ComplaintsforRichmond Times-Dispatch

• Initial Complaint

  08/28/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  When we cancelled our subscription to the Times dispatch we asked that they remove the box for it. Several calls have been made requesting the removal of it to no avail. I have been told that they will contact the carrier in our area and have that person remove it. The box remains.I have explained that people use it to put their ads for insurance, power washing, lawn mowing, new windows, roofing, babysitting, yard sales, cosmetics among many other things that I have to throw away.They have also suggested that I just go ahead and pull it out and throw it away. Believe me I have tried. However, I am 79 years old and use a cane. I have not got the strength it takes to get the job done. I would greatly appreciate any help you could give to get this matter taken care of.

  Customer response

  09/03/2024

  good morning this is ************************* calling in reference to complaint number ******* I just wanted to let you know it's been resolved, the paper box from the Times Dispatch was picked up this morning and I wanted to thank you for all your help I really really appreciate it thank you so very much. 

• Initial Complaint

  08/16/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On August 12, 2024 I call to cancel my on-line subscription with the Richmond Times Dispatch and albeit painful to do it was supposedly cancelled. Since that Monday, in the last 4 days they have called me 4 times trying to get me to resubscribe each time I tell them I am not interested as I do not use it and please stop calling me and yet the continue to call. I have written a review but wanted a complaint filed as they do not even seem to have a number to discuss concerns with at RTD.

  Business response

  08/20/2024

  Dear BBB,

  Please see attached response letter for this complaint.

  Thank you,

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

  Circulation Office Manager

• Initial Complaint

  08/02/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I subscribed to the Richmond Times Dispatch e-paper approximately 2 mos ago. When the subscription ran out, they tried to resubscribe me at a higher rate. I went to their website to cancel my subscription and the 'unsubscribe' section of their site 'mysteriously' didn't work. I got a message that read 'this site can't be reached'. I thought it was rather 'suspect' that every other section of their site worked fine, except for the unsubscribe section. I contacted them through the 'contact us' link to try and unsubscribe and was told they would unsubscribe me in 8 days. I demanded they do it effective immediately and they said okay. The next day the paper came anyway. I contacted them again and asked that they please stop sending me the paper. Again, they said 'okay'. Next day, the paper came again. I contacted them and explained my situation and demanded they stop sending me the paper. This time they directed me to an online link to request that they stop sending the paper, and I got the same 'this site can't be reached' message, again. I contacted them again and informed them that the site isn't working, and asked to speak to a manager. I was told a manager would call me, but it never happened, and the papers keep coming. Can you please help with this issue. I don't want to receive anymore e-papers. By the way, every time I contacted them, they tried to coerce me to reconsider my decision to unsubscribe. I warned them that I would file a complaint if the manager didn't call before I receive another e-paper, and here we are; they're still coming, and I still haven't received the manager's call. I feel like this is a form of harassment. Is there anything you can do to make the emails/e-papers stop coming?

  Business response

  08/02/2024

  Good morning.

  Please find attached the letter of response for complaint # ********.

  The customer has been contacted.

  This issue is resolved.

  Thank you

  Customer response

  08/02/2024

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's offer.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved. If the company does not perform as promised I can get back to you at: ************************************************************.
  
  Regards,
  
  *********************
  
  
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  06/19/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Will not stop littering in my yard with their propaganda news paper

  Business response

  06/27/2024

  Dear BBB,

  Please see attached response to this complaint.

  Thank you,

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

  Circulation Office Manager

• Initial Complaint

  06/11/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Delivery Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My husband and I have been a long time subscribers to the Richmond Times Dispatch with home delivery of the print edition. For several months now my husband and I have lodged repeated complaints about the timeliness of the paper delivery. The paper is advertised to arrive by 6:00am but is frequently delivered at 7:30am or later. Today it arrived at 8:15am. I have asked for the name of a supervisor to discuss the problem but am told that is not an option. I also asked for a mailing address to write a letter but was told there is no address. I personally spoke to the carrier this morning who assured me she is doing the best she can. While I can appreciate that we pay for home delivery of our newspaper and expect it to be on time. The same carrier also delivers our ******************* so late delivery impacts the two papers.

  Business response

  06/19/2024

  Good Afternoon,

  Please see attached response letter to this complaint.

  Thank you,

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

  Circulation Office Manager

• Initial Complaint

  12/07/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I lost my job and can no longer afford the paper! I have called several times to cancel and they keep saying they have computer problems and to call back, so I did over and over again and finally ask to speak to a manager and they would let me and then hung up on me! Dont know what to do now but this is very bad and a poorly run business.

  Business response

  12/08/2023

   BBB:

  Please find attached the response to this complaint # ********.

