The Toronto Star

I was shopping at the *** Stouffvile store and was approached by a Toronto Star salesman offering me a $25 discount card that I could use to pay my groceries if I subscribe to the Toronto Star saturday delivery. I specifically asked if I could cancel if I was not satisfied. The salesman said I could after 1 month. When I called the Toronto Star to cancel the subscription I was told I had signed up to a 1 year term and I had to pay the full year even if I did not received the paper. I feel misled and forced into a contract ***.

Subscribed by phone for weekend paper dely which began Nov. 10/18 but *** (Star Week) was not included. I called Customer Service and it was delivered the next day with the Sun. paper. On Nov.17, the Sat. paper was delivered with the *** - no problem. On Nov. 24, Sat. paper del. with no ***. On calling Circulation Dept. to complain, I was told that I had to pay $4.68 extra for each ***.

I am 80 and cannot afford an extra $242 a year and asked to cancel the delivery; I was told that I could not cancel unless I paid for the full 12 mos. delivery as I had signed up under contract. I have never signed anything and a "Print Subscription Agreement" was rec'd in the mail on Nov. 23. I called again and was then told I could have 2 mos. free and then be charged $14.07/mo. but without the ***. On Nov. 25, the Sat. paper was delivered without the ***; when I called, I was told it would be delivered - it never was.

I can buy the Sat. paper WITH the *** for $4.00 from the paper box or at the Convenience or Drug Store; why would I want to pay $4 plus for the paper and another $4 plus for the *** because of delivery? All I wanted was the Sat. paper and ***. I don't even read the Sun. paper.

On May 11th around dinner time my door bell rang, I answered the door and there was a young man there
wondering if I am interested in subscribing to the Toronto Star. I told him I'm not interested as I'm already receiving the local paper.He continued on saying he is trying to earn some money to further his education and if I took it for two months he would earn $50. and if I did not want it any more I could cancel. After some consideration I thought he seems like a nice young fellow so I said OK. He
pulled out a form and asked for my credit card # which I gave to him and signed it, I did not read the form but assumed that what he told me was true. The paper started coming on May 15th and after two months I realized that I really did not want the paper as it contained a lot of the same articles as our local paper and a lot that was not relevant to our area. So I called The Star to cancel my subscription only to find out that they won't cancel because I signed for one year. After several calls the answer was always the same. I also sent them a email and in there response they admitted that there representative failed to explain things properly.
Product_Or_Service: Toronto Star Newspaper
Order_Number: ***
Account_Number: XXXXXXXX

I wanted to cancel my weekend subscription of Toronto Star paper and called their circulation department to do so. Here is what they told me.

1. I signed a 1 year contract so my only option was to pay for the remaining 10 months to buy out of the contract and stop getting the paper. The other option is to continue to pay and receive the newspaper.
2. I have to call back to cancel the subscription at the end of the year again otherwise it will be automatically renewed. I asked if they can put a note on my account so it is not renewed and they said, I will have to call back towards the end of the contract term.
3. I subscribed for Saturday and Sunday paper but have only been receiving the Saturday paper for the past month. For this, they offered to extend the subscription to compensate. The very subscription I am requesting for cancellation.

To Whom It May Concern,

On May 8, 2018, a student came to my door selling Toronto Star subscriptions. She stated that she would receive a commission which would go toward her tuition at the University of Guelph if she sold enough subscriptions. Having visions of my own daughter doing something similar in a few years, I agreed only after I was assured that I could cancel after three months; three months being was what was required for her to earn the commission. No indication was given that I was signing a contract, no attempt was made to have me read any agreement. Three months (to the day) later, I telephoned the Toronto Star circulation desk to cancel delivery and was surprised and appalled to find that according to the fine print on the back of the receipt, I had ended up with a one year subscription. I asked to cancel and was informed to do so I would be charged the entire year's fee...for the privilege of not receiving anything; an amount totalling over two hundred dollars.

