Cancelling a Times subscription

StubeeStubee Forumite
6 Posts
Part of the Furniture First Post Combo Breaker
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Has anyone else had to deal with the times and trying to cancel a subscription.   The only way you can do it is via the phone, I spent almost 2 hour this week stuck in a queue trying to get through to their cancellation team but gave up as I was working and had other priorities, I therefore e-mailed them and told them I was cancelling my PayPal approval and I received the reply below.
Thank you for contacting us in relation to cancelling your subscription. 
I am glad that you have brought this to my attention however I am sorry to hear that you would like to cancel your subscription to the Times. I would be more than happy to advise on how to cancel your subscription today.
In order to cancel your membership you will need to call our team on freephone 0800 018 5177 (Option 2), as we are unable to accept a cancellation over email. We require 2 days notice of your billing date before cancelling your subscription to ensure no further payments would be made on your account. 
The department opening hours are:
8am - 7pm  Monday - Friday
8am - 4pm Saturday & Sunday
Please be advised, cancelling your payments will not cancel your subscription. This will remain active and will continue to accrue charges until it has been cancelled.
I hope you enjoy the rest of your week and have enjoyed having your Times subscription. If you need anything else, please don't hesitate to contact us at The Times and The Sunday Times.

Surely in this day and age you should be able to cancel by e-mail or there should be an online option where you just click a button to cancel.  I remember not to long ago where all cancellation had to be done in writing and you'd get a letter back confirming your request.   Surely this isn't write, I will ring again but I'd like to highlight this to someone is there someone I can write to about this. 

 




Replies

  • SandtreeSandtree Forumite
    10.6K Posts
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    Companies can broadly set their own cancellation policy and looking at the T&Cs on their website it clearly states that cancellation must be done by phone. Unless you have a copy of the T&Cs as you signed up to them and it shows they were different then this is what you agreed to.

    On the plus side its a freephone number so just leave a phone on speaker phone and get on with life until they answer. 
  • StubeeStubee Forumite
    6 Posts
    Part of the Furniture First Post Combo Breaker
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    Just managed to get through on the phone,  they put such a hard sell on you to try and get you to stay.  They offered me half price for six months and when I reiterated that I'm not using the service half price is still too much for something I'm not using.  Had to explain multiple times that I wanted to cancel,  I wonder how many people just give in and remain subscribed?  
  • SandtreeSandtree Forumite
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    Stubee said:
     I wonder how many people just give in and remain subscribed?  
    Enough people that it makes it worth while for them to pay for you to have to telephone them rather than accepting your cancellation by email
  • Aylesbury_DuckAylesbury_Duck Forumite
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    It's owned by Murdoch's lot, the same bunch of lovely folk that own the Sun. Did you really expect anything other than sharp practice?
  • StubeeStubee Forumite
    6 Posts
    Part of the Furniture First Post Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    It's owned by Murdoch's lot, the same bunch of lovely folk that own the Sun. Did you really expect anything other than sharp practice?
    I hadn't realised the Times were part of that group to be honest.  Now you've said it I'm even happier that I've decided to cancel.  
  • StubeeStubee Forumite
    6 Posts
    Part of the Furniture First Post Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    Sandtree said:
    Stubee said:
     I wonder how many people just give in and remain subscribed?  
    Enough people that it makes it worth while for them to pay for you to have to telephone them rather than accepting your cancellation by email
    Hadn't though about that before but that must be a lot of people.   :#
  • BadWulf_2BadWulf_2 Forumite
    2 Posts
    Part of the Furniture First Post Combo Breaker
    Newbie
    To bring this up to date, just tried to cancel a 3 month offer.  Bloke was incredibly pushy despite my repeated request to just cancel and that i was trying to get out of the door, he threw a hissy fit in the end and said he would, but no email received yet.

    Unbelievably rude and unprofessional.  sounded like a third party somewhere as got transferred from standard CS line.

    we will see. I certainly wont be taking out a future subscription.
  • born_againborn_again Forumite
    10K Posts
    1,000 Posts Third Anniversary Name Dropper
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    BadWulf_2 said:
    To bring this up to date, just tried to cancel a 3 month offer.  Bloke was incredibly pushy despite my repeated request to just cancel and that i was trying to get out of the door, he threw a hissy fit in the end and said he would, but no email received yet.

    Unbelievably rude and unprofessional.  sounded like a third party somewhere as got transferred from standard CS line.

    we will see. I certainly wont be taking out a future subscription.
    Contact your bank, tell them you cancelled on date. Ask them to block further payments.
    Life in the slow lane
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