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I had a similar issue with the Wall Street Journal a few years back, and despite having spent the majority of my career working on Wall Street, I’ll never buy a

I had a similar issue with the Wall Street Journal a few years back, and despite having spent the majority of my career working on Wall Street, I’ll never buy a subscription again. I signed up for a really good deal for 6 months of digital + paper delivery, but my paper always arrived a day or two late, so before my 6 months were up I tried to cancel, but couldn’t figure out a way to do so on their website. I messaged support asking them to not renew my subscription, and told them that the paper always arrived late. They responded back that they were going to give me a free subscription until they could figure out the paper delivery. I should have held firm and cancelled, but it seemed lke they were trying to provide good customer service. Nothing changed with delivery, and I followed up a few times to see what was going on. I was told they were looking into it. One day, out of the blue, I received a large bill from them. I called to see what was going on and I was told that my trial was up and since I hadn’t cancelled that it had renewed. A proceeded to tell the about my problems with delivery and that customer service was supposedly working on fixing the problem and not charging me until they could. The person on the phone told me that that’s not possible since they don’t provide same-day delivery to my address. I recounted exactly what had happened, and they basically told me I was a liar, and would not refund the charge because the user agreement says they don’t have to, even though I called within a few hours of the new charge and subscription renewal. The part that really stung was that I was a PhD student and could get an entire year for less than what they charged me for a month. I’ve never had a company treat me so poorly before.

annexrichmond 6y ago
I was able to (temporarily) cancel my WSJ subscription with a couple clicks last year, so looks like they've improved on that front.
zippergz 6y ago
I almost bought a WSJ sub during a recent sale, and decided against it specifically because I checked and it said I'd have to call them to cancel.
- Trias11 6y ago
  Same with me. First time i bought it via Amazon Prime, when it was available and with Amazon i could cancel stuff directly via Amazon at any time, bypassing WSJ minefields. Then WSJ got smart and start selling it directly in hope to force subscribers to go through their sales jerks in case they want to cancel. This made me to turn away from WSJ for good.
- rrdharan 6y ago
  If you change your address to one in California, they expose the cancel option, because they have to by law: https://www.quora.com/How-do-I-unsubscribe-easily-from-WSJ-online https://www.quora.com/How-do-I-unsubscribe-easily-from-WSJ-o...
  - jopsen 6y ago
    The problem is that this is a lack of respect. They are actively trying to scam me. Why would I want to be a "customer"?
    - passtheglass 6y ago
      I agree, it's particularly egregious that they spent the extra development time and money to only have this feature in locales where they are legally forced to.
pmcollins 6y ago
also had a similar experience with wsj. never again. and with a new subscription to the economist. tried to cancel a few months ago, mostly because i didn’t like how they would charge my card without warning or an invoice. it was all just super stealth. worst part was you couldn’t cancel online, you were supposed to call. but you couldn’t call either because their phone staff wasn’t working due to covid. so convenient for them. had to file a formal dispute with my card. also, never again. ironically both free market publications. may the free market flush these awful, consumer hostile companies down the toilet.
dealforager 6y ago
I use Privacy.com for this reason and to not worry about my cards getting leaked. I create a card per-subscription and set the monthly limit to exactly the cost of the subscription. When I want to cancel, if it's not easy I just destroy the virtual card.
- nickthemagicman 6y ago
  I LOVE Privacy.com!!!
- joveian 6y ago
  I was going to subscribe to my local paper but didn't when the subscription form said that a phone number was required and that by subscribing you agree to receive calls and texts about "offers that might interest you". This seems like a horrible tactic in general and even more so when your main product is available for free. If it stops being available for free I'm still not likely to agree to that. No respect == no money from me.
- hnick 6y ago
  I'm confused how they make money, the free plan has up to 12 new cards a month which seems like a lot. Even on the lower pro plan the cashback can exceed the $10 per month you pay.
  - dealforager 6y ago
    I'm not sure but what I've read is that they keep part of the fee that usually goes toward rewards or points in other cards. I don't mind this at all because I think they are providing an amazing and much needed service that I've been wanting for years. Their apps and web extensions are also great. Last time I had to cancel a card because some website got hacked it took me weeks to resolve and change it everywhere I needed. I would happily pay let them have all of the rewards to not go through that again. Sorry if I sound like a shill, I swear I have no relationship with them. I just really like the service.
    - hnick 6y ago
oliwarner 6y ago
Incidents like this make me wonder why there isn't an appetite for better consumer rights in the US. If this had happened in the UK, you'd have the option to pro-actively block the payment, recover it, and legal standing to defend getting your money back. Letting companies redefine the rights of their customers seems bizarre to me.
- vinay427 6y ago
  This does exist for credit cards in the US. There are guidelines by which credit card issuers must abide by customer requests, and they're seemingly always happy to side with the consumer when it's even somewhat reasonable. > Letting companies redefine the rights of their customers seems bizarre to me. Maybe it's just what I was used to, but I think it's far more annoying in many European countries (not sure about the UK but at least the one I live in) where it's harder to return products without specific proof and following strict guidelines, virtually impossible to get a credit or debit card that covers all fees for normal international use, difficult to get a fraud or improper charge on a card statement immediately rescinded, etc.
  - icedchocolate 6y ago
    Speaking from Australia, we have outstanding customer protection and rights, and no massive hoops or hurdles to go to get it that would be more significant than anything in the US. It’s really much more just. Fraud or improper charges are also easily immediately rescinded if using a credit card. What kind of cover for fees for international use are you talking about?
    - vinay427 6y ago
      > Fraud or improper charges are also easily immediately rescinded if using a credit card. I'm not sure how exactly it compares, but every credit card at least in my lifetime in the US has been bound by these same protections. > What kind of cover for fees for international use are you talking about? Sorry, this is more of a tangent that I should have denoted, as it's not specifically related to fraud or consumer rights. At least compared to the major European and Asian countries in which I've traveled or lived in, credit card and bank/debit card offerings in the US are extremely generous in benefits, rewards, fees, etc. I actually still sometimes use my US card in a European country because my US bank offers lower fees than my domestic bank (in the home country) for ATMs, currency exchange, card replacements, etc. > Speaking from Australia, we have outstanding customer protection and rights, and no massive hoops or hurdles to go to get it that would be more significant than anything in the US. I'm honestly not sure how this compares to the US or elsewhere as I've never been to Australia. I'm regularly surprised by how inflexible businesses seem in much of continental Europe, however.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]

annexrichmond 6y ago

I was able to (temporarily) cancel my WSJ subscription with a couple clicks last year, so looks like they've improved on that front.

