Times Plus - tell me straight: am I screwed?

marr0g

Argh, although I'm realising that of course it _hasn't_ been 180 days. It's been 184. F*ck.

Re not getting everything back: basically I'm trying to manage my expectations here. I have to assume that I did 'sign' something that started an auto-rolling contract. If I didn't use a digital service that _was_ available to me, does that count as 'not receiving anything'? My only recourse is to argue that since I received no emails I had no way of knowing that there was anything TO receive but that's relying on good faith, which I dunno if I can expect from someone who'd let you sign something for £1 only to take £300 off you in (presumably) the small print.

Honestly I feel like I'm going to be lucky to get anything back which just makes even attempting it an exercise in frustration.

Anyway, I'll give them a phone now.

susancs

I signed up for the Timesplus £1 for the first month subscription about the same time as you as the deal included free cinema tickets, and I did cancel the subscription via a phonecall. Id di get a fee taken the next month, rang them up and they apologised and refunded it. Hopefully you will get helpful staff.

Autumnella

I think you're being incredibly reasonable considering they've taken a full years payment out of your account without your consent 2 days after you signed up for a £1 deal, then continue to take monthly payments. I'd be straight on the phone to demand my money back and if you get nowhere with the advisor I'd ask to speak to a manager.

bod1467

And then send a Letter Before Action to demand the return of monies if you get nowhere with a manager. (Assuming you're outwith any Paypal claims time limit).

marr0g

I'm within the PayPal claims limit for all the monthly payments still but yeah, not for the £338.

The good news is that the woman I spoke to on the phone at the Times this morning was very nice, very sympathetic even with my accidental monthly sign-up never mind the £338 - and was BAFFLED by that. Apparently they don't have it on their accounts either so I've had to send over statements from PayPal and my bank account.

Oddly they seem to have a sign-up and cancellation from me back in September *2014*, then a RE-sign-up last year which was ALSO cancelled in December but then continued to take payments.

So it's starting to sound like a proper admin error, since on the supposed RE-sign-up, they immediately took 13 months all at once... as if I'd never cancelled back in 2014. So it seems like maybe there was some sort of weird database error that caused a resubscription and block back-payment. Plus me signing up over a year and a half ago rather than six months makes it slightly more understandable that I'd've forgotten all about it!

All-in-all, there are enough mess-ups by the look of it at their end that I'm starting to feel like I'm probably going to be able to get the money back. Or so my no-longer-sick-feeling stomach tells me, anyway.

Thanks for the advice, all; it was good just to get some reassurance that I wasn't being a total fool. I'll keep you posted about how it pans out.

marr0g

Update! Well, sort of.

The reason I was so confused about my supposedly having signed up for Times+ six months ago was because when I sign up for things with a 'cancel within X or we'll start gouging you' I usually set myself a reminder for the cancellation and do it there and then when it pops up.

After a day or two's mulling over what Katie said about my having a subscription from September 2014 with a cancellation on file, I went back and looked at my work calendar from then, and BOOM, there it was, an appointment in mid September 2014: 'CANCEL TIMES MEMBERSHIP'.

So a picture starts to emerge. I couldn't find any £1 payment going out for September 2014 either in my PayPal or my bank accounts. It now seems very likely that some sort of database or admin error reactivated my account, took the '£1 for 1 month' fee, and then immediately thought I was 13 months in arrears and took it all at once.

So it sounds like even if they stick to their guns, the most they can justify taking off me is November and December's £26 payments (before my supposed second cancellation that I'm now very sure had nothing to do with me). I'm increasingly optimistic though that I'm going to get everything back - almost £500. £500 that was mine and that I paid, obviously, but it still feels like a nice present. Fingers crossed!