Initial Business Response /* (1000, 10, 2015/07/31) */
I am so sorry, I was positive that we had responded to this oneThis was given to the Verification Manager and the Distributor for the product was instructed to check to make sure it was not deliveredThe address was already marked as no TCV
delivery and the NO TCV List was checked and the address was also on itIf this is an apartment, TCV would not be delivered to the door and the building management company would have to request no delivery
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 12, 2015/08/09) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
We still got the T/C values paper on august 1st & the 8thOn the 8th I had to run down the block to catch up to the delivery person, I asked her if I was on the " no more delivery" listShe said, " NoI was not on the list,and it was not her fault."
I said, "I understand that." She said," She would take me off the delivery list."
Let me be clear: I am the owner and the manager of said duplexI live in one of the unitsNeither I or my tenant want the TCV newspaperI am still requesting "no delivery" to both addressesI do not want it delivered to the door, to the steps, to the sidewalk, to the blvd, to the lawn, to the bushes, nor in trees, or anywhere on my property, or in front of my property
The bottom line is this: I do not really care where the breach of communication happens, whether it is customer service reps, supervisors, managers, the Verification manager, the Distributor of the product, or the delivery peopleJust fix itIf you have to retrain or fire someone, then do soI am tired of playing semanticsOn April 5, Easter Sunday, I pleasantly and respectfully requested "no delivery"It is now weeks laterJust stop itSTOP DELIVERING THE TCV NEWSPAPERS!!!!!!!!
Final Business Response /* (4000, 14, 2015/08/17) */
The Verification Manager continues to work with the Distributor to make them stop the deliveryIt is on the DO NOT DELIVER TCV list, but the Distributor is not communicating and when he runs delivery lists, this address will not be on it
Star Tribune Acct: # *** Dear Mr***: We are in receipt of your complaint regarding the non-delivery of your new subscription and continued auto payment on your credit cardWe apologize that you needed to take this to the Revdex.com for resolution.
Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention Upon review of your account, we see that you started a13-week, 7-day print subscription from a digital offer via the internet on March 10, 2016. You paid with a credit card and chose auto-pay for future payments. The account also shows no calls about missed papers or that the subscription did not start from you until September 21, 2016. The account also shows credit card auto-payments posted on 6/30/16, 7/11/16, 8/12/16, and 9/16/16. There were also no calls about continued credit card charges. We would have corrected the issue immediately if we had known about it After receiving the complaint to the Revdex.com and reviewing your account, we immediately contacted the Distributor in Mankato. They found that they had mistakenly started delivery for a New York Times subscription rather than a Star Tribune subscriptionI understand that the Distributor contacted you and has started delivery of the Star Tribune effective 9/27/16. I also understand that Scott ***, our State Operations Manager, also followed up with you and gave you his direct number for any future issues We have credited your account for all the missed papers, so you are starting out with a balance of $(the amount that has been charged to your credit card) per your request. We also removed you from auto pay, so you will not see any credit card charges. Please let us know if you have any delivery issues right away, so we can correct them Again, our sincere apologies for failed-to-start delivery and continued credit card charges. Thank you for bringing this to our attention and subscribing to the Star Tribune. Sincerely, Arden *** Senior Vice President, Circulation
T
Dear Mr***:
We are in receipt of your complaint regarding the continued delivery and billing beyond the expiration date of your subscription and being sent to collectionsWe apologize that you needed to take this to the Revdex.com for resolution.
First,
it is important you understand all Star Tribune invoices advise that service and billing do not automatically stop at the end of the subscription term and that the subscriber should contact the Star Tribune if they wish to stop their subscription. We provide this grace period as a courtesy to our subscribers to prevent an unnecessary interruption in their delivery should their payment be sent after the due date. This information is also noted on all marketing communications including direct mail, kiosk sales forms, and website solicitations for new subscribers.
As a one-time courtesy, we have written off the past due balance of $and will pull the account from further collections activity. We apologize for any for any misunderstanding or inconvenience that this issue caused you. We look forward to having you rejoin us as a subscriber in the near future
Please be aware that the Star Tribune does not report past due accounts for newspaper delivery to the credit bureaus, so you do not have to worry about your credit rating on this transaction
Sincerely,
Arden ***
Senior Vice President, Circulation
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/09/08) */
Acct
*** ***
***
Cedar, MN
This will confirm that Ms*** called and canceled her subscription on 6/2/She paid the balance due via credit cardHer account was perm stopped as of 6/4/
It has no balance owing on it
Any papers received after this date was due to the mis-delivery by the Distributor and there is no amount due
I'm sorry for any concerns that you have had over this issue
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 7, 2015/09/09) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.The response from John *** at the Star Tribune was prompt and gracious. He has followed through and the daily newspaper delivery has resumedI am more that satisfied with the results. *** ***
Dear Mrs***: We are in receipt of your complaint regarding the “blasting” music from the carrier’s vehicle that often wakes you up in the middle of the nightWe apologize that you needed to take this to the Revdex.com for resolution. Thank you for bringing
