'I forced them to cancel my subscription': Customer returns albums filled with cement to get back at record store that locked them into 36 month rolling contract

Author image for Eleonora Bader
Eleonora Bader
Feb 5, 2024 12:00 PM EST

One record store was no match for a clever young customer who refused to accept that the store tried forcing him into a 36-month contract.

This story took place back in the 1980s when OP was 16. OP signed up to a record club where he received free albums upon signing up, followed by three albums each month that had to be paid for within 30 days. Otherwise, he would have to pay interest. At first, OP was happy, but slowly the quality of the albums he was receiving began to decline. Soon, OP was supposed to be leaving for college, and so he wanted to cancel the subscription.

When he called the company he was informed that he was locked into a 36-month contract… That just didn't sit well with OP. Cue malicious compliance… Scroll down to read all about it, and then check out this engineer who got three days off after his manager demanded he provide a doctor's sick note to work from home.

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  • 01
    "I'm not paying you for another three years!" S54/8-85528 PAUL MCCARTNEY RO BEATLE
    via Canva
  • 02
    Prepaid Envelopes can be very Expensive !!
    via u/MMW_Oxford
  • 03
    So this happened over 30 years ago when I was 16 in the 1980's. In those days there were adverts in the press for a record club (this is actual physical albums) where you could get some albums free by signing up and then get sent three a month after that which you had to pay for by a money order within 30 days or get charged interest. So I used it for a few months and it was okay but then there was less and less good choices and I wanted to cancel the
    via u/MMW_Oxford
  • 04
    subscription. Each month I got the albums I could return them in prepaid plastic envelopes, but for the first few months I kept the albums so had a load of spare prepaid envelopes (important for later). When the quality of albums went down I just sent them back, but this was becoming a nuisance since it was getting close to when I was due to go to College and move away from home.
    via u/MMW_Oxford
  • 05
    I contacted the company to cancel the subscription but that's when they nuked me by saying that I'd agreed a 36 month rolling contract, from each agreed purchase. Waiting 3 years to get rid of this was not an option because I'd need to return every month to my parents to return the albums. I told them I was moving away, they were not interested thinking they had me and they did. They told me to send anything back I did not need each month and pay for what
    via u/MMW_Oxford
  • 06
    I kept and they would start the ending of my contract from when I stopped buying albums. I made it clear I had stopped, cue the Malicious Compliance. I thought about all the things I did not need, that I could send them apart from the garbage albums I was being sent each month. My Dad did building work on the side of his main job so we hard and cement in abundance, at the back of the house. So I got one of the first plastic prepaid envelopes and filled it with and wet cement waiting for
    via u/MMW_Oxford
  • 07
    it to set. It was almost too heavy for me to carry to the post office, but I got it there. The company had to pay by weight for whatever was in the envelope, so it would have cost a lot. I phoned them two weeks after that, I mentioned I had quite a few envelopes and they wisely decided to cancel my account immediately. If it looks to good to be true, then it is, I learnt that at 17.
    via u/MMW_Oxford
  • 08
    Techn0ght 9h ago I signed up for a service like this in the US when I was 14. When I didn't want to continue it because the selections were crpy I told them they couldn't hold me to the contract because minors can't agree to contracts legally. They stopped.
    via u/Techn0ght
  • 09
    4-55 Dioscouri 9h ago Your trick works well with any group that sends you unsolicited "return postage guaranteed" envelopes. Pro Tip: you don't need to make it fit inside the envelope, you only need the envelope attached so the address can be read. I've found tape works well for this. The post is legally required to send it, and the addressee is legally required to pay for it.
    via u/Dioscouri
  • 10
    You'd be surprised by what sort of interesting objects/garbage one can effectively attach one of those labels to. I suggest you experiment. Reply 1 Share 41↓
    via u/Dioscouri
  • 11
    Georgeisthecoolest • 9h ago That's awesome. Did the post office people raise any eyebrows at sending a literal brick in the post?
    via u/Georgeisthecoolest
  • 12
    lestairwellwit. 8h ago When I was in college, yes a long time ago, every piece of junk mail had prepaid. envelopes. We simply took the entire advertisement, stuffed it in the prepaid envelope and mailed it back to them.
    via u/lestairwellwit
  • 13
    My roommate was in a welding class and often had pieces of welded flat steel from class. He even asked for critiques on his welding style. Reply 41 1 ↓ Share
    via u/lestairwellwit
  • 14
    bonniesue1948 • 9h ago I also signed up for that when I was 16. My mom got on the phone when I tried to cancel, reminded them that I was underage, that they didn't ask my age when I signed up, or her permission. They cancelled it for her.
    via u/bonniesue1948
  • 15
    Fixerguy415 • 7h ago I had a very similar experience with Columbia Music Club. With each returned album I included an architectural grade tab roofing shingle folded up to fit... Adding about 2 pounds
    via u/Fixerguy415
  • 16
    After the 4th month they called me to inform me that I could keep any albums they had already sent and that they were cancelling my account immediately at my request. In later years I did the same thing with any mailbox spam that had a post paid envelope in it. My friends always wondered why I never got junk mail...
    via u/Fixerguy415
  • 17
    - 55 SSNs4evr 8h ago I guess not living at a permanent address could have been a problem. I did Columbia House, and didn't mind it. I ordered what I wanted, and anything I didn't order, I simply wrote "Return To Sender" on the box. I never once had a problem with them (this was for cd's)....while I'm o,d, I'm not old enough to have participated in cassettes, records, or 8- tracks days.
    via u/SSNs4evr
  • 18
    AcmeCartoon Villian 7h ago Did the same thing with cinderblocks and little red bricks using duct tape
    via u/AcmeCartoonVillain
  • 19
    prankerjoker 6h ago I mentioned I had quite a few envelopes and they wisely decided to cancel my account immediately That really cemented their decision to cancel your account.
    via u/prankerjoker
  • 20
    Shadow Dragon8685 • 6h ago If it looks to good to be true, then it is, I learnt that at 17. If you were a minor, I'm pretty sure you could also have had a judge annul the contract and ream them a new one if they tried to keep playing their FAFO games with you - and the court.
    via u/ShadowDrgon8685
  • 21
    tcollins317 2h ago So, for a while, they had a get 10 free. Then monthly, but no commitment to buy more cancel any time. So I get the 10 and then cancel. A few days later I get a letter from them. "We're sorry to see you go, but if you came back, we'll send you 10 free. Then monthly, but no commitment to buy more cancel any time. So I get the 10 and then cancel.
    via u/tcollins315
  • 22
    A few days later I get a letter from them. "We're sorry to see you go, but if you came back, we'll send you 10 free. Then monthly, but no commitment to buy more cancel any time. So I get the 10 and then cancel. A few days later I get a letter from them. "We're sorry to see you go, but if you came back, we'll send you 10 free. Then monthly, but no commitment to buy more cancel any time.
    via u/tcollins315
  • 23
    So I get the 10 and then cancel. And I never heard from them again. TLDR: they sent me 40 CDs with no obligation. Reply ↑ Share 413
    via u/tcollins315
  • 24
    fishhooku2k 3h ago All you had to say was "I'm a minor and can not legally enter into any contract". I was in the Navy with someone that did this and they never heard from them again.
    via u/fishooku2k

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music albums record store albums prepaid customers cancel subscription interest record club 80s envelopes contract cement payment company malicious compliance reddit 1980s
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