Los Angeles Times
reviews and complaints

They make it absolutely impossible to try and cancel subscriptions. Do not give them your money. They are scam artists. They are saying I can't cancel my subscription until February, saying I'm not eligible to cancel yet. Was left on hold. DO NOT GIVE THEM YOUR MONEY!

The Los Angeles times is shameful. Their billing is totally irregular. Their autopsy doesn't work and you never know when you will be charged if it did. I have not been credited for at least a dozen missed papers. I wish to cancel. No responses to emails and I don't have 3 hours to wait on hold.

It's very difficult to cancel a subscription once you start it, so if you want to subscribe to this paper, be forewarned. It took me several calls. The tech support is very difficult to reach and they have phone call support only, no chat service. For a person such as myself who is hearing impaired, this is very difficult. I'm pretty sure this is not ADA compliant.

I have a digital subscription and for the most part have been happy. However, for the past five days, I have not received digital delivery of my paper. While I can log in and read the paper that way, there are some features of the delivered paper that I miss. I have not been able to resolve the problem despite repeated emails, and now my emails are being kicked back.

They are raising our subscription rate *in the middle of our subscription*, and then trying to explain it away by calling it a "premium" rate? Like somehow, giving it a vague, ridiculous name somehow makes a made-up charge in the MIDDLE of a subscription better? What kind of company does that? I used to love the L.A. Times. It's too bad their customer service turns loyal customers away.

Signed up for 8 week digital subscription just to read 1 article behind paywall. Without any confirmation, I was charged $16.99 after 8 weeks as an 'autorenewal'. I called and spoke to an extraordinarily unhelpful service rep for refund. They refused and kept robotically stating that it was all in the 'terms and conditions'. I let them know that I can just get this refunded through my credit card company and they could save face by refunding me now..nope.

after many failed attempts to pay my la times bill, i finally gave up. their website didn't work/ we have always paid our subscription through our bank, but because the times website wasn't working, i couldn't get the amount due. sure enough, they stopped our paper! their customer appreciation needs big help. finally paid our bill on the phone, but shouldn't have to CALL THEM to give them money. they need to fix all of their problems or we will change to the orange county register!

I don't understand why LA Times can not change my subscription without canceling my account and opening a new one. I tried to change my subscription from digital + Sunday delivery to just digital. I have been having problems with the Sunday delivery, and to be honest the Sunday paper is no different than the other days anymore. I was told there is no other option but cancelling and starting new, and after subcribing for over 20 years they seemed happy to see me go. It might seem like a small thing but I pay all bills electronically through my bank's auto pay. New account means I have to go in and set that up again. Not a big deal but totally unneccessary and bad customer service.

Their customer service is non existent. The Times was double billing my credit card so I had to report it as fraudulent to get it taken care of. I still owed $49, which I paid. My paper was cut off. At their request, I sent proof of payment from the bank, twice. They started the paper for a few days, then cut it off again, due to nonpayment. They asked me to send the info again that I already sent two times. I wrote a letter to the editor, then got a call that they would "escalate" the "investigation" and started the paper for three weeks, pending. I got a paper a couple days, then cut off. When you call, you get a call center in the Phillipenes and talk to people who can barely speak English. They repeat the same thing, i.e., that I owe $49 and can I send proof of payment again. You read a lot about the hand wringing about the decline of print media. With this low level of service, I can only imagine how incompetent the rest of the operation is.

I signed up some time back for an LA TIMES subscription. I gave a credit card. In January , when I asked my subscription to be canceled, I learned that my credit card did not work since October , and that LA TIMES had simply begun to rack up a bill for me at whatever rate the wanted to use, WITHOUT NOTIFYING ME. Their subscription office had a billing address from the credit card that was replaced, but they never sent an invitation to resubscribe with a different credit card. They had my email, which they STILL SEND THE DAILY PAPER LINK, but never a note from the subscription office about this problem. I called again today to ask that the newspaper not be sent to my inbox, but they said I needed to pay all the months this unwanted newspaper was sent without my agreement to have a subscription paid for by other means. This is an unprofessional business practice, and I do not owe them this money since they are the ones using me, not serving me. Although no raised voices, name calling or bad language was used, the customer services rep hung up on me when I tried to express the opinion that it was not an appropriate business practice to do as LA TIMES was doing.

