AG Ferguson: Washingtonians to receive full refunds on hidden subscription renewal charges

Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced that Synapse Group, the country’s top magazine subscription company, must return all of the money it charged more than 2,000 Washington consumers for deceptive auto-renewals, an estimated total of $125,000.

These customers bought magazine subscriptions at a highly discounted promotional rate of $2. However, the company did not clearly disclose that these $2 subscriptions would auto-renew at full price.

In addition to the checks themselves, Synapse is also required to pay the Attorney General’s Office $750,000 for reasonable attorney costs and fees, future monitoring and enforcement of today’s resolution, and future enforcement of the Consumer Protection Act.

This promotional offer was given to consumers who redeemed Delta Air Line miles as part of Synapse’s “Mags For Miles” program, which allows customers to purchase subscriptions with their frequent flyer miles. From 2011 to 2016, Synapse falsely implied on its “Mags for Miles” mailers that Delta Air Line miles would expire if consumers didn’t use them by a specific date. In fact, Delta miles never expire.

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