The New Orleans Advocate

Review: Ordered a subscription online on 11.21.15 and received a confirmation via email. Did not receive the newspaper the next day and called subscription services. The representative indicated they did not have the order and took the order again. Received 1-2 papers but none since. Have been calling subscription services and they indicate they will contact the area manager and send out a replacement paper. Never received replacement paper and the next day no paper is being delivered. Call again, same routine. No replacement paper and no paper the next day. Called at least 5-6 times.Desired Settlement: Deliver the newspaper as promised. Adjust subscription for no deliveries.

Business

Response:

Mr. [redacted] newspaper delivery issue seems to have been resolved. We have spoken to carrier and have reached out to customer. We have also issued 14 days of credit to Mr. [redacted] account for the problems he incurred. This credit will extend his expiration date 14 days.We apologize for the problems and for the delay in responding. We hope this resolves the complaint.Thanks,[redacted]

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 10975001, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

Review: The Advocate charges whether or not newspaper is delivered. I had a one week vacation stoppage of delivery and they charged me for full months delivery. Says $$ go to charity.I received no notification of this policy nor opportunity to assent or refuse.Apparently only recourse is to cancel when go on vacation????Desired Settlement: Credit for period that newspaper is not delivered.

Business

Response:

We have extended Mr. [redacted]s subscription for seven days due to confusion on our policy for vacation stops.Attached is a copy of the back of our invoice stating our policy on vacation stops. This change went in effect June 1, 2014 and was necessary for us to continue to provide a quality newspaper delivered seven days a week. Future vacation stops to Mr. [redacted]s account will be handled accordingly.We value him as a customer and hope he will continue to subscribe to The New Orleans Advocate for years to come.Sincerely,Leslie B[redacted]

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 10783004, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

Advocate has always taken payment via automatic debit from bank account, so I never have received an invoice. I have no way of knowing if in fact I was notified of this provision of the subscription.I appreciate the extension of my subscription, but am NOT AT ALL HAPPY that I will be charged in the future. I will probably cancel subscription rather than take vacation suspension.

Regards,

Frank Earl

Business

Response:

There is no way for us to flag Mr. [redacted]s account to credit him for vacation stops. However, if he will call me directly with future vacation requests, I will be happy to make sure his account is adjusted properly. We value him as a subscriber and hope he will continue to read our newspaper for years to come.Leslie B[redacted]Executive AssistantPublisher's Office###-###-####

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 10783004, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

Review: I did not receive a newspaper today and when I called I was first told that we had not paid the bill. I insisted that we had and even if the payment had not yet been credited we should have had three weeks of credit for a vacation. I was then informed that the newspaper no longer gives credit for a vacation stop. Instead, they donate the funds to some charity. They did that without my permission and told me that was their company policy. I have never been notified of that policy and had previously complained about not getting credit for a vacation stop and was told they would check into it and give me credit. A LIE! The customer service representative today told me that is the policy of the owner, John G[redacted], and no one in customer service agrees with that policy and they hate having to tell that to customers. THIS IS STEALING! If I pay for something I should receive it, not have my money taken and then given away instead of giving me the product I paid for. I know of no other business that operates this way, and I believe it is ILLEGAL. I hope the Revdex.com can get this concept across to Mr. G[redacted] and insist that he change this policy or be branded for having illegal business practices. In the meantime I will no longer be a subscriber to The New Orleans Advocate. It is a shame that in a city the size of New Orleans our only choices in newspapers are this one that has illegal business practices or one that delivers only three days a week and has moved its printing business to Mobile.Desired Settlement: I would like to hear from Mr. G[redacted] and have him defend this policy and explain to me how this is not stealing to take the money I pay for a newspaper and use it for another purpose without telling me. With such practices The Advocate will go the way of many other papers in this country and close its doors.

Business

Response:

[redacted], Our customer service manager talked to Mr. [redacted] on Friday, 3/18, and offered him 2 months of delivery free. She told him in the future to contact her directly before going on vacation and she would handle crediting their account. He said that was a very good deal to him, but he would talk to Mrs. [redacted] to see if she wanted to continue the subscription, and that he would call back sometime that afternoon when his wife returned home. We did not hear back from Mr. [redacted], so called again and left him a message on Wednesday, 3/23.We hope to hear back from Mr. [redacted] soon.[redacted]