A couple of months ago Cook's Illustrated sent me a book I
did not request (Best Recipe: Baking Illustrated). I called them
and got a label from them to ship it back, which I did. I just
got a past due invoice yesterday.

Though I will be calling them on Tuesday, I'm a bit peeved
about this process I have to go through.

Has anyone else received a book from them, unrequested?

On Sun, 04 Jul 2004 16:05:42 GMT, JJ wrote:

A couple of months ago Cook's Illustrated sent me a book I
did not request (Best Recipe: Baking Illustrated). I called them
and got a label from them to ship it back, which I did. I just
got a past due invoice yesterday.

Though I will be calling them on Tuesday, I'm a bit peeved
about this process I have to go through.

Has anyone else received a book from them, unrequested?

No, but if you buy the annual compendium they send it to you
automatically unless you send in the decline card.

Maybe you bought something from them previously?

I think you can "refuse" stuff if you didn't order it and the post
office will send it back without going through the hassle of arranging
shipping.

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

I think you can "refuse" stuff if you didn't order it.

Sue(tm)

Of course you can, what's to think. Actually postal law says you can keep
stuff you didn't order *without paying*. Ever so often I receive things in the
mail I never ordered... if I immediately recognize it as such and it may have
some intrinsic value I simply mark it "Return to Sender", even if I opened it I
re-tape it, and leave it for the postal carrier (the sender is required to pay
return postage), or if I open it and it has no value (no printed matter has
value) and I don't have a use for it I toss it in the trash, if it's something
I think I may have a use for (very rare) I keep it.

If you receive unrequested printed matter through the US mail it's yours, a
free gift.