The Los Angeles Times website states (based on my zip code): "Every Day Print & Unlimited Digital $7 a week; billed every 8 weeks. Cancel anytime." I get charged an effective rate (adding up ten months of bills and dividing by the number of weeks) of $18.34 a week. I called the L.A. Times and was told my rate is $19.99 a week (reflected in the latest statement, thus the lower average rate over the last ten months). I asked why the website claims $7 a week and was told that's an introductory rate. It doesn't say that's an introductory rate. I asked where on the website the real rates are shown, and was told they are not, that I have to look at my bill for what I'm actually charged. I was also told increases in rates are "disclosed" in the amount of the bill, which the subscriber has to compare to the prior bill to see that there's been an increase. This is beyond misleading. It's shameful and it's dishonest. For a newspaper that claims to sell accurate reporting to fail to disclose what it actually charges, and to show a rate without disclosing it's an introductory rate, speaks dreadfully badly of that newspaper and its publisher and owner. Perhaps the representative with whom I spoke was mistaken. Perhaps the L.A. Times does disclose its actual charges somewhere on its website, but its own representative thinks not, and I can't find it. I would cancel my subscription except that my wife is not willing to let the print subscription go, and I'm not stupid. But I hold the L.A. Times in contempt for its dishonest business practices, and don't mind telling the world about it. Maybe the L.A. Times will cancel my subscription, and I can tell my wife it wasn't me.

Absolutely horrendous customer service. I work for a TV show and our research team has an LA Times subscription. We received no notice that our subscription was up and that our card was going to be charged for the renewal. They didn't have our current season card on file so they somehow force charged an old, inactive card. I called customer service and asked that they refund the inactive card entirely and instead please charge our current, active card for the full amount. They charged the new card as well, but then sent a check for a PARTIAL refund of the inactive card charge. I was not told the refund would be issued this way. We were not able to deposit the check because it was made out to an individual that no longer works here. I called customer service back and asked if they could reissue the check, but instead make it out to our production company. They said they would, when the 2nd check arrived it was still made out to the individual that no longer works here. Ridiculous. I then quit trying to contact their customer service department who is clearly working from another country and has no idea what is going on or how to help me. I then called their line and just chose a random dept to be transferred to instead out of desperation hoping that someone could point me in the right direction of help. Someone from the sale dept gave me two email addresses to try for help. Eventually we were able to get someone to answer our emails and they said our card would be refunded with only a PARTIAL REFUND in 7-10 business days. After that amount of time we still received no refund and reached back out, they told us to wait an ADDITIONAL 7-14 business days for the refund to hit our account. After that amount of time passed *** well we STILL had no refund! We reached back out, they told us to wait 35 DAYS for the refund to hit! An outrageous amount of time on top of the other several days that had already passed *** they initially told us we'd receive our refund. This issue has now been going on for SEVERAL MONTHS. The 35th day is tomorrow and I don't anticipate we'll have a refund. Outrageous way for a major publication to do business and to handle customer service. I'll be urging our research team to stop using The LA Times in the future to avoid this happening ever again.

I've been a subscriber for approximately 40-50 years to the LA Times, and it has changed in innumerable ways over that time. One thing that has not changed in the last 5 or 10 years is the complete lack of transparency in the billing process. The basic billing requres an automatic payment from a bank account or credit card for the billing period, which fluctuates in length at the will of the paper, by adding "premium issues" into the mix, which are generally unwanted by subscribers, consisting of some seasonal topics (think "Holiday Gift Guide", mainly an advertorial section of no use whatsoever, " Making Hollywood History", God knows what that's all about, and others. Each of which adds a charge of "up to $4.49" to your account, reducing the length of your subscription accordingly, whatever that is going to be. I get a paper statement when it's too late to affect the next billing, and a postcard that announces what amount will be charged to your account within the next week or so. The process is totally opaque to the customer, confusing, and generally not understandable, making it impossible to predict what you will be paying for.

As MANY others have mentioned in Complaintsboard.com reviews, the customer is "serviced" by someone in the Philippines that may or may not have English language skills needed to effectively communicate, and a request to connect to a USA-based representative is not allowed. Calling to the LA Times California-based number connects one to the offshore call center as well.

