Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/04/2025

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I was contacted for advertising and was told it was a local company. The call was blocked and I was told they were local to me in Sooke bc. I found out a few days later the sales man had lied to me over the phone. I called and said I do not want this advertisement. I was told its too late and the verbal conversation was our contract. Even though the sales person was misleading. The phone number on our sample ad was wrong. I had never seen the final product. Numerous other reviews similar to my experience are on Reddit. The sales people hired are scammers. For a magazine claiming to help people they are hurting small businesses in other provinces by doing this. Now they have sent it to collections and from what I was told from the collection agency this is a regular thing. Most people just pay it as its under **** and they will settle for half. Stay away from this company! Statement emailed to me does not free t what they are asking me to pay they will not send a proper invoice or contract. Because they dont exist and they are scamming people!

  Customer Answer

  Date: 25/04/2025

  I have no update I was forced to pay this fraudulent bill as it was against my companies credit. There are many conversations on redit as they have ******* many people and send the non payers to collection. 

  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/05/2025

  Thank you for the opportunity to respond. We appreciate concerns raised and would like to clarify several inaccuracies.
  
  On July **, 20**, Mr. ******************* purchased a *-month advertising term with SOS Safety Magazine. Later that same day, he replied by email asking us to charge for a full year instead, stating, Go ahead and charge me for the full year, lets do it. A revised order confirmation was immediately issued, outlining the cost, final sale terms, and timelines.
  
  Over the following months, our team made over ** contact attempts via phone and email to complete the process, including delivery of the proof and invoice. On July **, Mr. ******* was informed his proof would be delivered within 7 business days with time to review and request editsfree of charge.
  
  Regarding the claim that the phone number in the ad is incorrect: the number used was pulled directly from Gladiator Drywalls public ******** page
  (******************************************), which was provided to our design team as the source for the initial layout.
  The claim that no contract or invoice was sent is inaccurate. The invoice and order confirmation were both emailed and clearly outlined our terms, including that all ad purchases are final once submitted for design. This is consistent with our process for over 20 years, working with thousands of businesses and organizations nationwide.
  No payment was ever made on this invoice, and the request for a refund of $*** is not applicable. We regret that Mr. ******* later changed his mind in December 20**, but this does not void the agreement.
  We are a national publication committed to respectful resolution, and we remain available to settle the matter fairly.
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:24/11/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On March 8th I was contacted by this company with a sales pitch on their magazine. I'd never heard of it. I was busy with a client but the caller could not take a hint that the timing was poor, hindsight I regret not just hanging up. I told them that I'd like to receive information before committing to anything. After initial contact from them by email, March 16 I sent a email stating I was NOT interesting in participating. March 17 I received a email where I was tagged and the employer was telling them to change the add layout as the initial did not contain my buisness logo, and to submit for review. They completely ignored that I'd said NO. On Apr12 I received another add proof. I again emailed and said I'd clearly said in March I was NOT interested. At this time they informed me that during that Mar 8th call I was entered into a 72hr window to cancel the add. Meanwhile I'd NEVER agreed, I'd requested more info. I do not want this company contacting me anymore. They repeatedly have been sending invoice bills by email and letter. They were not given a deposit of any kind. I'd said no after the initial email they sent. They are trying to bully businesses and this needs to be stopped.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 27/11/2023

  ****,

  We apologize for any inconvenience or frustration caused by the recent interactions with our company regarding the Business Box size ad you purchased with us on March.8th, 2023, we take customer feedback seriously and aim to rectify any misunderstandings promptly.

  Upon reviewing the recorded verification- The Account Representative did explain to you what you were purchasing, the length of term and the cost, he advised payment wouldn't be due until May.1st, 2023, you replied back "sounds like a good cause" and moved forward with purchasing the ad. On March.8th you would have received a Order Confirmation that outlined the details of the phone conversation which broke down the item purchased, cost and length of term.

  On March.14th, 2023 you received a copy of your ad proof, and replied back to us on March.16th at 9:13pm with an attached logo you wanted us to use instead of the one we created for you initially, we updated the new logo as per your request.

  Roughly 2 hours later you emailed us again advising you have changed your mind and to take you off our list, and indicated you no longer wish to participate.

  On March.17th at 7am, we responded to your email advising of our 72- Hour Cancellation policy with an attached link to review the policy, you had until March.13th to cancel but didn't reply back until March.16th, 3 days after the cancellation time frame had surpassed. We made every attempt to work with you in regards to the invoice giving payment options or to simply pay the cancellation fee outlined in our policy. 

  We assure you that your contact information has been removed from our mailing list, and there will be no further attempts to contact you for advertising purposes.

  Customer satisfaction is of the utmost importance to us, and we deeply regret that your experience with us did not reflect our commitment to exceptional service. Please accept our sincerest apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused.

  If there is anything further we can do to address your concerns or if you require additional assistance or information, please don't hesitate to contact our Client Care department at ************. Your feedback is invaluable to us as we continuously strive to improve our services and customer interactions.

  Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention, and we appreciate your understanding.

  Sincerely,

  ***** ******

  ******** ********** *******

  SOS Communications Ltd

   

   

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 27/11/2023

  
  
  Complaint: 20911307
  
  
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I'd like to see a copy of the email they claim to have sent March 8, please.

  Id also like to know where i agreed to a 72hr window from march 8th as i did not give a deposit of any kind, i wanted to research the company and have them send me info by email. I'd never heard of them. Just because i said something sounds like a good cause was not me agreeing to being entered into a contract of any kind. After reading others reviews recently of this company, I am far from their only victim of being entered into a contract without consent. Infact there are multiple similar complaints. Absolutely disgusting they haven't been stopped after this many complaints. I suggest everyone just hang up so it doesn't happen to them too. 

  No add was agreed upon. Prompt response by me was given and I clearly said I was not interested. Any reputable company would have left it at that. Not try to bully someone into the use of their buisness without their permission. I also phoned after my email was ignored where I'd said I was NOT interested. I'd like to know how they ran a add when no add was agreed upon. What gives them that right to use someone's buisness name and create their own add on your behalf? At this point it's harassment.

  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  ******** ********