Philadelphia Newspapers

December 17, 2015
[redacted]
6034
Kershaw Street
Philadelphia,
PA  19151
 Re:  Revdex.com Complaint [redacted]
Dear
[redacted]:
I
sincerely apologize for any inconvenience you experienced with your
subscription to The Philadelphia...

Inquirer. 
(Account  #[redacted]).
Our
records show that an account was slated to start for an 8-week subscription to
The Philadelphia Sunday Inquirer (along with a $10 Gift Card Bonus upon signup)
on December 20th at the following address: 
[redacted]      [redacted] Philadelphia, PA  [redacted]
12/13/15           A subscription payment of $12 was processed
to the credit card number you provided at the time of the sale.
12/15/15           You placed a call to cancel your
subscription.  Our customer service
representative immediately processed the cancellation with a refund request of
$10 to your credit card.    
It
takes approximately 2 weeks to process refunds so you should see a credit of
$10 appear on your credit card statement by 12/30/15. 
Rest
assured that we are following up with our vendor to better understand what may
have been misinterpreted at the point of sale. 
If I can be of further assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact me
at [redacted].         
Sincerely,
Lori
D[redacted]
Customer
Service Manager,
The
Philadelphia Inquirer & Daily News
cc:        [redacted]        Revdex.com
serving Metro Washington DC & Eastern Pennsylvania                 1411
K St. NW, 10th Floor
     Washington,
DC 20005-3404

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
 The reply requests a copy of the cancellation email. As I stated in my initial complaint, Johnathan whom identified himself as a supervisor stated during our conversation on 9/12/17 that the Inquirer doesn't send out emails to confirm cancellations. What email is Lori requesting from me ? The reply also states that my account doesn't reflect a cancellation. Jonathan stated that he had completed my cancellation and would be refunding by last payment. I did not receive a paper since this conversation so obviously my service has been cancelled. Of course I haven't received the refund as stated by Jonathan. I also asked Jonathan to forward me to his supervisor, he immediately replied that his supervisor was not available but would call me back that day. It is 14 days later and I still have not received the call from his supervisor.  Its also amazing that you can not cancel a subscription in writing via email. This is a convenient way for the Inquirer to say that I didn't call last October to cancel the subscription, which I did in early October. Most companies require communication in written form to cancel service. I expect a refund a full refund as requested in my original complaint within 10 days of this reply.  If it is not received, I will be forced to dispute the charges with my bank on 10/11/17.
Regards,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I want to thank Lori for her response and actions.  Moving forward, after this is finalized, I will reconsider subscribing again with the Inquirer.   I certainly appreciate Lori's professionalism and response.  Please either withdraw this complaint or mark it satisfactorily resolved.  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
Regards,
[redacted]

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
Unfortunately, it wasn't a simple misunderstanding. It was a vendor of yours intentionally misleading to meet his sales obligations. While I would normally chalk it up as a lesson learned, there are two complications. 1) I never received your paper. It was never, not once, delivered. I've bought the Sunday paper at cover price off the shelf during that time period. I would certainly not have wasted the money if I had a paper already delivered to my home. This whole experience is leaving a bad taste in my mouth as someone who has invested way more in your papers (Daily and Inqy)  than the refund I am requesting, and who had a tradition of buying your paper from the newsstand every morning passed down from generation to generation. 2) The initials agreeing to purchase the subscription and to automatic renewal are not mine. I brought the discrepancy to your attention in my last correspondence. This is also true of the writing in the address field above. The "W" particularly stands out in the street name, and was first to catch my attention, as I never loop my Ws. I use sharp angles for my Ws and Ms. But that's less concerning than the initials by the agreement to subscribe. No one has any reason to be initialing there except me. Again, I would normally chalk it up to a lesson learned in not trusting certain people, but that I have never received an issue coupled with evidence of the forged initials by the agreement to subscribe and automatically renew won't let me, in good conscience, just let it go. It wasn't a misunderstanding but a deliberate deception and forgery.  Regards,
[redacted]

BUREAU OF CONSUMER PROTECTION21 South 12th Street/2nd FloorPhiladelphia, PA  19107BCP-[redacted] Gloucester City, NJ  [redacted]Dear [redacted]: I sincerely apologize for the issues you have experienced with your subscription to The Philadelphia...

