UNDATED - If you get a bill in the mail, you probably pay it right away. But what if it wasn't actually a bill or even due?

That's what happened to Becky Young and her mother. Young first noticed something wasn't right when she took over her mother's finances after her father died.

It had to do with a subscription renewal notice for "Birds and Blooms" magazine. Her mother had been getting these renewal notices every couple of months, and she would just pay them and forget.

She has now paid the subscription up until the year 2016.

But what really got Young upset was how the renewals looked.

"They made it look like it's due, invoice, you know, and it's due," Young said. "And on the Internet, if you go through it, it says 'Subscription renewal due now.' "

Misleading? Probably.  But against the law?  That's where it gets a little gray.

The state attorney general's office is looking into it.

Young never did get anyone to explain why her mother kept getting renewal notices even though she was paid in full for the next several years.

The magazine’s publisher never returned calls from KATU News either. 

However, the Young's mother did recently receive a check in the mail for $75 from "Birds and Blooms" magazine.

• AARP provides help managing your parents' finances
• Report a company to the Oregon attorney general's office