Are non-refundable magazine subscriptions legal?

[Shady Bob]

Are Non-refundable magazine subscriptions where the notice only appears in
the declarations page of the magazine, and not on the subscription order
form legally binding? My wife renewed a subscription to a magazine (Orbit
satellite guide) which was transferred to us when another magazine (On Sat)
went under, and the new subscription does not take effect until August. We
found out yesterday that the channels we watch on 4dtv are leaving the air
in July, and 4dtv will disappear completely by the end of 2010, leaving us
with basically a full year of magazines we have no use for! Is there
anything we can do to get a refund ($49)? They are offering to switch us to
a guide for Direct TV, but we would not use that either.

Thanks in advance,
Bob S.

[Shady Bob]

Post by Shady Bob
Are Non-refundable magazine subscriptions where the notice only
appears in the declarations page of the magazine, and not on the
subscription order form legally binding?

More info: I am located in Michigan, USA

[McGyver]

Post by Shady Bob
Are Non-refundable magazine subscriptions where the notice only appears in
the declarations page of the magazine, and not on the subscription order
form legally binding? My wife renewed a subscription to a magazine (Orbit
satellite guide) which was transferred to us when another magazine (On Sat)
went under, and the new subscription does not take effect until August. We
found out yesterday that the channels we watch on 4dtv are leaving the air
in July, and 4dtv will disappear completely by the end of 2010, leaving us
with basically a full year of magazines we have no use for! Is there
anything we can do to get a refund ($49)? They are offering to switch us to
a guide for Direct TV, but we would not use that either.
Thanks in advance,
Bob S.

Your subscription is not cancellable. This is going to be a bit
complicated, but here's the story.

A contract normally cannot be modified by unilateral action of one of the
parties after the contract is entered into (unless the contract itself says
it can be changed by notice). So a notice given to you after the fact, in
the magazine, is not effective to change the contract. You didn't describe
the notice you referred to, so I have to assume it is notice that the
subscription is not cancellable. That notice is not legally effective as a
change, but the notice was not meant as a change. The notice is just
information, describing the condition of the contract from the beginning.
The original and unchanged subscription contract is not cancellable because
that's the way subscription contracts are written. There is no right to
cancel because that right is not stated in the contract. The deal is, you
pay in advance for x issues of the magazine, they send you x issues, and if
the contract says nothing about cancellation, then there is no right to
cancel.

There are subscriptions that contain cancellation clauses. I'm assuming
your contract doesn't contain a cancellation clause because you didn't say
there is one and because I assume the magazine notice says there isn't one.
Naturally, if you tell me that the contract contains a cancellation clause,
that changes everything. But all I can do is answer the question based on
the facts you provided.

That leaves you with the option accept the substitute magazine.

Sorry.

This answer must not be relied on as legal advice for the reasons posted
here: http://mcgyverdisclaimer.blogspot.com . And I am not your attorney.

McGyver

[Seth]

Post by McGyver
A contract normally cannot be modified by unilateral action of one of the
parties after the contract is entered into (unless the contract itself says
it can be changed by notice).

That applies to both parties.

Post by McGyver
The deal is, you pay in advance for x issues of the magazine, they
send you x issues, and if the contract says nothing about
cancellation, then there is no right to cancel.

However, if the magazine does not provide x issues (e.g. by going
under), then it has violated the contract; the customer need not
accept a replacement (usually, except that the magazine may not have
any assets to repay the customer).

Otoh, in this case, it appears that the customer did accept the
replacement, and renewed that subscription. That was a purchase that
is probably not cancellable.

Post by McGyver
That leaves you with the option accept the substitute magazine.

If it was substituted _after_ the purchase, maybe not.

Seth