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Elderly Long Island Woman Besieged By Magazines She Says She Never Ordered

DEER PARK, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- She thinks she is being taken advantage of because of her age.

A Long Island senior citizen is seeking relief from a magazine distributor that continues to send her unwanted publications -- and hefty bills, reports CBS 2's Jennifer McLogan.

It's been going on for more than a year. Magazines have been delivered almost weekly and bills promptly follow. Maryann Doring said she is at her wit's end.

"It's absolutely outrageous that I am receiving these magazines," the 77-year-old said.

Rolling Stone, Architectural Digest, Sports Illustrated … you name it. She said she doesn't read them and can't afford them. She said she calls the company and complains, but their records show that the retired pianist and school teacher, who lives alone with her cat, did indeed order multiple magazines that will continue to arrive through the year 2014.

"Now they are threatening me with my credit rating," Doring said.

The billing service, Active Periodicals, said Doring so far owes $272.58 (plus interest) and that her account is seriously past due.

McLogan was with her when she spoke to a manager, Doring said, for the umpteenth time. That manager played a recording of a voice, which the company said came from her home phone, ordering magazines, agreeing to payment, and giving out her credit card information.

Doring thinks that her name and account were active because she did subscribe to Diabetic Cooking, but never to Ebony magazine and the others.

"That is not my voice and you just tell me that's too bad, pay it?" Doring told the manager.

"I think after that subscription expired they just tacked on these other magazines. I was just a great big 'gotcha!'"

The company told McLogan it will refer Doring's complaints to their fraud department, to determine if her credit card information was hacked. Still, she owes nearly $300, money she said she needs to pay her mortgage.

On Wednesday night Doring was to file a complaint with the attorney general and Suffolk County Office of Consumer Affairs, calling the repeated magazine deliveries "discrimination against the elderly."

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