Houston Chronicle
reviews and complaints

Houston Chronicle is at its overbilling without notice again. I was on their standard digital only subscription at 9.95/week (the currently advertised rate not including discounts). In April , they tested the waters sending a monthly bill for $19.95. Guess what, I am too busy to carefully monitor my checking account every month. In June , they started charging me $19.95 EVERY TWO WEEKS and have kept it up since without ever sending me any notice of the billing change. This previously happened twice to me a few years ago, I'm sorry that I can't trust my hometown newspaper to be honest.

Called in late August to have the paper to find out when my subscription was up. Chronicle said October 1 and stop throwing papper on October 1. Calle back in the middle of October to have the papper stopped and it was noted the I called in August to have papper stopped on October 1 and they would tell carrier to stop. Called on November 3 about 7:15 AM and recorded message said they would call back. Called at 5:15 PM and found out Chronicle is closed at this time. I give the Houston Chronicle a 0 review .I will never take a subscription to the Houston chronicle again.

I subscribed to the Houston Chronicle on a "promotional service" on February 27. As of April 13, I have not received a paper. When I called to report this issue, they didn't do anything. When I called back again, they will not credit my credit card but extend my services for 4 more weeks. If I cancel I will receive a credit of $14.60, but they charged my credit card for $56.00. This is not acceptable. Why would I extend the contract for 4 more weeks and I have never gotten a newspaper yet. This is fraud to me and I will fight to get my credit that they charged me. I will never refer Houston Chronicle to anyone. This is a total rip off. signed one angry customer

Did not get my paper today. I called and after giving my name my phone number my address they wanted an email. I told him I don't know what email they had but I don't work and I didn't have an email for them. I said all I have is one question am I getting my paper today? The guy did not shut up. He kept talking to me and wanted me to give an email on they had on file. Then he tried to sell me paying my bill online. My bill is paid up through January into February 2022 I started screaming I said all I want to know is I am I getting a paper today. He said you will have it by 10. It is now 20 after 1 PM no paper. I get my paper late every morning. Who wants the paper after 8 AM?

Recently I began having delivery issues with my newspaper in the Museum District area east of Main Street. Then I found out through some of my neighbors that I wasn't the only one and that the man who has delivered the Chronicle in this neighborhood for about 20 years now, Theo ***, was recently terminated by the Chronicle. The replacement for Mr. does not ascribe to the same standards as his predecessor. Theo always made sure the paper was tossed inside our front fence. No more. In the rare occasions that the paper was not delivered, just a call or a text to his cell phone would result in a paper arriving in under an hour. After 20 years of service, why was Theo fired? This neighborhood wants to know.

I signed up for an online subscription to read an article at $0.95/month and was never able to log in. When I entered my email to try to reset password it said it would send me an email but never did. I emailed to cancel my account and they never did but did bump me up to $20/month and continue to charge me for months. I finally got an answer via email that they can't cancel my subscription via email and they'd call me. They never called me but finally I got them on the phone and they had to "escalate" my situation and would call me back. It's been 48 hours and still waiting on a call back. These guys are scam artists not allowing me to cancel my subscription (which I've never been able to use) until they suck some more money out of me.

I've been taking the Houston Chronicle for 17 years. Delivery service has never been good. Why do I continue? I guess I'm crazy, but I still like to read the newspaper! I can't for the life of me figure out why they can't deliver on a consistent basic. I've lived in two different cities and never had delivery issues with newspaper delivery. If the Chronicle offers home delivery they should be able to deliver EVERY day! They are failing. I am definitely not getting what I paid for. I have spent so much of my valuable time calling in every day that I don't get my paper. Must be serious issues in their upper management for this to continue. I believe I am about ready to finally cancel. They have had 17 years to fix delivery issues, but haven't.

I gave credit card number for six months subscription. I called them to cancel the subscription before the final date of cancelling the subscription. Still, they went ahead and charged the card for about $17.28(?). I called them again. They said they will offer me to continue subscription for another six months at $0.99 and refund the amount of approximately $16. I see this morning that they have given the credit but also charged me another $17.28 (?). I called them and they said that the charge for the next cycle. I informed them about my previous conversation with a representative with ID 3417 (Felix). They transferred me to account specialist. I was on the phone for more than 40 minutes and then the line was disconnected abruptly. I need refund and explanation of the kind of service they provide to their customers. This is the worst type of organization I have ever dealt with.