Inquirer.  (Account #[redacted]).Our records indicate that you signed up for an 8-week auto renew subscription to The Philadelphia Inquirer for $12 which came with a complimentary $10 Gift Card upon signup.  Your subscription began on January 16 and payment has been processed on the credit card you supplied to the sales person at the Kiosk at the time of the sale.  Your subscription was recently cancelled when you called our Customer Service Department on October 9.    Rest assured that I will follow up with our Vendor manager regarding your order.  While the goal of our sales representatives is to secure new subscriptions to The Philadelphia Inquirer or Daily News, we certainly do not condone or tolerate any inaccuracies or misrepresentations on the part of the sales representatives who secure the order.  I have processed a full refund request for total amount charged to your credit card of $81.06.  Please allow 2 weeks for processing.  Also in a gesture of sincere apology, please retain and use the $10 Gift card provided to you at the time of sale.         If I can be of further assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact me at [redacted].      Sincerely,Lori D[redacted]Customer Service Manager,The Philadelphia Inquirer & Daily News

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: that is not my handwriting in the field agreeing to purchase the subscription, where it asks to please initial. My signature is at the bottom in the customer signature field. That is my handwriting there. Not above. I suspect that the agent who signed me up filled in the information for a subscription having given me the impression that I was signing up for the gift card. If you look at the "*" for the signature at the bottom and the "*" in the initials section agreeing to the subscription, they are completely different. So is the "*" for my last name. The handwriting is clearly different. The initials for my first and last name are the most prominent part of my signature and can easily be contrasted against the initials agreeing to recurring subscription above. At most I should have been charged a one-time fee of $5, not the recurring fee agreed to by whoever initialed in my place for the recurring subscription. Furthermore, I was informed the day that I filed my Revdex.com complaint that the reason no one had contacted me was because they had not been able to contact the deliverer to verify that I received the paper. It is rather suspicious that this confirmation would have come within the last couple of days, only after I contacted the Revdex.com, though this issue had been brought to their attention a month ago, and I've called and requested updates throughout that duration. 
Regards,
[redacted]

December 15, 2015
[redacted] [redacted] 
[redacted]
New Hope, PA [redacted]
Re:  Revdex.com Complaint [redacted]
Dear
[redacted]:
I
sincerely apologize for any inconvenience you experienced with newspaper delivery
to your home address.    
Our
records show that there are no...

active accounts in our system for [redacted] in New Hope.  I have notified our
field personnel to stop all deliveries to your address immediately.
If I can be of further assistance, please
don’t hesitate to contact me directly at ###-###-####.         
Sincerely,
Lori
D[redacted]
Customer
Service Manager,
The
Philadelphia Inquirer & Daily News
cc:        [redacted]
    Revdex.com
serving Metro Washington DC & Eastern Pennsylvania
            1411
K St. NW, 10th Floor
    Washington,
DC 20005-3404

September 23, 2014
[redacted]
[redacted]
[redacted]   [redacted]
Dear [redacted]: 
I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience you experienced with The Philadelphia Inquirer.   
Our records indicate that you previously received a four-week free sample of the Sunday Inquirer.  There is no charge for our free sample program and you will not receive a bill.
In addition, we have removed your information from our call solicitation as well as mailing lists so you shouldn’t receive any further offers from our company. 
Again, I apologize for any misunderstanding or inconvenience you may have experienced.  Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.      
Sincerely,
Lori D[redacted]
Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News
Customer Service Manager
Cc:  [redacted]

[redacted]
*
*
[redacted]
*
[redacted] Please allow me to apologize for the delivery issues you have experienced with your home delivery subscription to The Philadelphia...

