Help! Cancelled Newspaper digital subscription! they’re hounding me every single day for the money!

SmithAMrs21

I was wondering if someone could please help, my anxiety is through the roof and this company are phoning me every day.

I subscribed to The Times digital pack online, it was a deal £8 for 8 weeks offer on 3rd September. 

I didn’t read the confirmation email because it seemed simple enough.
Then on 3rd October £26 came out my account for the subscription. I was confused but thought maybe that was a one of payment for the year because I didn’t cancel... tbh I didn’t use the app much and was busy so forgot. 

Then another came out the next month. I didn’t notice straight away then checked the email and realised that it was 26 a month!! 

I looked at the website and it seemed they wanted people to cancel by phone!! I was soo annoyed because between having 3 kids, full time job I didn’t fancy a long phone call to cancel. I forgot again and by December it came out again, baring in mind I’d barely even used the newspaper and I was paying almost 30 quid for it. 

I looked on the website to see if they had an online cancellation form and I found one tucked away on the T&C page. Result. 

Can I get a refund if I cancel?

If you cancel within 14 days of the start of your subscription, we will refund any payments received from you using the same method of payment that you used to purchase your subscription.  You will not be entitled to a refund of your initial payment if you cancel after the first 14 days of the start of your subscription.
If you would like to cancel within 14 days of the start of your subscription, we advise you to cancel via telephone, as this will instantly confirm your cancellation. Alternatively, you may email help@timesplus.co.uk from your registered email address, telling us you’d like to cancel or including the completed form below and we will contact you regarding your request. These additional cancellation options are only available to subscribers who would like to cancel within 14 days of their subscription start date.
 

To: Customer Services, Times Newspapers Limited
Tel no:
I hereby give notice that I cancel my Subscription contract
Purchased on: [insert date of Subscription]
Customer Reference Number: [insert your Customer reference number]
Your full name:
Your address:
Date:
Reason for cancelling (optional):
Please note that if you cancel your subscription within the first 14 days, your access to our services will stop and you will be required to forfeit any subscription benefits that you have received, including sign-up offers, vouchers or any other benefits connected to your subscription. If you have any questions about what cancelling your subscription means for you, please contact us at ...

So I filled this form out and emailed on 9th December with all relevant details and requested that as it was within of 14 days of my subscription starting could I get my £26 back. They sent me an email back on the 12th, which I missed as I was getting so many emails usual junk etc. 

After a hectic Christmas and into February I noticed they were STILL taking £26 out of account. I was furious. I assumed it was an issue with the form but when I checked everything I’d emailed was right, I had a receipt back from them. I still hadn’t got the email from customer services because, to put it in perspective, in the 3 months I was subscribed they sent me 56 emails, after I cancelled a further 27... that amongst everything else I just didn’t open it. 

I contacted my bank in February and explained that I’d cancelled My online subscription via email but they’d continued to take a further 2 payments. I explained the whole expectation to phone them and how it’s just unreasonable, they agreed and refunded me Jan and Feb payments. 

Literally within 2 days I had a call on my mobile from them about my account. I was absolutely incredulous, as far as I was concerned at this point I’d sent of their cancellation form and They’d ignored it, I’d still been charged and now my payment was cancelled they were straight On the phone to me? I told them I was busy and thought that’s be it. 

But then they WOULD.NOT.STOP. phoning me. I’m talking several times a day, even on Saturdays. 

Eventually I got so annoyed I answered to tell them to do one. The guy basically said I owed subscriptions of 26 since January and how did I want to pay? I was like excuse me I cancelled this in December and you continued to take fees. He said you can’t cancel by email so that wasn’t valid, we emailed you back on the 12th December to tell you to phone us. I was like, look, I don’t have time to be PHONING to cancel something I signed up to online, I sent you the email to cancel - you’re saying you actually did get it but just continued to charge me anyway instead of cancelling my subscription? He said he’d cancel it going forward. I told him there is no way I’m paying you 26 a month for something I’ve cancelled and not used. I wouldn’t go further with the call and ended it there as ho early he was so cheeky. You’d think I’d ran up a massive credit card bill I wasn’t paying the way he was acting. I eventually did find that email and basically it says you can’t cancel via email you need to phone and if you cancel your payment we will still be after our money. 