this issue to our attentionWe contacted the Distributor for your area regarding the ongoing noise issue by the carrier. You noted that after complaining, it will be quiet for a while and then the music is back to blastingWe made it clear that the “no blasting music” had to be a permanent change, not temporary as in the past. I understand that Jeff ***, our Director of Home Delivery Operations, contacted you to make sure that the mornings are again quiet. Jeff will continue working with the Distributor and carrier to make sure they understand that this is a permanent change, and the blasting radio is not acceptable when delivering papers in the early morning hours in any residential area. Please contact us directly if there is another noise problem Again, we are sorry for the loss of sleep and stress this has caused you. Also, that the problem was not permanently fixed after the first complaint Sincerely, Arden *** Senior Vice President, Circulation
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2016/01/07) */
Dear Mr***:
I'm sorry you needed to take your complaint to the Revdex.comPerhaps some background as to why we recently changed our vacation policy may better help you understand why we implemented this changeAlso,
written communication was sent to all subscribers using vacation holds in October 2014, prior to the policy change
Each and every week the Star Tribune processes more than 6,vacation stops and a like amount of vacation restartsWith each stop, numerous departments in the Company are impactedThis includes the call center, the production department, and Fleet transportation personnelThis also creates a big strain on our carriers and increases variances in their route lists every dayThe continuance of billing for the first seven days of a vacation stop is a "processing fee" to cover the costs of having to stop and restart so many accounts each and every weekI am certain that if you disconnected your cable TV service for a vacation period, they would most assuredly charge a "reactivation fee" upon your returnThe same would be true for your power company, your telephone service, etc
Interestingly, about 75% of our subscribers do not stop their paper for vacation during any given yearThat means the almost 13,vacation stops and restarts we get each week are coming from only 25% of our subscribers, some of which stop and restart their subscription many times each yearTaking these effects into consideration, we felt this program change seemed fairer than passing on a price increase to all of our subscribers to cover the cost for vacation stops and restarts
Finally, most major metropolitan newspapers have changed their vacation policy to one of no credit for any stopped vacation days; we drew the line at days for each stop believing that this was an appropriate charge for the handling of a vacation stop
I hope this additional explanation at least helps you understand why we made this changeThank you for subscribing to the Star Tribune
Sincerely,
Arden ***
Senior Vice President, Circulation
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 10, 2016/01/12) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Let's go over your January 7th response line by line"You are sorry that I needed to take my complaint to the Revdex.com", I did so because the Star Tribune representative I spoke to on the phone, for most minutes, was unwilling to tell me what individual or group of individuals were responsible for this policy change so that I may talk to them directlyTo simply state that it was "Star Tribune Policy", was not adequate
As for the last line of the first paragraph, I was not complaining about not being notified, I was complaining about the content/substance of the policy, and how the wording of the policy/notification was not written in a straight forward manner but a manner to purposefully misdirect/confuse the subscriber(Note, you did not address my claim as to the writing style used in describing this new policy, which is overly complicated, lending itself to be misinterpreted upon initial readingI believe that this tact was taken in an effort to reduce initial criticism and postpone the correct understanding of the policy until after the fact, when it is learned that a "credit" had not been applied.)
Your second paragraph describing some of the "background" has some questionable logic/comparisonsSo every week you process over 6,vacation stops and startsThe numbers must have been much greater in years past, prior to your policy change as your circulation has been dropping with more and more people now getting their news digitallySo it was a decrease in vacation holds that has resulted in this new policy?
I also question the claim that the processing of a vacation hold creates a big strain on your carriersFor one, the stress must be less today than it was years ago when you had higher circulation and I assume equal to or larger amount of vacation hold requestIn addition, as I stated in my original complaint, today the hold process is mostly computerizedI online choose the time period for which I want my paper held, and then I'm assuming the computer generates a daily list for each driver letting them know which customer gets a paper each day and which one doesn'tThere should be no other humans involved in this processThere is not a line of individuals applying mailing labels to each paper, making sure that each paper gets to the assigned driver and that each subscribed customers paper is delivered into their personal tubeSo what excessive costs are now being incurred that require this new processing fee? And then to compare a newspaper hold to placing your utilities on hold is a bit of a stretchYour deliver driver drives by my mail box every day whether they put a paper in the tube or notTo have the power/phone/cable physically disconnected requires a special trip by the utility company to either your property or to a switching station to physically disconnect your service, and then later reconnectYour comparisons are not validPerhaps you should compare your newspaper deliver hold to US Mail hold which cost the user nothing
As to your third paragraph, again one must assume that the numbers you present are less than what the numbers were in years past as a result of your drop in circulation so I don't see how any of this justifies your new October policy
Your 4th paragraph drawing a comparison to other major metropolitan newspaper and their practices, I don't know how prevalent this practice may be but as your mother used to say, "Just because the neighbor kid jumps off the roof, are you going to too?"
