ComplaintsforNewspaperarchive.com

• Initial Complaint

  02/24/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Never used this website but billed on Discover Card to renew. Cancel Discover Card #*******************

  Business response

  02/27/2023

  Hello *****, we'd be happy to assist you!  Thank you for providing the billing information in question; we located the account under a ******************* email address.  While the refund wouldn't normally be eligible for a refund due to the seven day refund window on renewals, we do see the subscription hasn't been utilized as of recently and your request has been made only a few days past that window.  Therefore we'll be issuing a refund in this instance.
  
  The amount of your latest renewal ($79.82) has been issued back to your form of payment utilized.  That can take up to five business days or so.  Your subscription will not renew going forward and you won't see any additional charges.
  
  If we can provide any additional clarification or assistance, please reach out to ****************************************** and we'll do our best to assist you.

  Customer response

  02/28/2023

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  Thank you!  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

• Initial Complaint

  02/01/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have used and recommended Newspaperarchive for many years. Now you are refusing my **** debit card I get from my job with *****. I have tried numerous times and it still denies it. I emailed them to help resolve and they say it is the fault of my bank. This card is not through the bank it is from where I work and it has been used before. The ticket # is FC6M8. I am a genealogist and NA has been very important to my research They don't allow for calling and speaking to a person, it is all through email. I have attempted to get back into NA many times by reentering the **** card.

  Business response

  02/03/2023

  Hello *****,

  We're sorry to hear of your situation!  Unfortunately, due to increasing issues surrounding pre-paid cards we can no longer accept them.  While we sympathize with your frustration and understand this change can be difficult, it is one that was necessary for us.  At this time we only accept standard debit and credit cards as well as PayPal for forms of payment.

  If you should have any additional concerns or feedback, please reach out to us at ******************************************.  We'll be following up with you via email as well to remain in touch.

  Customer response

  02/03/2023

   
  Complaint: 18966700
  
  I am rejecting this response because: How is this prepaid. It is my paycheck. I get paid every two weeks and I have been getting this for 4 years and you have accepted it for all that time. Why is it suddenly no longer accepted? This is back on you. FIX IT
  
  ************************************************

  Business response

  02/07/2023

  Hello *****,

   

  We're sorry to hear that you weren't satisfied with our response!  As we've stated previously your card is a pre-paid card and isn't a standard card that we can accept.  You mentioned having Lowes add money to your card, which sounds like a pre-paid employee card.  If you would like additional information about your card, I would highly recommend reaching out to Lowes and asking them if your card is a pre-paid card.  Regardless, as far as we're concerned we cannot accept your card, and we cannot make an exception for your card.  We've also previously explained why we cannot accept your card in our email correspondence, and we do not have to accept pre-paid cards.  We sincerely hope you'll consider our position and the concern we've expressed in regards to your issue.

  If you have any further questions or clarification, please let us know.  However, as it stands we cannot oblige your request.

• Initial Complaint

  10/31/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  To combat identity theft, I asked for my information to be removed from their site. After multiple email exchanges, newspaperarchive.com refused. Given the world we live in today, refusing to remove my information amounts to facilitating and promoting identity theft scams against me. Hundreds of other data mining sites have complied with my request to removed. However, newspaperarchive.com is the first to reject my request.

  Business response

  11/01/2022

  Hello ****, we're sorry to hear you're unhappy with our services!  We have reviewed your original request as well as our interactions with you and I'm afraid we can offer no additional assistance to you as we maintain our company policy around the removal of historical content.  While we do sympathize with your frustration, we also try to do our best to ensure our archives remain in as complete of a historical state as possible.  If you have any additional requests, or need additional assistance please reach out to us at [email protected].

  Customer response

  11/01/2022

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: no resolution was provided. Instead, the business chooses to empower identity thieves to harvest my personal information for nefarious purposes.

  There is zero justification for rejecting my request other than enabling the continued attacks against me by identity thieves. The response proves the business is committed to enabling continued attacks against me. This is beyond unscrupulous. Is this business operating as a criminal enterprise for identity thieves? 

