ComplaintsforThe Bellingham Herald

• Initial Complaint

  09/20/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I tried to cancel my Bellingham Herald newspaper subscription online near the end of April, but after several failed attempts, I emailed my request on May 2. I received an auto reply the same day. See pdf. My subscription continued. On 5/31 The Herald charged my ********* account $207.79, which I disputed. **** issued a conditional credit which was confirmed on July 17. The subscription ************ August The Herald mailed me a "final notice" that I owed $157.87, due on 5/22. There was no explanation. I called the Herald *************), and told the representative that I did not feel I was obligated to pay an unexplained bill, after I had requested a termination of service in May. She asked me if I would consider paying half the claimed amount. I refused.The Herald recently mailed me another (undated) claim for payment of $274.74. See BB2.pdf

  Business response

  09/21/2024

  Thank you for contacting the Bellingham Herald. The account for ****** ********* was stopped on 7/31/2024. The balance on the account has been removed. We apologize that the request to cancel service was not processed. We were able to find the email that was sent to the cusotmer service team on 5/2. As you also provided proof of that request. The balance on the account from the payment cancellation was removed on 8/28/24 you should no longer receive any communication regarding this matter. We apologize for the inconvenience.if yoiu have any further questions or concerns, Please contact our customer service department at ************.

  Customer response

  09/21/2024

   
  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

  05/10/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have attempted to cancel my subscription months ago and never received a call or email back. I then found out that Im currently being charged $6 more a month, for a total of $30.99/ month. When I originally signed up it was $15.99/ month, then changed to $24.99/ month which I thought I mustve failed to see the fine print of the subscription contract. Then as of January 2024 Ive been being charged $31.99/ month. I NEVER AGREED TO $24.99/ month or ever would consider paying $31.99/ month. I cant find any details in my email inboxes that wouldve informed me of such huge price increases! I am a starving student and independent professional. Theres been no transparency with Bellingham Herald.

  Business response

  05/21/2024

  Thank you for your message to The Bellingham Herald. Our records show the account was set up through your PayPay account on an automatic monthly digital subscription. We do not have access to the PayPal account. Please log into your PayPal account to have this stopped. In the meantime, we have stopped the account in our system to avoid any further charges. Please note, anytime there is a change in rate, there is an email notification sent out 30 days in advance. The registered & activate email on the account is an email ending ***********. This is different than the email showing in this BBB case. If there was a change in the email address, we were notified of the change.

  At this time, we are honoring a refund for the charges this year 2024. The refund amount is $148.95 (1/8/24, 2/8/24, 3/11/24, 4/8/24 & 5/9/24). Please look to your email ending *********** for the refund confirmation. This is the email address we have on file as your registration and digital access.
  

  Please feel free to contact us at ************ or ****************************************** if you have any questions or concerns. 
  

  Thank you

• Initial Complaint

  04/22/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I cancelled my subscription in writing in October 2023. I received an automated response saying they received my request. However, the Bellingham Herald kept charging my account through January 2024. I sent another request in writing in early January. No one responded to me. I called the Herald later that month, and they claimed to have no documentation that I cancelled my subscription. They refused to refund my account for the months they fraudulently charged me. I opened a dispute with PayPal (the account I used to pay the subscription). PayPal closed the dispute and refunded my account because ********************** did not respond to their inquest. I considered the situation resolved. A couple months later I received a letter in the mail that the Herald has sent me to collections without notifying me for those charges I disputed. This company is hurting my credit score and financial reputation after they fraudulently charging me and refusing to refund.Please see the attached email documentation from my request in writing to cancel my subscription. Also attached are the records from PayPal showing my dispute, them closing the case because Bellingham Herald did not respond, and the refunds PayPal enforced. Lastly, the letters I have received from the collection agency are attached.

  Business response

  04/25/2024

  Thank you for your message to the Bellingham Herald. Our records show your account was for a digital subscription being charged monthly. We are sorry to hear your account was not stopped per your request. We do show the payment cancellations for your PayPal account. At this time, your account has been cleared of any balance past due. It has also been cleared with ARM Solutions.

  Please note, ARM Solutions is a non-reporting collection company. This will not appear on any credit report.

