Private Eye Direct Debit subscription cancellation

Pareidolia

Apologies, newbie to the forum and I wasn't exactly sure which forum to post in, so happy for it to be moved by mods if necessary,

I have a longstanding subscription to the Private Eye magazine that I have decided to cancel. No cancellation facility on the website but emailed their department.

Got the following response: "We are unable to cancel your subscription. If you wish to cancel please contact your bank and ask that they cancel the mandate, they in turn will submit a cancellation request to us on your behalf."

Is this right? It smells of a deliberate hurdle to avoid losing subscriptions. I predominantly bank online and I'm wary of simply cancelling the direct debit via my mobile app in case it leads to an accidental missed payment or similar.

Any advice? I've emailed expressing my displeasure, but wondering what's the best way to move forward on this. 

blue.peter

It's a bit odd, since it's polite to ask the DD originator to stop collecting. You've done this. However, there's nothing to stop you from just cancelling the DD with your bank without notifying them. If Private Eye want you to do it via your bank, then go ahead and tell your bank (via its app or online banking if you prefer) to cancel the DD. This should work - I've done exactly this on occasion with my banks. I don't see any problem arising since the originator has told you to do it this way. In any case, if a problem does arise, you've got their e-mail to point at and say "you told me to do it this way".

I don't understand your comment about " an accidental missed payment or similar". Surely the point is that you don't want to make any further payments, isn't it?

Pareidolia

Thanks for that, 
Sorry I should've been clearer - I guess I'm worried that I cancel the DD, no notification goes to Private Eye, they attempt to continue the subscription and charge me, then its declined.
Don't know if thats an irrational fear or a realistic outcome. 

Ken68

Excellent  magazine, Pare. though it seems to have turned into a whistle-blowers journal.
Am amazed that some of the fiddles exposed are not taken up by mainstream media.
To cancel, delete from your bank list and send an e mail to Pressdram.
I do end my subscription now and then... just to see it mentioned on P94.

born_again

Is it a DD or a CPA?

Either way they have told you to contact the bank. If it is a DD then you should be able to cancel via that method. If it's a CPA then you will need to speak to the bank.

blue.peter

Pareidolia said:
Sorry I should've been clearer - I guess I'm worried that I cancel the DD, no notification goes to Private Eye, they attempt to continue the subscription and charge me, then its declined.

It will be declined by the bank, but this is nothing to worry about. When they decline payment, a notification will automatically be sent to the originator. It'll tell them that the mandate has been cancelled by their customer. What the originator does about it is for them to decide, and not an issue for you unless you've breached the terms of your contract - which, as far as I can see, you haven't. I'd expect them to stop sending the magazine to you, but it might take an issue or two for them to stop. Don't worry about it: that's their problem, not yours. As I said earlier, you can, if necessary, point out that you tried to ask them to cancel, but were told to do it this way. It won't do any harm to send another e-mail now, saying that you've cancelled the DD and want your subscription to cease, but this isn't really necessary.

(As @Ken68 says, it's an excellent magazine. I have a subscription myself. But I'm sure that you have a good reason to want to cancel. The fact that it's Private Eye isn't relevant to your problem: all that matters is that it's a magazine subscription paid by DD.)

Pareidolia

Thanks all - no issue with Private Eye (my only paper subscription!), I just found that I wasnt reading it as diligently as I used to.

Anyway will cancel DD and go from there.

eskbanker

Perhaps just worth noting that, in general, cancelling a DD and cancelling a subscription are two different activities and the former doesn't usually trigger the latter - there have been many examples of posters unilaterally cancelling DDs for gym memberships or insurance policies (for example) via their bank and being shocked to learn that this didn't remove their contractual obligation to continue to pay for a service that hadn't been separately cancelled directly with the supplier.

However, in this case, if Private Eye chooses to advise subscribers to cancel their DD as an unconventional means of cancelling the subscription itself then it would be hard for them to subsequently claim that they're still owed money, and you'd be in the happy position of being able to refer them to the reply given in the case of Arkell versus Pressdram....

blue.peter

eskbanker said:

Perhaps just worth noting that, in general, cancelling a DD and cancelling a subscription are two different activities and the former doesn't usually trigger the latter - there have been many examples of posters unilaterally cancelling DDs for gym memberships or insurance policies (for example) via their bank and being shocked to learn that this didn't remove their contractual obligation to continue to pay for a service that hadn't been separately cancelled directly with the supplier.

However, in this case, if Private Eye chooses to advise subscribers to cancel their DD as an unconventional means of cancelling the subscription itself then it would be hard for them to subsequently claim that they're still owed money, and you'd be in the happy position of being able to refer them to the reply given in the case of Arkell versus Pressdram....

Yes, quite - hence my reference above to breaching the terms of the contract.

Ken68

Haven't bought reading material for ages, use RB Digital , Kindle and whatever is in the local library.

488620

I have just had a very strange email from private-eye .co. uk. Here is the back history: I had subscribed online for my father who immediately told me he did not want the magazine. I immediately went to cancel it online only to find there was no cancellation button. I also noticed there was no contact form or email address. It was a Sunday and bank holiday so couldn't phone. Luckily I realised they had emailed me an auto response upon payment, so I used that email to write my cancellation. I also cancelled my direct debit immediately. Strangely I then kept getting messages saying they were going to setup my direct debit (even though they have clearly been told to cancel things). I just received a very badly set out email message from them saying, unfortunately I cannot cancel or get a refund. So I have emailed them back to state I am legally entitled to it as per their own T&Cs https: //shop. private-eye.co. uk / Terms-and-Conditions / ... If the magazine was not a well known publication I would think this is a scam. Has anyone else had this experience? It feels like they will hard sell and lie to you to keep subscribers paying for as long as possible. Really unimpressed!