Ventura County Star

We apologize for the delay in starting Ms. S[redacted]'s new subscription. The delivery person has been notified of the error. Per Ms. S[redacted]'s request, her subscription has been cancelled and a full refund was processed to her credit card today, June 1, 2015.If she would like to restart her...

delivery, please contact M[redacted], Director of Consumer Sales and Marketing at [email protected] or ###-###-####.Thank you.

We apologize for the delivery problems Mr. Janeway has been experiencing.  We have notified the Director of Distribution of the delivery issues to ensure daily and prompt delivery.  A courtesy credit of 8 weeks has been credited to Mr. Janeway's account.  We apologize for any...

inconvenience and appreciate his continued readership.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 10425984, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.  I have received a check for that amount, to what ms. [redacted] said she has tried to contact me that waa incorrect.
Regards,
[redacted]

A refund in the amount of $14.78 was processed on 9/23/15 and mailed to Ms. L[redacted]. Her account has been closed and has a zero balance.  We apologize for the inconvenience.

Yesterday was 1/27/18. It was the 5th day since Thanksgiving that my newspaper was not delivered. Each time I missed my paper, I called the Star and reported my paper did not get delivered. It was noted by a "voice" on the phone that my account would be credited...except on the 27th of January. The phone line was being revamped and I was not able to call. Again, I got dressed and drove to a local business to purchase The Ventura County Star at $1.61. The Star used to say that a paper would be delivered as soon as possible. Not any longer. There are no guarantees. If my account was credited, I have not been notified. It's the only paper in town and I do not believe their customers are important to them any longer. It is sad what the Star has become.

Review: Earlier this year, two girls representing the Ventura Star Newspaper knocked in my house door and they were selling subscription. I said no because don't want to deal with billing issues, But they offered if I pay cash the subscription was going to be for 4 weeks a no bills later or need to cancel.I received the paper 4 for weeks and after the 4 week a bill came requesting to pay $17.15 and threatening me to send me to collection if not paid. I contacted customer service but they said that I was supposed to call to cancel....something that the people that sell me the 4 weeks subscription were very precise to say That by paying cash the subscription was going to end after the 4th week at nothing needed from me after that. Very frustrated with how this was handled by the newspaper.Desired Settlement: I want the newspaper the cancel the amount they are billing me.

Business

Response:

A credit in the amount of $18.63 was credited to Mr. M[redacted]'s account #896[redacted]1 on 9/24/15. No further balance is due and we apologize for any inconvenience.

Review: I have had consistent delivery problems with my newspaper subscription, dating back to February 2015. I have called and emailed the Star several times, usually weekly to resolve these issues. I also went on vacation from 7/19/15 to 7/23/15, and requested that they save these papers and deliver them on 7/24/15. I never got them. I have asked for credits many times, unsure whether I got them, as they don't return calls or emails. The paper is supposed to be delivered by 5am Monday through Friday, and 8am Saturday's and Sunday's. When I do get my paper it is usually late, and I have to leave for work by 5:45am. This subscription costs $20.45 per month, which according to the paper is the lowest price they offer.Desired Settlement: I want my paper to be delivered on time, and consistently. I want to be credited at least for about 3 papers per week going back to February 2015. I want to be credited for the papers I didn't receive while I was on vacation from 7/19/15 to 7/23/15. I'd like to be sure I am getting the lowest rate possible for my subscription.

Business

Response:

We apologize for the delivery problems Mr. Janeway has been experiencing. We have notified the Director of Distribution of the delivery issues to ensure daily and prompt delivery. A courtesy credit of 8 weeks has been credited to Mr. Janeway's account. We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate his continued readership.

Review: This entire incident began when a young woman came to my door and offered the Ventura County Star. Throughout the conversation, she kept insisting that the cash deal was for one month of the paper in an electronic format that I could read on my tablet. I asked her multiple times if I was signing up for a subscription, and she said no, I was only receiving a month of the electronic version of the paper.Several months ago, I received a renewal letter for my supposed "subscription". Since I had relocated out of state, AND did not want the paper in the first place, I wrote a letter back to the Ventura County Star telling them NOT to renew anything, and that I had moved out of CA.Today, I received a collection letter dated 9/10/15 (sent to my old CA address so I received it on 9.21.15) that states they forwarded my "account" to collections!!! Really? I contacted the number on the letter and was shuffled around to different representatives. The last young woman I spoke with stated she was a manager. I was told by this manager that the only way to cancel a 'renewal subscription' is to call the office and cancel back when the "renewal" was first due - and now - apparently it's too late to cancel! Seriously? A written notification does not work to rectify this?THE VENTURA COUNTY STAR IS AN UNETHICAL COMPANY THAT SCAMS THE PUBLIC INTO SIGNING UP FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS. PLEASE WORK TO ASSIST ME IN CORRECTING THIS SITUATION.Desired Settlement: Since the Ventura Country Star failed to update their records when I submitted a written notice to them, they have since forwarded that "account" to a collection agency. The Ventura County Star not only needs to cancel whatever "subscription" they have on file, they also need to remove the negative credit report rating I have now due to this messTHIS IS AN UNETHICAL COMPANY THAT SCAMS THE PUBLIC INTO SIGNING UP FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS. PLEASE WORK TO ASSIST ME IN CORRECTING THE ISSUE. THANK YOU.

