Hearst Magazines

Review: GH subscription services "automatically renewed" my subscription. They are sending me bills (by mail & email) when I didn't choose to renew.

Several months ago one of my GH magazines had a notice in it that they were going to "automatically renew" my subscription unless I declined. I had not yet opened that magazine or notice when I received my first bill. Is this legal to "automatically renew" a subscription then start sending bills for something I never agreed to? I am now getting "past due" notices even though I responded to one email telling them to stop billing me as this practice made me angry and I was not going to renew. I will not continue to do business with this company (even though I love their product) because of this practice. I am concerned about others who are not savvy enough to recognize this is not a reasonable process and may be paying for something they didn't choose to continue.Desired Settlement: That they STOP this practice! And I think they should refund payment to all those who paid due to this billing practice - or give them a one year free subscription.

Business

Response:

This Office represents The Hearst Corporation and your e-mail of February **, 2014 concerning the subscription of [redacted] to Good Housekeeping magazine, which is published by Hearst Magazines, has been referred to me for reply. Please be advised that the automatic renewal order that was entered for this account has been cancelled, [redacted] may disregard any further invoices that she may receive and her name and address have been removed from our promotional mailing list. We apologize for the inconvenience.

If you need further assistance, please feel free to contact me directly.

[redacted]/ Hearst Corporation

Review: I thought I canceled the magazine, Cosmopolitan, last year but the magazines kept coming. I received an email requesting payment and, again, clicked on the cancel subscription button. The "my account" page says the subscription is canceled in 2017. I do not want to pay for another year.Desired Settlement: I no longer wish to receive the magazine and do not want my credit card to be automatically charged.

Business

Response:

This Office represents The Hearst Corporation and your e-mail of March *, 2016 concerning the subscription of [redacted] to Cosmopolitan magazine, which is published by Hearst Magazines, has been referred to me for reply. Please be advised that the automatic subscription order that was entered for this account has been cancelled. [redacted] may disregard any further invoices that she may receive and her name and address have been removed from our promotional mailing list. We apologize for the inconvenience. If you need further assistance, please feel free to contact me directly. [redacted]/ Tel: ###-###-####/ Fax: ###-###-####/ [redacted]

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.

Sincerely,

Review: Registered on their website in August for "free" access to their online site. Received a "3rd invoice - past due" notice in November saying my account is past due. The letter specifically states, "We still have not received payment for your subscription that you requested several months ago, and for which you received your first issue." First, I did not subscribe. Second, I never received any issues. Finally, I never receive a 1st or 2nd invoice.When I called, I was told I have no subscription on record and I should just ignore the notice. The operator more or less admitted this was just their way to get me to sign up for a subscription. This is blatant false advertising. Their letter is full of lies. I am left wondering how many people are deceived into signing up for a subscription just to not deal with the hassle.The irony is that I was seriously considering subscribing, but not now. What makes it worse, is this is a [redacted] publication!

Product_Or_Service: noneDesired Settlement: DesiredSettlementID: Other (requires explanation)

They should be forced to stop this deceptive, misleading practice immediately.

Business

Response:

Please have the consumer provide the name of the site and the name of the publication they are referring too in the complaint.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

The publisher asked for the name of the site and the name of the publication. I believe the publication was cited in my original complaint. The site has the same name as the publication. The publication and site names are as follows:[redacted]The emails usually come from [redacted].Thank you,[redacted]

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

Sincerely,

Business

Response:

This Office represents The Hearst Corporation and your e-mail of November **, 2014 concerning the subscription of [redacted] to [redacted] magazine, has been referred to me for reply. Please be advised that we do not publish [redacted] magazine. If you need further assistance, please feel free to contact me directly.[redacted]/ Hearst Corporation/ [redacted]/ Tel: ###-###-####/ Fax: ###-###-####/ [redacted]

Review: In February 2014 I ordered a 2 year subscription to Women's Day magazine, it also included a 1 year subscription to Good Housekeeping. I paid the invoice on 3/**/13. I have yet to receive my Good Housekeeping subscription. I have emailed them twice asking when I would receive the first issue, the first response I received said the order was only for one issue (why would I order one issue)?

The second response I received form them said, "We show on our records that the Good Housekeeping magazine was served to its expire date. We do not show any delivery problems. However, we will extend the subscription to compensate you for your missed issues. You will start with the next available issue which is the August issue.

I don't even know what that means. Their Case id # is: [redacted].Desired Settlement: I would like to receive my 1 year subscription of their publication, that should have started in March 2014 - March 2105.

Business

Response:

This Office represents The Hearst

Corporation and your e-mail of July **, 2014 concerning the subscription of

[redacted] to Good Housekeeping magazine, which is published by Hearst

Magazines, has been referred to me for reply. Please be advised that the

order started in April 2013 and continued through March 2014 issue.

We have extended the subscription 6 more months. [redacted]’s

subscription will start with the August 2014 issue and continue through the

January 2015 issue. We apologize for the inconvenience.

If you need further assistance,

please feel free to contact me directly.

Review: Upon repeated requests the company failed to stop sending magazines following the free trial period.Desired Settlement: Request that the company stop sending the magazines and void all charges that may have been applied.