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

• Initial Complaint

  08/29/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On January 29, 2022, I paid $139.90 by credit card for a one-year subscription renewal. On August 10, 2022, I advised their customer service e-mail address that I could no longer log-in to my account. (I had received an error message that my password was not valid; the problem continued even after getting a new password.) On August 12, 2022 I sent a follow-up. Having not heard from customer service and still being unable to log-in, on August 22, 2022 I sent an email requesting cancellation of my account and a pro-rated refund for the rest of subscription year.I still have heard nothing from customer service. I request cancellation of my subscription and a refund of $58.29 for the rest of the subscription year.

  Business response

  09/09/2022

  Hello ******,

   

  We're sorry to hear you're experiencing this issue!  I performed a search for your request, and it would appear your emails entered our spam filter which is why we hadn't previously responded to your request.  We do apologize for that, and we'd love to assist you.  Unfortunately, I'm afraid I've been unable to locate an account under your email address and we're reaching out via email to hopefully resolve this in a faster manner for you.  Otherwise, we do appreciate you reaching out and look forward to getting in contact with you.

  Customer response

  09/12/2022

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  T ***********************

• Initial Complaint

  05/17/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  When my telephone number which is ************ is typed into the search field on ******* a ************ Orange Register link published by Newspaperarchive.com popped up. The link refers to an ancient vehicle ad I place many many years ago in Orange County Register. This link and publication on the internet is being published by Newspaperarchieve without my permission, consent, and or authorization. Please delete, remove, and deactivate my information of this ad from the internet and ALL the search engines available including ******* Thank you

  Business response

  05/18/2022

  ******,

  I understand your concern about having an ad you placed in the paper years ago available online. As you may know, our service consists of making available to users certain public information that has already been published in the public media, usually in newspapers.  ************ including the communication of information contained therein, consist of an exercise of the right of free speech. As such, we aren't in a position to remove the content as you have suggested, nor can we insist ****** remove the content. That being said, it appears that ****** has created a way for individuals, such as yourself, to work with them to get the listing removed from their index (see https://www.cbsnews.com/news/google-search-remove-phone-number-personal-information/). Hopefully that help resolve your concern.

  Thanks

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

  CMO

  Customer response

  05/20/2022

   
  Complaint: 17214948
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  Irresponsible passing the buck and sending one on a wild goose chase! Newspaper Archives could easily remove this information from its database and from the internet. Instead it is taking an unreasonable stand on the issue!  There is no relationship between "free speech" and publishing an old, outdated advertisement without my permission and against my will on the internet which includes my personal information (telephone number).   
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

• Initial Complaint

  04/26/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I signed up and entered credit card details for a free search. I cancelled when I couldn't find my brother in law. Mu just passed away very unexpectedly less than a week before and I beas trying to find his brother so that I could let him know. I know that I cancelled but for some reason they have no record of me cancelling the trial subscription. Now they bare removing $74.95 from my bank account which only has $80 in it because since my husband died I have no income. Right now my kids are feeding and housing me until something can be sorted out. I looked on the web site after the bank contactedme and it says I have an account but won't let me in. They have lots and lots of compliments its just a scam where they appear to say they did not receive a cancellation and are charging lots of people for the same thing. I write mine down on ****** of paper the day I looked and then one by one cancelled each of them

  Business response

  04/27/2022

  *********,

  I'm sorry to hear about your situation and that you weren't able to find articles about your brother in law. Our records indicate you canceled your subscription several days after your free trial ended and your paid subscription began. This means you still have access to the website for the next 6 months if you want to look for other content.
  
  That being said, I have reviewed your case and asked our customer service team to process a refund if that would be better for your situation. They will be reaching out to you tomorrow to determine what you would like to do. It looks like when you reached out before, you simple asked them to cancel your subscription so it wouldn't auto-renew for future periods which we did.
  
  I'm sorry to hear about the negative review. The company hired a new management team at the end of 2020 and we have been going to great lengths to make sure this is a customer-first company. I think you'll find that many of the negative review occurred before we implemented our new customer-first policies.

  If there is anything else we can help you with, please don't hesitate to reach out to our customer service team at customerservice@**********************.