No, I'm afraid that your response has not provided a practical justification for your newly instituted policyIt still appears that you have decided to charge for something which historically has not been charged for, at a time when any related cost(s) for the performance of said action is actually less today, thanks to computerization, than pervious
*** ***
Big Lake, MN
Final Business Response /* (4000, 12, 2016/01/13) */
Dear Mr***,
Thank you again for taking the time to share your thoughtsGiven your history of starting and stopping your subscription up to times a year, I can understand why you would not be happy with the new policyNevertheless, we implemented this policy after much discussion and researchNow, with months of actual experience with it, we still believe it was the right business decision and do not intend to change it
Sincerely,
Arden ***
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2016/02/16) */
Dear Mr***:
We are in receipt of your complaint regarding the continued delivery and billing past the expire date of your newspaper delivery and being sent to collectionsWe apologize that you needed to take this to the RevDex.com for resolution
First, it is important you understand all Star Tribune invoices advise that service and billing do not automatically stop at the end of the subscription term and that the subscriber should contact the Star Tribune if they wish to stop their subscriptionWe provide this grace period as a courtesy to our subscribers to prevent an unnecessary interruption in their delivery should their payment be sent after the due dateThis information is also noted on all marketing communications including but not limited to direct mail, kiosk sales forms, and website solicitations for new subscribers
Upon reviewing your account, we see you and your wife have been Star Tribune subscribers since You agree that you received the papers past the expire date, but did not call to cancel your subscriptionAll invoices clearly stated that the customer needed to call to stop deliveryRenewal invoices were sent to you on 4/26/(three weeks prior to the latest expire date), 5/31/2015, 6/28/and a final invoice on 8/13/when delivery was stopped for non-paymentA customer service rep also tried to call you on 7/1/and 8/3/2015--leaving a voicemail regarding your account both timesYour accounts show that you have been in grace during prior subscription periods and had past due balances written offBased on the above, we would not have known you were not renewing without you contacting us and that you knew about the continued delivery and billing policy
As a one-courtesy, we have written all but the $that you offered to pay for papers delivered off the past due balance and pulled the account from collections
The Star Tribune does not report past due accounts for newspaper delivery to the credit bureaus, so you do not have to worry about your credit rating on this transaction
Sincerely,
Arden ***
Senior Vice President, Circulation
Star Tribune Acct: # *** Dear Mr***: We are in receipt of your complaint regarding receipt of unwanted Star TribuneWe apologize that you needed to take this to the Revdex.com for resolution
again. We contacted the Distributor in your area requesting that no Star Tribune product is delivered to your address going forward. He personally went to your address to make notes on the route list for the new carrier to ensure he delivers the Star Tribune to the correct address next door and not to your address. He personally checked delivery on Tuesday to make sure it was correct. He will continue to monitor and emphasize that no paper should be delivered to your address. We also confirmed this with the Distributor of our StribExpress product in your area again. We are just as frustrated as you are and continue to take the steps to make sure you do not receive any further delivery of these products Again, I’m very sorry for any inconvenience this has caused you. Sincerely, Arden *** Senior Vice President, Circulation
We are in receipt of your complaint to the Revdex.com regarding trouble canceling your subscription via phone, email, and mail with no success. We apologize that you needed to take this to the Revdex.com for resolution After reviewing your account, I see the
following activity: - 4/24/17 Subscription was perm stopped based on written message on your renewal invoice - 5/15/17 I received a copy of your complaint from our Burnsville News location where it was sent - 5/16/17 I wrote off the outstanding balance of $ I apologize for the issues you have contacting the Star Tribune. Your written cancellation on the invoice was received and processed. As a one-time courtesy the past due balance was written off your account. Thank you for trying the Star Tribune
I am rejecting this response because:
I would at the minimum expect a phone call from someone business to discuss this on going issue and provide a solution to the problemWe have heard and received the statements in the response provided many timesThe very least they could do is call you back!
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/06/30) */
We are vary sorry that you needed to take this issue to the Revdex.comI reviewed your account and it has been paid off since 3/17/I contacted the Customer Service Manager to have her make sure thta the account was pulled from collections and
requested they write a letter to you confirmed that he had been pulled
We apologize that this was not done immediately and for the error on our part
As part of our apology, I have credited your print Sunday-only account for the half of the digital payment that you madeThank you for being a Star Tribune customer
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 7, 2015/07/01) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
*** ***
*** *** *** ** *** ***
Plymouth, MN
Re: Revdex.com ID: ***
Star Tribune Acct: # ***
Dear Ms***:
We are in
receipt of your complaint regarding continued delivery and billing to your former address after you had moved. We regret being unable to resolve this problem more expeditiously.
Unfortunately, your request to stop service at *** *** *** *** *** was not received. We continued to send invoices to your former address requesting payment or action on your part. In the absence of this information, the account automatically defaulted to collections once the grace period was exceeded and your service stopped
This said, we do understand that you had moved to a new address and were unaware that newspapers were still being deliveredWe trust that you attempted to stop service and that continued service was inadvertent. As a one-time courtesy, we have written off the past due balance of $and will cease any further collection activity. The Star Tribune does not report past due accounts for newspaper delivery to the credit bureaus, so you do not have to worry about any adverse impact on your credit rating as a result
I am sorry for the inconvenience caused by this misunderstanding. We look forward to your continued readership in the future
Sincerely,
Arden ***
Senior Vice President, Circulation
Re: Revdex.com Complaint Case #*** Star Tribune Acct*** (*** ***) Star Tribune Acct*** (***
***) Dear Mr& Mrs***: We are in receipt of your complaint regarding missed Sunday Star Tribune papersWe apologize that you needed to take this to the Revdex.com for resolution. First, our apology for not responding to the complaint sooner. We have experienced problems receiving Revdex.com complaints since their upgrade in March. Thank you for bringing this to our attention. In researching the complaint, we found that there were two Sunday-only subscriptions for your address: one under ***’s name that was started via the internet on 1/24/16, and one under ***’s name that was started via the internet on 5/22/15. The missed complaints were divided between the two accounts. Mrs***, we have stopped your account and are refunding the full amount that you paid. You should see a credit on your credit card in a few daysMr***, we made sure that your account was credited for all the missed papers and redeliveries that you did not receive. We contacted the Distributor regarding your missed papers. He said that he has personally delivered your paper and redeliveries to your apartment building. However, he does not have access to the building and has to leave the paper outside the locked door. It appears that you may have a theft problem at the building. Without having access to the building, we can only suggest you try to retrieve the paper early. The Distributor is also trying to find another solutionAgain, we are sorry for an inconvenience this has caused you. Thank you for being a Star Tribune subscriberSincerely, Arden *** Senior Vice President, Circulation
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/09/30) */