They’ve continued to phone me several times a day. They’re like a bunch of gangsters. I’m off my work with severe anxiety so I am honestly struggling g so so hard with this, worrying about this money piling up, I don’t have it...I’ve got 3 kids on a civil service wage with them all home from school I feel like I’m drowning. Can someone tell me what I can do please? 

[Deleted User]

You need to pay the missing months.  They've cancelled it going forward so there will be nothing more to pay once you've settled the outstanding amount.

How did you come to the conclusion that you were within the first 14 days when you didn't cancel for 3 months?

DoaM

If you'd simply phoned them then this would have all been sorted straight away. (They require phone cancellation so they can try and persuade you to stay ... the same way ISPs require phone cancellations). HOWEVER ... I think the law says otherwise ... I think it allows for cancellations howsoever given to be taken as formal notification. (Check the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013). Therefore you have given formal notice of cancellation (even though you used a method intended for initial 14-day cancellations).

When they next call, tell them:

a) The contract is cancelled per your formal notification in December
b) You will no longer entertain any phone communication on this matter, and will block their number. (Do so). Any further communication must be in writing - any further telephone communication (e.g. via a different, not blocked, number) will be deemed harassment. Such numbers will also be blocked
c) If they wish to pursue you further for the alleged debt then they must send you a formal Letter Before Action followed by County Court action, such action which you will vigorously defend and for which you will seek costs from them when you win
d) If they attempt to pass this alleged debt to a debt collection company then you put them on formal notice that this will also be deemed harassment
e) For any harassing actions you reserve the right to raise a County Court claim against them per the Protection From Harassment Act 1997

SmithAMrs21

Wow! Thanks! This has really helped me order what I want to say. The stupid thing is, is that I work on a Helpline for a living...I’m literally speaking to folk all day 9-5.30pm. But as I suffer from pretty bad anxiety I simply avoid telephoning companies as much as possible. If I can do things via chat/online-that’s perfect, if it’s a case of talking to someone...it’s a case of psyched up... seems daft but there we are. 

Thanks again 🙏

SmithAMrs21

Deleted_User said:

You need to pay the missing months.  They've cancelled it going forward so there will be nothing more to pay once you've settled the outstanding amount.

How did you come to the conclusion that you were within the first 14 days when you didn't cancel for 3 months?

But I was within 14 days of it being renewed for that month. When I sent the email I was within 14 days hence I emailed to cancel and ask for the 26 for that month. It doesn’t say anywhere on thatT&C page it’s the INITIAL subscription date? 

I’ve also just realised they’ve hooked me in with this £8 for 8 weeks then taken the £26 4 weeks later. ... how is that 8 weeks for £8? 

Socajam

I am sorry they did not hook you in for £8 for 8 weeks.
If you read the full description (small print), it tells you that this is what you will pay for 8 weeks and after than the subscription will increase to £26.  I know this for a fact because it happened to me and I had to actually email them and then had to physically call them up for cancellation to take place.
I did not use DD, I used my CC.

born_again

Your 14 days was from 03 Sept, not at any point afterwards when they take £26 a month.

I would just block the phone number.
As this is just a rolling agreement and not a fixed term contract. You have a right under the Payment Services Directive to cancel via you bank. (Well you can cancel the fixed term payments, but in that case they will chase you for the remainder of the contract.)
As such after that date in effect when it is a rolling contract you can tell them to do one. As they will have got the message when the 1st payment after cancelling was rejected.

Also these companies can not dictate how you cancel. You can do it by any means that you see fit.