I will remind you that a verbal contract is still a contract, and this qualifies as an underhanded business practice. I know of two other people in my area who were also assured they could cancel their subscriptions after three months. Clearly you are telling people one thing at their door and then holding them to an agreement they were unaware they were making. Unless you permit me to cancel this subscription with no further charges, I will file a complaint with the Revdex.com. ***

Sincerely,
***
*** Street
Elora, Ontario

On May 19, 2018 a young man named *** showed up at my door. He was selling a subscription for the Toronto Star. My household was busy at the time but I entertained his sales pitch for a brief period. *** was encouraging me to purchase the subscription in order to help him out because if he obtained a certain level of sales, the Toronto Star would give him up to $5,000 towards his education. *** assured me that I could cancel the subscription at any time, but he asked that I not do so within the first 3 months, otherwise he would not receive credit for the sale. In good faith I purchased the Saturday paper for delivery based on this arrangement.

Once the three months passed, I contacted the subscription Department at the Toronto Star to cancel. I was told that while I could cancel the subscription, the monthly deductions would continue for the duration of the 12 months. The best that I could do was to have the subscription halted for a period of time to try to get this matter resolved. It is currently on hold until September 1, but the Toronto Star intends to continue the subscription for the full 12 month term after that.

I again called the subscription Department today. I found out that these calls are directed to a contracted service. The company is called *** and handled by an agent in India. The agent, while understanding and agreeing with my position, could not remedy my complaint and stated that it was a management decision. Furthermore, my complaint could not be escalated.

My position is that the verbal contract made at the time of sale with *** permitted me to cancel at any time, although *** asked that I do so no sooner than 3 months. It is incredulous that I be permitted to cancel such a contract but that I would continue to be charged for the service and product on an ongoing basis for the duration of the 12 months. Any reasonable person would expect that by canceling the subscription, one would stop receiving the paper and the Toronto Star would stop receiving payments. The order form that I signed states that 'subscriptions will automatically continue at the end of the initial period until cancelled.' It does not clearly state what is deemed to be 'the initial period.'

The Toronto Star is engaging in a poor and deceptive business model if they are coaching their sales team to misrepresent the terms and conditions of their sales contracts.

I buy the Sunday edition of the Toronto Star newspaper from time to time because it has the *** supplement. While grocery shopping at our local *** store on July 27, 2018 I noticed that the Star had a kiosk there. I asked about delivery of the Sunday paper only and was advised that in order to receive the Sunday paper I would also have to take the Saturday edition. I agreed and purchased a one year subscription, paid with my credit card on a monthly basis. Upon receiving my first delivery of the Sunday edition on August 5,2018,I discovered that there was no *** supplement. I phoned the Star Tuesday, August 7,2018 and was informed that because I bought a weekend subscription at a kiosk, the *** supplement will not be included. The Toronto Star agent who sold me the subscription at no time informed me that this would be the case. Also, on my copy of the Subscription Agreement, nowhere does it say that the supplement would be excluded. I only read the Sunday Star because of the supplement. I asked to cancel my subscription , but they refused. They said if I cancelled I would still be billed for the entire year. Or I could switch to receiving only the Saturday edition, which I reluctantly agreed to. I really wasn't given any other choice. I feel that this is misrepresentation on the part of the Toronto Star ( the agent not informing me of The *** supplement not being included; no mention of this in my copy of the Subscription Agreement) and I should be able to cancel my subscription without penalty. I am a senior citizen and I feel that I've been taken advantage of.

On Aug 7, 2018 I received a mail from Toronto Star regardging Subscription Account XXXXXXXX.
It stated that they tried to process a payment form my Toronto Star subscription of $43.32 on July 23, 2018.
We have encountered a problem with the credit card we have on file.
I was shocked to see this. I have not had any Toronto Star newsspaper delivered to my house in over 1.5 years!
I called the service centre XXX-XXX-XXXX and spoke to *** and her supervisor ***.
The last time I had the Star delivered was in Dec 2016 after I completed a ONE month trial.
I was told that the trial would end and I did not have to do anything.
Since January 2017 I have not had any newspaper delivered to my house.
But it turns out the Toronto Star has been *** charging my credit card for a newspaper delivery that has never happened!
They only offered to refund the past 3 payments due to their policy.
When I asked to speak to the supervisor he told me there is no way to validate my claim with the distribution mananager since delivery people have changed over such a long time.
I should have caught this earlier on my credit card statements but I did not.
However I would ask that the Toronto Star refund the additional 15 months since they NEVER sent a single newspapger in that time to my house!