  Thanks,

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

  CMO

• Initial Complaint

  04/13/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I purchased a 1 month subscription to World Archives- News search using a Gift Card. Which only had enough to pay for 1 month. They went into another account that I have with them that is $6.95 a month and used my debit number without my permission to take out $19.95. I tried to take a screen shot of the withdraw from my account and it wont let me. If you do need a picture of the transaction I can take a picture of the transaction with my husband's cell phone. I didn't ****** the company, I realize that was my mistake they have hundreds of complaints just like mine. This is the only contact information I have and it's a recording.World Archives ************** UT84604 Thank You,***********************

  Business response

  04/14/2022

  ***,
  

  I'm sorry to hear that you've had a difficult time reaching us. We must have just missed you because our records indicate that the customer service team reached out on February 21st to see what they could do to address your concerns and didn't hear back. I have asked the team to refund your March and April newspaperarchive.com charges and to reach out to you to ensure your concerns have been addressed.
  
  We make every effort to handle customer concerns as they come up. If there is anything else we can do to help you in the future, please don't hesitate to reach out to our customer service team at customerservice@********************** and we will do our best to handle your concerns. Have a wonderful day.
  
  Thanks,
  
  ***********************
  CMO
  

  Customer response

  04/15/2022

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

• Initial Complaint

  03/01/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Newspaper Archives charged my **************** card $74.99 even though I refused to continue my subscription. I disputed it twice, but they sent bogus documents to **************** saying I had renewed automatically. This was after I told them I didn't want to renew my subscription.I disputed the charge twice with ****************, and it's in its third process.I absolutely did not continue my subscription. And when I contacted Newspaper Archies by phone, I was informed by a recording that they do not have phone service and to leave a message. I did but they never returned my phone call. Check for yourself. Their number is ************.This is either a scam or they have a shoddily run business.Them having no phone service is curious. This means they never have to interact with the public, even for a dispute.

  Business response

  03/02/2022

  ******,

  I'm disappointed to learn that you weren't able to find what you were looking for on NewspaperArchive.com and that you haven't been able to reach our customer service team. I assure you we are real and have a very quick response time when people email in to customer service. As you have mentioned, we don't currently offer phone support because we are a very small team and we are able to resolve concerns much more quickly through email and chat on the site. When people call the posted number the message is recorded, transcribed, and sent to the team so they can help our customers find resolution quickly. Unfortunately, we have no record of you reaching out to our team.

  All of that being said, we pride ourselves on our customer service, because we know that it our customers that allow us to continue to invest in additional content to share with the world. As such, I have instructed the customer service team to refund your past two subscriptions. Refund can take 5 to 7 business days to reflect in your account. You should received an email from our customer service team once they have initiated the refund.
  
  If there is any additional service we can render moving forward, please don't hesitate to reach out to our customer service department at [email protected].
  
  Thanks,

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

  CMO
  
  

  Customer response

  03/02/2022

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

• Initial Complaint

  10/15/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I did not authorize this company to charge my credit card. I do not know this company, never heard of this company and do not read newspapers. This company out a fraudulent charge of $74.90 on my credit card and they need to be stopped.

  Business response

  10/18/2021

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

  We are sorry to hear about the trouble you are having. It looks like you may have us confused with on of the other companies in the space. We do not currently offer a subscription for $74.90, but Newspapers.com does (which is owned by Ancestry.com). We'd encourage you to reach out to them to see if you can get this issue resolved.

   

  Thanks,

   

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

  CMO

• Initial Complaint

  10/15/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Signed up for 7 day trial. Canceled on the 7th day, but was charged ***** anyway. They claimed that I looked at an article and that means I am on the hook for the 75 bucks. What? Why is there a free trial then? I couldn't even read the article I tried looking at. And it wasn't even what I was looking for. It became fairly obvious that the content available was very incomplete and not what I was looking for.

  Business response

  10/18/2021

  *****,

  I'm sorry to hear that you couldn't find what you were looking for on the site. We are constantly adding new content and hope you will consider trying the service again sometime in the near future.

  Our customers are very important to us, and as such we are trying to do everything we possibly can to help them have success on the site. Our records indicate that you were issued a refund of $74.95 on October 4, 2021. If there is anything we can do moving forward, please let us know by reaching out to [email protected].

  Thanks,

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

  CMO

*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. ↩