ComplaintsforPhiladelphia Newspapers, LLC

• Initial Complaint

  05/13/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  The only way to cancel a subscription with Philadelphia Inquirer is to call. I called within business hours and a message said their offices were closed but to continue with the automated phone service. When I selected 'cancel subscription' it attempted to put me through to someone and I was again told 'the offices are closed.' I simply want to cancel my subscription, however right now there is no way for me to do this.

• Initial Complaint

  04/17/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  The Philadelphia Inquirer can no longer dependably deliver their newspaper to my address. Their last carrier missed 9 deliveries the first 6 weeks of 2023. I cancelled the newspaper on February 6, 2023. The Inquirer owes me a balance of $54 but will not pay me. Whenever I call and speak to a representative they continue to tell me that the "check is in the mail." There is no supporting documentation since there is no documentation to be had other than what is on their billing computers.Can you help?

  Customer response

  04/19/2023

  This complaint was resolved today.  I received my refund check.

• Initial Complaint

  04/07/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  I had been getting a daily newspaper, the Philadelhia Inquirer digitally at a much reduced rate. The subscription ended approx. the end of March. On April 2, I found a charge of $15.96 on our statement from the newspaper. I called & told the woman that I had not been notified of this charge ahead of time and that I want the paper terminated immediatly with any refund due. She told me that was impossible. Should I not have been notified ahead of time??

• Initial Complaint

  03/27/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Delivery Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  i purchased a 13 week subscription to the phila inquirer in may for 13 weeks. It is now March and i have received only 2 papers in 10 months.******** calls and complaints to customer service and i am told a paper will be sent out to me but i never receive the paper. i have been told for 9 months that it has been escalated to a manager and it will be resolved ,once again not fixed,i call every single sunday and get the same run around,my patience is running out.i need them to come up with a solution. Thank you

  Business response

  04/24/2023

  Hi ******************:

  I hope you are well. 
  

  
  I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience you have experienced with your Inquirer subscription. 
  In reviewing your account history, it clearly shows that you have contacted ** multiple times to report service issues.  
  I have escalated this to the Home Delivery Regional Manager in your area.  A member of our home delivery VIP Team should be reaching out to you shortly with a plan to address the service problem. 
  
  Again, I sincerely apologize for your inconvenience.  If I can be of further assistance, please let me know.
  
  Thank you.
  
  
  
  ***********************
  Philadelphia Inquirer
  Customer Service Associate Director  

   

  Customer response

  04/24/2023

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
  
   Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: i am told it will be escalated to a manager every week and the problem still exists. I never receive my paper.  .I need to see results.befor i can say i am satisfied.
  
  
  Regards,
  
  ***********************
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Business response

  04/24/2023

  Hi ******************:

  Can you please let me know specific dates in which you are still experiencing service issues so I can relay this information to our home delivery team?

  Thank you. 
  

  Customer response

  04/24/2023

  [To assist ** in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
  
   Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  The dates that i have not received the paper are every Sunday from May of 2022 to April 23 of 2023   i am a sunday only subscriber and have only received 2 papersin this entire time frame.i have called every sunday for 10 months and i am told i will have a paper sent out to me and that the complaint has been escalated to a manager to fix the problem.  I am told the same story every week and nothing changes.i need a solution to this problem.Is it to much to ask to have a paper delivered once a week every Sunday.  
  
  Regards,
  
  ***********************
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  03/15/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Delivery Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Late in 2022, we paid about $450 in advance to renew a subscription to the Philadelphia Inquirer. In consideration of the $450, they promised to print and deliver a newspaper seven days a week about six am each morning. On March 6, 2023, they sent a letter saying that they unilaterally decided to provide only six newspapers per week. We received the letter on March 9th. The letter also stated that they had partnered with the USPS  to deliver the six papers. 10 hours later.

  Business response

  04/12/2023

  Hi **************:  

  I hope all is well.  
  

  I sincerely apologize for the change in your delivery service.  
  
  We were recently notified by our distribution partner in the Southern NJ area,  The Atlantic City Press, of their business plan to transition to mail delivery leaving us with little choice but to transition to mail delivery as well.
  
  As stated in the letter you received:  Nationwide, publishers who have exclusively relied on carrier delivery for decades have begun exploring new ways to make sure papers are delivered accurately and consistently, despite the challenges. Because of these challenges, our distributor in your area has decided to move to mail delivery.
  
  USPS Mail delivery is the only way we can continue to ensure consistent Inquirer Delivery service to your home address.  
  
  I hope you will give mail delivery a chance!  Don’t forget that your print subscription includes access to Inquirer.com and the e-Edition.  If you haven’t activated your digital subscription, you can do so using your account number ********* at inquirer.com/activate.  The e-Edition is relatively simple to use and we can have one of our digital team members reach out directly to walk you through it.  Please let me know if you would like to schedule a session. 
  
  Due to your inconvenience I have discounted your subscription from $10.70/week to $6.99/week extending your account paid through date from 01/05/24 to 05/28/24.
  