  Please feel free to contact us at ************ or ****************************************** if you have any questions or concerns.

  Thank you

  Customer response

  04/25/2024

   
  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

  11/26/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I received a statement from the Bellingham Herald in 2022 offering a years subscription, delivery on Sundays and digital access 7 days a week, for *****. I mailed them a check for that amount on 12/18/2022 which cleared on 1/06/2023. Over the next 8 months the newspaper implemented additional fees, which I did not consent to, which they applied to my balance. Some time in October my access was cut off. When I called to ask what had happened they said that I owed them *****. I asked them to cancel my subscription. I received a notice from a debt collector (ARM) dated 10/31/2023 asked for that amount. I responded by mail to ARM telling them I am disputing the additional charges levied by the Bellingham Herald. I think that the Bellingham Herald breached our agreement for the year long subscription I paid for. I request that the Bellingham Herald adjust my balance to zero, withdraw the action sent to the debt collection agency and make sure my credit record is not negatively noted.

  Business response

  11/27/2023

  Thank you for your message to the Bellingham Herald. Credits, debits and price increases can adjust a subscribers expiration date. A $0.39 supply chain charge will be applied weekly and for subscribers that receive a mailed printed renewal bill, a $4.99 printed bill fee will apply for each renewal period. All of terms of Service and policies are listed on the back of every subscribers renewal notices and on page 2A of our newspaper on a daily basis regarding these two charges. 
  We show that ************************************* subscription expired on July 9, 2023 and officially was cancelled effective on September 17, 2023. However, at this time, we will honor customers request to clear the account. Please note, A.R.M. is a non-reporting collection company. As of today, there should be no further calls or letters regarding a collection. If you have any questions, Please contact us at ************ Thank you,
  
  

  Customer response

  11/27/2023

   
  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

  09/05/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I want to cancel my subscription, however, the newspaper does not allow this to be done online you must call a customer service number. When I call customer service, I am asked to switch to text messaging and then no one answers the text. If I stay on the phone, no one answers and it disconnects. If I send an email, I get a message that they are too busy to respond.

  Business response

  09/06/2023

  Thank you for contacting the Bellingham Herald. The account for *************************** has been stopped on the current renewal date of 9/11/2023. All billing information has been removed no further charges will be drafted from the account. The last day of digital access will be 9/10/2023. If you have any questions or concerns please call our customer service department at  ************.

• Initial Complaint

  08/23/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On 5/20/23 we signed up for a trial digital newspaper subscription ($1 for 30 days, "cancel anytime"). Two days later we canceled the trial subscription via email (there is no way to cancel on their online account portal). When we did not get an email confirmation of the cancellation, we called their customer service number on 5/23/23, and canceled the trial subscription with their customer service ********* rep told us our payment information was removed, and the cancellation would be processed within 48 hours. One month later, they charged us $15.99 for the very subscription that we'd cancelled twice. Once again, we called their customer service center and were told the same thing: our payment information was removed, the cancellation would be processed within 48 hours, and the erroneous charge would be sent to their financial department. 5 days later, our account still said it was 'Active' in the online portal. So we called and emailed their customer service. The call center repeated the same information as the prior 2 calls. But we finally got an email response on 6/28/23, where the rep said our account was officially cancelled on 6/29/23 and the erroneous charge would be sent to their financial team for a refund. The charge was not refunded, so we reported the false charge to Paypal. ******'s ************ ruled in our favor and reversed the charge. Now we've received a letter from a debt collector for The Bellingham Herald, who is trying to collect the $15.99 back. This is for a trial subscription that we cancelled 5 times, for a charge they erroneously charged us for, and for a charge that they said would be refunded to us. We are beyond frustrated and mystified by The Bellingham Herald's fraudulent business practices, their dubious customer service call center, our inability to cancel a simple trial account, and their erroneous charges against us.

  Business response

  08/23/2023

  Thank you for your message to The Bellingham Herald. We understand the frustration this has caused for *****************************, regarding to having to contact us many times to request for a cancellation on the account, the account was officially cancelled on June 29, 2023. We received the information on July 7, 2023 regarding that customer disputed the payment that was posted on June 21, 2023 to the account. This caused the balance being owed on the account for $15.99 from expiration date 5/30/2023. As of today we have put the account to a $0.00 balance owed and closed the account with the collection company. If you have any questions, please contact us at ************ or email us at ******************************************. 