Ms***:
Thank you for your time for our telephone conversations regarding the gift subscription to your daughter at collegeAfter more research and contact with the Distributor and our IT department, we finally discovered the
disconnectThe subscription was active in our system, but not in the Distributors because when it was input, it was routed incorrectly--sent to the wrong distributorThis has been corrected and your daughter should receive her paper Sunday paper with no problem going forwardI have also placed and extra weeks credit on the accountThank you for being a loyal Star Tribune subscriber
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2016/03/02) */
Dear Mr***:
We are in receipt of your complaint regarding late Star Tribune papers, missing inserts, and papers in parts--not complete papersYou also had one week when the Wall Street Journal was not deliveredWe apologize that you
needed to take this to the Revdex.com for resolution
Thank you for bringing this to our attention and following up with my assistant Cindy ***She immediately contacted the Distributor for your area about the poor condition of the four papers delivered to the business Monday thru Friday, the missing inserts, and late delivery since the end of
The missed Wall Street Journal issue was due to a system update on the WSJ sideTheir system stopped all WSJ customers and then sent out a new file with startsThe wrong start file was sent, and it was not discovered immediatelyThey sent the correct file, but it affected a week of delivery for several customersUnfortunately, your WSJ subscription was one of themYour delivery was restarted by 2/26/16, when the correct file restarted your delivery
I believe the issues are now resolved from follconversations with CindyYou also have her direct number if there are any further problems
Again, we are sorry for an inconvenience this has caused youThank you for being a
Sincerely,
Arden ***
Senior Vice President, Circulation
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 7, 2016/03/03) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
Cindy was very helpful in resolving the issues and will be my direct contact if future incidents ariseI will monitor the situation on a daily basis for the aforementioned items and inclusion of coupon inserts
September 20,
** ***
*** *** *** ** **
Apple Valley, MN
Re: Revdex.com Minnesota Case No.: ***
Star Tribune Acct: #
***
Dear Mr***:
We are in receipt of your Revdex.com complaint regarding the missed start of the Sunday Star Tribune. Also, we have honored your request for a full refund for this subscription
I have verified that the amount you requested, $65.25, was processed by the Star Tribune on September 14th to be applied to your VISA account ending with the digits ***. These transactions can take several business days to post. Please be assured that we have followed through on our end to make certain the refund you requested has been properly applied
I’m disappointed that we did not respond more swiftly to the initial service problem you reported to us on multiple occasions. Upon receiving your refund, I am hopeful that we might have the opportunity to restore your confidence in our service at some point in the future
Sincerely,
Arden ***
Senior Vice President, Circulation
cc: *** ***, Revdex.com Minnesota and North Dakota
December 13,
*** ***
*** *** ***
Apple Valley, MN
Re: Revdex.com ID - ***
Star Tribune Acct: # ***
Dear Mr
***:
I am responding to your complaint filed with the Revdex.com on December 13th involving the billing and subsequent collections activity on the above referenced account
I have enclosed a copy of the 3rd invoice we forwarded to you on July 9, 2017. I have highlighted the portion of the bill that states “newspaper service and billing will continue unless you notify us otherwise”. This invoice was preceded by additional invoices on 5/and 6/each of which contained this message. We provide this grace period as a courtesy to our subscribers to prevent an unwanted interruption in service should payment be received after the due date. Providers of telephone, electric, and cable tv service also extend a customary grace period before discontinuing service. You have taken advantage of this grace period previously on a subscription started in and to our knowledge, continued to receive newspaper deliveries
I attempted to reach you by phone to discuss this matter, but was unable to leave a voice mail. I have removed your account from collections, so you will not be subject to any further contact from *** & *** in this matter. The Star Tribune does not report past due accounts for newspaper delivery to the credit bureaus, so you do not have to worry about any adverse impact on your credit rating as a result. We do, however, feel that the charges on the account are valid and must be paid before any future Star Tribune service can be reinstated
Sincerely,
John ***
Department Administrator, Circulation
cc: *** ***, Revdex.com
Star Tribune Acct: # *** Dear Ms***: We are in receipt of your complaint regarding several missed papersWe apologize that you needed to take this to the Revdex.com for resolution.
Upon review of your account, we see that you started a Sunday-only print subscription on October 16, 2016. You have nine missed paper complaints on file and stated that you had not called in all of them for a total of missed papersWe agree this is totally unacceptable serviceWe immediately contacted the Distributor for your area and the Director of Home Delivery Operations upon receipt of your complaint. We were assured that you would receive your paper every Sunday going forward You had received credit for of the missed papersWe credited your account for an additional papers, which extends your expiration date to 7/2/2017. We feel that your account is correctly credited now for all missed papers Based on the assurances from the Distributor that your Sunday Star Tribune will be delivered and no complaint on your file for a miss on January 22nd, we believe your service issue has been resolved Again, our sincere apologies for the poor service and any inconvenience this caused you. Thank you for bringing this to our attention and being a Star Tribune subscriber. Sincerely, Arden *** Senior Vice President, Circulation
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2016/01/12) */
Dear Ms***:
We are in receipt of your complaint regarding receipt of unwanted StribExpressWe apologize that you needed to take this to the Revdex.com for resolution
Upon reviewing your account, we see you had a
StribExpress subscription for a few weeks in that was perm stopped 4/22/
We contacted the Distributor in your area requesting that no Star Tribune product is delivered to your address going forwardWe also made sure that you are on the NO TCV list and do not receive this free publication eitherThe Verification Manager was made aware of the problem too
We are just as frustrated as you are and have taken all the steps to make sure you do not receive any further delivery of these products
Again, I'm very sorry for any inconvenience this has caused you
Sincerely,
Arden ***
Senior Vice President, Circulation
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 10, 2015/07/31) */
I am so sorry, I was positive that we had responded to this oneThis was given to the Verification Manager and the Distributor for the product was instructed to check to make sure it was not deliveredThe address was already marked as no TCV
delivery and the NO TCV List was checked and the address was also on itIf this is an apartment, TCV would not be delivered to the door and the building management company would have to request no delivery
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 12, 2015/08/09) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
We still got the T/C values paper on august 1st & the 8thOn the 8th I had to run down the block to catch up to the delivery person, I asked her if I was on the " no more delivery" listShe said, " NoI was not on the list,and it was not her fault."