---= BOYCOTT FRANCE (belgium) GERMANY--SPAIN =---
---= Move UNITED NATIONS To Paris =---
*********
"Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation."
Sheldon
````````````

"Curly Sue" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 04 Jul 2004 16:05:42 GMT, JJ wrote:

A couple of months ago Cook's Illustrated sent me a book I
did not request (Best Recipe: Baking Illustrated). I called them
and got a label from them to ship it back, which I did. I just
got a past due invoice yesterday.

Though I will be calling them on Tuesday, I'm a bit peeved
about this process I have to go through.

Has anyone else received a book from them, unrequested?

No, but if you buy the annual compendium they send it to you
automatically unless you send in the decline card.

Maybe you bought something from them previously?

I think you can "refuse" stuff if you didn't order it and the post
office will send it back without going through the hassle of arranging
shipping.


In my experience CI is notorious for sending you things you did not
explicitly order but somehow agreed to as part of a subscription or
something else you got from them. It's one of the reasons I cancelled all my
dealings with them.


--
Peter Aitken

Remove the crap from my email address before using.

"Peter Aitken" wrote in message
.com...
"Curly Sue" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 04 Jul 2004 16:05:42 GMT, JJ wrote:

A couple of months ago Cook's Illustrated sent me a book I
did not request (Best Recipe: Baking Illustrated). I called them
and got a label from them to ship it back, which I did. I just
got a past due invoice yesterday.

Though I will be calling them on Tuesday, I'm a bit peeved
about this process I have to go through.

Has anyone else received a book from them, unrequested?

No, but if you buy the annual compendium they send it to you
automatically unless you send in the decline card.

Maybe you bought something from them previously?

I think you can "refuse" stuff if you didn't order it and the post
office will send it back without going through the hassle of arranging
shipping.


In my experience CI is notorious for sending you things you did not
explicitly order but somehow agreed to as part of a subscription or
something else you got from them. It's one of the reasons I cancelled all
my
dealings with them.


--
Peter Aitken


Southern Living does the same thing. Dumped them!

Chris in Pearland, TX

In article , says...
A couple of months ago Cook's Illustrated sent me a book I
did not request (Best Recipe: Baking Illustrated). I called them
and got a label from them to ship it back, which I did. I just
got a past due invoice yesterday.

Though I will be calling them on Tuesday, I'm a bit peeved
about this process I have to go through.

Has anyone else received a book from them, unrequested?



Not from them, but during my one-year membership with the Cooking Club of
America, I received an unsolicited book, or rather a package that
previously contained a book - by the time it got to me, it was damaged
and empty. I called them to tell them I never requested anything from
them and they said "Oh we just thought that it would be something that
would interest you - you're under no obligation to keep it". I then
informed her that I couldn't keep it if I wanted to as I didn't actually
receive it, just a damaged box. They cancelled my invoice and I never
heard another word from them about it.

Had the book actually been in the package, I would have been annoyed that
I would have had to make a special trip to the post office to return
something that I never ordered in the first place (the box was too big
for a mailbox). I seem to remember reading something somewhere about not
being required to pay for or return anything sent to you unsolicited, but
I'm not sure about the specifics.
--
Donna
A pessimist believes all women are bad. An optimist hopes they are.

JJ wrote:
A couple of months ago Cook's Illustrated sent me a book I
did not request (Best Recipe: Baking Illustrated). I called them
and got a label from them to ship it back, which I did. I just
got a past due invoice yesterday.

Though I will be calling them on Tuesday, I'm a bit peeved
about this process I have to go through.

Has anyone else received a book from them, unrequested?

Do they have your SSN or credit card details etc.? What can they do?

--
"What passes for wisdom may only be eloquent foolishness"

Cheap long distance calling using Onesuite (http://www.onesuite.com).
2.5 cents/min anywhere in the U.S., to Canada or the U.K. No monthly or
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Donna Rose writes:
I seem to remember reading something somewhere about not
being required to pay for or return anything sent to you unsolicited, but
I'm not sure about the specifics.

http://www.usps.com/postalinspectors/merch.htm

Receipt of Unsolicited Merchandise

A company sends you a gift in the mail--a ball point pen, a key chain, a tie.
But you didn't order it. What do you do? If you are the type of person this
company is looking for, you may feel guilty about accepting the item without
paying for it. Don't feel guilty! It's yours, and you are under no obligation
to pay anything.

You, the consumer, may only legally be sent two types of merchandise through
the mail without your consent or agreement:

Free samples which are clearly and conspicuously marked as such.

Merchandise mailed by a charitable organization that is soliciting
contributions.

And in these two cases, you can consider the merchandise a gift if you wish. In
all other situations, it is illegal to send merchandise to someone, unless that
person has previously ordered or requested it.

These rules are codified in Title 39, United States Code, Section 3009. That
section of the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970 incorporates these protections
for American consumers and makes the mailing of unordered merchandise unfair
methods of competition and unfair trade practices under the law.

If you do not wish to pay for unsolicited merchandise or make a donation to a
charity sending such an item, you may do one of three things (in each case, by
law, you have no obligation to the sender):

If you have not opened the package, you may mark it "Return to Sender," and the
Postal Service will return it with no additional postage charged to you.

If you open the package and don't like what you find, you may throw it away.

If you open the package and like what you find, you may keep it for free. In
this instance, "finders-keepers" applies unconditionally.

Furthermore, it is illegal for a company that sends you unordered merchandise
to follow the mailing with a bill or dunning communication.

If you are aware of violations of the federal law prohibiting the mailing of
unordered merchandise, or if you have personally had difficulty with such
items--especially if you are sent statements demanding payment for the
merchandise--you should contact your local postmaster or the nearest Postal
Inspector.
---




---= BOYCOTT FRANCE (belgium) GERMANY--SPAIN =---
---= Move UNITED NATIONS To Paris =---
*********
"Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation."
Sheldon
````````````

Far as I can tell, someone wrote:
Has anyone else received a book from them, unrequested?

Yes. Three separate times.
I asked the post master and he told me that if I didn't order it, it was
a legally a gift.

Don't feel bad for them, as if they made a mistake and you should return
it.

Send them a note saying "Thanks for the gift." You'll feel better.

Peter Aitken wrote:

In my experience CI is notorious for sending you things you did not
explicitly order but somehow agreed to as part of a subscription or
something else you got from them. It's one of the reasons I cancelled all my
dealings with them.

That's what I'm concerned about. Though I love their magazine, if
they are that predatory, I'll drop my subscription.

Thanks for the confirmation.

Has anyone else received a book from them, unrequested?

No, but if you buy the annual compendium they send it to you
automatically unless you send in the decline card.

Maybe you bought something from them previously?

