The mailing from Mind, Mood & Memory has a return address of P.O. Box 420235, Palm Coast, FL, The claim on the envelope is "Loss of memory does not have to be part of aging!", with a Free Issue sticker shown from the outside.
Inside is a letter with the heading is "Massachusetts General Hospital", along with flyers for a newsletter.
I don't doubt that there is science in this newsletter, considering the source, but the newsletter is sent to our address each month without use subscribing. We simply toss it when it comes, but we never subscribed. Perhaps they are counting on the "guilt" factor: we receive the newsletter and therefore feel obligated to pay for it. However, we checked with the post office and if we never subscribed, we don't have to pay.
Unfortunately, when the elderly receive these mailings, they may feel obligated to pay for the subscription even if they never wanted it. This is a tactic that we can attribute to the publishing company, Interlink Media, rather than Massachusetts General Hospital.
I opted for a "Free" issue and immediately received a "subscription acknowledgement" bill. Mass General is certainly a reputable hospital, but if the folks at P.O. Box 420235 don't give me an e-mail address to cancel should I want to, they had better attached a prepaid business return envelope. When they say free, I expect it to be free.
ReplyDeleteLongmeadow, MA
I, too, opted for a free issue and just received this subscription acknowledgement. Nothing on here says anything about Mass. General so I got an uneasy feeling I am cancelling any dealings with this right now. Chelmsford, Ma.
DeleteIf I accept a free issue, receive a bill, and decide not to subscribe, I just write "No Thanks" and return the invoice. As long as the envelope is prepaid, of course!
DeleteLos Gatos, CA
Strangely, I just received a subscription acknowledgement that I NEVER subscribed to!
ReplyDelete"Welcome to Mind, Mood & Memory from the top ranked Massachusetts General Hospital. We are delighted to have you with us and look forward to serving you in the months ahead! Your first issue should arrive shortly.
I NEVER ASKED FOR THIS! DON'T WANT IT@!
And... this publisher sells it's mailing list. If you bite, you're on a sought-after sucker list. Be prepared to receive volumes of scam mail aimed at seniors who are believed to have potential memory or judgement impairment.
ReplyDeleteI visited the website, but never ordered anything. They sent me a bill, and the address they gave is PO Box 8535, Big Sandy TX 75755-8535, which makes me suspicious. Why would a prominent hospital in Boston MA contact me from a PO Box in a small Texas town? I went to the website of Massachusetts General Hospital and saw that they publish 14 newsletters, but none of them is named "Mind, Mood & Memory". Don't waste your money on "Mind, Mood & Memory"
ReplyDeleteAnonymous Mother