I said, "I understand that." She said," She would take me off the delivery list."
Let me be clear: I am the owner and the manager of said duplexI live in one of the unitsNeither I or my tenant want the TCV newspaperI am still requesting "no delivery" to both addressesI do not want it delivered to the door, to the steps, to the sidewalk, to the blvd, to the lawn, to the bushes, nor in trees, or anywhere on my property, or in front of my property
The bottom line is this: I do not really care where the breach of communication happens, whether it is customer service reps, supervisors, managers, the Verification manager, the Distributor of the product, or the delivery peopleJust fix itIf you have to retrain or fire someone, then do soI am tired of playing semanticsOn April 5, Easter Sunday, I pleasantly and respectfully requested "no delivery"It is now weeks laterJust stop itSTOP DELIVERING THE TCV NEWSPAPERS!!!!!!!!
Final Business Response /* (4000, 14, 2015/08/17) */
The Verification Manager continues to work with the Distributor to make them stop the deliveryIt is on the DO NOT DELIVER TCV list, but the Distributor is not communicating and when he runs delivery lists, this address will not be on it
Star Tribune Acct: # *** Dear Mr***: We are in receipt of your complaint regarding the non-delivery of your new subscription and continued auto payment on your credit cardWe apologize that you needed to take this to the Revdex.com for resolution.
Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention Upon review of your account, we see that you started a13-week, 7-day print subscription from a digital offer via the internet on March 10, 2016. You paid with a credit card and chose auto-pay for future payments. The account also shows no calls about missed papers or that the subscription did not start from you until September 21, 2016. The account also shows credit card auto-payments posted on 6/30/16, 7/11/16, 8/12/16, and 9/16/16. There were also no calls about continued credit card charges. We would have corrected the issue immediately if we had known about it After receiving the complaint to the Revdex.com and reviewing your account, we immediately contacted the Distributor in Mankato. They found that they had mistakenly started delivery for a New York Times subscription rather than a Star Tribune subscriptionI understand that the Distributor contacted you and has started delivery of the Star Tribune effective 9/27/16. I also understand that Scott ***, our State Operations Manager, also followed up with you and gave you his direct number for any future issues We have credited your account for all the missed papers, so you are starting out with a balance of $(the amount that has been charged to your credit card) per your request. We also removed you from auto pay, so you will not see any credit card charges. Please let us know if you have any delivery issues right away, so we can correct them Again, our sincere apologies for failed-to-start delivery and continued credit card charges. Thank you for bringing this to our attention and subscribing to the Star Tribune. Sincerely, Arden *** Senior Vice President, Circulation
T
Dear Mr***:
We are in receipt of your complaint regarding the continued delivery and billing beyond the expiration date of your subscription and being sent to collectionsWe apologize that you needed to take this to the Revdex.com for resolution.
First,
it is important you understand all Star Tribune invoices advise that service and billing do not automatically stop at the end of the subscription term and that the subscriber should contact the Star Tribune if they wish to stop their subscription. We provide this grace period as a courtesy to our subscribers to prevent an unnecessary interruption in their delivery should their payment be sent after the due date. This information is also noted on all marketing communications including direct mail, kiosk sales forms, and website solicitations for new subscribers.
As a one-time courtesy, we have written off the past due balance of $and will pull the account from further collections activity. We apologize for any for any misunderstanding or inconvenience that this issue caused you. We look forward to having you rejoin us as a subscriber in the near future
Please be aware that the Star Tribune does not report past due accounts for newspaper delivery to the credit bureaus, so you do not have to worry about your credit rating on this transaction
Sincerely,
Arden ***
Senior Vice President, Circulation
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/09/08) */
Acct
*** ***
***
Cedar, MN
This will confirm that Ms*** called and canceled her subscription on 6/2/She paid the balance due via credit cardHer account was perm stopped as of 6/4/
It has no balance owing on it
Any papers received after this date was due to the mis-delivery by the Distributor and there is no amount due
I'm sorry for any concerns that you have had over this issue
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 7, 2015/09/09) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.The response from John *** at the Star Tribune was prompt and gracious. He has followed through and the daily newspaper delivery has resumedI am more that satisfied with the results. *** ***
Dear Mrs***: We are in receipt of your complaint regarding the “blasting” music from the carrier’s vehicle that often wakes you up in the middle of the nightWe apologize that you needed to take this to the Revdex.com for resolution. Thank you for bringing
this issue to our attentionWe contacted the Distributor for your area regarding the ongoing noise issue by the carrier. You noted that after complaining, it will be quiet for a while and then the music is back to blastingWe made it clear that the “no blasting music” had to be a permanent change, not temporary as in the past. I understand that Jeff ***, our Director of Home Delivery Operations, contacted you to make sure that the mornings are again quiet. Jeff will continue working with the Distributor and carrier to make sure they understand that this is a permanent change, and the blasting radio is not acceptable when delivering papers in the early morning hours in any residential area. Please contact us directly if there is another noise problem Again, we are sorry for the loss of sleep and stress this has caused you. Also, that the problem was not permanently fixed after the first complaint Sincerely, Arden *** Senior Vice President, Circulation
