-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Kluwer and "free sample offers"
Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2002 15:48:25 -0400
From: Mark Hemhauser <mbhhbm@AMERICAN.EDU>

Fellow Serialisters,

We have an interesting problem with Kluwer, Netherlands office and I
think
it should be shared with you. It may not be limited to just us. Last
month
we received an issue of International Negotiation, along with an invoice
for $60.59. We did not order it. It turns out that a professor at our
institution says he responded to an offer for a free sample for
scholars.
His e-mail response to Kluwer was forwarded to me (by Kluwer) as
evidence
of an order being placed. In it he wrote that he would be "grateful to
receive..." and included his address, not ours. Kluwer sent the issue to
the library and billed us! The North American office is of no use to us
as
they claim only the Netherlands office can handle it since they
generated
the invoice. I asked Gea Markvoordt at Kluwer (Netherlands) to please
correct the billing and shipping address in their system. She said it
could
not be done. Our professor does not want the issue for $60.59. He
returned
it to me and suggested that the library should handle it since our name
is
on the invoice. Not a surprise.

I have since contacted Kluwer to tell them that we would neither pay for
the issue or pay to return it and the same for the professor. They have
not
responded. I really expected a response along the lines of "keep it and
we'll cancel the invoice." Lacking any response from them I can only
assume
the invoice is still on the books and we are going to have to keep
fighting
it. So I am enlisting your support. If you have had a similar problem
with
Kluwer, even if it was resolved satisfactorily, and if you still have
the
evidence, I would very much like to hear from you.

Also, be warned, if you receive a stray issue from Kluwer with an
invoice,
look into it carefully before paying.

Thank you.

Mark Hemhauser
American University Library--Serials
4400 Massachusetts Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20016-8046