Inquirer (Account # [redacted]  I am deeply troubled that this issue has caused inconvenience to you, our valued customer, and I have checked into your complaint.  I see credit was applied to your account for missed deliveries on 3 separate occasions – 03/26/17 for $1.50, 04/05/17 for $5.00 and again on 04/08/17 for $1.50.  Your account was stopped on 04/16/17 for poor service and a refund of $12 was processed to your credit card on 05/09/17.I am sorry we were not able to resolve your delivery issues to your satisfaction.  We regret losing you as a subscriber.  Should you decide to give us another opportunity to rectify the situation, I’d like to offer you 4 weeks of Sunday delivery free of charge.     I hope you will consider allowing us the opportunity to provide the level of service you expect and deserve. You are important to us!   If I can do anything else to ensure your future satisfaction, please contact me directly at [redacted] Again, I apologize for the inconvenience you have experienced with your subscription.[redacted]
*Sincerely Lori D[redacted]
*
[redacted]
      [redacted]
      [redacted]      [redacted]

March 13, 2015
Mr. [redacted]
class="MsoNormal">[redacted]
Pottstown, PA  19464
RE:  BCP [redacted]
Dear Mr. [redacted]:
I apologize for any misunderstanding with your Inquirer
Account #[redacted]. 
Your account history indicates that you have been a
subscriber with us since March 19, 2011 and have been paying regular
subscription renewal notices from 2011 until recently when your account was
stopped for non-payment on 01/25/15. 
Our Inquirer subscription policy states that all
subscriptions renew automatically unless we are notified otherwise that you
would like to cancel your subscription.  This
policy is listed in the newspaper as well as on all our sales material and the
reverse side of the subscriber bill you have been receiving. 
I apologize if you were unaware of our renewal policy and I
will credit out the remaining balance of $13.33 on your account.
We are sorry to lose you as a subscriber.  I hope you reconsider giving us another try.  I’d like to offer you a special discounted
rate of $1 per week for Sunday Home Delivery. 
If you would like to take advantage of this offer, please call our
Customer Service Department at ###-###-####.
I apologize for any inconvenience.  Please let us know if we can be of further
assistance in resolving this issue to your satisfaction.    
Thank you.
Lori D[redacted]
The Philadelphia
Inquirer Customer Service
Cc:  [redacted]
      c/o [redacted]
      [redacted]
      Philadelphia, PA  19107

Hi **. [redacted]:I sincerely apologize for any misunderstanding
with your subscription to The Philadelphia Inquirer.  As
part of our terms and conditions, all subscriptions renew automatically unless
you contact Customer Service to cancel.  Information
regarding your subscription and...

our policy can be found in the disclaimer
language of all new subscription promotional material, on the back side of our
subscriber bills, in the information box on page A4 of the Inquirer print
edition as well as in the Subscription Terms and conditions on our website:  http://www.philly.com/philly/about/subscribe/Print_and_Digital_Subsc...⇄ completion of a billing period, delivery and billing
will continue, unless the subscriber contacts The Philadelphia Inquirer/Daily
News to cancel delivery by calling ###-###-####.  Our policy mirrors that of many other service
provider companies:  cable, electric,
water, trash disposal etc. in which your service continues unless you contact
the provider to discontinue or cancel. 
Most companies also allow for a courtesy “grace period” in which they
will continue to provide your service without payment for a certain period of
time.  This period accommodates an
occasional delayed payment due to forgetfulness, vacation or any life event
that may periodically interfere with making an on time payment.         Our vacation policy changed about 2 years
ago.  This information can also be found in the print edition and our
online terms and conditions.  With the advancement of digital technology –
subscription packages include access to our comprehensive news content available
in both print and digital format.  While print delivery may be suspended
for vacation, your news content continues to be readily available and
accessible 24 x 7 – from anywhere, at any time through your laptop, PC or smart
phone.  This has become a standard in the publishing industry as more
subscribers are consuming their information “on the go” as they travel to and
from work, while on vacation or even out of the country.   It has
become a necessary convenience and an invaluable part of our subscription
package for a majority of our subscribers. 
I am sorry you were unable to take advantage of your subscription
digitally.    In lieu of cancellation notification, The
Inquirer continues to incur expenses for printing, distribution and home
delivery of the paper.  Therefore it is
not our normal practice to issue a refund while service was provided.  However, noting you have been a long term
valued customer, I will make an exception and am refunding your most recent payment
of $104.67 along with vacation credits totaling:  $32.22 for a refund total of $136.89.  Please expect to see the refund within 2-4
weeks.  I would also like to reassure you
there hasn’t been any negative reporting against your credit.Vacation charges for the past 2 years:08/22/15 –
08/30/15          $10.6403/20/16 –
03/26/16          $  8.5608/23/16 –
09/01/16          $13.02Total:                                 ⇄ /> $32.22I am sincerely sorry to lose you as a
subscriber.  If you change your mind or
reconsider subscribing sometime in the future, please let me know.  We have a special rate available for
returning subscribers.Thank you.Lori
D.Customer Service Manger