I think you can "refuse" stuff if you didn't order it and the post
office will send it back without going through the hassle of arranging
shipping.

It's better than that. If you're sent something unsolicited in the U.S.
mail, it's yours to keep. No obligation. The company will (almost)
never tell you this when you call about it--you have to mention it
yourself. Then they'll usually say that "in that case please accept it
with our compliments."

Note--this doesn't apply to book clubs--you agreed to the policy
when you joined. That doesn't sound like what's going on here,
though.

Mike Beede

In article , JJ wrote:

A couple of months ago Cook's Illustrated sent me a book I
did not request (Best Recipe: Baking Illustrated). I called them
and got a label from them to ship it back, which I did. I just
got a past due invoice yesterday.

Though I will be calling them on Tuesday, I'm a bit peeved
about this process I have to go through.

Has anyone else received a book from them, unrequested?

No, but I'd keep the book and not pay for it. You don't have to pay
for unsolicited merchandise. If they say you asked for it, have them
send you the signed (your handwriting) document that says so.
--
-Barb, www.jamlady.eboard.com An update on 7/4/04.

In article , JJ wrote:

A couple of months ago Cook's Illustrated sent me a book I
did not request (Best Recipe: Baking Illustrated). I called them
and got a label from them to ship it back, which I did. I just
got a past due invoice yesterday.

Though I will be calling them on Tuesday, I'm a bit peeved
about this process I have to go through.


Though, as others have pointed out, unsolicited merchandise send via the
US Postal Service (note that 39 USC sec. 3009 does NOT apply to UPS or
other private delivery services) is considered a gift, reality is a
little more complicated.
Be sure and check your credit report periodically, to whether any claims
of nonpayment for merchandise have been entered. They're not allowed to
do that (since it's a gift), but "never attribute to malice what can
adequately be explained by stupidity."* Person A at CI screws up and
sends you unordered merchandise; person B, in a different department at
CI, sees an unpaid bill, and sends the report to the credit agencies.


* author unknown

--
to respond, change "spamless.invalid" with "optonline.net"
please mail OT responses only

JJ wrote:

A couple of months ago Cook's Illustrated sent me a book I
did not request (Best Recipe: Baking Illustrated). I called them
and got a label from them to ship it back, which I did. I just
got a past due invoice yesterday.

Though I will be calling them on Tuesday, I'm a bit peeved
about this process I have to go through.

Has anyone else received a book from them, unrequested?

You should have just kept the book, notifying them
that you were doing so, that is was unsolicited, and
that you were not obligated to pay for it and not to
send any bills. Since it takes a while to stop the
billing process, you may still have received some but
you could just throw them out. I do this sort of
thing all the time.
Kate
--
Kate Connally
“If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.”
Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back,
Until you bite their heads off.”
What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all about?

Scott wrote:

In article , JJ wrote:

A couple of months ago Cook's Illustrated sent me a book I
did not request (Best Recipe: Baking Illustrated). I called them
and got a label from them to ship it back, which I did. I just
got a past due invoice yesterday.

Though I will be calling them on Tuesday, I'm a bit peeved
about this process I have to go through.


Though, as others have pointed out, unsolicited merchandise send via the
US Postal Service (note that 39 USC sec. 3009 does NOT apply to UPS or
other private delivery services) is considered a gift, reality is a
little more complicated.
Be sure and check your credit report periodically, to whether any claims
of nonpayment for merchandise have been entered.

If your credit is otherwise good this should have no
effect. I do this sort of thing all the time and
have never had a problem getting credit. In fact most
places are way too eager to give me more credit than
I can "afford"! If I were weak-willed and actually used
it up to the limits they give me I would then have bad
credit as I wouldn't be able to pay the bills!

They're not allowed to
do that (since it's a gift), but "never attribute to malice what can
adequately be explained by stupidity."* Person A at CI screws up and
sends you unordered merchandise; person B, in a different department at
CI, sees an unpaid bill, and sends the report to the credit agencies.

No, it's not stupidity, it's them thinking you'll just
go ahead and pay for it or at worst send it back! It's
a marketing strategy. Don't let them get away with it.
You wouldn't believe all the free stuff I've gotten that
way.

Kate

--
Kate Connally
“If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.”
Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back,
Until you bite their heads off.”
What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all about?