Magazine Subscription £40 Free Gift – not received.

MsBooty

I purchased a magazine subscription back in June, it promised a £40 gift with the subscription. When the first mag arrived there was nothing but a TEABAG enclosed. :mad:

I contacted the company. First email ignored, 2nd email replied to after a week. I was advised that the gift was dispatched on the 25th June and can take 28 days.I allowed this time and when it still was not received I contacted them again on the 22nd July to which I am then told “I am sorry to hear that you have not received this, upon checking our records it shows that we have your address details correct on our systems. Therefore I am pleased to advise that a replacement has been issued
and we aim for the replacement to arrive within 28 day - The gifts usually arrive within 14 days, however we have to allow a maximum of 28 days for the gift to arrive”

In 2 weeks time it will be 2 months since they supposedly sent the first gift and 1 month since the supposed 2nd dispatch. If not received by then what can I do? I thought maybe office of fair trading but the website states it is closed down.

Also the subscription is for a minimum of 12 months but as I have had bad service I am thinking of cancelling this.

keyser666

MsBooty wrote: »

I purchased a magazine subscription back in June, it promised a £40 gift with the subscription. When the first mag arrived there was nothing but a TEABAG enclosed. :mad:

I contacted the company. First email ignored, 2nd email replied to after a week. I was advised that the gift was dispatched on the 25th June and can take 28 days.I allowed this time and when it still was not received I contacted them again on the 22nd July to which I am then told “I am sorry to hear that you have not received this, upon checking our records it shows that we have your address details correct on our systems. Therefore I am pleased to advise that a replacement has been issued
and we aim for the replacement to arrive within 28 day - The gifts usually arrive within 14 days, however we have to allow a maximum of 28 days for the gift to arrive”

In 2 weeks time it will be 2 months since they supposedly sent the first gift and 1 month since the supposed 2nd dispatch. If not received by then what can I do? I thought maybe office of fair trading but the website states it is closed down.

Also the subscription is for a minimum of 12 months but as I have had bad service I am thinking of cancelling this.

You cant cancel because you have had bad service, that is laughable. You have signed up to a subscription and as long as they have fulfilled that then there is nothing you can do.

You are also likely to find in teh T&C's that the gift forms no part of the subscription and if they run out of the gift, it is whilst stocks last. You havent a leg to stand on here

halibut2209

DO I HAVE RIGHTS IF A FREEBIE WAS FAULTY?
This is a tricky area in consumer rights. Technically when something's free there's no contract with the supplier, so you're not entitled to get a faulty item fixed.

Yet if it was a free gift as part of a purchase, eg, if you sign up for a mobile contact and get a laptop with it – that's different. Here, you've exactly the same Sad Fart rights as if you'd paid for it. Most sellers are aware of this, but, if they try to fob you off, stand your ground.

lucy03

keyser666 wrote: »

You cant cancel because you have had bad service, that is laughable. You have signed up to a subscription and as long as they have fulfilled that then there is nothing you can do.

You are also likely to find in teh T&C's that the gift forms no part of the subscription and if they run out of the gift, it is whilst stocks last. You havent a leg to stand on here

If a free gift is advertised as part of the contract then it should be offered. The magazine do usually note that they might need to offer an alternative free gift, but IMO that should be a reasonable alternative. IMO the magazine is in breach of the deal of the subscription and further action is not unreasonable, ie, they should provide the gift or a reasonable alternative.

In my view a court might consider an advertisement of "we have 1,000 free gifts to give away for the first 1,000 subscribers" to imply that not all subscribers might get one. An advertisement for "subscribe now for a free gift of xxx" is very different.

JJ_Egan

Also the subscription is for a minimum of 12 months but as I have had bad service I am thinking of cancelling this.

Are the magazines you subscribed to arriving on time ??

keyser666

JJ_Egan wrote: »

Also the subscription is for a minimum of 12 months but as I have had bad service I am thinking of cancelling this.

Are the magazines you subscribed to arriving on time ??

Dont give them a way out and I am sure they will be able to prove they are dispatching on time too

MsBooty

Yes mags are arriving, but IMO it is false advertising if it states that you get a free gift and it is not sent/received or an alternative provided

wealdroam

MsBooty wrote: »

...IMO it is false advertising if it states that you get a free gift and it is not sent/received or an alternative provided

That's right... if there was no "subject to availability" or while stocks last" or similar statement.

Halibut quoted you a chunk from MSE's Consumer Rights guide in post #3.
Didn't that help?