I've given the Chronicle so many chances, but I'm finally done for good. Every time my subscription ends, they keep sending the paper to my home, then after a while, they send me a bill for it. Does everyone else in the world know that a subscription end date, means that our contract has ended? If you send me extra papers, that's on the Chronicle, not the customer. The Chronicle is the only periodical I've ever had this issue with in my 51 years. When my subscription to Entertainment Weekly ended, they stopped sending me the magazine. Novel concept. On top of that, during my subscription period, (I had Sundays only) the paper would sometimes never show up, or be extremely late, and missing almost all the sales ads. The paper actually started showing up reliably after my subscription ended; still missing a lot of sales ads though. Their business model is horrible, their service is horrible and their product is antiquated. like many have said, it's no wonder they are hemorrhaging.

I have been a long time customer of the Houston Chronicle. For the last several years delivery service has not been good. Example, I call because I did not receive my Saturday newspaper and what do they do, they deliver Tuesdays paper and this is not the first time this has happened. Never received Saturday paper when I called Sunday. When I called back on Monday and Tuesday they told me they could not delivery my Saturday newspaper and would give me credit. All they do is lie to you. When you call to tell them you did not receive the newspaper they tell you it will be delivered by noon or somtimes it will be delivered the next day depending on when you call. Half the time i never receive it that day or the next. I don't want credit I just want my newspaper. I'm tired of their excuses. I pay for delivery of the newspaper and I expect to receive it. You can't talk to anyone except whoever answers the phone and they can't have anyone call to tell me what is going on. Seems like they would rather give you credit then delivery the newspaper.

i canceled my subscription because i noticed it went from 16 and some change to 20 in my bank statement, i called on the first week of November and canceled my subscription at the time the representative i spoke with said the price increased because it was the nov paper and that it only happens one time a year, i asked her to cancel either way, she said ok its canceled. fast forward to December and i notice i was billed 22 from them again, called again and told the representative that i want a refund for December because i canceled already in the first week of nov, he tried selling me the subscription again on the phone for more than 10 while im at work (because they're hours are my work hours as well) he wouldnt stop trying to sell me stuff i was begging him to just stop and cancel, he said ok finally and told me i would get a refund, well its been an entire week and still no refund, i will never again use this paper subscription, costumer service is a joke and the entire process to cancel is ridiculous, now i have been on hold for ever waiting to speak to someone on the billing department because there is no way im going to let them take 22 more dollars for their crap service

HORRIBLE. HORRIBLE. HORRIBLE. I have been a dedicated subscriber for over 6 months (since moving to Houston) paying well over $16 a month for just a Sunday paper, when I came across a Groupon for $60 for a year subscription. Since I was already subscribe to the paper they would not allow me to use the Groupon, so they told me to cancel for one month & then start a new subscription. I followed their guidance and two days later I received a phone call stating that I did not have to wait the "month" that they could adjust the price on the spot to reflect the Groupon price. Fast forward now two weeks later I get a bill in the mail for $22 for only an 8 week subscription, while my online account is telling me I owe $11. I call Houston Chronicle only to be put on hold for over 20 minutes, once I was able to talk customer service they proceeded to tell me the best they could do was $103 dollars a year, so I told them I would like to cancel since they continue to give me inconsistent prices for a year subscription. So they transfer me once again to cancellation only for their customer service rep to tell me they will be calling me tomorrow to cancel RATHER THAN TODAY WHEN I CALLED. They refused to tell me when they will be calling me tomorrow, and they expect me to continue to be a loyal customer to them. ABSOLUTELY NOT. I will rather go across the street to the gas station, then purchase a paper from a company who can't even agree on a year subscription price, but instead tosses you between customer service representatives for each of them to tell you a completely different price to see who can swindle most money out of you. News papers are dying more each day, since the internet. You would think they would try harder to keep their customers.

A extremely non-customer friendly organization with respect to subscriptions and billing. In 2020, I paid $133.xx in advance for a 26 week subscription. I did not agree to continued service and that was not on the receipt I received. In November, I received a bill to pay through mid-January and did not accept. I wrote on the bill, CANCEL - CAN NOT AFFORD. Then returned to the Chronicle, at which time the phone calls started. Several weeks ago, I called, spoke to the billing department and thought the matter was resolved. On Friday, I received a phone call from the Chronicle asking me to come back as a subscriber. The rate would be $28 a month for 9 months. I thought about refusing but agreed and gave the Chronicle my billing information and credit card number. Yesterday, I received a letter marked in big red letters - PAST DUE. I have called the Chronicle and spoken to someone who told me there was no record of my prior call and if I was to cancel I had to call to do so. Also, she did not know who called to start a new subscription. I have been with this paper since relocating from the Washington, DC area in 1990. To receive a paper bill there is an extra monthly fee of up to $6.95 and I stopped the paper in 2018 due to this practice and the large increases in monthly subscription fee. I do not feel I owe the Chronicle any thing at this point and asked what would happen if I did not pay the $31.92. The reply was " You will continue to receive bills and phone calls". I will, against my better judgement, pay this fee but want nothing to do with this organization. My problem is that someone at the Chronicle now has my credit card number and billing information. I need help and wish to let everyone know how unfair and non-customer friendly the billing and "Customer Service" department is to subscribers. Delivery has never been a problem. The quality of the news is great as are the reporters. This organization ruins its reputation with the dubious billing and customer service practices.

