Media Consultant
The Athletic Media CompanyThis business is NOT BBB Accredited.
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Complaints
This profile includes complaints for The Athletic Media Company's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see
Customer Complaints Summary
- 63 total complaints in the last 3 years.
- 11 complaints closed in the last 12 months.
If you've experienced an issue
Submit a ComplaintThe complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.
Initial Complaint
Date:03/22/2025
Type:Product IssuesStatus:UnansweredMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
Date of incident 3/22/25 Athletic increased my subscription to $7.99/m and did not send any message that it would increase. On the day of the charge I contacted them to say I do not want the subscription at that price.They refused to cancel or refund the charge.Initial Complaint
Date:03/12/2025
Type:Product IssuesStatus:UnansweredMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
Auto-renewing a $19.99 subscription with no notice for $71.99 and then telling customers there is no refund is not how you run a reputable business.Initial Complaint
Date:03/03/2025
Type:Delivery IssuesStatus:UnansweredMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
Received a $72 recurring yearly charge to my credit card. When I go to my account I dont even have a membership on their own site. Shady business practices.Initial Complaint
Date:02/08/2025
Type:Product IssuesStatus:UnansweredMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
Like everyone else on here, I was charged $71.99 for an annual product without notice. This practice in ************************************************************************ that they do not actual believe in the value the service provides. If I am billed for an annual service, and I cancel, I should receive a prorated refund. In this case, it was charged last night and I cancelled this morning, so 1 day of an annual service makes sense. However, they do not believe in refunds, and sent me a refund policy URL in response. I have charged back the funds and already received them, so my case is close. However, I want to ensure others know about this shady business practice before going into their subscription.Initial Complaint
Date:12/30/2024
Type:Sales and Advertising IssuesStatus:UnansweredMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
Was charged $71.99 for an annual subscription more than 7x the previous price for the service. I believe the company is aware this is a deceptive tactic, as they don't send any warning emails alerting customers of the price change. The ********************** has a "no refunds" policy for this reason, customers would not be likely to continue paying the price for this service. Very frustrated at this company's pricing model that does not allow refunds despite a customers intent to no longer use the service.Initial Complaint
Date:12/18/2024
Type:Product IssuesStatus:UnansweredMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
Seller sets up subscriptions at vastly higher rates than I originally signed up for and provided no notice that the subscription was expiring and coming up for renewal. I had not accessed the site in months and obviously had no intentions of using going forward, and made the business aware of the unauthorized charge as soon as I was made aware of it. Contacted them the day the charge hit. They just curtly said that they don't issue refunds and didn't respond any further. I expect a refund in full for the unauthorized charge and would expect a business to do the morally upright practice of letting users know of upcoming renewals and charges so that the user isn't caught off guard and is able to keep the subscription if wanted or cancel if they so choose.Initial Complaint
Date:11/01/2024
Type:Billing IssuesStatus:UnansweredMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
I was unexpectedly billed $71.99 by the Athletic even though I am not using their services. The Athletic uses an auto renewal system and charges extremely high fees. They make it very hard to cancel and the subscription cannot be cancelled on a mobile device.Initial Complaint
Date:09/12/2024
Type:Billing IssuesStatus:UnansweredMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
On January 30, 2024 I called about my Athletic subscription, My monthly rate was about to go up and I was looking for a better deal. At that time your representative offered me $1.99 a month for a year and then increasing to $7.99 after that. I accepted the deal and gave my Navy ******************** **** for payment. The error you made was that you continued to bill my **************** from my old deal. Therefore you double billed me for the last 8 months, billing both my **** $1.99 and my **************** $1.99. In addition starting this month you raised my **************** rate to $7.99. I have changed my **************** to no longer accept charges from you and disputed the $7.99 charge. I have also disputed the $1.99 monthly charge on my Navy Federal ****.The bottom line I overpaid $1.99 for 7 months as well as overpaying $7.99 this month due to the rate change on my AMEX.I will drop my disputes if you agree to credit my account for $21.92Initial Complaint
Date:08/22/2024
Type:Product IssuesStatus:UnansweredMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
I was charged an auto-renewal fee of $71.99 today, August 21, 2024. When I informed the Company I did not want the service for another year, they refused to cancel my charge or refund me. I caught the charge the morning of the charge and immediately brought it to the Company's attention.Initial Complaint
Date:08/15/2024
Type:Product IssuesStatus:UnansweredMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
Had been a subscriber for a few years, paid for a year on April 24 and tried to cancel and asked for a refund of the remainder of subscription and they are non-responsive
The Athletic Media Company is NOT a BBB Accredited Business.
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