The Boston Globe

My husband and I have been Boston Globe subscribers since 1987. In July 2017 I cancelled delivery of the actual newspaper and changed to digital Boston Globe. I did this online but also had to follow up with a telephone call as the Globe made an error for which they refunded my credit card $82.81. Since August 2017 I have been charged twice each month. When I called to complain in 2018 and 2019 they said there is no way I could be charged twice. My husband advised me to check again as it sure looked like I was being charged twice. I called on 1/30/20 and several times after this including today. The customer service reps told me different things and always said I would be called back by the billing department but this did not happen.
I was told by one person that a digital account was stated on 7/15/17 and another on 7/26/17. Another person said they thought the Globe neglected to close my paper account when I changed to digital or maybe they changed my paper account to digital and also opened a new digital account. This person closed one of the accounts on 1/30/20 to stop the double billing. My account has always been charged to my same credit card since 2015. The account has always been in my name. Today a supervisor said they could not refund my credit card because my husband and I have 2 different email addresses. His last name is different from mine so maybe this is why they are having a problem. We also moved twice in the last 3 years but this should not affect a digital account. I told her there is no reason why I would want 2 digital accounts. She seemed to understand this but said she could not help me but would advise corporate of my call. I advised her that I would be contacting the Revdex.com. My calculations show that I have been overcharged a total of $729.96, which is $79.80 for part of 2017, $262.08 for 2018, $332.64 for 2019, and $55.44 so far for 2020. I am very concerned that the Boston Globe has been unresponsive regarding this. Since 1/30/20 I was told I would get a call back in 24 hours, then 48 hours, and then 72 hours but no one ever called back. Each time I called a new person would just give me a longer time to wait for the call back. I am asking the Revdex.com to help me to get the $729.96 refund to my credit card that is owed to me. Thank you.

Running a billing scam may be too strong of a statement but . . .

The billing section on the website indicates that the payment is good until the through date but am being billed several days ahead of that date.

Good through 22 JAN billed on 13 JAN

Good through 19FEB billed today 10 FEB

All I originally wanted was a digital subscription to gain access to a couple of articles. Accessed the billing section on 22FEB to cancel and saw that they billed me ahead of the date. OK, let it go once. Accessed the billing section today to cancel and, again, already billed!!!

NOT EXACTLY GOOD BIZ PRACTICES . . . .

Paper has not been delivered for 4 weeks even though paid for

I have been a loyal customer of Boston Globe printed edition for many years. In the past 30 days, I have not received my home delivery of the Globe. I call the 1888 number and leave an automated request for re-delivery and I still do not get the paper. When I call to speak with a person, they tell me to call the 1888 number and check the records to find that there is no record of any such requests. Which leaves me with no way to report the issue. I have reached out to the Globe and they do not respond. I also oppose their practice of extending my subscription period when I do not receive a newspaper. I would like to be reimbursed instead. I cannot get them to give me an accounting of how many "credits" they have given me, therefore, I cannot be sure they are not just charging me for newspapers that I have paid for but never recieved.

Delivery Service is poor. Seems the Boston Globe Customer Service does not communicate with whatever Delivery Service handles my area. For the last year, paper arrives past 8:00 a.m. and I have had more non-deliveries. Been a customer as far back as 1995. I cancelled Sunday delivery due to these issues. I do enjoy starting my day reading the Globe.

I recently noticed charges to my credit card account from the Boston Globe. I never signed up for the Globe. I emailed, called, spoke with different representatives and told the Globe to cancel whatever subscription this is and to refund all charges immediately. I was told on numerous occasions a manager would call me to confirm the refund or at least speak with me about the issue. This call never came. Finally I called once more demanding a manger and they simply put me on hold for over 30 minutes. That being the last straw, I am reaching out to Revdex.com for support getting a full refund for this service I never signed up for.

I was charged for a subscription 10 days before bill was due without prior notification. When I called to cancel and get a refund and account cancellation I was forced to sit through 10 minutes of the representative trying to sell me further subscriptions even though I asked him to stop several times. He told me my account was cancelled and my refund was requested.
It was not cancelled.
I called back and was told by another rep that it would not be cancelled or refunded for a month, when the current bill ran out. I asked why and she just said "that's policy". I assume this will be after ANOTHER 10 day early charge since it wasn't cancelled.

This is a predatory practice and poor customer service policy.

Dear Ms [redacted] -Thank you for contacting the Boston GlobeI see the previous notes made on your accountI also had a click report pulled which does show that your account has accessed our paid site continuously since Unfortunately we are unable to refund for an account that accessed the siteIn this case, Finance did generously agree to refund you $or soSince you were using the service, this refund was extended as a courtesy to youI am afraid we cannot offer any additional refunds on your accountI can send you the click report in a private email if you would like.Thank you for reading the Boston Globe, [redacted] *** Customer Success TeamThe Boston Globe

I have been charged two and sometimes three times a month for my subscription to the Boston Globe. I reported it and provided backup proof. I receive automated responses repeatedly. I have spend hours on the phone with no results. When I started this process with them, I had only gone back three months. I have now had the opportunity to check credit cards for the year and they owe me $594.88 in overcharges. I have requested a credit to my credit card but they do not provide it.