Hi [redacted]:I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience you
experienced with your subscription to The Philadelphia Inquirer and with the
issues on our automated system.    Information regarding our subscription cancellation
policy can be found in the disclaimer language of all new...

subscription
promotional material, on the back side of our subscriber bills, in the
information box on page A4 of the Inquirer print edition as well as in the
Subscription Terms and Conditions on our website:  philly.com/printterms.Subscription Changes and Cancellations.  Unless stated
otherwise in your subscription offer, you have the right to change or cancel
your subscription at any time by calling our Customer Service Department at:
[redacted]. Our Customer Service representatives are available from 7 a.m.
until 1 p.m. seven days a week.  Your
cancellation will be effective at the end of the billing cycle in effect at the
time you cancel.  Cancellations communicated by e-mail, or through
commenting on our site, are not valid and will not result in the cancellation
of your subscription. Our cancellation policy mirrors that of many
other service provider companies in which standard cancellation procedures
require direct contact with the consumer. 
It is important for several reasons: 
To verify your identity as the account holder and to gain valuable
insight into what you think about our product or service which is critical for
improving services and content for our customers.  Your account does not reflect a
cancellation.  If you would kindly
provide the email confirmation of your cancellation, I would be happy to refund
the charges.  You can forward the email
correspondence directly to me at [redacted]@phillynews.com  I am sincerely sorry for any discrepancies with
your account.  If I can be of further
assistance, please feel free to contact me directly at [redacted].   Thank you.Lori
D.Customer Service Manger

August 28, 2015Dear [redacted]:I apologize for any inconvenience
you have experienced with your Sunday Philadelphia Inquirer subscription - Account
#[redacted].  You have been a subscriber
with us since September 8, 2013 at which time you signed up for a special
promotion with one of our...

Kiosk vendors offering a $10 gift card in exchange
for a recurring subscription to The Sunday Philadelphia Inquirer.  A copy of that agreement with your signature
is attached.    Every call into customer
service requires that our representatives enter a corresponding transaction on
a subscriber’s account so we can keep a running history of interactions with
our customers – general account activity, payments, vacations and a record of
any issues they may be experiencing. 
Your account shows no record of inquiries over the past two years
complaining of delivery issues, requesting to cancel service or to stop the
recurring account charges until recently when you called to stop service on 07/12/15
requesting a full refund of $142.20.  According to the terms of
agreement our field personnel have verified regular delivery without
interruption to the home delivery address on file: [redacted]. Since we
have no record of any communication from you and have incurred the cost of
delivering the newspaper during the past 2 years, I cannot justify refunding
the $142.20 as requested.  We can however,
as a gesture of good will credit half that amount back to your credit
card.    Please be advised that your
account has been cancelled effective 07/12/15 and your information has been
removed from our solicitations calling lists. 
A refund in the amount of $71.10 will be processed back to the credit
card on file ending with the last 4 digits [redacted].  You can expect to see the refund appear on
your credit card statement within the next 2-3 weeks. Thank you.Lori DCustomer Service Manager

November
15, 2015
 BUREAU
OF CONSUMER PROTECTION
21
South 12th Street/2nd Floor
Philadelphia,
PA  19107
BCP-[redacted]
Dear
[redacted]:
I
sincerely apologize for the issues you have experienced with your subscription
to The Philadelphia Inquirer. ...