It has occurred over a period of 3 years and it continues. I am at a loss for I can not get help because of them. I have pages of documents of the times, dates, and what was happening as well as video footage of smoke being pumped into the apt. There is an overpowering amount of this that will absolutely make a person to be left in awe to what they did. It is horrible and no one should ever have to go thru this. Help me please.

I have been a Chronicle customer for a long time, as always I pay my bills 6mos in advance. I paid my bill in May , I was charged more than my bill should have been $203.00, I was charged $311.00, I asked for a refund it took them a month or so, I called my bank I did a chargeback for the difference, the refund came though, which I had the chargeback reversed. Now the chronlcle says I owe them $400.00, which is not true, the paper was stopped 7/3, I have tried to dispute this with several phone calls to no avail., yet I have paid them for 6mos or the end of December , I'm a senior citizen and I feel my phone calls, numerous, I have spoke to supervisiors which seem to be on deaf ears or they don't care and they just have taken my money and there seems to be nothing I can do.

I have a Sunday only delivery subscription, but they never deliver the paper. This problem has been going on for two years or more. I have called them many times to resolve this issue however they still do not deliver the paper. They have given me credits for my subscription when I remember to call them about this issue, which is good since I am still able to access the digital issue. The problem here is I am paying for a Sunday only delivery subscription however they do not deliver a paper. I have had a subscription with the Houston Chronicle for twenty years or so and they always delivered a paper to me until the last couple of years. The delivery service started to become erratic a year or two before this problem started. In other words, they would miss several days when I had an everyday subscription.

I have been trying to cancel my subscriptions with the Houston chronicle for a couple of days now. I have sent emails requesting cancellation and I have not received a response or phone call. I have called a couple of times and I was on hold for close to 30 minutes. There is an option for me to request a call back and so I did. When the customer service representative from the Houston chronicle called me back I told them I wanted to cancel my subscription. She then forwarded the call to another extension where I was on hold for close to 30 minutes. No one answered the call and so I eventually hung up. Is this the standard? This has happened repeatedly. I want my subscription canceled and I shouldn't have to file a report with the Complaintsboard.com yet here I am. I may decide to order subscription service in the future but for now I would like to cancel.

In November , I initiated a digital subscription to the Houston Chronicle (digital only). However, a physical copy of the paper began to be delivered at that time. I made two phone calls to the Chronicle during which agents assured me both times that the distributor had been contacted and that the delivery of the paper to my home would be stopped. The delivery never stopped. It continues today (February 15). I have contacted the newspaper via e-mail on two occasions, by phone on two occasions, and in a letter which was sent through the U.S. Postal Service. I received responses in the phone contact and e-mail contacts indicating that delivery was stopped. It has not been stopped and continues to advertise my absence from home when I travel out of town and continues to be a nuisance when I am home. Please help to STOP delivery of the newspaper to my home.

I have called 6 times to get charges for an account i did not subscribe to. Only once has someone addressed me being refunded for the last 10-12 months. I have been billed 29.95 per month for a few months and double charged for my online subscription in March , I have never received the refund for these charges. I have called 2 times today, left on hold forever, the employee said I needed to speak to a supervisor. Upon trying to transfer- I was cut off both times. The second time, the employee said she would stay on the line with me in case I got cut off again. Again the line cut off and no employee! I am beyond frustrated- the employee has my name and phone number and could call back but does not. I want my account refunded for all of the months I was charged $29.95 immediately plus the $20 that I was double billed in March plus a credit on my account for all of the issues and non compliance on the part of the Houston Chronicle

I took advantage of a promotion the Houston Chronicle was running on September 23rd, which supposedly offered digital access for $0.99 for 26 weeks. Unfortunately, I started being charged full price not even a month into the promotion, with the first charge occurring on Oct. 12th. I was charged $17.28 four times for a total of $69.12, as evidenced by my banking records. When I called their help line, they refused to acknowledge that I had ever received such a promotion, despite the confirmation email clearly stating that I would only be charged 99 cents for the first 26 weeks. The fraudulent promotion is currently running to this day! I do not understand how such a supposedly reputable company can get away with such a brazen scam for so long. I am seeking a full refund and the discontinuance of this fraudulent promotion. I'm not sure that I'll be able to dispute all four charges through my bank due to the fact that the first charge is many months old. I only caught the charges recently, when I realized that I was being continuously charged full price while still supposedly covered under the promotion. My account number is ***, and the subscription type was "Unlimited Digital Access".