  Thank you,

  
  

  Customer response

  08/25/2023

  We have now received an email from The Bellingham Herald that says, We have successfully waived off the outstanding balance of $15.99 from your previous subscription to the Bellingham Herald. We have also communicated to remove your name to [the debt collector].  
  
  We confirmed on The Bellingham Heralds account portal that the Balance now says Information not available   It does not say $0.00 or No Balance Due, but we presume this must mean the same thing.  We also confirmed with their debt collector that the collection account with our name on it now says Paid in Full and that it was not reported to our credit history however, this account closure did not remove our name from the debt collection account and implies we paid a debt that we owed, which was in fact an erroneous charge.
  
  It appears our complaint has been rectified.
  
  But we would like it noted that The Bellingham Herald did not acknowledge the following:
  
  1. That their online account portal does not give customers control over their account, so that you have to rely on their **************** to respond and follow-through to cancel your account.
  
  2. That we did not sign up for their monthly subscription service after testing their trial that we contacted their **************** after 2 days to cancel the account.
  
  3. That their **************** departments (both email and call center) failed to cancel our account 4 out of the 5 times we contacted them and directly asked them to do so.
  
  4. And that what they refer to as an outstanding balance was in truth their erroneous charge for a trial wed cancelled and a subscription we did not enroll in.  It was not a balance we owed that needed to be successfully waived it was a wrongful charge that needed to be corrected.
  
  
  We hope that this resolution will be binding and accurate.  It is difficult to trust a business that does not acknowledge or take responsibility for its mistakes, or their **************** department which seems to say one thing and do another.  We greatly appreciate the BBB service and assistance in communicating with this business to correct this situation.  
  

  Customer response

  08/29/2023

  We logged in to Accept the Resolution, but the link was now missing. 

  Please advise.

  Best,
  *****************************
  

• Initial Complaint

  05/30/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On May 22, 2022, I paid $120.00 for a 52 week digital subscription to the Bellingham Herald. I enrolled and paid online using a credit card. I intended to cancel the subscription at the end of my 1 year trial. The Herald makes it challenging to cancel. You are not able to do this via the online account portal, you are required to call a customer service agent during business hours in order to cancel.On May 19, 2023, my credit card was charged ****** for a second 52 week subscription, without any prior notification of the rate change or the upcoming charge, via email or otherwise. This directly contradicts the language in their enrollment email I received when signing up in 2022: "Notice of rate changes will be emailed."I called customer service on May 30, 2023 to cancel the subscription and dispute the ****** renewal charge. I was informed that the charge was non-refundable and that the subscription would be cancelled at the end of my next term.My rights as a consumer were violated by the lack of transparency and deception demonstrated by the Bellingham Herald in their news subscription services.

  Business response

  06/10/2023

  Thank you for contacting the Bellingham Herald. The account for ***************************** has been stopped and the last payment of $191.99 was cancelled. No refund available since payment dispute was processed. The proof of order does state that service will continue at the current available rate unless we are notified of the cancellation prior to the next renewal. At this time the account is closed no further charges will be taken and no refund is available since the payment was cancelled. We apologize for any confusion on this matter if you have any questions please contact the customer service department at ************

  Customer response

  06/21/2023

  I wanted to provide an update, although delayed.
  
  The complaint has been settled with the business to my satisfaction: they stopped my digital subscription, and because I cancelled the payment through my bank, a refund was not necessary or provided by the company.
  
  Thank you BBB for your assistance with this matter!
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************
  Bellingham, WA

• Initial Complaint

  04/13/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  In Aug 2022 the price of the online paper was raised to $16.99 and I called to cancel. They continued to send me the online paper and charge my credit card. On 11/3 22 they sent me the last e-edition of the paper, but continued to charge my credit card in November, December and January. I called to request a refund and stop payment but was told that they do not refund, but would give me one month credit and send the paper again. They did not start the paper again but did stop charging me. I have called them several times. The last time I called I was told that they deleted my credit card number so they can't charge me anymore, and that I would be mailed a refund for the months I was charged. There has been no refund sent. i want a refund for three months I was charged for the paper that I did not receive.