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2016/01/07) */
Dear Mr***:
I'm sorry you needed to take your complaint to the Revdex.comPerhaps some background as to why we recently changed our vacation policy may better help you understand why we implemented this changeAlso,
written communication was sent to all subscribers using vacation holds in October 2014, prior to the policy change
Each and every week the Star Tribune processes more than 6,vacation stops and a like amount of vacation restartsWith each stop, numerous departments in the Company are impactedThis includes the call center, the production department, and Fleet transportation personnelThis also creates a big strain on our carriers and increases variances in their route lists every dayThe continuance of billing for the first seven days of a vacation stop is a "processing fee" to cover the costs of having to stop and restart so many accounts each and every weekI am certain that if you disconnected your cable TV service for a vacation period, they would most assuredly charge a "reactivation fee" upon your returnThe same would be true for your power company, your telephone service, etc
Interestingly, about 75% of our subscribers do not stop their paper for vacation during any given yearThat means the almost 13,vacation stops and restarts we get each week are coming from only 25% of our subscribers, some of which stop and restart their subscription many times each yearTaking these effects into consideration, we felt this program change seemed fairer than passing on a price increase to all of our subscribers to cover the cost for vacation stops and restarts
Finally, most major metropolitan newspapers have changed their vacation policy to one of no credit for any stopped vacation days; we drew the line at days for each stop believing that this was an appropriate charge for the handling of a vacation stop
I hope this additional explanation at least helps you understand why we made this changeThank you for subscribing to the Star Tribune
Sincerely,
Arden ***
Senior Vice President, Circulation
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 10, 2016/01/12) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Let's go over your January 7th response line by line"You are sorry that I needed to take my complaint to the Revdex.com", I did so because the Star Tribune representative I spoke to on the phone, for most minutes, was unwilling to tell me what individual or group of individuals were responsible for this policy change so that I may talk to them directlyTo simply state that it was "Star Tribune Policy", was not adequate
As for the last line of the first paragraph, I was not complaining about not being notified, I was complaining about the content/substance of the policy, and how the wording of the policy/notification was not written in a straight forward manner but a manner to purposefully misdirect/confuse the subscriber(Note, you did not address my claim as to the writing style used in describing this new policy, which is overly complicated, lending itself to be misinterpreted upon initial readingI believe that this tact was taken in an effort to reduce initial criticism and postpone the correct understanding of the policy until after the fact, when it is learned that a "credit" had not been applied.)
Your second paragraph describing some of the "background" has some questionable logic/comparisonsSo every week you process over 6,vacation stops and startsThe numbers must have been much greater in years past, prior to your policy change as your circulation has been dropping with more and more people now getting their news digitallySo it was a decrease in vacation holds that has resulted in this new policy?
I also question the claim that the processing of a vacation hold creates a big strain on your carriersFor one, the stress must be less today than it was years ago when you had higher circulation and I assume equal to or larger amount of vacation hold requestIn addition, as I stated in my original complaint, today the hold process is mostly computerizedI online choose the time period for which I want my paper held, and then I'm assuming the computer generates a daily list for each driver letting them know which customer gets a paper each day and which one doesn'tThere should be no other humans involved in this processThere is not a line of individuals applying mailing labels to each paper, making sure that each paper gets to the assigned driver and that each subscribed customers paper is delivered into their personal tubeSo what excessive costs are now being incurred that require this new processing fee? And then to compare a newspaper hold to placing your utilities on hold is a bit of a stretchYour deliver driver drives by my mail box every day whether they put a paper in the tube or notTo have the power/phone/cable physically disconnected requires a special trip by the utility company to either your property or to a switching station to physically disconnect your service, and then later reconnectYour comparisons are not validPerhaps you should compare your newspaper deliver hold to US Mail hold which cost the user nothing
As to your third paragraph, again one must assume that the numbers you present are less than what the numbers were in years past as a result of your drop in circulation so I don't see how any of this justifies your new October policy
Your 4th paragraph drawing a comparison to other major metropolitan newspaper and their practices, I don't know how prevalent this practice may be but as your mother used to say, "Just because the neighbor kid jumps off the roof, are you going to too?"
