Daily News Leader, Inc.

Review: I contacted the Staunton NewsLeader on 9/16/15 and asked that my subscription be cancelled. At that time our newspaper service was discontinued. I have been billed for paper since that date. I was balancing my checkbook today and noticed that I was billed $21.00 for the newspaper so that made me go back in the history of my online account and noticed that I was billed on October, November and December 3rd. I called the paper and explained my situation. They were the most uncooperative bunch of people I have ever dealt with. I was told that they would credit my account back for November and December. I want to know why I have to have the inconvenience of paying for the October payment when I clearly cancelled my account. The lady that I spoke to on the phone was very argumentative with me. I asked for her supervisor and his telephone number. She kept saying she turned the matter over to him for a refund but that she had no number to give me. How many other people do they do this too? This is absolutely ridiculous and I don't think anybody should be allowed to conduct business this way.Desired Settlement: I want to be refunded immediately for the costs that I incurred since October 2015 when I cancelled my newspaper. Having to pay for an extra month with no explaination is unacceptable to me. Thank you for taking the time to listen. They have a recording on their phone that says their calls are recorded. IF they are recorded why don't they just go back and listen to my message. I was clear but I am having to prove myself to these people.

Business

Response:

Hello:The customer has been contacted and the requested money has been refunded. The text of the email sent to the customer is below. A copy of the message sent to Ms. Astarb is attached.Thanks,[redacted]President and PublisherThe News Leader

Business

Response:

Ms. [redacted]Please accept my apology for the less than satisfactory customer service that you received when you contacted The News Leader in September, regarding your subscription. In reviewing your account, it appears that your request to stop delivery was not followed through. I have however, cancelled the subscription and applied a full refund for the automatic payments taken from your credit card for the months of November and December. The history on your account did not show a payment for October, as you received an internal credit for this month. The total amount credited to your card is $40.00.Again, I do apologize for this inconvenience and can assure you that we value each of our subscribers and it is my intent to provide excellent customer service to each customer.Please notify me should you require additional assistance with this matter.Sincerely,[redacted]Circulation ManagerThe News Leader / newsleader.com Staunton, VA.

Consumer

Response:

My issue has been resolved. Thank you so much

Review: Website states current billing rate is $16/month ($192 annually), yet shows annual bill of $268.99 ($76.99 more) with no explanation. Phone contact with company indicated that stated rate was only if customer authorized automatic debit payment for services.Desired Settlement: Explanation of billing inequality dependent on method of payment. (I prefer not to authorize automatic deduction of my account for this type of service)

Business

Response:

Hello:

The online subscription offer Mr. [redacted] refers to is for new subscribers. The price for newspaper delivery increases to other more expensive pricing tiers once the initial subscription term expires. Because Mr. [redacted] is a current subscriber, he is not eligible for a new subscriber rate.

Also, the customer service rep was correct in that the $16 per month offer was also for customers who allow us to automatically withdraw payment from their account. Mr. [redacted] was offered this option by the customer service rep even though he is not a new subscriber but declined since he did not want to allow us to withdraw the monthly payments from his account automatically and insisted on receiving a bill. This offer remains available to Mr. [redacted].

I hope this answers the question, if there are any more concerns about this matter, please let me know.

Thanks,

President and Publisher

The News Leader

Staunton

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is something I will not be able to change. I am disappointed that the business chooses to charge me $75 more for paying annually by check compared to a monthly auto-debit of my account. This will certainly affect my thinking of what source I choose for news in the future.

Regards,