  Business response

  04/13/2023

  We apologize for this.  The customer was charged monthly of $ 15.99.   We will process the refund for the last 3 charges for a total of $ 47.97.

   

  Thank you, 

  The Bellingham Herald

  Customer response

  04/14/2023

   
  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.  I will contact you further if I do not receive the refund check within two weeks.  Thank you for helping me cut through their games.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************

  Customer response

  05/16/2023

  To Whom It May ****************** a result of your intervention, the Bellingham Herald agreed to send me a refund.  I have waited a few weeks now, and they have done nothing.  
  This is their typical gaming behavior......to promise something and not follow through.  It is rather shocking that a newspaper would behave this way.  There are many similar complaints about them locally on Next Door.
  I'm afraid the case must be reopened.  
  Thank you for your help!
  **********************;
  Case #********. 
  

  
  

  Business response

  05/18/2023

  Thank you for contacting the Bellingham Herald. The account for ********************* had a refund issued of $47.97 back to the credit card on file ending in **** **** on 4/14/2023. Please check your credit card or bank statement to see if the refund posted to your account. We do not show any issues with the refund not being received. If you have any questions please call our customer service department at ************.

   

  Customer response

  05/23/2023

   
  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.

  Since you investigated, they have complied.  Thank you for your help.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************

• Initial Complaint

  03/09/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have subscribed to the Bellingham Herald for several years, receiving a 6-day a week paper delivery and on-line access. During these years, I have never had an account set up with them for automatic renewal.At the end of November 2022, I received a notice from them that my renewal date was December 4, 2022. and that I needed to pay if I wanted to continue to receive the paper. I decided not to renew due to the cost increase and believed the paper delivery would cease when I failed to renew my subscription, but the papers continued to be delivered. I contacted them through their on-line customer service on December 14th to tell them I didn't plan to renew and to immediately cease delivery. The papers still continued to be delivered. I called the first week in January and was connected to the call center. I explained (repeatedly) I didn't want any of the subscription offers and I would not be paying for any of the papers that have continued to be delivered. About 2 weeks after that phone call, the papers finally stopped coming. Soon after, I received a bill for $***** from the Herald, which I ignored.Today I received a notice from A.R.M. **************** a collection agency, saying I owe ***** to the Bellingham Herald. I believe this is, at best, dishonest business practices by the McClatchy Company, and at worst, extortion. I don't wish to have my credit rating damaged (a wish, I believe, they are counting on) nor do I wish to pay for a service that I made clear I didn't want. I want this resolved by having my name removed from the collection agency and to have no further contact from the Bellingham Herald nor from A.R.M Solutions.

  Business response

  03/10/2023

  Thank you for contacting the Bellingham Herald. The account for ********************* was stopped on 1/15/2023 the renewal date for the account was 11/27/2022 renewal notices were sent 30 days prior to the renewal date our terms of service stated on the renewals give details on how to cancel your account on December 14th we received a call regarding the account for ********************* a cancellation link was emailed to subscriber to complete the process it was not utilized service continued in our grace ******* ********************* contacted our customer service department and the agent stopped the account which has a balance of $87.96 for the dates of 11/27/2022-1/15/2023.  We have received authorization to waive half of the balance owed if ********************* will pay the other half which would be $43.98. Once this is received ARMS solutions will be contacted and the account will be closed. If you have any questions you can call our customer service department at ************.

• Initial Complaint

  01/19/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  I renewed my subscription to The Olympian newspaper in October 2022 which was for ****************** home delivery from 10/09/22 thru 01/08/23. I did not receive the paper on 2, 6, 9 and 13 November 2022, at which time I contacted customer service on 14 November 2022 and cancelled my subscription and requested a refund. Not receiving a refund, I contacted customer service on 11 Dec 22, 30 Dec 22, 5 Jan 23 and again on 19 Jan 23. Each time I was told that customer service already requested a refund for the amount of $110.50 forwarded to their finance department for follow up. To date I have not received my refund. My Olympian account number is ************. Thank you for your help.

*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. ↩