Food Network review: renewal scam 27

I can say they've lost THREE customers due to lousy service. I wanted to renew my subscription, as well as the two gift subscriptions for my sons, and want them to all run continuously and pay by check, so as not to get caught up in some renewal scam, and avoid notices every week that a subscription is expiring. (But which one?) Every email, every phone number I have tried is an empty trail. What a shame. Will miss Food Network magazine, and my sons will too, but there's always another Food magazine just waiting to fill it's shoes! How could a company be so STUPID?
Debra, North Prince George, VA

This is horrible. I keep receiving bills for a subscription I did not request. There is no phone number / easy way to contact the magazine. I might have even liked the magazine but based upon the way they try to sign you up, I no longer like the brand & will not watch the show any more. Left me feeling bitter - maybe they have a recipe for that

I just had the same experience as mvwest. I received my auto renewal card in the mail today, and my annual renewal charge jumped from $15 to $44.97. I went on the FN website and it states that the annual subscription rate is $15. It would seem that they lead you to believe that the $15 subscription rate is the ongoing rate, but in actuality they can charge you whatever they like at the time of renewal. If I hadn't closely checked the postcard that gives you a 30 day window before they charge your card, I would have been charged the exhorbident rate. I contacted them via emai and they explained that different rates are offered to different customers...lucky me! They then offered to lower the rate to the $15 rate that is listed on their website. I have cancelled all my auto renewals for all my magazines and will go back to paying annually and renegotiating the renewal charges if they seem out of line. What a pain!

I signed up for 2 yrs @ $39. After that time it would automatically renew. OK. 2 yrs later i notice a $44 renewal charge. Called them up, they said that was for 1 YEAR! Explanation was that when it renews, the price reverts to what you pay at the newsstand. I have never heard of a practice like that. All my subscriptions tend to be about the same, $15-20/yr. I guess they figure since it's an auto-renewal, people won't bother to look at their credit card statement at renewal time and notice the charge is 3 times what the original was! Anyway, upside is i called them and they are refunding me $29 so the price for a yr. will be $15.

A few years ago, I subscribed to Food Network Mag. The second year, I paid for a ONE YEAR subscription for my daughter-in-law. I renewed MY subscription a year later...but NOT hers. I got a bill for both my renewal and my daughter-in-laws. After going back and forth, I paid for the second subscription and told them to cancel my subscription. Said I would NEVER work with them again. I'm still getting magazines...and I just got a renewal request. These people are scam artists. I'm including a letter with my rejection...and keeping a copy for my files. DON'T subscribe to this mag!

I am also sick and tired of receiving past due notices from Food Network Magazine. I started receiving notices when I still had three months left in my subscription. I wrote Hearst Magazine stating that fact and I would not be renewing my subscription due to their billing practices. They still continue to send me past due notices even though I have not received the magazine since my subscription expired. The latest notice states "Your balance due is now several months outstanding. We have sent you numerous bills that have gone unpaid. Please send us your payment immediately." Food Network should sever ties with Hearst Magazine if they want to retain or get new subscribers. I will also file a complaint with the BBB.

I received an invoice today for a subscription to Foodnetworking magazine! I did not subscribe! I do not want it! I have not yet received an issue! I did not find a way to cancel it on line or by phone. I will assume that if I do not pay for it, that they will stop sending the magazine and cancel this bogus subscription. I will send a complaint to to BBB and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and other places I can find, if I receive future bills for this unsolicited magazine.

I was going to submit an on-line subscription to Food Network Magazine after seeing an issue on the newstand and liking what I saw. I also watch the Food Network often and like the stars and programs. After reading all the similar complaints of subscribers to this magazine about bad renewal and billing practices, I consider myself forewarned and will not subscribe. Instead, I will buy a copy of Food Network Magazine from the newstand when it looks like a good issue. Thank you everyone for the warning!

It is the middle of September, and I just got my magazine with an automatic renewal notice on it.My subscription is not due until March of 2016.I love the magazine, but I cancelled my automatic renewal notice.I should still be getting 5 more months on my subscription.Don`t know if I`ll renew it, when the time comes

i pay at the time of my order for two years and when i cancel they put me on delay payment and is making my credit bad

deborah kibbe

p.s. i need a number to call

Honest to God! I just tried to call the above customer service number, & they disconnected me (hung up) right in mid sentence. I told them I was reading the complaints & how similar they are, & that I already paid for my year subscription over a yr ago...& I have no problem in retrieving the check from my bank to verify it was paid. Horrible customer service!

Just received a bill from FoodNetwork magazine that I paid in full over a year ago. First of all, I never received the "numerous" bills FoodNetwork has claimed, only mail stating my subscription is running out, or to renew. Secondly, the name on the "invoice" is not my name. Please clear this up asap. I was considering to renew my subscription, but not now...

