ComplaintsforThe New York Times Company

• Initial Complaint

  09/03/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  When my trial subscription was ending in January 2024, I received an email notice along with a link/button to click to renew. I did not renew, and I deleted the app from my phone. I was led to believe and thought that was all I needed to do in order to have the trial subscription, not renew and cancel. .Come to find out that the New York Times has been billing me for a full subscription of $25.25 starting on February 14, 2024. For total of 8 ******** adding up to $202. I called and first spoke to a woman named ****** and then a young man who was supposedly a business manager. They both advised that unless I actually had canceled that the subscription would on automatically renew. This was complete news to me . This is devious and deceitful business practice, and the New York Times has already been sued recently / a lawsuit against them for this exact same practice. Then, when I did not click the renew button, I got the switch and bait emails that started saying look what youre missing which I have attached an example. So they let you put to believe that your trial subscription had ended when it had not! Instead, they started billing me for a full price subscription. This is beyond deceitful and the New York Times should be ashamed of themselves because they label themselves as a fair and progressive organization. Ive attached proof of the billing, the emails I have received from them both advising that my subscription is about to end and that I should renew, and the quote we want you back Example email. Ive also included two screenshots from my bank of eight separate ******** which were unauthorized by me as I did not renew.

  

  Business response

  09/13/2024

  In researching the concerns presented, we found that the customer had two accounts, one through their email and one through their Apple ID. The first account had a subscription for All Access that was active from February 2022 to August ************************************** August 2024. Our records do not show any contacts prior to August ******************************** billing of their account.

  The second account was created through the customers Apple ID and was not connected to the first account. The customer subscribed to an All Access subscription in December 2024 which was cancelled in January 2024. 
  
  Cancellation of the subscription on the second account had no effect on the subscription on the first account as they were separate subscriptions on separate accounts. 
  
  In response to this complaint, we spoke to the customer between 09/09/24 and 09/11/24 via email and relayed the findings above. A refund of the subscription charge from the second account was applied to the account as a courtesy. 

• Initial Complaint

  08/27/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I never signed up for this NEW YORK TIMES- I was charged 6 a month for one year and went up to $25. Which I was able to dispute with the bank. But from April 2023 to April 2024 I have charges I cant get back. I want a refund for that! Todai I finally spoke with a customer service representative about this subscription - I was not satisfied with the outcome. I DON'T know how i got caught up tho ese charged from NEW YORK TIMES. I had to cancel my card and accrue charges to stop charges. Terrible customer service - you cant find them anywhere in website or by phone. I've no need for this subscription. Cancel and refund please.

  

  Business response

  08/30/2024

  Reached out to the customer for more information and provided a refund.

• Initial Complaint

  08/23/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I found out I was duplicate charged for New York Times via my email and iTunes. New York Times keeps claiming that they cannot see in my account on iTunes except that my iTunes account uses the exact same email when I try to access New York Times I cannot because I canceled it and yet they are telling me that I have an active subscription through my email

  

  Business response

  09/04/2024

  Hello,

  Please be advised that this complaint has been resolved.  We have located the News subscription in our system, processed the cancellation and refunded the last 6 charges, as a one time courtesy.  The customer was also informed of the resolution.   

  Customer response

  09/04/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

  [Your Answer Here]

   New York Times has acknowledged that I had duplicate subscriptions for which they charged me. They are only offering a courtesy of six months whereas I double paid them for a full year for which they are saying that they do not have to refund me. They have clear proof that I paid for both of these accounts to which they marketed an existing user to pay for another subscription when I already had one, but because I was marketed, I thought that my subscription had expired. 

   

   

   

  In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************
  
  
  
  
   
  

  

  Business response

  09/10/2024

  Hello,

  Please be advised that the duplicate subscription was purchased through a third party vendor and under a completely different email address, therefore we were not aware of it until the customer contacted us on 8/22/24.  We were also able to locate a News subscription in our system and can confirm it has been permanently cancelled.  However, since we rendered the service expected of us, we must expect payment for that service. It is the responsibility of customers to inform us if they are not receiving the service they are paying for, wish to end it, or are paying for services they did not authorized, in a reasonably timely manner. That said, we do try to address our subscribers concerns, and, as a good-faith gesture, we have refunded the last 6 charges back to the credit card on file.

   

• Initial Complaint

  08/21/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have subscribed to the digital *** for I think the last 5 years. I have always had access to articles in The Athletic. When I purchased my subscriptions, I was not told that I needed to pay separately for the Athletic, and I expected that The Athletic was included, and it has been.Today for the first time I was denied access to articles from the athletic and offered a subscription! This is a bait and switch. When I contacted the *** by chat, the only method available, they refused to restore my access to articles in the Athletic unless I paid them extra for a subscription. ***********************

  

  Business response

  08/26/2024

  In researching the concerns presented, we found that the customer has been subscribed to a News-Only subscription since 2020. Access to The Athletic has never been included with our News-Only subscription. The New York Times only acquired The Athletic in January 2022, so we are unable to speak to how or why the customer was able to access The Athletic prior to, or since, that time. At no point during the time the subscription has been active has The Athletic been included as part of the subscription entitlements, nor was a standalone subscription to The Athletic purchased.

  In response to the complaint, we spoke to the customer between 08/21/24 and 08/23/24 via email to relay our findings and clarify what is able to be accessed with their subscription. We offered information on how to upgrade their subscription to include access to The Athletic.