(Account  #[redacted]).
Your
initial subscription began on Sunday, March 22 and came with a $10 Gift Card
upon signup.  Our records indicate that you
called on 3/22, 3/29 and 4/5 complaining of no delivery and we issued $6 in service
credits for the missed papers.  We also
contacted our delivery personnel to ensure the issues you experienced were
corrected.
Since
that time we have received no additional complaints regarding poor service or
missed delivery.  Our records further indicate
that on 11/15/15 you called to cancel your subscription due to poor service.
As
a customer courtesy, we will process your $36 refund request.  You should see this credit appear on your credit
card statement within 2-3 weeks.   
If
I can be of further assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact me at
[redacted].      
Sincerely,
Lori
D[redacted]
Customer
Service Manager,
The
Philadelphia Inquirer & Daily News

Dear Mr. Rome:I apologize for the late delivery you have experienced with your subscription to The Philadelphia Inquirer. I will follow up with our field personnel to ensure this issue is addressed.  You should receive a call from our home delivery manager in the next day or two....

 Please note that target delivery time is 6:30 am weekdays and 8:00 am on weekends.  On occasion we run into press issues which delay timing of the paper to the warehouses, and in turn effect the time you receive delivery to your home address.  But this is the occasion and not the norm, so I can appreciate your frustration with this ongoing delivery problem.  I have credited your account $25 for the poor service and inconvenience you have experienced.  I hope you will give us the opportunity to provide the level of service you expect and deserve.  You are important to us! If I can do anything else to ensure your future satisfaction, please contact our Customer Service Supervisory line at ###-###-####.Sincerely, Lori D. Customer Service Manager

December 17, 2015
class="MsoPlainText">[redacted]
6034
Kershaw Street
Philadelphia,
PA  19151
 
Re:  Revdex.com Complaint [redacted]
Dear
[redacted]:
I
sincerely apologize for any inconvenience you experienced with your
subscription to The Philadelphia Inquirer. 
(Account  #[redacted]).
Our
records show that an account was slated to start for an 8-week subscription to
The Philadelphia Sunday Inquirer (along with a $10 Gift Card Bonus upon signup)
on December 20th at the following address: 
[redacted]      [redacted] Philadelphia, PA  [redacted]
12/13/15           A subscription payment of $12 was processed
to the credit card number you provided at the time of the sale.
12/15/15           You placed a call to cancel your
subscription.  Our customer service
representative immediately processed the cancellation with a refund request of
$10 to your credit card.    
It
takes approximately 2 weeks to process refunds so you should see a credit of
$10 appear on your credit card statement by 12/30/15. 
Rest
assured that we are following up with our vendor to better understand what may
have been misinterpreted at the point of sale. 
If I can be of further assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact me
at [redacted].         
Sincerely,
Lori
D[redacted]
Customer
Service Manager,
The
Philadelphia Inquirer & Daily News
cc:        [redacted]
       Revdex.com
serving Metro Washington DC & Eastern Pennsylvania
                 1411
K St. NW, 10th Floor
     Washington,
DC 20005-3404

Review: I am writing a complaint about The Phila., Inquirer's fraudulent activity. I went to a [redacted] (**) to purchase food. AFTER making my purchase a man approached me saying I forgot my free girt card. I looked confused and he told me that I could sign up for a free subscription to the Inquirer and get a free gift card to **. All he needed to see was ID and a [redacted] logo. I showed those to him. Next thing I know, he swiped my [redacted] card. I said "Whoa, why did you swipe my card"? It was not until THEN that he mentioned that it would be $5 for a FREE gift card of $10 (which is really a $5 gift card since they are taking $5 from me). I immediately called the number (###-###-####) on the paper he gave me to cancel and get my refund. I called at least 5 times since that day (8/9/13) and each time I called, I was told to call back because my account has not come through yet but that I WILL be receiving my $5 back.

