ComplaintsforThe Economist
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Complaint Details
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Initial Complaint
04/19/2024
- Complaint Type:
- Billing Issues
- Status:
- Unanswered
I signed up for a free preview of the Economist for school. I had to add a cc to get the account. They charged me $16.72 on 2/1, $20.90 on 2/2, $20.90 on 2/3 and $20.90 on 2/4. I am on chat with them right now and they are stalling to avoid giving me my money back. They can't see the charges even thoughInitial Complaint
04/01/2024
- Complaint Type:
- Product Issues
- Status:
- Unanswered
On March 28, 2024, I saw an an for an Educator Discount on subscriptions to the Economist in an online ad. See screenshot. I attempted to use the link and spent over an hour chatting with representatives of The Economist. They were unable to get me my subscription. I retired 20 years agoInitial Complaint
03/04/2024
- Complaint Type:
- Service or Repair Issues
- Status:
- Unanswered
I have tried to cancel my subscription through the online chat twice. However many times I say that I am not interested in any deals they refuse to cancel my subscription and just keep making offers. This goes on loner than 20 minutes and is dishonest. Today I tried to cancel my subscription through the portal but got the spinning little icon for over 30 minutes I also tried calling. I was told I was 2nd in line and after waiting for 20 minutes I elected to take the call back option but another 30 minutes has gone by and no one has called. The Economist makes it impossible to cancel the auto billing, how many times do I need to contact them. This is deceptive and dishonestInitial Complaint
01/29/2024
- Complaint Type:
- Product Issues
- Status:
- Unanswered
'The Economist' magazines addressed to a prior tenant started arriving at my address early in ****. 'The Economist' has been unable to stop delivery to my address or correct the subscriber's address, they claim, because I cannot provide the email or credit card information of the subscriber. This is unfair to me (since I do not want 'The Economist') and to the subscriber, who is not receiving his subscription.Customer response
02/23/2024
Better Business Bureau:
At this time, I have not been contacted by The Economist regarding complaint ID ********.
Sincerely,
*****************************Initial Complaint
01/04/2024
- Complaint Type:
- Billing Issues
- Status:
- Unanswered
I have recieved a fraudulent charge from the economist in ** and they will not help in clearing the charge or figuring what happened they are unwilling to help in any wayInitial Complaint
12/22/2023
- Complaint Type:
- Delivery Issues
- Status:
- Resolved
I've been a subscriber a long time. Last year price increase was exorbitant so did not renew. A few weeks later I received a phone call and was offered one year renewal at $157 Can. This was more than 50% discount. I accepted and had the agent send me an email confirming this price.[I have it}. Magazine was delivered to my address as intended for six months then stopped. I inquired and sent them a copy of my email clearly stating one year subscription for $157C. They answered eventually saying that they had a wrong address which was definitely NOT the case and that delivery will now resume. IT HAS NOT after 2weeks. Obviously the agent made an error when he made the offer but that was not my fault. I want them to resume delivery AND to extend my subscription by ,at least, the number of weeks I was not sent an issue which is now 6 weeks and adding.Customer response
01/15/2024
At this time, I have been contacted directly by The Economist regarding complaint ID ********, however my complaint has NOT been resolved because:
[Your Answer Here] I'm being ignored.
They contacted me PRIOR to my contacting you. I was told that the reason issues were not arriving was because they had wrong address. This was not true since I had been receiving copies for the last six months. They then said since they now had the correct address, delivery would now resume. It's now been about a month and nothing has been received. When looking up "My Account" on ****************** website, they have the right address. I've sent emails and been ignored.
In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.
Sincerely,
*****************************
Customer response
02/06/2024
Better Business Bureau:
At this time, my complaint, ID ******** regarding The Economist has been resolved.(By clicking "OK", your complaint will be closed as Resolved.)
Sincerely,
*****************************Initial Complaint
12/12/2023
- Complaint Type:
- Service or Repair Issues
- Status:
- Unanswered
I have tried cancelling my subscription 4 times in the past 3 months via their chat service. They confirm it is done, yet I continue to get billed. It feels like they are intentionally keeping subscribers from cancelling in order to continue charing them monthly. I am seeking $82.50 which is what I've paid the past 3 months I've tried cancelling.Initial Complaint
10/19/2023
- Complaint Type:
- Billing Issues
- Status:
- Unanswered
1. The Economist makes it difficult to cancel your subscription. There is no web link to unsubscribe; you have to talk with a customer service representative. To do so, you have to wait in a phone queue. Because of this, I missed my unsubscribe deadline, and was billed for another year. I have a copy of this invoice.2. I did cancel my subscription and was told I would not be billed next year. However, there are no refunds.3. Then, The Economist revoked my rights to read the subscription I had just been billed for.I talked on the phone with their representative, today 2023-10-18 around 10 AM, and they confirmed that my subscription has been revoked.In other words, I was billed $230 for a year's subscription that will never get to use.Initial Complaint
09/08/2023
- Complaint Type:
- Delivery Issues
- Status:
- Unanswered
I have been an on-again, off-again subscriber to The Economist for many years. Over this period, I would often go on lengthy trips (sometimes of over one year, others for just one month). I would email The Economist and suspend my subscription and they would extend the expiration date by the number of issues missed. In December of 2022 and April of 2023, I again suspended the delivery of the magazine for one month each time. I was then surprised to see that the subscription department did not extend my contract at all and my three-year subscription period ended in May. After my subscription ended, The Economist began calling, emailing, and targeting me with online ads to get me to resubscribe at a 50% discount. This continues.As The Economist is a very high-quality publication, two months represent a significant amount of money. So I contacted them via the chat function on their website as well as by email. They refused to extend my subscription but as "special compensation" tried to get me to take the special offer they had been extending to me for weeks. I feel this was very dishonest to pretend that this offer was coming because I was unhappy that I "lost" two months of issues.I offered to just receive the two months of issues I had missed but this compromise was also refused.As I was not told that my subscription would be extended (as it had been several times in the past), I would like to receive two months more of the magazine. Why would anyone pause a subscription in order to lose the value of the time period involved?Initial Complaint
08/14/2023
- Complaint Type:
- Service or Repair Issues
- Status:
- Unanswered
I have been trying to cancel my subscription for over a year. I first spoke to someone in August of 2022 about canceling my subscription. They sold me on a plan to give me a discount for the 3 months left on my subscription before cancelation. I called in early 2023 to let them know that it still has not been cancelled. The representative stated that it was being cancelled. It was not. I called and spoke to a representative on August 11, 2023. They stated that it looks like I have not touched the publication since August of 2022 and that will the 3 months of discount that was offered, that would put me in November 2022 for the official cancelation. He stated that I would be receiving refund on my payment from November 2022 - July 2023 and that I would be receiving an email about the agreement soon and to process the refund. I received an email on 08.12.2023 that I would not be receiving the refund. I am currently on the phone waiting to speak to another representative. I have been over charged $567.00 and they are refusing to refund the money.
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Customer Complaints Summary
28 total complaints in the last 3 years.
14 complaints closed in the last 12 months.