Complaints

This profile includes complaints for StarNews Media's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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• 

  StarNews Media

  PO Box 840 Wilmington, NC 28402-0840

• 

  StarNews Media

  115 N 3rd St STE 400 Wilmington, NC 28401-4086

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.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/22/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore 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 Aug 14, a $20.40 charge was posted to our credit card bill from Gannett Media Co888.426.0419. I didn't notice it until the Sept Bill when it was again charged. At that time I called Gannett, explained to the *** that we were not receiving a subscription to the Paper, print or online, and that we hadn't authorized the charge. She finally agreed to cancel the subscription that we never had and refund the Sept charge that was pending. I have just checked my credit card and not only is the Sept charge still on, but now there is an Oct charge of $20.40 on as well. I have ***eatedly called both the VA number and the local number, but each time only get a recording and when I ask to speak to a customer ***, I get disconnected. Again, we are not receiving the Star News either digitally or in print and do not want it. We do want the total $61.20 refunded to our credit card and our name and credit card info removed from their records.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/22/2024

  October 22, 2024
  
  **** ********
  , NC 28411
  Daytime Phone: **************
  E-mail: *******************************
  
  Complaint #********
  
  Please accept this as confirmation we have received a complaint from your offices regarding **** ******** and her eNewspaper subscription to the Wilmington Star News. Per Ms. ********** request the account was stopped on 10/22/24; billing and access will cease on this date.
  
  Digital subscriptions are a non-refundable service. The only way to start a digital subscription is to provide the full credit card or bank account information and to accept the terms of service, which state the non-refundable policy.  It is the subscriber's responsibility to check their statements each month and notify us immediately when there is a problem. We have reviewed Ms. ********** account and have requested a refund in the amount $61.20 to be returned back to her credit card. 
  
  We appreciate the opportunity to address these concerns.
  
  Thank you,
  Subscription Management Specialist Team Lead
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/23/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore 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.

  ****** of contract, paid for service did not get. Requesting honor and stop unauthorized inter-fearnce, Notice of Dishonor for Order number LWLMO152554 , affidavit of publication received, publication not included in affidavit, requesting proper affidavit with publication on same page as they always come. All Rights are reserved without recourse.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/03/2024

  Thank you for contacting us regarding the issue. The classified department resent the one page affadvit as requested by the customer for the **********************. For additional help or issues please contact ************ or ******************************************************. 

  Thanks

  Gannett Subscriber Services

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/14/2023

  Type:Delivery Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore 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.

  Horrible delivery service for the last six months- worse in the last two months. As star news promised with my subscription, they have failed to meet their obligation as I have had no paper delivery on August 4 6/***********************************, 31st and September 3 sixth seventh and 14th. This is in spite of for the last two months spending more than 24 hours of my time Either reporting the issue or on the chat room or emailing the editor. Nothing has changed nothing that is promised every time that the issue will be resolved has come to fruition! You can never talk to a person in real time I have star news on speed dial along with the chat room. Im a reasonable person and have made multiple attempts to have this problem rectified and I am pretty much at my **** end and dont wont know where else to turn. I see multiple similar complaints to ***** NewsWhat to do?

  Business Response

  Date: 09/14/2023

  September 14, 2023
  
  *********************
  6809 ****************. #*** ***
  Wilmington, ** 28405
  Daytime Phone: **************
  E-mail: ********************
  
  
  Complaint #********
  
  Please accept this as confirmation we have received a complaint from your offices regarding ********************* and the delivery of the paper. We apologize for any frustration this may have caused. We have issued additional credit to the account and have notified the District Manager and his team to see what we can do to get this resolved as quickly as possible.
  
  Our carriers are held accountable for their performance and we do not take this issue lightly. We apologize again that this has taken so long to resolve.
  
  
  
  We appreciate the opportunity to address these concerns.
  
