The Beaumont Enterprise

Complaint: 10262160
I am rejecting their previous response today because:
This problem only stopped for a short time.. The $302.12 I sent in doesn't seem to being used on my  account. #40024146 It is for 52 weeks and I sent it in 9/11/2014.
I did not receive a paper yesterday or this morning. I closed my deblt card so they can't take the $23.00 they were taking out monthly.
I would like to get a  refund on my remaining balance and the paper stopped. I will be 83 years old this month and I can't take all this mess.
Thank you so much for your help.
[redacted]
Warren, Texas

Ms. [redacted] is complaining that her subscription she paid for on 10/15 was for the billing period 10/25/15 through 10/25/2016. ·        Ms. [redacted] paid on a bill that was dated 10/02/2015.  On 20/12/2015 the Beaumont Enterprise had a price...

increase of $0.50 per week.  It is noted on all our billing statements that prices are subject to change.  This resulted in the shortening of the customers subscription term.·        During the course of the subscription period, the Beaumont Enterprise had Premium issues.  Each of these premium issues have an additional price of $1.00 to $2.00 each.  It states in the paper and again on the billing that our subscriptions include premium issues which the Beaumont Enterprise may charge for these premium issues.·        When the customer paid for her renewal, the money was posted on 10/14/2015, the payment went back to 9/13/2015 because the customer was behind.·        Customer spoke to someone in our office on or around 4/272016.  At that time customer was issued a credit adjustment on the account for $36.00·        Customer stopped their account on 9/21 due to “billing problems” even though the $36.00 adjustment had been made.·        We did mail the customer a “Beaumont 175” book.  I do not recall what the note might have said. We credited the customer $36.00 as a way to try and mitigate the problem, and sent the book as a way of saying thank you.  Apparently the customer in spite of our best efforts wants more, and that’s unfortunate.

Customer was started on April 26, 2015.  Customers account was stopped on 12/18/2016 after she placed a call to our call center. As a rule we don’t sell any of our EZ Pay subscriptions as “term” subscriptions.  They are all sold as a subscription that runs until the customer cancels...

or does not pay.  The form filled out by the customer (and she should have received a copy of this at the time of her subscribing) says in part “This authorization is to remain in full force until The Beaumont Enterprise has received written notification from me of its termination…”  we will always take this same information should a customer call us. As for the rate increases the customer noted there 3 things at work here:1.      Customer signed up under a promotional rate.  The language on the new start form the customer would have had to sign (see above) reads in part “All subscriptions continue at regular rate after promotional period ends until cancelled by customer.”2.    There was a subscriber price increase in October of 20153.    There was a subscriber price increase in November of 2016 As the customer indicated,  she was on EZ pay, but we could not have set her up with that type of payment plan without her consent (we wouldn’t have the information otherwise) In the year plus time frame the customer wants a full refund she would have continued to receive the paper.  Additionally there would have been the ongoing charge on the card that the subscription was being charged to.  There was never any contact from the customer until decembr of 2016. We will contact the customer and try to come to some type of agreement that is fair for all parties.  Once we have done so, I will update the response.  [redacted]| Assistant to the Publisher/HR  Beaumont Enterprise | 380 Main St., Beaumont, TX

Customer complained that her one year paid subscription did not last one year. On our customer bills we state: “Our subscriptions include occasional premium issues.  For each premium issue you receive, your account will be charged an additional fee up to $3.  As a result, the length...

of your billing period will be shortened.” Additionally our customer bills state: “PRICES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE” Both of these lines are also included in our newspaper every day (page 2A) Customer even notes that the language described above was provided. Customer asked that her subscription be extended to her one-year date.  As a matter of good will I did this.  I also contacted customer to discuss the issue with her and inform her of the credit being issued to her account.  We had a nice discussion but ultimately could not agree on the situation beyond the issuing of her credit.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 11713088, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

On 12/10/2015 we received a response from [redacted] to our
submitted response below.  In her response Ms. [redacted] claimed that the
“paper still gets wet half the time.”
Our original response to Ms. [redacted] was dated 11/17 (see
below).  In that response we provided the customer with a local number per
her request as well as providing our main customer service number as well as
hours of operation and our re-delivery policy. 
Customer has not used either of the numbers provided her since
the time of our response (in fact there is no complaint activity on the account
since the 11/03 complaint as noted below).
The customer has been provided with our main customer service
information as well as expanded local customer service (per her request) and
has chosen not to use either of those avenues. 
We work hard and in a diligent manner to ensure that all of
customers receive their paper on a daily basis and in an acceptable
condition. 
Customer can now contact [redacted], Circulation Director at
the Beaumont Enterprise at 409 [redacted] if she wishes to discuss this matter
even further.