I set up for a printed subscription of the Globe in the Summer of 2019. I supposed to receive the printed copy of the newspaper from Thurs - Sunday. 2 weeks went by and I never received a single printed copy. I called to cancel my subscription. They promised that they will take care of the situation and give them another chance and they reimbursed me for the money they have charged me. I decided to give them another chance and the same thing happened. My card got charged but I never received a printed copy. I called again and it was a repeat of the first time and again, I gave them another chance. The same thing happened again. I called numerous times to try to cancel. I was on the phone for almost on hour each time and I could not get anyone to respond. for health reasons I could not call for another month and meanwhile they charged me twice (38.00 each time), when I finally was able to talk to them and explained them that I have NEVER received a single printed copy of the newspaper, they again asked for another chance and I said no. I just wanted my money back. $76.00. I was told that the 'system' only allow them to refund me 45.02. Which means they basically retained $30.98 without EVER delivering a single printed copy. That is stealing. I want my full refund since I never received the goods.

In October I spoke to a Boston Globe customer service agent and specifically requested a 22 day vacation stop to ensure that I receive a credit after being told it had to be more than 21 days. After realizing I did not receive the credit, I contacted customer service. I did not electronically submit the vacation start and stop dates for 21 days electronically, as the customer service agent stated. At that point, I asked to speak to a supervisor and was put on hold for over an hour before I hung up. I have been a Globe customer for over 30 years and only asking for 22 days worth of newspapers which is approximately $50.00.

I signed up for a membership that was four dollars, only to have it renewed for 27.72. There was never any notification from the Globe that the price was about to increase. I have called the Boston Globe help line 3 times to try to resolve this issue, and I have spent more than an hour on the phone. The customer service representatives and supervisors told me that there is no refund for digital subscriptions. Also, the only way to get this deal in the first place was to place the account on auto renew, and the only way to cancel is to call. From the other complaints listed here, I see that I am not the only one to fall prey to this deceptive business tactic. I am surprised that the Globe is associated with a digital policy that is essentially a scam.

The Boston Globe apologizes for any inconvenience this has caused Your delivery status was changed to "Do Not Deliver" at the beginning of February and we also apologize for the incorrect information you were given by our Agent We are sending a formal written complaint to the distributor with instructions to stop further delivery of the Globe Direct to you address We expect that instruction to be implemented this week and that delivery of the Globe Direct will cease.Once again we apologize for any inconvenience

This appears to be a duplicate of complaint number [redacted] Date Sent: 3/7/9:10:AMDear Ms [redacted] -I apologize that the Boston Globe was not able to get the paper delivered to you as you requestedI do see that your account was stopped and a refund of $is scheduled to be refunded back to your credit card on file by the end of the week It is not acceptable that you did not receive the customer service you deservedI will follow up to see who worked on your account so that we can coach and train to provide excellent customer service.Please accept our apologies for the frustration this has caused.Sincerely, [redacted] *** Customer Success TeamThe Boston Globe + boston.com

I signed up for Boston globe back in early DecemberSince then, I receive two papers on timeI've spent HOURS on hold waiting to speak to their customer service on Sunday when I expected my paperTheir custom service reps were always very rude and not apologetic for the delays or lack of papers that I am paying to receiveMy account has been credited for around missed papers or soLook on [redacted] and [redacted] at their reviews, many people are in the same boat as meI want a FULL refund for the + missed paper from today and my subscription cancelled immediatelyEvery time I call they don't tell me my account has been already cancelledI think they are going to scam me and not refund my accountThis company is a jokeHow can they get away with NOT delivering papers that we the customers pay for??? Full refund of and for missed Sunday paper today and cancel my subscription immediatelyAlso, work on training your customer service reps to be a little more courteous

I signed up for the 4 week $1.00 digital description back in June. I completely forgot I did so, which is of course, my fault. Then, in DECEMBER, I was charged $27.00 by the Boston Globe—after not having any changes from them since the original charge in June. I was so confused that I thought my credit card information had been compromised, so I got a new card and had to update all of my subscriptions, etc. I saw today that the charge have been repeated and looked further and saw the promotional charge in June and realized what was going on. I don't understand why for 5 months I wasn't charged anything, not even the $1.00 promotional fee, and now am being charged. I know this is my fault by being lured in by the trial period in the first place, but the gap in charges just seems particularly and purposefully confusing. This surprise charge comes as I transition out of grad school back into employment and temporarily have no income. I was looking forward to getting a globe subscription when I was financially stable again, but I am so disappointed in these predatory and misleading practices.

Hello I apologize that you are still having trouble seeing your refund from The Boston Globe I verified with finance that you refund was processed on 3/12/on your [redacted] ending in [redacted] in the amount of $ Please check with your credit card company if you do not see your refund back on your cardThank you, [redacted]

Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response ALMOST COMPLETELY resolves my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # [redacted] I still wish the Globe to change their policy for cancelling accounts so that others are not placed in similar situations Regards, [redacted]

HelloWe apologize for the misunderstanding with the offer you accepted The offer was a week for weeks and then $a week ($for weeks.) A refund of $was already processed back to your credit card and your account is stopped We received notification that the charge you are requesting to be refunded of $per the offer accepted was already disputed with your credit card company Thank you, [redacted]

According to The Boston Globe's records your introductory offer was for $for a period of weeks after which the subscription would increase to $per week or $every week billing period As per the Terms and Conditions of a BostonGlobe.com digital subscription (below) these increases occur automatically at the end of each tier of the introductory offerBostonGlobe.com digital subscription is a credit card only offerYour credit card will be automatically charged in advance every four weeks unless a different billing term is specified in the offerAt the end of your introductory period, you will continue to be charged every weeks for $(99¢/day) unless you cancel your subscriptionOffer valid for those who have not had digital access in the last daysPrices are subject to changeAdditional terms and conditions may applySince the subscription cost had not yet increased to full price you were still in the introductory periodWhile our Agent acted in accordance with The Boston Globe’s policies we will make a one-time exception and issue the refund of $ Please allow to business days for the refund to process