Business

Response:

This Office represents The Hearst Corporation and your e-mail of January *, 2015 concerning the subscription of [redacted] to HGTV Magazine, which is published by Hearst Magazines, has been referred to me for reply. Please be advised that this order was received through an independent sales agency. We have suspended service on this account and have notified the agency of [redacted]’s cancellation request. Her name and address have also been removed from our promotional mailing list. The agency’s information is as follows: [redacted], 3[redacted]; Tel: ###-###-####If you need further assistance, please feel free to contact me directly.[redacted]/ Tel: ###-###-####/ Fax: ###-###-####/ [redacted]

Review: I ordered a dress on this site for the advertised price of $140. More than 24 hours went by before I was notified my order was cancelled and the price of the dress shot up to $308. I was told in the email I could repurchase this dress for the increased price because they made a mistake in the initial posting of the dress. When I emailed them with my discontent with how they ran their business and how a simple sorry is not good enough if you want to keep customers, they simply told me as a retailer they could not give me that price. As a retailer, it is their duty to honor the first price. It is not my fault that they made the mistake and I must be punished for it. All I want is the dress I ordered for the price I paid, and for the company to realize it is extremely unprofessional to cancel orders and request that I pay more than double for something I already agreed to pay for. Terrible business practices are being conducted with this company.Desired Settlement: I want the dress for the advertised price of $140.

Business

Response:

This Office represents The Hearst Corporation and your e-mail of March **, 2014 concerning a dress purchased by [redacted] through Shop Bazaar, has been referred to me for reply. Please have [redacted] forward us date of purchase, description of dress and any additional information she has in reference with this transaction.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

The company would like additional information about my order. The date of purchase was March**, 2014. The dress is a Stone Cold Fox Boardwalk Dress. My order number was #[redacted].

Sincerely,

Business

Response:

This Office represents The Hearst Corporation and your e-mail of May **, 2014 concerning [redacted] dress order through ShopBazaar that allows the purchase of items seen in the Harper’s Bazaar magazine, which is published by Hearst Magazines, has been referred to me for reply. Please be advised that ShopBazaar is a new eCommerce venture, the first of its kind in the industry. We hope [redacted] understands that we are building a new service from our print brand and are on a learning curve. On Friday, May **, 2014 we processed [redacted]’s order for the original price of $140.00. We apologize for the inconvenience.

If you need further assistance, please feel free to contact me directly.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.

Sincerely,

Review: [redacted] kept charging me for magazines I didn't order.The bill is 24.97.Now they sending me from the invoicing Department more bills. I send

more bills from the invoice dept. I wrote them twice asking them to stop those magazines and they keep sending them .I never request them . I am a retired person .I can't afford paying for magazines.that I don't even read or looked at them.There is no even a phone no. where you could reach them. Please help me. Thank youDesired Settlement: I just want them to stop those magazines and stop sending bills

Business

Response:

This Office represents The Hearst Corporation and your e-mail of April **, 2015 concerning the subscription of [redacted] to [redacted] magazine, which is published by Hearst Magazines, has been referred to me for reply. Please be advised that the automatic renewal order that was entered for this account has been cancelled. [redacted] may disregard any further invoices that she may receive and her name and address have been removed from our promotional mailing list. The last issue will be the June 2015 issue. We apologize for the inconvenience. If you need further assistance, please feel free to contact me directly.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

They keep sending magazines!!

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

Sincerely,

Review: I did not renew my subscription to this magazine. I'm being billed for magazines I no longer wish to purchase. I feel this is bad business to act upon your customer in this matter.Desired Settlement: DesiredSettlementID: No settlement requested - for

My request is do not bill me for continuing something that I don't want. Period.

Business

Response:

This Office represents The Hearst Corporation and your e-mail of January *, 2014 concerning the subscription of [redacted] to Country Living magazine, which is published by Hearst Magazines, has been referred to me for reply. Please be advised that the automatic renewal that was entered for this account has been cancelled, [redacted] may disregard any further invoices that she may receive and her name and address have been removed from our promotional mailing list. We apologize for the inconvenience.

If you need further assistance, please feel free to contact me directly.

/ Tel: ###-###-####/ Fax: ###-###-####/ [redacted]

Review: I paid for a subscription to this magazine in April. I waited a couple of months before I started questioning the magazine as to why I had yet to receive the magazine. Over the course of several months, I have emailed them, and their response has been that they didn't receive any information or payment concerning my subscription. The check was cashed, and I have given them all information concerning the check, but they have since failed to reply once I gave them this information. They previously stated that they had no records, but after giving them the check number, date it was cashed, etc. all communication has stopped. I have never had this problem with a magazine before, and since I paid with a check, and have proof of payment, then they shouldn't be able to pretend that they didn't get it.Desired Settlement: I would either like my money returned or the subscription I paid for.

Business

Response:

This Office represents The Hearst Corporation and your e-mail of November **, 2013 concerning the subscriptions of [redacted] to Good Housekeeping and Redbook magazines, which are published by Hearst Magazines, has been referred to me for reply. Please be advised that we have located an account for Ms. [redacted] for Good Housekeeping and Redbook. These orders were received through an independent sales agency. We sent the September and October issues of Good Housekeeping and August, September and October of Redbook and then this agency cancelled the order. Hearst Magazines does not have any details of her payment, since it was sent directly to the independent sales agency. The agency is: [redacted], Tel. #: ###-###-####. We apologize for the inconvenience.

If you need further assistance, please feel free to contact me directly.

[redacted]/ Hearst Corporation/ Office of General Counsel/ 300 West 57th Street – 40th Floor

New York, NY 10019/ Tel: ###-###-####/ Fax: ###-###-####/ [redacted]

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because

Their response has absolutely no revelance to the complaint that

I made. The complaint was for FOOD NETWORK MAGAZINE! The Redbook and Good Housekeeping was a trial subscription much later in the year that had ABSOLUTELY after I had tried several times to contact them about not receiving FOOD NETWORK MAGAZINE. They need to read the complaint again. The original subscription was paid in April 2013.