I subscribed to Food Network Magazine and received one old issue that I had already had for two months. I paid my subscription fee on 7/15/10 and have not received any more issues. The newest issue has been on the news stand for three weeks. I either want the magazine or my money back. This is ridiculous.

Same issue with me. Repeated phony collection agency notices for renewals that I never authorized. I finally filed a compliant with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and will never order a subscription to their magazine again.

I too have received these invoices from their credit & collection department. I did renew for three years. Now that I decided not to, they keep sending me these letters. I know I don't owe them anything. I feel like they are trying to bully me into renewing my subscription. It is certainly harassment! And the letters don't give you any way of getting a hold of them other than a web address, and the only thing you can do there is pay them! I'm done with Food Network Magazine and their lousy tactics!

Just received an invoice for a subscription I never ordered. Called and spoke to a young lady, she was nice and said she would correct the billing which was for automatic renewal for 1 year at a cost of 29 dollars. The invoice said my credit card would not work and they wanted me to send a check or pay on line THEY DID NOT INCLUDE A PHONE NUMBER within the invoice. My last subscription for this was over ten years ago and the girl tried to indicate that I had a recent subscription expire. I told her I felt it was a scam, she denied that, perhaps she does not know!

I to am having the same problem only I also have a gift subscription for my daughter. When I renewed last year I paid $29.00 for mine for 2 years and #29.00 for my daughters. They now have sent me a bill for another $18.00 for my gift for another year. When I called she told me it was only for 1 year. Well I cancelled both and I will never subscribe. I have been doing business with them for years, so they just lost a good customer. I will also tell everyone I can about this in hopes they will not subscribe. Hopefully they will go out of business.

This magazine repeatedly skips months. They NEVER have replacements, they just tell you they are going to extend the subscription. This is terrible! Why extend a subscription that never comes regularly? I have more than once been anticipating an issue and it never comes...they make you wait and wait until the date THEY decide is late delivery, then they have none to replace the missing issue! PLEASE get your act together! Do you WANT to have your original, faithful subscribers drop you? Well, you doing a fine job of offering TERRIBLE customer service!

Yes! I agree with all the above complaints attempting to stop the continuation of mags! This is harassment. I've tried multiple times to end the subscription, and they continue sending the mags without my paying for them. Again spoke with a nice young lady a few moments ago. Not her fault. This is a lousy business practice.

A letter sent to Food network...Stop sending me a "final notice" and insisting on payment. Your threats and intimidation smacks of bad faith. I did not enter into a agreement that you anticipated would be paid. I paid you for a certain period and you delivered. Every magazine and newspaper I have ever experienced stops delivery after the subscription runs out if no further payment. Your business model is faulty. I do not want nor will I recommend your magazine to my friends and family. Your subscription department has ruined an otherwise pleasant experience with your company.

I too feel like I have been scammed. I tried to end the subscription last year but they sent another automatic renewal. I'm tired of this. I like the magazine but I will NOT renew simply because of this automatic renewal marketing scam. In this economic climate, if anyone/I wanted to renew than I'd do it myself. Quit treating us like children, all for the almighty buck, like you have to meet some quota and this is an easy way to justify your greed.

I get the same letters. I was finally able to speak with a real person (almost impossible!). They verified that my subscription was paid months ago, and to ignore these "Final Notice" letters. That was 4 months ago, I still get these letters every few weeks. I can't wait for my subscription to run out. These people suck! Never again...

These people did the same thing to my wife. She is cancelling her subscription as I type. These people are out of control. My family is done with the Food Network.

I am so tired of Food Network Magazine. They have gotten too big and ignore customers by forcing them to navigate a lengthy menu to deal with something like auto renewals that were never agreed upon in the first place. They now go on my list of bad companies with Comcast and Enron. That's right, Enron.

I'm currently receiving the same letters. As a result, I have now ensured cancellation of my subscription online. Should these threats to 'collect' an amount I never agreed to pay continue, I will have no choice but to inform the Office of the Attorney General as well as take other action to protect my impeccable credit rating. If this 'FNM Online Coordinator' user name is in fact affiliated with Hearst Publications, Food Network Magazine, or the so-called 'Credit And Collections Department', I hope that I can expect correspondence that will bring this matter to a close promptly.

i canceled my upcoming magazine renewal. my current subscription does not expire until may. i am trying to confirm that i will receive all issues that i am due until may. every time i try to request this info from the website, it won't connect. i did see that on the page where i canceled that there is no refund. i do not want a refund just the magazines due me on the subscription i already paid for.

I'm sorry to hear your complaint. We at Food Network Magazine recommend getting in contact with Customer Service in one of the following ways:
[protected]

fnmcustserv@cdsfulfillment.com (for subscriptions)

Service.foodnetworkmag.com

Customer Service Department
Food Network Magazine
PO Box 6000
Harlan, IA 51593

We're sorry for the inconvenience.