  The customer has been contacted directly.

  This complaint can be considered closed.

  Thank you

• Initial Complaint

  10/19/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Richmond Times Dispatch, through their billing company BH Media Group, engages in fraudulent and non consensual business practices. They repeatedly increase rates, without any notice or consent to the consumer. They claim to lock in certain rates, then raise prices every three months. I have had to dispute this multiple times, and religiously check my credit card statements to see when this happens. I want to support the paper itself, but the company they are using is incredibly unethical. Recently, I renegotiated to $5.99 a month for 12 months. Checking my last couple statements, they jacked the rate to $16.99 in violation of that agreement and without notice. When I called again, they refused to refund the prior months. I've reported the charges as fraudulent with my bank. Their solution was to again lock me into a rate "from here forward" but acknowledge that actually they can raise rates every three months and won't provide any notice. They also refused to provide written confirmation of the locked in rate.

  Business response

  10/31/2023

  Good Day,

  Attached is the response letter for this complaint.

  Thank you,

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

  Circulation Office Manager

• Initial Complaint

  09/28/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have attempted to cancel my subscription many times over the course of months. Initially I attempted 2 times over many months online, but received an error message saying there was a "temporary" error and that I must call to cancel. Once the error happened the second time months after the first attempt, that clued me in that something strange was going on. I called and after waiting on hold for an eternity, I received a worker who I could hear talking in an extremely loud call center. Call centers are common these days, but this one sounded particularly chaotic, this was another red flag. Even though I was wary, the worker was apologetic and said he would cancel my subscription going forward and they would extend me a courtesy free six months. I confirmed with him that there would be no more charges and the subscription would not continue after the six months. Well, here we are 30 days later and not only did I receive another charge- it was multiple times more expensive that what I was originally paying! With the charge I received an invoice thanking me for signing up for some kind of new subscription of theres. I called them up and they had zero record of our last conversation, and zero record of my cancellation. They apologized and again tried to give me "6 months free". I declined and after a great deal of insisting, she finally said she cancelled my subscription. We'll see if it actually takes this time. After this experience it's clear to me that the Richmond Times-Dispatch has become a SCAM organization with what which either A) a purposefully illegally designed Cancellation system, or B) They are working with a foreign third party that uses illegal practices to handle the cancellations which allows them to keep their "knowledge" of what is going on in their cancellation department at arms length.

  Business response

  10/09/2023

  Dear BBB,

  Attached is the response to this complaint.

  Thank you,

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

  Circulation Office Manager

• Initial Complaint

  08/11/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  i was charged for a subscription i never agreed to renew and late fees on a final notice when i never received a first notice. their customer hotline is not working so i havent been able to call to cancel or dispute a late charge. i should not be charged for a subscription i do not use and did not agree to use after the term period and when cancelling via a phone is not even an option and their customer service line does not work, this seems like a scam to take customers money. id like my account cleared. as i should not owe them any money.

  Business response

  08/18/2023

  Dear BBB,

  Attached is the response for this complaint.

  Thank you,

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

  Circulation Office Manager

• Initial Complaint

  07/24/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  We have subscribed to the Richmond T-D for 33 years and, up until now, have been satisfied with the paper. However, we changed our delivery from "paper" to "digital" last year to save on costs and have been very displeased with the horrible online experience and extremely poor customer service we've received, particularly in trying to cancel our account. As background, we were told we'd receive monthly e-mail invoices (which we've not), plus we can't manage our account online or even reset our password - receiving error messages in all these instances. Calling customer service has been abysmally unproductive and frustrating. Consequently, I'm fed up with paying for a service I can't access and, consequently, have tried - multiple times - to cancel, with the most recent attempt today (7/24/23). I was informed I couldn't cancel until the end of our online subscription which, ironically, I have already paid for in full (and am not asking for a refund!) When I felt the customer rep. was not addressing my concerns I asked to speak with a manager - and was informed one was not available. This is very similar to when I tried to cancel earlier this year, after being automatically renewed at a much higher monthly rate and without any advance notice or, more importantly, my agreement. When I tried to cancel that time, I was denied the option because they said I had just renewed (without my consent!) I'm extremely disappointed in what this paper has become and how difficult it is to access - and in this case - cancel. It seems as if the process has been intentionally designed to make it impossible to cancel and, as a result, customers are entrapped into renewing against their will. I've never encountered such an unacceptable situation as this in any of my customer service encounters with other companies.

  Business response

  07/26/2023

  Pleas see the attached response for ********************** complaint. 

  Thank you

  Customer response

  07/26/2023

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's offer.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved. If the company does not perform as promised I can get back to you at: ************************************************************.
  
  Regards,
  
  ***********************
  
  
  
  

*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. ↩