Generally, I need to call to clarify just what I'm being billed for, what the time period will be and why it differs from what I thought I was to be paying (remember the "Premium Editions"?) and what the net per-week cost will be when charges and credits are applied. By contrast, the main competitor in our area is the Orange County Register, which simply states the price per month, week or year in simple terms, no surcharges, and a detailed monthly or annual statement.

If you want a trip to ancient Byzantium, you might consider an LA Times subscription for a peek into what the ancient empire was like to live in.

Why can't the Times redesign, simplify and put transparent, rational, understandable pricing and subscription plans into place that won't frustrate and confuse their customers? The current arrangement is unacceptable and obsolete at its best.

Now it's time for my bimonthly call to the Philippines to untangle the current billing notice on today's postcard...surely that will make my day.

I am a NJ resident and did not order for me or anyone else in CA. Monthly I am getting hit with subscription fees for something I don't have or want. Back on 11/29 I was hit with a $ 10 charge from LA Times. I notified my cc and they issued me a new card. Again on 2/5 I was hit by LA Times, but now for $ 16. Again I reached out to my cc and they issued me another new card. Now again for 3/5 I am being charged again for $ 16. I do not know anyone in CA & do not plan to travel there. Also I am not someone who even reads the local news. In reality I am not sure where this business obtained my information from. Where this "paper" is even being delivered? The fact that I keep getting new cc's and the company is still charging me is odd. Please help as I am concerned to contact them as I would not know what info to give them. I don't have subscription info as I never signed up for it. No paperwork was sent to my home or email. This is causing stress as I have to keep working with my bank & fraud dept. Yet I am still getting charged for something I have no interest in.

For at least two months we have been contacting the Los Angeles Times customer service number for a resolution to our inconsistent delivery issues. We will have a non-delivery of our newspaper on average 1-2 times per week. We have called 1 (213) *** for assistance at least 10 times. Each time we request a re-delivery of our paper but a paper does not get delivered. We have been told on more than one phone call that an "escalation" on our account has been requested and a "service check on our route" will be done but neither of these things have resolved our issues. We were also told through these phone calls that a customer service supervisor and a supervisor from the distribution center will call but we have received no such calls. On my most recent phone call I was on hold for 35 minutes when the representative disconnected the phone call with absolutely no resolution. We value the LA Times as a source of news and entertainment and we simply want our paper to be delivered each morning consistently. Our attempts to resolve this issue through the customer service phone number have resulted in NO improvement with our issues.

I had a subscription with the . *** Times for approximately 2 years, I ended the service in December via the phone. Account number. XXXXXXXXXXX, Sunday edition of the *** Times I spoke with Customer Service\ Subscription Service in December , I expressed desire to end the newspaper service. The *** Rep. inquired as to why and so forth, she was very nice, and at the end of conversation everything seemed okay. Since Devember the 12th or so I've only had maybe 2 or. Sundays without a delivery. I called Subscription Service twice to complain about their contiuance of paper delivery. They generally respond by saying, "oh, I'm so sorry *** 9 will contact them and let them know, or...'I will contact the appropriate party. The response is always the same, "I m sorry", yet, I'm still getting the paper. The last time I spoke with a Represetative, I made it clear I was not going to pay for the service. What irtitates me the most, they do not give a solution or at least relate their (the papet's action) to a promotion. It seems very gimmicky and unprofessional. Years ago, I had a subscription with the same paperand problems with it.

On Oct 2, 2021 I was charged $6.00 for Sunday delivery of LA Times newspaper and I waited for a few weeks to begin receiving the paper. I eventually called customer Service to inquire about my subscription. I was told they would credit my account for missed papers and that week would be redelivered; however that didn't happen. Week after week I called and speak to someone who has a *** and its very difficult to understand what she is saying, from what I gather she is saying there is no delivery people available. I asked her to cancel my subscription since they are unable to provide a service in which they contacted me about signing up for via USPS. Her response is they are not able to do that and I will still have to pay for the duration of my "term". It is not the amount of money, since it is so little, that bothers me it is the fact that they, as a business, reach out to potential customers, set up a plan, take our money then do not provide the service in which they sold. Lack of customer service skills, lack of service and lack of integrity has caused me to reach out to you. I would like to know they have been "scolded" for their unfair practice and if my complaint helps them to become a better business then it was worth my time.