No, I'm afraid that your response has not provided a practical justification for your newly instituted policyIt still appears that you have decided to charge for something which historically has not been charged for, at a time when any related cost(s) for the performance of said action is actually less today, thanks to computerization, than pervious
*** ***
Big Lake, MN
Final Business Response /* (4000, 12, 2016/01/13) */
Dear Mr***,
Thank you again for taking the time to share your thoughtsGiven your history of starting and stopping your subscription up to times a year, I can understand why you would not be happy with the new policyNevertheless, we implemented this policy after much discussion and researchNow, with months of actual experience with it, we still believe it was the right business decision and do not intend to change it
Sincerely,
Arden ***
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2016/02/16) */
Dear Mr***:
We are in receipt of your complaint regarding the continued delivery and billing past the expire date of your newspaper delivery and being sent to collectionsWe apologize that you needed to take this to the RevDex.com for resolution
First, it is important you understand all Star Tribune invoices advise that service and billing do not automatically stop at the end of the subscription term and that the subscriber should contact the Star Tribune if they wish to stop their subscriptionWe provide this grace period as a courtesy to our subscribers to prevent an unnecessary interruption in their delivery should their payment be sent after the due dateThis information is also noted on all marketing communications including but not limited to direct mail, kiosk sales forms, and website solicitations for new subscribers
Upon reviewing your account, we see you and your wife have been Star Tribune subscribers since You agree that you received the papers past the expire date, but did not call to cancel your subscriptionAll invoices clearly stated that the customer needed to call to stop deliveryRenewal invoices were sent to you on 4/26/(three weeks prior to the latest expire date), 5/31/2015, 6/28/and a final invoice on 8/13/when delivery was stopped for non-paymentA customer service rep also tried to call you on 7/1/and 8/3/2015--leaving a voicemail regarding your account both timesYour accounts show that you have been in grace during prior subscription periods and had past due balances written offBased on the above, we would not have known you were not renewing without you contacting us and that you knew about the continued delivery and billing policy
As a one-courtesy, we have written all but the $that you offered to pay for papers delivered off the past due balance and pulled the account from collections
The Star Tribune does not report past due accounts for newspaper delivery to the credit bureaus, so you do not have to worry about your credit rating on this transaction
Sincerely,
Arden ***
Senior Vice President, Circulation
Star Tribune Acct: # *** Dear Mr***: We are in receipt of your complaint regarding receipt of unwanted Star TribuneWe apologize that you needed to take this to the Revdex.com for resolution
again. We contacted the Distributor in your area requesting that no Star Tribune product is delivered to your address going forward. He personally went to your address to make notes on the route list for the new carrier to ensure he delivers the Star Tribune to the correct address next door and not to your address. He personally checked delivery on Tuesday to make sure it was correct. He will continue to monitor and emphasize that no paper should be delivered to your address. We also confirmed this with the Distributor of our StribExpress product in your area again. We are just as frustrated as you are and continue to take the steps to make sure you do not receive any further delivery of these products Again, I’m very sorry for any inconvenience this has caused you. Sincerely, Arden *** Senior Vice President, Circulation
We are in receipt of your complaint to the Revdex.com regarding trouble canceling your subscription via phone, email, and mail with no success. We apologize that you needed to take this to the Revdex.com for resolution After reviewing your account, I see the
following activity: - 4/24/17 Subscription was perm stopped based on written message on your renewal invoice - 5/15/17 I received a copy of your complaint from our Burnsville News location where it was sent - 5/16/17 I wrote off the outstanding balance of $ I apologize for the issues you have contacting the Star Tribune. Your written cancellation on the invoice was received and processed. As a one-time courtesy the past due balance was written off your account. Thank you for trying the Star Tribune
I am rejecting this response because:
I would at the minimum expect a phone call from someone business to discuss this on going issue and provide a solution to the problemWe have heard and received the statements in the response provided many timesThe very least they could do is call you back!
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/06/30) */
We are vary sorry that you needed to take this issue to the Revdex.comI reviewed your account and it has been paid off since 3/17/I contacted the Customer Service Manager to have her make sure thta the account was pulled from collections and
requested they write a letter to you confirmed that he had been pulled
We apologize that this was not done immediately and for the error on our part
As part of our apology, I have credited your print Sunday-only account for the half of the digital payment that you madeThank you for being a Star Tribune customer
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 7, 2015/07/01) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
*** ***
*** *** *** ** *** ***
Plymouth, MN
Re: Revdex.com ID: ***
Star Tribune Acct: # ***
Dear Ms***:
We are in
receipt of your complaint regarding continued delivery and billing to your former address after you had moved. We regret being unable to resolve this problem more expeditiously.
Unfortunately, your request to stop service at *** *** *** *** *** was not received. We continued to send invoices to your former address requesting payment or action on your part. In the absence of this information, the account automatically defaulted to collections once the grace period was exceeded and your service stopped
This said, we do understand that you had moved to a new address and were unaware that newspapers were still being deliveredWe trust that you attempted to stop service and that continued service was inadvertent. As a one-time courtesy, we have written off the past due balance of $and will cease any further collection activity. The Star Tribune does not report past due accounts for newspaper delivery to the credit bureaus, so you do not have to worry about any adverse impact on your credit rating as a result
I am sorry for the inconvenience caused by this misunderstanding. We look forward to your continued readership in the future
Sincerely,
Arden ***
Senior Vice President, Circulation
Re: Revdex.com Complaint Case #*** Star Tribune Acct*** (*** ***) Star Tribune Acct*** (***