In March , as our annual subscription was ending, the Chronicle solicited us to renew. I called Mike *** who sold me a subscription from March 27 to June 21 Wednesday-Sunday, home delivery, for $108. I confirmed this subscription with L ***. I then sent a letter to the Chronicle confirming my subscription with a check for $108. We received the Chronicle per the agreement. Then on May 14, we received a letter from dated May 4 from the Chronicle saying that as of May 20, we would only received the Chronicle on Sunday, and we would not receive the Chronicle as per our subscription agreement. We objected in emails and asked the Chronicle to honor its subscription agreement with us. The Chronicle refused asserting it can change our subscription to Sunday only. After many calls and being on eternal hold, we finally were finally able to talk to a person about this, but that person responded to our complaint by merely repeating the notice given to us in the letter of May 4.. She never addressed our complaint. We have sent emails to the Chronicle with no one addressing our complaint other than to repeat they were going to provide Sunday only service.

The Houston Chronicle has failed to deliver their newspaper to my home for 4 consecutive days. Each day, I have called them and reported the missed delivery. Every time I called I asked for my issue to be escalated because my delivery history over the 1-1/2 years has been horrendous. Not once has anyone followed up with me despite repeated requests to contact me to discuss their delivery service. Over this 1-1/2 yr time-frame, the Houston Chronicle has failed to deliver their newspaper to my home at least 40 times and we call to report it nearly every time. Please feel free to check my call history with them to see if I am exaggerating. We pay a lot of money to receive a newspaper 7 days per week, so I expect far better customer service than what is being provided. No wonder their circulation is dwindling. What do you expect from a company with pathetic customer service. The worst thing is that you can never get past the front line Customer Service Agent to talk with someone who can actually take action on your request. They always tell me that they will escalate my call but nothing ever happens. Very disgraceful! I need my pathetic delivery service improved to the level I have contracted with them to delivery my newspaper to my home before 5:30am every day of the week.

I have had service for Sunday home delivery since December. To date I have not received a newspaper delivered to my home. On July 15 I contacted Robert (manager) to initiate an investigation. Robert reassured me that he would look into the complaint. On July 20, I called Robert for an update. He threw a couple names of route managers at me and said he was still working on it. He requested I give him more time. On August 12, I called Robert disappointed that my concern, as a customer, has not been dealt with and demanded a refund. Robert reassured me that two payments in the amount of $20.96 for May and April would be refunded to my credit card. Futher he said he would call me that Friday for an update on the other payments, totalling $112.76. I never received any contact from Robert or Houston Chronicle. Today, September 15 marks two months of me attempting to claim refunds for services that I have never received. In contact with Zack today, after hearing the situation and advising that he had the same capabilities as a manager, he attempted to transfer me to a different supervisor. As with many previous attemps that I have made to contact a manager, I was rerouted back to the begining of the cueing system. I did not call back and am filing this complaint with Complaintsboard.com. To top this off, I now have received a final notice bill of past due payment in the amount of $25.88 for services that I did not receive. I hope someone can support with this.

My name is ***. I am writing on behalf of my elderly father, (I have power-of-attorney). I started requesting approximately 3 months ago that the Houston Chronicle discontinue delivering the newspaper to my parent's home. I have contacted them approximately 8-9 times. The most recent contact was approximately 10 days ago. I spoke with a supervisor, *** (sp?). My parent's account with the Chronicle was closed and they were even sent a refund because they had prepaid for services. However, the paper has still continued to be delivered. My father has Parkinson's disease and has already fallen down once while going out to retrieve the newspaper. Luckily, a neighbor saw him on the ground and called me and I was only 10 minutes away and was able to get there and help my father back into his home. His hands and forearms were scratched and bleeding from the fall, but luckily, no major injuries. I have repeatedly asked my father to wait until I get off work and I will get the newspaper for him, however, he is afraid of getting a violation letter from the HOA. During my most recent call with *** I explained the seriousness of the issue and the very real possibility that my father could be seriously injured while trying to get the paper (that's why I had it discontinued to begin with). *** assured me that she would contact a "field manager" and put my parent's address on their no solicitation list. She said it would take 3 days to process. We're at day 10, the paper is still being delivered. Please keep in mind, I requested the service to be stopped more than 2 months ago and have called the Chronicle at least 8 times. Their lack of action, especially considering the physical danger this puts my father in, is egregious.