Complaint: 11878361
I am rejecting this response because: I would like to see Beaumont Enterprise be more honest in their billing and let all customers know what charges would be for a specific time period. Is there anything Revdex.com can do to encourage more accurate billing?  The Enterprise is telling me this is something they cannot do. 
Sincerely,
[redacted]

·         Customer was inexplicably charged the additional $24.41.  These charges are system driven and cannot and were not manipulated by a person. ·         Customer did call our Customer Service...

Call center on 9/14.  As this is a contract call center I do not know about the 3 different answers customer was given.  But it could be a simple matter of the representative not knowing the answer or being confused.  I do not think the service rep was purposely trying to mislead the customer.·         We spoke with the customer, locally, on 10/06.  We looked into the issue of the $24.41 charge, determined it should not have happened.  At that time we informed customer that we would issue a credit to her for the $24.41·         All paperwork was processed in a timely fashion to facilitate the refund.  Upon receipt of this complaint, we verified that everything had been done to ensure refund, it has, and the customer should be receiving it very soon.·         All of our customer touch points, new start forms, our website, customer billing, and the newspaper itself have language concerning the inclusion of premium issues in each subscription.  This is not anything new and has been in place prior to subscriber starting their subscription.

[redacted], TX  [redacted] Customer complained on 1/27 of service issues regarding the delivery of the Beaumont Enterprise to her home.A review of her account indicated a number of missed deliveries on Sundays (her only subscription day)We contacted the customer...

and offered her credit for the missed deliveries that she had not been previously been credited for.  Additionally we offered a $20 credit for the problems she had been having with her service.We have contacted the District Manager and the carrier for the area to ensure deliver going forward.  Additionally we will be following with the customer to ensure that we have the delivery problem fixed.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 11732844, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Sincerely,
[redacted]  The response by the Beaumont Enterprise is an unsatisfactory solution but I realize they will not resolve it as I feel it should be resolved.  Rather than continuing the back and forth I will "accept" their "resolution".  They need to understand they have lost a customer from now on--I will NOT resubscribe to the Beaumont Enterprise ever.

I am not satisfied with them. She did nothing to change the problem. Our paper still gets wet half the time. I want it on the books
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Customer
complained to the Revdex.com about ”service issues” with the Beaumont Enterprise.
Since
customer returned from vacation and restarted their paper on 7/01/2015 they
have 2 service complaints registered.  The first was on  9/13/2015
for “no paper” and the second was registered on...

11/03/2015 as a “wet paper”
complaint for the day before, 11/02/2015.
We
bag our papers everyday due to the unpredictable nature of the weather. 
That particular Sunday we had extremely heavy downpours throughout the morning.
We
offer same day redelivery service until 10:00 am daily, 7 days a week.
The
customer asked for the carriers name.  All of our carriers are independent
contractors and as such, we are not allowed to give out their names or phone
number without their permission.
Customer
also asked that the paper be “tied”.  We will ask the carrier to do so.
Customer
also asked for a local contact number for the Beaumont Enterprise. 
Customer can call [redacted] at 409 [redacted] Monday through Friday to speak a
local representative.  However, for redelivery of a missed or wet paper
customer should call our customer service number which is 409 [redacted]
Additionally
we will credit customer for the two newspapers they had to purchase.

