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Business Profile

Media Consultant

The Athletic Media Company

This business is NOT BBB Accredited.

Find BBB Accredited Businesses in Media Consultant.

Complaints

This profile includes complaints for The Athletic Media Company's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see

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The Athletic Media Company has 2 locations, listed below.

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    Customer Complaints Summary

    • 61 total complaints in the last 3 years.
    • 11 complaints closed in the last 12 months.

    If you've experienced an issue

    Submit a Complaint

    The 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.

    Sort by

    Complaint status

    Complaint type

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:06/05/2023

      Type:Service or Repair Issues
      Status:
      Unanswered
      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.
      The Athletic Media Company charged me 5x my monthly subscription fee and charged me at the much higher rate for a full year without my consent. In my research, I am not the only person affected by this dishonest business practice. I requested a refund, and would like to have the option of choosing to either continue or discontinue the service with the Athletic based upon knowing the new rates and payment options up front. The Athletic are refusing to provide me with a refund, but have been known to provide refunds due to this dishonest business practice when being pressed further by other affected people.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:06/01/2023

      Type:Billing Issues
      Status:
      Unanswered
      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.
      The Athletic charged me $71.99 to renew my subscription and I didn't receive any emails or notifications from The Athletic about the extension. My subscription ended on May 31, 2023 and the renewal occurred on June 1, 2023. I immediately canceled and emailed The Athletic for a refund. They informed me that they do not provide a refund. My past subscription was $19.99. I also now subscribe to the NYTimes and I get The Athletic through it. I would like a full refund.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:05/31/2023

      Type:Product Issues
      Status:
      Unanswered
      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 May 30, 2023, I received a deduction from my bank account in the amount of $17.99. This was done without my KNOWLEDGE OR CONSENT. I respectfully request immediate refund for this fraudulent transaction Sincerely *****************************

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:05/22/2023

      Type:Service or Repair Issues
      Status:
      Unanswered
      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 did not authorise this payment of ***** I have never signed up for this .?This was done illegally

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:05/08/2023

      Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
      Status:
      Unanswered
      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.
      Last year I had agreed to sign up for an annual subscription for 1 year as an offer from The Athletic for ***** which I accepted. I never agreed to have this be auto renewed nor was I told how much it would be if I wanted to continue. Also everytime I tried to access my account to see any info about my subscription. I would be met with an error page stating: "internal server error 500". Today I was charged *****. Again I had never previously agreed to pay this price nor was I notified about the amount I would be charged prior to being charged. I received no email notifying me of the upcoming charge or the amount it was being changed too. They have no customer service number to call to discuss. I was able to cancel my subscription but they are refusing to refund despite it being canceled the same day I was charged and that I cancelled the subscription.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:04/04/2023

      Type:Billing Issues
      Status:
      Unanswered
      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.
      Charged illegally $49.99 without my consent with deceiving practices.Dishonest behaviour low business model.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:04/01/2023

      Type:Billing Issues
      Status:
      Unanswered
      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.
      We received a charge of $71.99 for a subscription to this Athletic ************* and we never authorized this subscription. I called our bank and they are disputing the charge and let me know that this is the second time they charged us for something we never signed up for.There is no customer service number to call. I really feel this is scam and they have no business charging people who do not sign up and also for not notifying us through email or call with a subscription charge and detail.Thank you for your help in stopping this company from doing this to people. It is wrong!!

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:03/31/2023

      Type:Order Issues
      Status:
      Unanswered
      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.
      The Athletic charged me $72 for a yearly subscription I don't want. I didn't receive any emails or notifications from the athletic about the extension, only got the PayPal transaction stating the charge. There was no word on a charge coming. I immediately cancelled my account and emailed them demanding a refund for which their policy says they won't refund my money they took. This practice is unethical and should be illegal. I want my money back immediately. I will not be using the media service ever again.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:03/28/2023

      Type:Billing Issues
      Status:
      Resolved
      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 have an automatic renewal with The Athletic. I got an email that they renewed and charged my credit card for $71.99. I went online to cancel as I am a senior citizen on fixed income and I don't read that many articles. When I cancelled I got a pop up message that I could renew for $24.00. I accepted that. Well it turns out that $24.00 is for next years renewal and I can't cancel this years subscription. They don't tell you that and they won't let me cancel this years subscription. Plus you can't talk to anyone on the phone. I've read many other similar complaints on BBB's website. It's such an unethical way to run a business, I'm surprised that The Athletic hasn't had any repercussions on this matter. I just want to cancel the current year and get my money back.

      Customer Answer

      Date: 03/30/2023

      Please cancel my case ID ******** against The Athletic Media Company.  My complaint has been resolved, they are refunding my money, crediting my credit card account.

       

      *****************************

      *********, **

       

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:02/10/2023

      Type:Service or Repair Issues
      Status:
      Unanswered
      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.
      The Athletic Magazine renewed my annual subscription at $71.99 without sending any prior notification on when the automatic renewal would occur. This type of process, not giving the consumer fair warning that a charge is going to occur, is consumer abuse and borderline fraud - no one tracks their annual subscription due dates. Moreover, The Athletic provides no phone number to discuss a request for a refund; only automated responses - not providing an outlet or contact for a consumer to make a live request, is again, a form of consumer abuse.

    The Athletic Media Company is NOT a BBB Accredited Business.

    To become accredited, a business must agree to BBB Standards for Trust and pass BBB's vetting process.

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