Handyman Club...Beware!

[Tom Slick]

For anyone who gets those offers for handyman club magazine in the mail and thinks about getting a subscription let me tell you a tale of their scams;

when you sign up they send you a magazine and some cheap token tool. seems legit enough.
Then they will send you a "free book" for 30 days. unsolicited. you'll have to pay for it or send it back after a month. if you keep it then you join the book club, which you can immediately cancel without hassle. not out of the ordinary for a book club.
They will send you notices of how you may be able to test tools for free. almost all of the tools they offer are no-name junk with name brand testimonials thrown in to tempt you. nobody really gets free tools, at least not name brand stuff.
Then they will send you notices about how you have been selected for the elite status of "lifetime member".
they will send you these notices every couple weeks for months. they will even call you repeatedly in the evenings, even if you politely decline each time.
the cost of membership is never discussed.
Finally, curiosity may get to you (it did me) and you send back the invitation to become a lifetime member. no signature required.
you receive a "lifetime member" packet of more marketing junk and some stickers (ooh stickers)
The cost of membership is still not been mentioned
A letter comes congratulating you for becoming one of the elite.
no cost mentioned

then one day you will receive a bill for $325 to maintain your "lifetime membership" status
At this point you haven't agreed to anything in writing.
you don't send anything in
another bill
ignore it
They finally call you in the evening to confirm your membership status and collect.
you tell them that it is all a scam and you don't want anything, and to fully cancel any affiliation we have between us.
They politely agree.
The mailings stop
Thankfully it's all over.....................


2 years later you receive a collection notice!!!

Aparently I am not the only one
http://www.ripoffreport.com/viewsimi...ica&ref=266918

I don't think the collection agency is legit.
http://www.ripoffreport.com/searchre...&Search=Search

moral of the story:
Stay away from handyman club's offers, even the magazine. it is nothing but scam after scam.

[Ed62]

Thanks for the tip. I just turned down a similar offer from a different place. I wouldn't fall for it, but many will without a tip like yours.

Ed

[MilDoc]

Interesting to see how it "finally" works. I had an offer a few years back, and still get them, and still ignore them. Free tools? too good to be true ... and it isn't.

[mater]

I used to receive mailings from them but it has been awhile. I am glad I trashed them.

[180x]

I just got an offer from them the other day. I looked at it today as I was leaving the house to go to work, but threw it in the recyclable paper bin. Wasn't interested, but thanks for the heads up. Now I'll never be interested!

[Stormbringer]

Been there done that...four years ago. The magazine is called "Handy"...kind of like a Family Handyman wannabee.

My free tool was one of those $.10 piece of plastic drill bit sizing guides.

Oh, and those annoying mailings.....

But those stickers....that you can so proudly display on your rolling tool cabinets

[MilDoc]

There are other "clubs" out there. My name is on so many mailing lists I get a lot of junk. Just remember:

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

[Pappy]

I was always curious as to what the 'club' was, just not curious to bite. And, there are more of those plastic size guides laying around than I will ever need!

[Stormbringer]

Oh, and by the way (and not to got too off topic)

HAPPY 1000th POST TOM

[TheRic]

I have been a Handyman Club member for years (5 +). My brother signed up for the lifetime thing a couple of years before I joined, he got a nice leather jacket. Now it's mostly no name tools, that they say are worth about or more than the top of the line tools.

I get offers to be a lifetime member about 2 - 3 times a year. Normally get a carpenters pencil or drill guide in the envelope, and a few other things. I keep the pencil, or other stuff I want, trash the rest. I think I got 1 or 2 phone calls over the years total.

I remember them saying how much it costs to be a lifetime member, I'm thinking it's over 3 easy payments . Don't remember the cost. I did join the book club about a year or so in, did not get a book until I joined. The books are OK, hard bound, nothing to brag about, nothing to really complain about.

The mag is OK, nothing to brag about. I have seen many mags worse and better. My brother thinks Handy is better than the Family Handyman. I think they both have their pros and cons.

Never got free tools, your suppose to sign up for them. I did sign up a couple of times, but never got free tools. My brother got some, years before I joined. I forget what he got, nothing spectacular.

[MilDoc]

My brother got some, years before I joined. I forget what he got, nothing spectacular.

I would love to know just what he received!

[jhart]

I've had Handyman a couple of times and end up letting the subscription end as I get so mad at the endless mailings to renew my subscriptions/join the lifetime membership. They never show the expiring date on the label, so you never know when the current subscription expires and when the renewal would start.
The articles are ok, some good, so so-so. Have gotten a few tips, etc., from them.
Probably would still subscribe if they would just be on the up and up.

[cabinetman]

I've got a few of the drill guides, and how 'bout the fat carpenters pencils. In the beginning they also sent a nifty 6" plastic ruler that probably cost .0001 cents each including printing.
.

[jking]

I belonged to both the "Handyman Club of America" and the "North American Fishing Club" at different times in the past. When I joined, they made it pretty clear that what & when you receive something to test for them it was based on membership seniority. I belonged to Handyman for several years, received the pencils & drill guides on several occasions in the renewal envelopes. I did sign up for the Handyman books, as Ric said, nothing special, but nothing to complain about. The one tool I did receive to test was a Stanley utility knife. It was supposedly a new model we received to test out before they hit the market. It was very light duty, made of plastic; my wife uses it as a box cutter, it works fine for that.

I cancelled my membership b/c I didn't feel I was getting my money's worth. I didn't feel the magazine was up to par with others I received. I didn't find cancelling my membership to be any more trouble than cancelling my magazine subscriptions. In otherwords, it was kind of pain, but, that seems to be the norm these days.

There are several of these clubs I believe to be related. Handyman Club of America, Gardening Club of America, North American Fishing Club, North American Hunting Club, Cooking Club; these are ones I've seen. They all seem to be based in Minnesota.

[TB Roye]

Oh! S*** I have one of their invoices on my desk right now. I think I accidently signed up while registering on a old woodworking tool web site. I did this when I was looking for parts for the Wards Radial arm saw I bought. Found I don't need any parts other than maybe brushes. So I guess I am returning the invoice marked cancel as they are theating me with being the pipline being shut off. Oh well, shut it off.
Tom