  Again, I apologize for the disappointment in your service change. If I can be of further assistance, please let me know.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  **** *******
  The Philadelphia Inquirer
  Associate Customer Service Director

• Initial Complaint

  03/13/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  This business is a local newspaper for Philadelphia, PA called the Philadelphia Inquirer. I have a digital subscription that is auto billed. It was initially a rage of $.99 a month and increased to $15.49 a month. When I tried to cancel I am unable to. The website doesn’t have any cancellations options nor does it allow me to edit my credit card information. In addition when you call their phone number (###-###-#### or ###-###-####) and hit the cancellation request option (option 6) it hangs up on you. I have also tried to use those numbers to navigate to an agent and haven’t been able to get in touch with a human. In addition their website says you cannot cancel in writing. Here are the terms and conditions all which outline canceling via the phone. However the number hangs up on you. **************** At this point I’ve also put a stop payment on this business via my bank to at least ensure they don’t keep taking money from me

  Customer response

  03/13/2023

  Last name: *******

• Initial Complaint

  02/20/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Delivery Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Paper has not been delivered for the past two weeks. When I called customer service, they had no idea when delivery would be resumed. When I asked to leave a message for the supervisor responsible for delivery to my area, the representative told me that my call would not be returned because there were too many complaints for supervisors to respond to. Now I have to report a missing paper each and every day and hope that my account is credited for it. If my 93-year-old father didnt look forward to his paper every day, I would have cancelled the subscription long ago. This is not an acceptable way to do business.

  Business response

  02/22/2023

  Hi *****************:

   

  I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience you have experienced with your subscription to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

   

  I have reached out to the executive level home delivery management team in your area regarding your delivery issues.

  They've assured me this will be addressed and regular delivery should resume immediately.  Please let me know if that is not the case.

   

  Your account has been credited for the missed papers through your daily calls and I have also applied an additional 2 week credit to your

  account due to the inconvenience - extending your paid through date from 2/24/23 to 3/10/23.

   

  If I can be of further assistance, please let me know.

  Thank you for your patience.

   

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

  The Philadelphia Inquirer

  Customer Service Associate Director

   

• Initial Complaint

  02/14/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Non delivery of paper subscription service to address

  Business response

  03/03/2023

  Hi ************************:

  I sincerely apologize for the issues you have experienced with your subscription to the Inquirer.

  I have escalated your complaint to the home delivery management team in your area and

  you should expect to see immediate improvement in your delivery service.

  I have also issued a two week courtesy credit to your account extending your paid through date from 3/22 to 4/5.
  

  If I can be of further assistance, please let me know.

  Thank you for your patience.

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

  Customer Service Associate Director

  The Philadelphia Inquirer

• Initial Complaint

  02/13/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  9-26-2022. I purchased an 8 week subscription from The Philadelphia Inquirer on or about Sept 18, 2022. On Sept 26 2022, I called the Inquirer to cancel this subscription as I became dissatisfied. I was assured that they would cancel and I needed not to do anything further. I forgot about it until I saw a billing on my recent credit card for approximately $16.00. and I'm sure they will bill against the next month. They told me that I entered into a new agreement. I never entered into a new agreement; my only agreement was for the $1.00 for 8 weeks. & I canceled within a week. They told me they have a recording of my voice agreeing to same. They told me they would email this recording but they never have as there is no such recording or new agreement. I'm extremely disappointed the Philadelphia inquirer that they have turned their eyes to such mercenary practices. Thank you

  Customer response

  03/13/2023

  Many thanks for your efforts to help me.  Approximately 4 hours after receiving your most recent correspondence, I received  a mailing from the Philadelphia Enquirer customer service dept.   It merely stated my subscription has been canceled.  I thought it was interesting since I never initialized  a subscription.  I might add my credit card company gave me credit for these charges and gave me a new card.

• Initial Complaint

  02/04/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Their subscription says you can “cancel anytime” but then they make it literally impossible to cancel. So as a result they continue to steal my money. You subscribe on their website where it has a highlighted badge that says “cancel anytime” but when you attempt to cancel, they subsequently tell you you can’t do it online but instead have to speak to their customer service. Then the customer service has very limited hours and you are forced to wait on hold for so long you can’t wait any longer and never speak to them. I waited in hold for over an hour twice and each time they closed and wouldn’t pick up. This is clearly intentional theft. I’d like to cancel my subscription and be refunded my money.

  Business response

  03/08/2023

  February 25, 2023 
  Hi *** ******: 
  I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience you experienced with your subscription to  The Philadelphia Inquirer. 
  Our Call Center is staffed 7 days a week: 
  Weekdays: 6:30 am to 3:00 pm EST 
  Weekends: 7:30 am - 12:00 pm EST 
  All calls in our hold queue to speak to an agent are answered prior to closing the call  center. 
  Our steeply discounted introductory digital subscriptions renew automatically at the end  of the introductory period to our regular rate. Subscription pricing information is  displayed several times throughout the online checkout process and is noted in the  screenshot below. 
  You may cancel at any time and the cancellation is effective at the end of your current  subscription period. To avoid being charged for the next billing cycle, you must cancel  before the renewal date. 
  Your last renewal period was 08/02/22 through 08/30/22. Your account history shows  that per your request, your account was canceled on 08/29/22 and no further charges were  applied to your account. 
  Again, I apologize for your inconvenience. 
  If I can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to let me know.

  Thank you. 
  Lori D****** 
  The Philadelphia Inquirer 
  Associate Director of Customer Service

*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. ↩