***) Dear Mr& Mrs***: We are in receipt of your complaint regarding missed Sunday Star Tribune papersWe apologize that you needed to take this to the Revdex.com for resolution. First, our apology for not responding to the complaint sooner. We have experienced problems receiving Revdex.com complaints since their upgrade in March. Thank you for bringing this to our attention. In researching the complaint, we found that there were two Sunday-only subscriptions for your address: one under ***’s name that was started via the internet on 1/24/16, and one under ***’s name that was started via the internet on 5/22/15. The missed complaints were divided between the two accounts. Mrs***, we have stopped your account and are refunding the full amount that you paid. You should see a credit on your credit card in a few daysMr***, we made sure that your account was credited for all the missed papers and redeliveries that you did not receive. We contacted the Distributor regarding your missed papers. He said that he has personally delivered your paper and redeliveries to your apartment building. However, he does not have access to the building and has to leave the paper outside the locked door. It appears that you may have a theft problem at the building. Without having access to the building, we can only suggest you try to retrieve the paper early. The Distributor is also trying to find another solutionAgain, we are sorry for an inconvenience this has caused you. Thank you for being a Star Tribune subscriberSincerely, Arden *** Senior Vice President, Circulation
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/09/30) */
Ms***:
Thank you for your time for our telephone conversations regarding the gift subscription to your daughter at collegeAfter more research and contact with the Distributor and our IT department, we finally discovered the
disconnectThe subscription was active in our system, but not in the Distributors because when it was input, it was routed incorrectly--sent to the wrong distributorThis has been corrected and your daughter should receive her paper Sunday paper with no problem going forwardI have also placed and extra weeks credit on the accountThank you for being a loyal Star Tribune subscriber
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2016/03/02) */
Dear Mr***:
We are in receipt of your complaint regarding late Star Tribune papers, missing inserts, and papers in parts--not complete papersYou also had one week when the Wall Street Journal was not deliveredWe apologize that you
needed to take this to the Revdex.com for resolution
Thank you for bringing this to our attention and following up with my assistant Cindy ***She immediately contacted the Distributor for your area about the poor condition of the four papers delivered to the business Monday thru Friday, the missing inserts, and late delivery since the end of
The missed Wall Street Journal issue was due to a system update on the WSJ sideTheir system stopped all WSJ customers and then sent out a new file with startsThe wrong start file was sent, and it was not discovered immediatelyThey sent the correct file, but it affected a week of delivery for several customersUnfortunately, your WSJ subscription was one of themYour delivery was restarted by 2/26/16, when the correct file restarted your delivery
I believe the issues are now resolved from follconversations with CindyYou also have her direct number if there are any further problems
Again, we are sorry for an inconvenience this has caused youThank you for being a
Sincerely,
Arden ***
Senior Vice President, Circulation
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 7, 2016/03/03) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
Cindy was very helpful in resolving the issues and will be my direct contact if future incidents ariseI will monitor the situation on a daily basis for the aforementioned items and inclusion of coupon inserts
September 20,
** ***
*** *** *** ** **
Apple Valley, MN
Re: Revdex.com Minnesota Case No.: ***
Star Tribune Acct: #
***
Dear Mr***:
We are in receipt of your Revdex.com complaint regarding the missed start of the Sunday Star Tribune. Also, we have honored your request for a full refund for this subscription
I have verified that the amount you requested, $65.25, was processed by the Star Tribune on September 14th to be applied to your VISA account ending with the digits ***. These transactions can take several business days to post. Please be assured that we have followed through on our end to make certain the refund you requested has been properly applied
I’m disappointed that we did not respond more swiftly to the initial service problem you reported to us on multiple occasions. Upon receiving your refund, I am hopeful that we might have the opportunity to restore your confidence in our service at some point in the future
Sincerely,
Arden ***
Senior Vice President, Circulation
cc: *** ***, Revdex.com Minnesota and North Dakota
December 13,
*** ***
*** *** ***
Apple Valley, MN
Re: Revdex.com ID - ***
Star Tribune Acct: # ***
Dear Mr
***:
I am responding to your complaint filed with the Revdex.com on December 13th involving the billing and subsequent collections activity on the above referenced account
I have enclosed a copy of the 3rd invoice we forwarded to you on July 9, 2017. I have highlighted the portion of the bill that states “newspaper service and billing will continue unless you notify us otherwise”. This invoice was preceded by additional invoices on 5/and 6/each of which contained this message. We provide this grace period as a courtesy to our subscribers to prevent an unwanted interruption in service should payment be received after the due date. Providers of telephone, electric, and cable tv service also extend a customary grace period before discontinuing service. You have taken advantage of this grace period previously on a subscription started in and to our knowledge, continued to receive newspaper deliveries
I attempted to reach you by phone to discuss this matter, but was unable to leave a voice mail. I have removed your account from collections, so you will not be subject to any further contact from *** & *** in this matter. The Star Tribune does not report past due accounts for newspaper delivery to the credit bureaus, so you do not have to worry about any adverse impact on your credit rating as a result. We do, however, feel that the charges on the account are valid and must be paid before any future Star Tribune service can be reinstated
Sincerely,
John ***
Department Administrator, Circulation
cc: *** ***, Revdex.com
Star Tribune Acct: # *** Dear Ms***: We are in receipt of your complaint regarding several missed papersWe apologize that you needed to take this to the Revdex.com for resolution.
Upon review of your account, we see that you started a Sunday-only print subscription on October 16, 2016. You have nine missed paper complaints on file and stated that you had not called in all of them for a total of missed papersWe agree this is totally unacceptable serviceWe immediately contacted the Distributor for your area and the Director of Home Delivery Operations upon receipt of your complaint. We were assured that you would receive your paper every Sunday going forward You had received credit for of the missed papersWe credited your account for an additional papers, which extends your expiration date to 7/2/2017. We feel that your account is correctly credited now for all missed papers Based on the assurances from the Distributor that your Sunday Star Tribune will be delivered and no complaint on your file for a miss on January 22nd, we believe your service issue has been resolved Again, our sincere apologies for the poor service and any inconvenience this caused you. Thank you for bringing this to our attention and being a Star Tribune subscriber. Sincerely, Arden *** Senior Vice President, Circulation
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2016/01/12) */
Dear Ms***:
We are in receipt of your complaint regarding receipt of unwanted StribExpressWe apologize that you needed to take this to the Revdex.com for resolution
Upon reviewing your account, we see you had a
StribExpress subscription for a few weeks in that was perm stopped 4/22/
We contacted the Distributor in your area requesting that no Star Tribune product is delivered to your address going forwardWe also made sure that you are on the NO TCV list and do not receive this free publication eitherThe Verification Manager was made aware of the problem too
We are just as frustrated as you are and have taken all the steps to make sure you do not receive any further delivery of these products
Again, I'm very sorry for any inconvenience this has caused you
Sincerely,
Arden ***
Senior Vice President, Circulation