7/22/16 Revdex.com contacted [redacted], Circulation Director who provided the following business response:  We do not promise lifetime prices.  However, if this customer will please contact Darla in Customer Service at [redacted] M-F (8am-4pm)  - [redacted] will gladly look up her information and see if their is a more favorable rate available for her.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 10262160, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 10346430, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Customer
complained of missed deliveries, improper deliveries and that her paper got
wet, yet classified the nature of the complaint as “Selling Practices” 
Given the specifics in the complaint I will address the complaint as service
issues. 
Customer
complains that the paper is in...

the street or someone else’s yard and goes on to
state that she has to “repeatedly call the Beaumont Enterprise”.  Our
records indicate the customer has called the Beaumont Enterprise twice in the
last 12 months.  Both of those calls were the result of “no paper”
complaints.  It should be noted that the customer complains about the
paper being thrown in someone else’s yard, yet customer lives in a triplex with
where there are three yards very close to each other and it appears customer
lives in the middle unit of the three.
 Customers
desired settlement is to have the carriers name and to have the papers tied in
their bag.  We bag our papers every day to do our best to accommodate the
weather here.  We will ask the carrier to tie the customers paper, and to
be sure to throw the paper as close to customers walk way as possible. 
Customer also wanted us to inform them of who the carrier is.  All our
carriers are independent contractors and we are not allowed to give out that
information.  Customer can continue to call our customer service number at
409 838 2818 or if they would like to speak to someone local they can call
[redacted], in Beaumont at 409 [redacted].

The customer set up a duplicate account on her own through our subscriber portal on 6/18/14 and set up the account as EZ pay.  We stopped the duplicate account and will refund by check the money that was charged to her credit card.  [redacted], Assistant Circulation Director, called her...

and explained the resolution and the customer said she is satisfied.

Customer
is correct that customer was offered 26 weeks for $39.00.
 
This
was done by a company we contract Tele-marketing services to.  It was done
3 days after a price increase went into effect for the Beaumont Enterprise of
$0.50/week per customer.  It was an honest...

mistake by the contracted
telemarketing company.  This is what caused a difference in what customer
was told over the phone and the bill that arrived in the mail.
Had
customer contacted the Beaumont Enterprise directly we would have been happy to
honor the offer that was made to the customer as it was not the customers
fault. 
We
would still be glad to honor the price that was offered to the customer. 
However, customers desired settlement is to never be contacted by the Beaumont
Enterprise again.  To that end, customers phone number has been registered
with all companies that make calls on our behalf, as a DO NOT CALL. 
Should
the customer still want the original offer that was made we would be happy to
honor that offer.  Customer can call the Circulation Director directly to
start the paper at the price offered above.  Paul Banister 409 838 2812. 
We
work very hard at the Beaumont Enterprise to treat all customers with the
utmost care.  We certainly do not lie to our customers nor do we target
senior citizens in any manner.  Our subscribers are the life blood of our
newspaper and as such it would be counterproductive for us treat our customers
in the manner that customer suggests in their comments to the Revdex.com.

Complaint: 11775980
I am rejecting this response because:That is the truth when I told them I want to finish my month they told me I did not have any days left so I stop it that day .I don't understand if they charge a month to my account why did it not go to the that timr period. They did not offer a refund try to work on things .They need to listen to the call they said they record.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Complaint: 11732844
I am rejecting this response because:
Sincerely,
[redacted]  My problem with this subscription was that my check in October, 2015 was paying for a 52 week subscription and the memo on the check stated 10-25-15--10-24-16.  Those dates were obtained from the billing office--I called and asked when my subscription ended and was told 10-25-15.  So I placed a memo on my check for the 10-25-15--10-24-16 dates from information I had gotten from the billing office.  My problem is that the Beaumont Enterprise had no problem cashing the check with clear dates written on it for the 52 week subscription but now want to go back and say the contract has changed.  I told the lady I talked with in April that if I had a business and had a price set for a designated time, I could not go back and change the contract during the time frame involved.  That is exactly what they are doing.  If they are not going to honor a 52 week subscription for the 52 weeks they need  to redo their bills.  On each of the bills I have received, there have been designated time frames for subscriptions.  If they are NOT going to honor that time frame, they need to change their billing practices.  As a result, I will NOT have a subscription with the Beaumont Enterprise any longer--why would I pay for a subscription and have them come back later and change the terms--makes absolutely no sense!!!   would I pay for something with one price and have them come back later and say I owe more--makes absolutely no sense!!