  Customer response

  09/06/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

  [Your Answer Here]

   

  I dispute the *** response. The *** has not addressed my complaint, or offered to resolve my complaint.  And, even though I asked them to, the Times has not told you the basis of my complaint. 

  
  

   My complaint is for false advertising.  When I purchased my annual *** subscriptions I believed that they included access to The Athletic.  The Times never said The Athletic was not included in my subscription, and in fact for over five years every time I clicked on an article in The Athletic access was provided.  Then, inexplicably, the Times suddenly demanded I pay extra to access The Athletic.  I believe that this is a refusal to provide the services I purchased and I request that access to The Athletic be provided. 

   

   

  In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************
  
  
  
  
   
  

• Initial Complaint

  08/09/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I never signed up for this new york times publication.i spoke with a customer service representative about this subscription saying I read a article and that is how they've my information, listen I live in ********** I DON'T NEED A PUBLICATION FOR NEW YORK!!! PLEASE REACH OUT TO THE COMPANY!!! My bank just recently noticed some strange debts on my account and cancelled the card, but this has to be where the charges are stemming from! I've no need for this subscription.

  

  Business response

  08/14/2024

  Hello,

  Please be advised that we are unable to locate a subscription in our system and reached out to the customer for more information to investigate further, but haven't heard back as of yet.

• Initial Complaint

  08/05/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I received the New York Times paper to my house every Sunday, but I had lost my credit card, so payment failed for my newspaper. I updated the card, but I received an email saying that I owe them money and it will be sent to collections. However, there is no outstanding balance on my account, and I cannot find anyone at the *** to reach out to for assistance.

  

  Business response

  08/13/2024

  Hello,

  Please be advised that according to our records, the payment instrument has not been updated, thereby allowing the subscription to expire.  A message was left for the customer to contact us for assistance, but we haven't heard back as of yet.

  

  Business response

  08/13/2024

  Hello,

  Please be advised that according to our records, the payment instrument has not been updated, thereby allowing the subscription to expire.  A message was left for the customer to contact us for assistance, but we haven't heard back as of yet.

• Initial Complaint

  08/02/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I am upset with the New York Times billing and subscription practices. After much discussion over the phone I was able to finally get the subscription agent to honor my cancellation and stop billing me for what had become increasingly limited news access. I have a games subscription that will not be cancelled until April 2025, but they have severely limited my access unless I agree to upgrade. This was not the original agreement. I am upset at being entangled in an agreement that has not been honored by The ** Times. If I call to complain the agent tries to talk me into new subscription deals. Have had it with the **T subscription service. If they will not honor the initial contract I want nothing further to do with them.

  

  Business response

  08/06/2024

  Hello,

  We would like to apologize for any inconvenience and can confirm both the News and Games accounts have been cancelled and the last charge refunded back to the credit card on file.

   

  Customer response

  08/07/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************
  
  
  
   
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  07/30/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Delivery Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  For some unknown reason, I began receiving the New York Times to my home on a weekly basis. I never signed up for any sort of subscription and I have not received any sort of documentation to confirm what was the reason for sending me the news publication. It's not that I dislike the newspaper; it's that it's totally irrelevant to me and I end up throwing away newspapers still in the plastic wrapping. Just now, I had a huge amount of newspapers to throw out. I do not know how to cancel this subscription, especially since I never ordered it. If someone else ordered it in my name and arranged for home delivery, I can assure you that I never did such a thing. I have no reason to order a news publication in an area in which I never lived and have no desire or hopes to live. If I am being charged, again, I never received any correspondence to confirm anything about the sudden start of delivery. I have no idea who would do such a thing, and I know I did not do it.

  

  Business response

  08/12/2024

  Hello,

  Please be advised that the subscription had to have been started by someone with intimate knowledge of the personal and financial information.  However, we can confirm it has been cancelled and the one charge refunded back to the credit card on file, as a courtesy.

• Initial Complaint

  07/24/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I subscribed to nyt for special rate 4$ month. Which I was charged. I accidentally cancelled same day (which normally doesnt matter since you get the remainder of time left most everywhere else). But their policy is to immediately block customers. I clicked on their reactivation email they sent and I was then charged 4$ again but reactivation entailed free reactivation per their own email. Im owed 4$

  

  Business response

  07/29/2024

  Hello,

  Please be advised that we were able to locate the All Access subscription and can confirm the customer was only charged once.  The second payment was cancelled and not processed.

   

  Customer response

  07/29/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************
  
  
  
   
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  07/22/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On Saturday, July 20, I spoke with ****** at the New York Times and she offered me a 52 week subscription at the cost of $6.00 every 4 weeks. I accepted this offer and she read me the disclaimer for the 52 week subscription and when she tried to complete the transaction, she couldn't because of a pending charge on the account that froze her from making any changes to the account over the weekend. She told me to call back Monday when the pending charge was completed to finish what we started.I called back on Monday, July 22 around 9:10 am to finish the transaction that the ** Times and I had verbally agreed to on Saturday, July 20 and was told that the promotion ended on July 21 and that if I want the subscription, it is now $8.00 every four weeks for a 52 week subscription. When I complained that they need to honor our agreement from Saturday that THEY could not complete I was told by a very rude manager to shut up and let him speak. I ended up cancelling the subscription because of his behavior and the fact that they would not honor the $6.00 every four week charge for a year that they agreed to.

  Customer response

  07/22/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************
  
  
  
   
  
  

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