  Thank you,
  Subscription Management Specialist Team Lead

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/15/2023

   
  Complaint: 20601183
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  Until I see the results of a consistent paper delivery as promised from star news I will not be satisfied. Only when, and if it is, this issue is resolved. Then I will be satisfied. Until that date, I remain completely unsatisfied, and even though money reimbursement for all the papers is nice is kind thats not my issue. My issue is I want a paper copy as promised
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/29/2023

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  UnresolvedMore 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 May 2023 I cancelled my online subscription to the newspaper (see chat). I noticed that I am still being billed. I called their customer support and ***** said they never give refunds, that I could not speak with a supervisor, and they could not provide confirmation my account was cancelled. Since there is no way to cancel by pressing a button and no confirmation code given, I feel this is a borderline (if not completely) a criminal act.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/06/2023

  September 8, 2023
  *********************
  *************************************
  Wilmington, ** 28409
  Daytime Phone: ************
  E-mail: ***********************
  
  Complaint #********
  
  Please accept this as confirmation we have received a complaint from your offices regarding ************** and her eNewspaper subscription to the Wilmington Star News. Per his request his account will stop paid-through date of 9/7/2023; billing and access will cease on this date as well. A refund will not be processed.
  
  Digital subscriptions are a non-refundable service. The only way to start a digital subscription is to provide the full credit card or bank account information and to accept the terms of service, which state the non-refundable policy.  It is the subscriber's responsibility to check their statements each month and notify us immediately when there is a problem. If a cancellation is requested, it is processed at the end of the current term.
  
  We appreciate the opportunity to address these concerns.
  
  Thank you,
  Subscription Management Specialist 
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/06/2023

   
  Complaint: 20537493
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  The issue is not that I want a refund for a service I received and agreed to, the issue is I was billed AFTER I cancelled the subscription as verified by my chat and your own records. Non-refundable applies to "buyers remorse" and not to fraudulent charges made on an account after receiving notification of cancellation.

  By the logic presented, this business could make fraudulent charges for years and then say they are "non-refundable" as an excuse. This is simply nonsensical and illegal.

  I am NOT asking for a refund for services I agreed to; I'm asking for a reimbursement for charges made after I notified the customer service that I wanted my account cancelled.

  There's a reason why this business does not provide an easy CANCEL button on their website like most reputable business. They are setting up situations like this so they can milk consumers out of millions.  

  I expect the business to send me the money they owe me for fraudulent charges.
  

  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/28/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore 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.

  For months I have attempted to stop paper delivery at ********************************************************************** by many phone calls, chat room visit, going by the office listed on ****************, and taping a large Do Not Deliver sign taped to my garbage can. All to no avail. To compound the problem, this am the paper was delivered to Oxford but not delivered to my home here at *******************, Wilmington, **.Please help me! ***********************

  Business Response

  Date: 09/06/2023

  September 5, 2023
  
  ***********************
  *********************************
  Wilmington, ** 28405
  Daytime Phone: **************
  E-mail: ***************************
  
  Complaint #********
  
  
  Please accept this as confirmation we have received a complaint from your offices regarding ******************* and the delivery of the paper. We apologize for any frustration this may have caused.  *********************** account has been stopped effective 09/07/23.  We notified the carrier and their manager of the concerns and asked for an immediate correction. This will generate a resolution.  
  
  We appreciate the opportunity to address these concerns.
  
  Thank you,
  Subscription Management Specialist-Team Lead
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/08/2023

  Type:Delivery Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore 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 HAVE SUBSCRIBED TO THE WILMINGTON STAR NEWS (AT THE SAME ADDRESS) FOR 31 YEARS. OVER THE LAST MONTH, MY PAPER HAS NOT BEEN DELIVERED DAILY. I HAVE MISSED AT LEAST 7 NEWS PAPERS IN THE LAST 3 WEEKS. I HAVE CALLED THEIR CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT MANY TIMES, NO ON EVER ANSWERS THE ****** AND, YOU CAN NOT LEAVE A MESSAGE. I HAVE CONTACTED THEM 5 TIMES THROUGH THEIR WEB-SITE OVER THE LAST TWO WEEKS, WITH NEVER RECEIVING A REPLY. WHEN YOU USE THEIR TOUCH TONE SYSTEM TO REPORT A MISSED PAPER, IT ASK IF YOU WANT THE MISSING PAPER DELIVERED THE NEXT DAY. I HIT #1 FOR YES. THEY HAVE NEVER DELIVERED THE MISSED ****** THE NEXT DAY. I WAS ABLE TO REACH THE GANNANT CORPORATION (OWNER) ONE TIME BY ****** THEY SAID THAT IT IS A CARRIER (DELIVERY) ISSUE AND NOT THE PAPERS PROBLEM, HOWEVER, THEY WILL NOT GIVE YOU THE CARRIER'S PHONE NUMBER. THIS IS **** POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE, AGAIN, I AM A 31 YEAR SUBSCRIBER TO THE STAR NEWS, NEVR MISSED A PAYMENT.*******************