I called back today and an incompetent worker and her incompetent supervisor refused to listen to my story and kept saying "OK, but you got a gift card". I kept repeating that I was assured that I would get my refund and that I did not use the card and got rid of it since I have no intentions on using it. The inquirer is not an honest company and I want my money back, please.Desired Settlement: I want my $5 refunded back to my debit/[redacted] card.

Business

Response:

Hello:

We have a subscription form on file with complete address and credit card information provided by [redacted]. [redacted]. The account was stopped immediately per [redacted]. [redacted]' request and the credit card was never charged for the $5 since the account was stopped.

If I can be of further assistance, please let me know. Thank you.

Philadelphia Inquirer & Daily News Customer Service

Consumer

Response:

This is what I was trying to confirm all along; that my account would be canceled and that I would not be charged the $5.00 as I was led to believe in the beginning. Unfortunately, when I called to cancle, I was being told otherwise. I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 9670141, and find that--as long as I am not being charged--this resolution is satisfactory to me.

Regards,

Review: The Philadelphia Inquirer began delivering the Sunday edition 2 weeks ago, which was not requested or orderded by us. We first thought they just delivered to the wrong address, but after receiving the second delivery we realized they were forcing their product upon us without our concent. This is the THIRD time they have done this - delivering their paper that was not ordered by us, just to increase their circulation. Then they bill us for the paper 3-4 weeks into the delivery time. We are tired of dealing with this and having to make time to stop delivery of the paper and having to argue with the circulation department about it. Please do something to resolve this problem once and for all, if you could, please.Desired Settlement: We want them to take us off of their marketing list and stop delivering their paper to us. We also have no intention of paying for the two Sunday editions which they have delivered, and which we have not ordered.

Business

Response:

September 23, 2014

Review: I am writing this complaint about the continuing delivery problems by the Philadelphia InquirerSo far this month(January),I have had two late deliveries of my Philadelphia Inquirer.The first on Saturday January 11,when my Saturday daily paper and the back half of my Sunday Inquirer were not delivered until 8:AM,two to three hours later than it should have been and again today(January 24,2014)when it was not delivered until 6:45AM one hour later than it should have beenThere appears to be an ongoing problem with the carrier making the deliveries at the proper time that the carrier is supposed to be making the deliveriesThis is an unacceptable situationThis does not make any sense since for example every day this week(January 20-23)my paper was out on my driveway between 5AM and 6AMI was told by phone by one of your customer service representatives on Saturday January 11,that I would be given a full explanation for thisI have not received any explanation so far.Desired Settlement: I would like an explanation of why this problem continues to occur and I feel for the amount of money I am paying($228.80) per year for seven days a week delivery I should be getting priority deliveryI am willing to discuss this with the Circulation managerThank you
Business
Response:
?
January 31,
Dear **[redacted]:
Please let me apologize for the late delivery time you experienced with your home delivery subscription to The Philadelphia Inquirer
We are deeply troubled that this issue has caused inconvenience to you, our valued customer, and have looked into your complaintWe are following up with our home delivery staff to ensure you receive your paper within our guaranteed delivery window of 6:am
daily and 8:am on the weekends
Please accept the enclosed $[redacted] Gift Card for the inconvenience we have caused
I hope you will give us the opportunity to provide the level of service you expect and deserveYou are important to us! If I can do anything else to ensure your future satisfaction, please contact our Customer Service Supervisory line at ###-###-####
Sincerely,