Since 2018, I have been paying at least $20 monthly to have 5 Sunday papers delivered to my house. I called every Sunday in 2018 to inform them I was not getting my newspapers delivered to my house. Later, found out the newspapers were being delivered to an abandoned house down my street and sometimes picked up by other people while all the while, my credit card was being debited every month which fluctuated and should not have and was finally fixed by a representative. The first Sunday in 2019, I began to receive my 5 newspaper at my home and it stayed that way most of the year. I may have not received the papers on Sunday a hand full of times but did not complain. At that point, I was happy to get them delivered-----FINALLY! However, in January, my newspaper delivery has stopped and my credit card is still being debited monthly. The last transaction on my credit card was June 5. I have called almost every Sunday to inform them my newspaper was not delivered. It has been told to me the papers would be redelivered on Monday (which never happens) and the complaint would be sent to the escalation team or complaint would be sent to a District Manager. I have been unsuccessful at every attempt to continue having my newspaper delivered to me. I am a person who clips coupons and depend on my Sunday papers to be delivered to my home every Sunday. I have video, paper trail of calls to the Houston Chronicle on Sundays & Mondays, and my credit card statements to prove my situation. I have asked to be refunded for the weeks I did not receive my newspapers but they are refusing to credit my card and say, "we cannot credit your card back however, we will extend your subscription." And of course my response is, "if I am not getting the newspapers now, what makes them think I will get the newspapers during the "extension!" At this point, I am paying for a service I am not getting and they are continuing to debit my card.

On Monday, 09/21, I did not receive my newspaper from the Houston Chronicle's carrier. My wife, *** called and spoke to customer care specialist, Keira. During this conversation, it came to light that our subscription had supposedly expired on 09/06 and we owed a balance of $17 and change)don't remember exact amount. During my wife's conversation with Keira, my wife explained that we never received a billing renewal notice. My wife agreed to renew our subscription @ the rate of $20 per month for 4 months and Keira told my wife she was crediting our account for $10, which I found out thru later conversations, wasn't documented in notes. My wife paid $82.81 on my Visa card and was told we were paid up thru 01/06. On 09/22, again had no delivery and I called just prior to 11 am, speaking to Jacob and asked for credit rather than re-delivery. I did receive paper later after 12 noon. On 09/23, I called and spoke to customer care, Fran. My 91 year old and ill wife got on the phone with her. My wife told me later that when she asked for a Supervisor, Fran was rude to her and told my wife she was transferring her to stop subscription, then hung up on her as transfer was made. My wife ended up talking to Supervisor, Brittany, whom was pleasant and kind. Brittany told me that she was extending our subscription to 01/13/1921. I thanked her On 09/24, again had no delivery. A few minutes prior to 11 am, I called and spoke to Centavia (sp). Told her I wanted credit versus re-delivery, extending my subscription to 01/14. On 09/25, again no delivery, now 3 days in a row. I called at 11:35 am, spoke to Maria and asked to be connected to Supv. Brittany. Was told she was on phone with another customer and left message to be called on my landline at [protected]. Forty-five minutes later, I called back and talked to Shaniquewa (sp) and asked her to change the phone number on message to Supv. Brittany to my cell phone, [protected], as I needed to go out and did not want to miss Brittany's call. After not receiving a call back, I decided to call again and speak to any Supervisor. I called on Friday, 09/25, and was connected to Fran, the same customer care specialist my wife spoke to o n Wednesday, 09/23. I asked to speak to any Supervisor, but she insisted on handling the problem. She told me subscription was stopped. If it was stopped, it was because she did so on the 23rd, and is the reason I am not receiving my nnewspaper. I asked for credit for Friday's, 09/25, non-delivery and she confirmed that once a supervisor posts the credit, that I would be paid up through 01/15/1921. If it were up to my wife, Fran would be fired for stopping our subscription when we had just renewed for 4 months at $82.81 on 09/21. If it were up to me, Fran would receive some kind of disciplinary action. As a 100 percent disabled Vietnam Veteran, 76 yrs old, taking care of an severely ill and handicapped wife, I neither have the energy, time, or patience to continuely have to reach out to the Houston Chronicle because of non-delivery problems.