returning something you will get tired of the wait and just leave w/o returning the product.

[Izulde]

In the Best Buys and Circuit Citys I've been all across Wisconsin, it's been the Best Buys who have had the great customer service and the Circuit Citys who have been... subpar, though CC -has- been getting a little better in my hometown.

I do think there's regional differences operating here.

[Karlifornia]

Full Disclosure: I used to work at Best Buy at Santana Row in San Jose.


I used to defend Best Buy, because I thought they did more harm than good. Yeah, it's a soulless corporate cash cow, but they sold new release movies and CD's for cheap, and I haven't been suckered into buying a 1000" DLP television (I came close once, as the employee discount had me seeing stars, but I sent that sucker back when they delivered it. Chalk it up as the one good reason there ever was for living with your girlfriend. She guilt-tripped me into reversing what would have been a very poor purchase), but I've completely done a 180 on them. They treat loyal employees like shit. I mean, people who are foolish enough to bleed blue and yellow..they just suck whatever they can out of them, and promote worthless pieces of dung just because they're willing to fuck over people to a higher degree.

Best Buy=garbage 6 days a week...but great on new release Tuesday.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

Circuit City has been great on this. They've pricematched their website twice for me, predating their in-store pickup capability (which I now use). They just checked the price and adjusted it, no hassles whatsoever. Sure, I'd love the store to have the same price to begin with, but I understand the whole B&M thing being more expensive (and being a separate division), and they didn't give me any issues.

Update: apparently as of the post-Christmas season, Circuit City (or at least my local store) no longer does this. You have to order from the website and do the "pick up at store" thing. Discovered this last weekened when I went to buy my hard drive and it was $10 more in the store. Fortunately they had a laptop with web access right there, and the employee was kind enough to point me in the right direction. The fun part was they didn't have any SATA ones in the back, so the guy had to grab one off the shelf

[sabotai]

I pretty much stopped going to Best Buy because I got tired of being asked 3 or 4 times if I want to join their Rewards card thing whenever I bought something. I HATE when a store tries to push these things on you. It's also why I go to B&N and not Borders. B&N (at least the ones near me) just ask if you have it (you say "no" and that's that) and Borders, even the cafe, tries hard to get you to sign up.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by sabotai

I pretty much stopped going to Best Buy because I got tired of being asked 3 or 4 times if I want to join their Rewards card thing whenever I bought something. I HATE when a store tries to push these things on you. It's also why I go to B&N and not Borders. B&N (at least the ones near me) just ask if you have it (you say "no" and that's that) and Borders, even the cafe, tries hard to get you to sign up.

If I'm ringing somebody up, I'll ask if they have one. If not, I generally will assume they've been asked before and didn't want it and just continue ringing stuff up.

If the purchase is a couple thousand bucks (like the divorced guy I had who bought his kids a PS3, an Xbox 360, a half-dozen games for each and several controllers/other accessories), I may follow up a 'no I don't' with 'this is how it works. are you interested?' just because that can be $40 in savings for a future purchase, even if the guy never uses the card again. If I get a no at that point, well, I don't get paid enough to force the issue.

[Ksyrup]

Once they stopped charging for the rewards thing, I joined. You don't even need to carry the card, just give them your phone number. I've gotten several $5 off GCs, so I don't have a problem with it. I'm much more annoyed by every place like BB offering you free magazines at the checkout.

[Arles]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

If I'm ringing somebody up, I'll ask if they have one. If not, I generally will assume they've been asked before and didn't want it and just continue ringing stuff up.

If the purchase is a couple thousand bucks (like the divorced guy I had who bought his kids a PS3, an Xbox 360, a half-dozen games for each and several controllers/other accessories), I may follow up a 'no I don't' with 'this is how it works. are you interested?' just because that can be $40 in savings for a future purchase, even if the guy never uses the card again. If I get a no at that point, well, I don't get paid enough to force the issue.

I love this system. I would bet that 4 of the 6-7 games a year I buy are free from BB because of reward zone certificates. With all the purchasing I have to do for both businesses (plus gifts), it's a nice option (and even better since you just need your phone number).

IMO, it makes just as much sense as the safeway/fry's club card deals. I would hope an employee would push this on me given what I would be getting back.

[Easy Mac]

Just an FYI but technically, Best Buy considers its proper stores and its online service separate companies, hence the no pricematch and different prices. Its dumb (since you can do instore pickups) but that's the legal explanation.

[stevew]

I think I had to give out 3 no's at the register the other day. No, I don't want a credit card. No I don't want to join the rewards zone. No I don't want a free trial subscription of Time magazine.

Yes, I remember why I rarely go to bestbuy.

[Desnudo]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

The differences in chains from one place to the next that's evident from discussions here is becoming a steady source of amazement to me. Okay, "amazement" is probably a little strong, but you know what I mean.



I would probably agree, but in the opposite direction. Pretty much every CC I've been to has the same two problems: higher prices on the majority of items and some of the worst customer service I've ever seen. Well, "worst" might not describe it as well as "completely absent". Around here, trying to find anyone to help with anything at Circuit City is about like trying to find a Wal-Mart employee that's actually working instead of hiding from customers. Best Buy on the other hand seems to border on having too many employees on the floor & the majority of them actually make an effort to be helpful. Doesn't always work, but they do seem to try. Probably accounts for why most Circuit City's I see are notable for their empty parking lots while you're lucky to find a parking place in the same zip code at most Best Buy's.

At the Best Buys around here, I wish there were fewer employees. It is annoying getting asked if you need help anytime you turn a corner.

[gstelmack]

Wait a second, they are now offering free magazine subscriptions at Best Buy? Are you freakin' kidding me?

[stevew]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

Wait a second, they are now offering free magazine subscriptions at Best Buy? Are you freakin' kidding me?

Yeah, totally serious.

And the stores are staffed so heavily you can't breath without a Blue Drone asking you if you need help....Let me be for a second, geez. Most of the time I know what I'm looking at.....I don't need your help.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by stevew

Yeah, totally serious.

That would make me never go there again, if I weren't already not ever going there again. If I want Time Magazine, I'll go to Borders or B&N thank-you-very-much.

[BrianD]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

That would make me never go there again, if I weren't already not ever going there again. If I want Time Magazine, I'll go to Borders or B&N thank-you-very-much.

If it is any consolation, I have always thought the employees at my local Best Buy seemed embarrassed to offer the magazines. It is like they know it is stupid but have to do it anyway.

[Logan]

LOL. Agreed. You can actually see their acknowledgement that they're wasting their breath.

[st.cronin]

Just out of curiosity, are the magazine subscriptions truly free, or are they "free"?

[Ksyrup]

They've been doing that for well over a year. I remember getting the offers when I was living in Florida, and that was over a year ago.

I assume the "free" offers give you 3 or 4 months free, then you get a bill for a year's subscription that they automatically sign you up for. It's like the free credit protection stuff that your CC company offers - yeah, it's free and you're under no obligation to continue, but you have to go through the hassle of canceling or you'll be getting mags and bills beyond the free period.

[BrianD]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

They've been doing that for well over a year. I remember getting the offers when I was living in Florida, and that was over a year ago.

I assume the "free" offers give you 3 or 4 months free, then you get a bill for a year's subscription that they automatically sign you up for. It's like the free credit protection stuff that your CC company offers - yeah, it's free and you're under no obligation to continue, but you have to go through the hassle of canceling or you'll be getting mags and bills beyond the free period.

I've never looked at the details, but I would imagine this is pretty much correct. I don't know if they hope to get real subscriptions out of this or if they figure that people won't cancel properly. Either way, it is a pain.