zippergz 6y ago

I almost bought a WSJ sub during a recent sale, and decided against it specifically because I checked and it said I'd have to call them to cancel.

Trias11 6y ago
Same with me. First time i bought it via Amazon Prime, when it was available and with Amazon i could cancel stuff directly via Amazon at any time, bypassing WSJ minefields. Then WSJ got smart and start selling it directly in hope to force subscribers to go through their sales jerks in case they want to cancel. This made me to turn away from WSJ for good.
rrdharan 6y ago
If you change your address to one in California, they expose the cancel option, because they have to by law: https://www.quora.com/How-do-I-unsubscribe-easily-from-WSJ-online https://www.quora.com/How-do-I-unsubscribe-easily-from-WSJ-o...
- jopsen 6y ago
  The problem is that this is a lack of respect. They are actively trying to scam me. Why would I want to be a "customer"?
  - passtheglass 6y ago
    I agree, it's particularly egregious that they spent the extra development time and money to only have this feature in locales where they are legally forced to.

pmcollins 6y ago

also had a similar experience with wsj. never again. and with a new subscription to the economist. tried to cancel a few months ago, mostly because i didn’t like how they would charge my card without warning or an invoice. it was all just super stealth. worst part was you couldn’t cancel online, you were supposed to call. but you couldn’t call either because their phone staff wasn’t working due to covid. so convenient for them. had to file a formal dispute with my card. also, never again. ironically both free market publications. may the free market flush these awful, consumer hostile companies down the toilet.

dealforager 6y ago

I use Privacy.com for this reason and to not worry about my cards getting leaked. I create a card per-subscription and set the monthly limit to exactly the cost of the subscription. When I want to cancel, if it's not easy I just destroy the virtual card.

nickthemagicman 6y ago
I LOVE Privacy.com!!!
joveian 6y ago
I was going to subscribe to my local paper but didn't when the subscription form said that a phone number was required and that by subscribing you agree to receive calls and texts about "offers that might interest you". This seems like a horrible tactic in general and even more so when your main product is available for free. If it stops being available for free I'm still not likely to agree to that. No respect == no money from me.
hnick 6y ago
I'm confused how they make money, the free plan has up to 12 new cards a month which seems like a lot. Even on the lower pro plan the cashback can exceed the $10 per month you pay.
- dealforager 6y ago
  I'm not sure but what I've read is that they keep part of the fee that usually goes toward rewards or points in other cards. I don't mind this at all because I think they are providing an amazing and much needed service that I've been wanting for years. Their apps and web extensions are also great. Last time I had to cancel a card because some website got hacked it took me weeks to resolve and change it everywhere I needed. I would happily pay let them have all of the rewards to not go through that again. Sorry if I sound like a shill, I swear I have no relationship with them. I just really like the service.
  - hnick 6y ago

oliwarner 6y ago

Incidents like this make me wonder why there isn't an appetite for better consumer rights in the US. If this had happened in the UK, you'd have the option to pro-actively block the payment, recover it, and legal standing to defend getting your money back. Letting companies redefine the rights of their customers seems bizarre to me.

vinay427 6y ago
This does exist for credit cards in the US. There are guidelines by which credit card issuers must abide by customer requests, and they're seemingly always happy to side with the consumer when it's even somewhat reasonable. > Letting companies redefine the rights of their customers seems bizarre to me. Maybe it's just what I was used to, but I think it's far more annoying in many European countries (not sure about the UK but at least the one I live in) where it's harder to return products without specific proof and following strict guidelines, virtually impossible to get a credit or debit card that covers all fees for normal international use, difficult to get a fraud or improper charge on a card statement immediately rescinded, etc.
- icedchocolate 6y ago
  Speaking from Australia, we have outstanding customer protection and rights, and no massive hoops or hurdles to go to get it that would be more significant than anything in the US. It’s really much more just. Fraud or improper charges are also easily immediately rescinded if using a credit card. What kind of cover for fees for international use are you talking about?
  - vinay427 6y ago
    > Fraud or improper charges are also easily immediately rescinded if using a credit card. I'm not sure how exactly it compares, but every credit card at least in my lifetime in the US has been bound by these same protections. > What kind of cover for fees for international use are you talking about? Sorry, this is more of a tangent that I should have denoted, as it's not specifically related to fraud or consumer rights. At least compared to the major European and Asian countries in which I've traveled or lived in, credit card and bank/debit card offerings in the US are extremely generous in benefits, rewards, fees, etc. I actually still sometimes use my US card in a European country because my US bank offers lower fees than my domestic bank (in the home country) for ATMs, currency exchange, card replacements, etc. > Speaking from Australia, we have outstanding customer protection and rights, and no massive hoops or hurdles to go to get it that would be more significant than anything in the US. I'm honestly not sure how this compares to the US or elsewhere as I've never been to Australia. I'm regularly surprised by how inflexible businesses seem in much of continental Europe, however.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]