Philadelphia Inquirer Subscription Cancellation

Submitted by hmmm_ohhhhh t3_ycjdr4 in philadelphia

Hey all - I subscribed to the Inquirer as an out of towner (planning to move to your great city in the next few years) and have since decided to cancel my subscription as I am not reading the paper as much as I expected.

I know you have to call to cancel your account. Don't get me started on how frustrating THAT is, but whatever, I'll do it. However, I've called them 6 times now and every single time I get told by their robot that they can't find my account and to wait to be transferred to an agent. Ok fine! Except all 6 times it transfers me to a busy line and disconnects. *beep beep beep beep* to death. The only time I ever got through, the ONE time, they said their office was closed. Then they told me their business hours. Guess what, I called DURING BUSINESS HOURS! FFS!!!!

How am I supposed to cancel this account if I can't get ahold of them? FFS it should not be this difficult. I've already sent emails. Tf am I supposed to do now? I don't really think I should have to call my bank to get them to block the charges, but that is about the only idea for a next step I can come up with.

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Comments

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tansugaqueen t1_itmm5cj wrote

I see nothing has changed since it took me several months to cancel mine 10 years ago

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Basique_b t1_itmjhq2 wrote

Weird, I was able to call and cancel last month no issues.

But yeah having to call and cancel is the dumbest thing.

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beeps-n-boops t1_ito4gnc wrote

Anyone who offers a subscription service and doesn't offer a simple, easy-to-find-and-use cancel function on their website doesn't deserve to be in business.

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tu_away_2020 t1_itmiwc1 wrote

Chargeback, your bank will take care of the rest.

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danstecz t1_itofjo4 wrote

I tried changing my billing address to a California one (since California has stringent laws on having online cancellation) and that didn't work. It works on other sites.

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horsebatterystaple99 t1_itpngsx wrote

You have some none Inquirer options. These can take a little work, but it sounds like you've been working anyway ...

  • You could try disputing the charge with Visa (or whoever).

  • You can file a complaint at the Better Business Bureau. That often gets the business's attention. BBB worked for me with a telecom company adding unnecessary charges to my bill.

Good luck!

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horsebatterystaple99 t1_itpntbh wrote

P.S. - It helps to have some kind of paper trail here, for example when you called and what happened.

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just_another_ashley_ t1_itnhj3i wrote

You could try tweeting them? I don’t know - that generally tends to work with businesses but I have no idea if it will work with them.

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SgtKetchup t1_itolwtr wrote

Their business hours are like 6a-2:30pm or something stupid like that, make sure to call in the morning. I've never had trouble getting through to a human inside that window though.

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EnergyLantern t1_itvihvn wrote

The Inquirer subscribed my parents and billed them. My parents were too polite to pay after disputing it with them.

The Inquirer tried that with me when I bought my house. I told them they played that game with my parents and I wasn't paying.

Talk to your credit card company and explain you tried to reach out to them and you wish to cancel and they are not responsive. Tell your credit card company that you no longer wish to pay. You have to try.

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HistoricalSubject t1_itmpiep wrote

Sounds to me as if there is MACHINE-like behavior happening over there. Tsk tsk. Be very cautious so it does not, even in the act of cancellation, assimilate you too. The MACHINES purview is enormous.

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