Business

Response:

A refund in the amount of $14.78 was processed on 9/23/15 and mailed to Ms. L[redacted]. Her account has been closed and has a zero balance. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Review: The billing was always a mess. The delivery of papers is prepaid. The last two payments to them, one was an accidental double payment. I have long since cancelled service and asked for an explanation as to why I owe them any money. I have no response.Desired Settlement: I want the balance cleared, and any money refunded to me. I also want any negative credit reporting over the mystery balance of $13 reversed, in writing and a copy of that letter.

Business

Response:

The Star has notified the customer that we have written off the existing balance of $14.30. No negative credit report has been generated from the Star regarding this account. The customer has been provided a direct contact for further questions.

Review: On January 4, 2015, A Student came by my home giving newspaper offers/subscription. He gave me a deal for 16 weeks of the Sunday Newspaper for $20.00. In which he, and the supervisor which was with him said it will start on January 11th. When that day came along and no newspaper yet I called the newspaper hotline that day and spoke to Lorenzo about 10:30am. He said that it was not registered yet, in which he registered it and stated that it will start the following Sunday the 1/18/15 and to the LOOKS of it that day came along and NO SUNDAY NEWsPAPER!!!! We emailed and emailed the facebook account about this issue only received facebook response to email them, in which we did in requesting a full refund on the pre-paid service never received. The following Sunday January 25th, we received the newspaper, but Sunday came along (2/1/2015) again and NO Newspaper.Desired Settlement: Getting a full refund of the service that was pre-paid. Which was $20.00. Ticket Order #: 917714Date order placed: 1/4/2015 w/Rodolfo.Of getting the run arounds, not answering there emails, and not giving the service that was paid for.

Business

Response:

Thank you for your notice.Please note we attempted to contact Ms. [redacted] via phone three times. Her Sunday paper was being delivered as requested, but since she did not respond to the phone messages, we complied with her request and cancelled her subscription on 2/9/15 and issued a full refund in the amount of $20.00. If Ms. [redacted] would like to start her service again, please have her contact me directly at ###-###-#### or [redacted]@vcstar.com and I would be happy to assist her.Thank you.[redacted]Director of Consumer Sales and MarketingVentura County Star550 Camarillo Center DriveCamarillo, CA 93010###-###-####

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 10425984, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. I have received a check for that amount, to what ms. [redacted] said she has tried to contact me that waa incorrect.

Regards,

Review: I saw an ad, run in the newsstand copy of the paper, for a year 7 day subscription for $99.12 prepaid. The offer expired on 3/31/13. I ran into a vendor for the paper at a home & garden show held in March. He agreed to sign me up for the paper, and that instead of paying upfront, the fee would be debited from my account at $8.26 per month. Immediately my card was charged on 3/25/13 the first installment of $8.26. I was told my service would begin in the next week. As of today(5-15-13) I still have not received daily delivery of my paper. I've made several phone calls to the paper, only to be told that a Supervisor named Nicky would fix the problem. According to the conversations held, there was 'no such promotional offer'(I still have the flyer and receipt of sale which I can mail or fax copies. I was told Nicky had emailed his supervisor and was awaiting a response from him, before this matter was resolved. The name and phone number of the vendor at the home and garden show is Eric at ###-###-####.Desired Settlement: I want my daily paper for the advertised price I was promised. The $8.26 I already paid, needs to pay for papers I will receive going forward. The promotion code on the flyer is HD113. The Bill of Sale Order Number is 872433. If Eric was in error, I am willing to pay the full amount upfront at the promised terms. I also think I am owed an apology for getting brushed off by customer service in the circulation department, and not handling this matter promptly.

Business

Response:

First, let me apologize to Mr. Janeway that our customer service folks were not able to resolve this situation. We will indeed honor the original offer of $99.12 paid upfront. Since Mr. Janeway has already been billed for $8.26, only the remainder of $90.86 is due. Steve Coffeen is our Circulation Director and can work directly with Mr. Janeway. Steve's direct line is ###-###-#### and his email address is [email protected].

Again, my apologies to Mr. Janeway and we thank him for being a subscriber of the Ventura County Star.

Best,

Margie Cochrane

Regional Publisher / CRO

Ventura County Star

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 9544661, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. However my card was charged on 3/29/13 for $8.26 and yet my delivery didn't begin until last week. Then I was billed again $8.88 on 5/24/13. I have a feeling that my former Sunday only account has not been deleted, and so I am still having automatic debits to my account. The 7 day delivery option was supposed to replace the Sunday only delivery. The $8.26 billed on 3/29/13 should pay for about a months worth of papers, of which I have received about 10 days worth.

Regards,

Review: On 3/21/15 I purchased newspaper Sunday delivery. They guaranteed that paper will be delivered in one week, which never happened. On the day when I suppose to get my first delivery I called few times to make a complaint that paper had never been delivered. Next day I called the office and cancelled the subscription. On the 3/30/15 I called again and asked for my money back, then I called again on 4/21/15; 5/15/15 and 5/21/15 and still nobody is calling me back and I still did not get my money back.Desired Settlement: My credit card was charged and I would to get a full refund because they did not delivered the services.

Business

Response:

We apologize for the delay in starting Ms. S[redacted]'s new subscription. The delivery person has been notified of the error. Per Ms. S[redacted]'s request, her subscription has been cancelled and a full refund was processed to her credit card today, June 1, 2015.If she would like to restart her delivery, please contact M[redacted], Director of Consumer Sales and Marketing at [email protected] or ###-###-####.Thank you.