  Business Response

  Date: 06/16/2023

  June 16, 2023
  *************************
  2329 ***********
  Wilmington, ** 28411
  Daytime Phone: **************
  E-mail: ***************************
  
  Complaint #********
  
  Please accept this as confirmation we have received a complaint from your offices regarding ************** and the delivery of his paper. We apologize for any frustration this may have caused. Our automated services are designed to be user-friendly and help avoid holding the line for an agent. There are no local numbers available for customer service-related issues such as missed deliveries. Essentially, they both add the same complaints to an account. Any complaints lodged against a carrier are placed on the account automatically if subscribers use our automated services and our agents are diligent in placing missed delivery complaints and escalating excessive complaints. When a subscriber requests a credit for a missed delivery, the expiration date of the account is extended by one day; this is not reflected in renewal notices or online.  
  
  The only explanation customer service receives regarding delayed delivery is in the event of a carrier, production, editorial, or weather issue. This affects an entire route, and the notice is displayed online and when calling the customer service number. More than not, missed deliveries are due to human error and/or the loss of a carrier. If a route is without a carrier, substitute carriers and members of management deliver the route to ensure delivery is executed. Our delivery team does not accept calls, nor do they reach out to subscribers; their working hours fall within a time that is not acceptable to contact any subscriber. Carriers are held accountable when the proper complaints are placed on accounts. This is the reason it is important that |missed deliveries are reported as they happen.  
  
  Mr. ****** account has been documented and credited accurately based on the choice he made using the automated systems. I notified his carrier and their manager of his concerns and asked for an immediate correction. This will generate a resolution.  
  
  We have had several agents speak with ************** and contact with him via email; the dates are as follows: 5/1, 5/17, 6/8 and 6/9. ****************** line rings busy when we initiate contact, but he does respond to our emails. One of our agents also educated him on using digital content when a paper is missed on 6/8/23. 
  
  We appreciate the opportunity to address these concerns.
  
  Thank you,
  Subscription Management Specialist 
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/17/2023

   
  Complaint: 20161231
  
  I am rejecting this response because: I PAY ****** PER YEAR FOR MY HOME DELIVERED ***** (WHICH DID NOT COME YESTERDAY). I DO NOT PAY THAT MONEY SO THAT I CAN THEN GO ONLINE AND READ THE ****** I HAVE MISSED 9 *****S IN THE LAST 3 WEEKS. BEFORE MY PREVIOUS DELIVERY PERSON ( *********************) RETIRED IN MAY, I NEVER MISSED A *****, EVER, AND IT WAS ALWAYS EARLY SO THAT I COULD READ IT BEFORE WORK. BASICALLY, I AM PAYING FOR A SERVICE THAT I AM NOT GETTING. I HAVE SUBSCRIBED TO THE STAR NEWS FOR 31 YEARS. THE ONLY CORRECTION THAT IS NEEDED IS FOR THE STAR NEWS TO DELIVER MY DAILY ***** EVERY DAY, SUNDAY - FRIDAY, AT A REASONABLE TIME. ALL THEY NEED TO DO IS DO THEIR JOB. THE ONLY WAY FOR THE STAR NEWS TO RESOLVE THIS PROBLEM IS TO DELIVER MY ***** EVERY DAY, THAT IS WHAT I HAVE BEEN PAYING FOR, FOR 31 YEARS. THEIR PROBLEM WITH MAINTAINING COMPETENT DELIVERY PEOPLE IS THEIR CONCERN, NOT MINE. HERE IS THE DAILY RROUTINE WHEN THE ***** IS NOT HEAR IN THE MORNING. YOU CALL CIRCULATION, THEY SAY THAT BASED ON MY PHONE NUMBER, THEY HAVE MY ACCOUNT PULLED UP. THE **** STATES THAT IF I HAVE NOT RECEIVED MY *****, PUSH ONE, IT THEN SAYS MY ***** WILL BE DELIVERED BY 1:00PM. AT 2:00PM, STILL NO *****, YOU CALL BACK AND THE RECORDING SAYS THAT THERE WILL BE NO ***** DELIVERED TODAY. THEN IT SAYS IF YOU WANT TODAYS ***** DELIVERED TOMORROW, PRESS 2. WHEN TOMORROW COMES, THERE IS STILL NO ***** FOR THE ONE MISSED.
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************