I agreed to try weekend Toronto Star delivery when at at *** in London Ont on 14th April 2018.I was a little hesitant and asked their cancellation policy if I changed my mind .I was told that it could be cancelled 2 months after the start if I wished.I found that I often did not get around to reading the paper so just over a week ago I called to cancelI was told I could cancel but would be liable to a cancellation fee till the end of the year contractover $200.I told her her what I had been told by their representative and I was told that I had signed a contract and would be liable.I asked to speak to a manager and was told she was a supervisor.I was insistent that I discuss it with someone higher.I was told someone would call me and no-one has as yet.I feel that I should have been informed of the penalty as I had specifically asked about cancellation at the time of considering the subscipition. I feel I was misled and I am very unhappy.I would appreciate any help in this matter.

At The Home Show in Kingston on April 4, 2018, I was approached by a promoter and told that if I subscribed to the TO Star for a min of 3 months, I would receive a blender as a gift. I was skeptical, but he assured me this was a promotion being offered. When he asked me to sign a contract, I told him that I didn't have my reading glasses on me and he again , went over the terms of the contract I was signing. I confirmed with him that there would be no penalty fee for cancelling after 3 months.His name was ***, he was very kind to clarify the terms of the contract AS I COULDN'T READ IT. Imagine my surprise when they charged my credit card for a full year and stopped delivering the paper after 3 months! I have phoned and emailed with no results.

Sales Slip # ***
Sales person : ***

On May 11, 2018 I had a man come to my door to sell me a subscription to the Toronto Star. I informed him I don't read the paper and he told me that if I just kept my subscription for two months he would get a bursary towards his education. He pleaded with me to not cancel before two months to ensure he received his bursary. I thought I would do a good deed and help him out with financial support towards his education so I agreed to sign up. He assured me I could cancel at anytime but to please not cancel before two months.
Approximately three weeks ago , after the second month had been charged to my credit card, I called the Toronto Star to cancel my subscription. I was told that I had signed up for 12 months and could not cancel. I explained to the person on the phone that the sales person ( ***) had misrepresented the company and had verbally told me I could cancel. I was told I could cancel but still had to pay for the 12 months. I reached out on the Toronto Star *** page and have email the circulation department for the Star. I have not had a reasonable resolution offered and I have my Sales order slip without my initials in the box marked "12 month of 7 day subscription ". It says "Initials required " and the sales person scribbled in it which I was unaware of and he most definitely did not outline that to me. As well, the address on the form is incorrect- he rushed through the form without outlining anything. I was willing to pay for 2 months worth of newspapers I don't read not 12 months. I hope you can help me stop my subscription without penalty. I will never sign up for anything from another door to door sales person!

In late March my wife was approached by an agent of the Toronto Star in the Orillia Metro Store. After being assured that the subscription he was selling could be cancelled for any reason after two months, on that understanding, she agreed to a subscription to the Weekend Star to begin on April 7, 2018. Over the next three weeks she received only one Saturday and two Sunday papers, and decided to cancel the order due to unreliable delivery. Their April 10 letter confirming the subscription stated: Delivery and charges continue unless you contact us with your cancellation request. On calling The Star to cancel, we were told that we could cancel delivery, but we would still have to pay $266.57 immedia *** visa.
We called visa to block further charges to our account, and were directed to their Fraud Dept. They agreed that because my wife had not been told there would be ongoing charges if she cancelled, and that she had not been given a copy of any agreement she signed, the agent had been *** if not ***. Attempting to resolve the issue for us, they setup a three-way conference call with the Star's Escalation Team (***), who basically said: 'too bad, you signed, pay up ***'. She did not respond to my request for a copy of any agreement my wife had signed.
The Visa Fraud Dept. also advised that we should watch charges to our visa account.

I was approached by a Star salesman at the local *** Store in Aug 2017 regarding a subscription for home delivery of the newspaper. I live in the country and I was sceptical as to whether delivery was possible having previously tried with the Star and not receiving any papers some years earlier. I was assured multiple times that this was no longer a problem and as I am a supporter of the Star and printed news delivery I was happy to sign on. Once again I was disappointed as I waited and eventually gave up on having not received a single paper. At the end of the original period in December 2017 I received a renewal invoice which I had not approved and reminded me of that there was an issue that I needed to resolve with the Star. Unfortunately I was not able to act on this issue until I received the second notice. The amounts are not large but as a senior it is a useful amount to have. There was no acceptance nor desire by the Star customer service department to deal with this issue or to investigate internally as to what went wrong.
I do enjoy the Star however their response was not satisfactory.