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Before buying a NYT subscription, here's what it'll take to cancel it

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Re: Before buying a NYT subscription, here's what it'll take to cancel it

#371

Post by nycancaway »

chmod600 wrote: post #278

I just cancelled and it was relatively painless, to their credit. When they asked the reason, I said that political coverage was unfair. Left is OK, unfair is not. I don't consider myself "on the left" but I really don't mind a publication being left of center or right of center. If it's good, I will pay for it (I subscribed tp The Atlantic at least twice, and the New Yorker once, and probably others in a mix of prin…

Ditto. I subscribed to the NYT when I appreciated their coverage, and unsubscribed...when I felt like it, around 2020.

I had heard horror stories about needing to call customer service, but they must have heard those complaints, because now their unsubscribe process is a simple form.

I'm sure they mean well, and hopefully their journalism department also has an ear to the ground. It'd be nice if they returned to centrist investigative journalism soon.

Re: Before buying a NYT subscription, here's what it'll take to cancel it

#372

Post by lostlogin »

px43 wrote: post #296
CrazyStat wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wells Fargo "accidentally" failed to close my account when I went in person to close it--though they did give me a check for the balance and told me it was closed--and then when I realized six months later it wasn't actually closed, they tried to make me pay them 6 months worth of monthly fees before they would close it.

When I closed my Wells Fargo account, they took out all my money, charged me some account closing fee, which over-drafted and fell back to a credit card which now had a balance on it due to the overdraft and they told me they couldn't close my account. I think I ended up paying something like 130 dollars of fees just to close my account, but at that point they'd already screwed me over so many times that I just paid…

I closed a bank account in the UK in about 2001. I emptied it at an atm then walked into the bank to close it.

The cashier gave me all the cash I’d already taken from the account.

Re: Before buying a NYT subscription, here's what it'll take to cancel it

#373

Post by jopsen »

Whenever I looked into buying an actual news paper subscription the fact that the was no price transparency made me conclude I couldn't do business with them.

I'm a supporter of the guardian, but actually buying NYT or some other high quality journalism I've given up on.

If I feel like I'm getting scammed when I'm buying the product, then I don't want to buy it!

Low introduction price without telling me what the real price is IMO criminal fraud. I might put up with it from an essential service provider because I have no choice, but not from a newspaper vendor.

Re: Before buying a NYT subscription, here's what it'll take to cancel it

#374

Post by Devagamster »

deusex_ wrote: post #298
uka wrote: post #147

I just unsubscribed using web form. There are some dark patterns involved but not too dark. E.g. first option is the chat with representative, second is the call by phone and third option is the web form. After I have navigated 3 pages using "default button" for canceling the unsubscription process - it is done. It's not the best experience, but not the nightmare the OP described.

They only have the form for people in California or Europe. long live strong consumer protection laws

I'm in washington and it showed up for me too.

Re: Before buying a NYT subscription, here's what it'll take to cancel it

#376

Post by drzoltar »

chmod600 wrote: post #278

I just cancelled and it was relatively painless, to their credit. When they asked the reason, I said that political coverage was unfair. Left is OK, unfair is not. I don't consider myself "on the left" but I really don't mind a publication being left of center or right of center. If it's good, I will pay for it (I subscribed tp The Atlantic at least twice, and the New Yorker once, and probably others in a mix of prin…

Which other paid news publications do you prefer over the NYT?

Re: Before buying a NYT subscription, here's what it'll take to cancel it

#377

Post by jopsen »

rrdharan wrote: post #252
zippergz wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

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-o...

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"?

Re: Before buying a NYT subscription, here's what it'll take to cancel it

#379

Post by jmkerr »

How I cancelled the New York Times:

> To: help@nytimes.com

> Hi, please cancel my subscription (account number ...). Thanks and regards.

Answer:

> Hello, ...

> Thank you for contacting The New York Times! I am sorry to hear that you would like to cancel your New York Times subscription today.

> I was able to locate your account under the email ... and I would like to thank you for your support as a Basic Digital subscriber. It is through the support of subscribers like you, that allows us to continue to pursue the truth, as the truth is more important now than ever.

> I was able to see that you are currently on our rate of $4 every 4 weeks for the Basic Digital Access and I would be very happy to help you with 4 weeks free for your subscription then stay at a 73% discounted rate for just $1.00/week for a full year, then returning to a discounted rate of $2.00/week, no commitments!

> By cancelling this subscription, you'll be missing out on unlimited access to all our published articles from 1851 until now; as well as access to exclusive features and Newsletters which are a big time saver as they are sent directly to your email with a summary of your preferred topics and sections such as the Morning Briefing, Arts and much more! Are you sure you would like to give up to these features?

> If you would like to apply for this new promotional rate, do not hesitate to reach us back! If we do not hear from you within the next 7 days, we will go ahead and cancel your subscription.

> As a reminder, you can always view/edit your account information online at myaccount.nytimes.com. If there is anything else we can do to help you, please chat with us at https://myaccount.nytimes.com/seg/cancel, text us at 855-419-6348 or call us at 1-800-NYTIMES (1-800-698-4637) from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday-Friday and 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday & Sunday (ET). Thank you for being the best part of The New York Times and have a fantastic day.

> Best regards, ...

That's it.

Re: Before buying a NYT subscription, here's what it'll take to cancel it

#380

Post by basicplus2 »

rendall wrote: post #157
pkulak wrote: post #64

This is why I use throw-away credit card numbers for everything. I'll give a quick try at cancelling a service (out of respect), but if it takes me more than a few clicks, I just stop the card and send their emails to spam. Done and done.

How do you get a throwaway credit card number?

privacy.com

As many cards as you need

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