I continued to be billed monthly for a newpaper subscription despite using the website to cancel my service. I signed up several months ago for a *** 4 week trial of the LA Times at the start of the Covid-19 outbreak in order to get up to date news about the situation. After 2-3 weeks, I realized that I wasn't getting any special information, so I navigated to my profile on the site and clicked "cancel my subscription." I received no confirmation email but was served a page which said my subscription would be cancelled within 5-7 days. A week later, I received a charge for *** Thinking I had perhaps done something wrong, I once again clicked "cancel my subscription" on their website and was given no confirmation email but again a page which said my subscription would be cancelled in 5-7 days. Just again this week I was issued another *** monthly charge. I'd called customer service multiple times and been unable to reach a CSR, I'm assuming on account of people being furloughed due to the pandemic. Finally I reached a CSR today who informed me that "cancelling your subscription on the website is not a guarantee" and I asked her how it would be possible for me to know that? She said she could cancel my subscription immediately but that she could not issue any refunds.

Door-to-door sales scam ("subscribe and we get a scholarship"); Fraudulent transaction Last week at around 8pm, 2 teenagers knocked at my door to ask me for a donation of *** They claimed they would get a scholarship of *** towards their college tuition for every 35 donations they get. They did not accept cash or Venmo, only checks or credit cards. They used salesman techniques to pressure me into giving them a check. I gave them a check of *** as I was very uncomfortable and wanted them to leave. I discovered that they were selling LA times subscriptions, and that this is a common scam. I called the police to report this scam, and they told me the teenagers had no right to be knocking at my door, as I live in a residence where soliciting is forbidden without permit (which they did not show me). On Sunday, I received an LA Times newspaper (not sure of its authenticity). The transaction is FRAUDULENT and unlawful, I will ask you NOT to cash the check, and REMOVE all of my data if you received any. If you issued a subscription, please STOP sending newspapers and CANCEL immediately, this was a fraudulent transaction due to the deceiving selling techniques. I emailed the LA times but received no response. Please STOP all newspaper delivery immediately and STOP deceitful solicitations.

LA Times will not let you cancel online only subscriptions online, but force you to call and wait for 45 minutes to cancel. Unacceptable. It is sad that this day in age, a once glorious institution like the LA Times is reduced to using tricks to avoid cancelling customers. They refuse to provide an online option to cancel your subscription, and require you to call, yet calling you are forced to wait on hold for so far 45 minutes while being transferred 3 times. Keep in mind, this is after calling the cancellation number on the website under account management. I would expect this kind of behavior from such reputable firms as Trump University or perhaps a pornography site. Other organizations from the NY Times, Washington Post, Dropbox, Wikimedia donations and many others all allow easy online cancellation. There is no excuse for this behavior and no better sign of a dying organization than one that tries to retain their revenue through deception. Imagine the amount of money that the LA Times is stealing from their own customers by making cancellation so time consuming and difficult. How many customers that can't afford a subscription for whatever reason are continuing to pay out of sheer frustration. This is fraud and a deceptive business practice and more importantly, poor customer service that shouldn't be tolerated these days.

Fell for the fraudulent LA times door to door subscription. I live in a non-soliciting area. The young lady stopped at 8:30PM. Stop the subscription Similar to the many people that reported the door to door subscription scam, I just fell for it. A young lady knocked on my door at 8:30PM although I live in a non-soliciting community. She claimed that if she gets 35 subscriptions, they will get $500 from LA Times towards her College Tuition. I asked her for her ID and she didn't have any. I gave her a check for $20 and she got all my information. She wrote me her name and her phone number on a paper. Of course, the phone number is scam, and it turned out to be a scamming company (from Google), and I'd guess her name is fake too. She kept pressuring me to haste although I was very hesitant to do so, and she kept saying that I am number 35 so I will make her day; and today is her last day. All lies of course, when I though about it. Also, she mentioned that LA Times will contact me first before they cash the check to verify that she actually stopped by my door. Again I am sure this is all lies. Now, if this information reaches LA Times by any chance (like the person who commented here on 07/21), DO NOT CASH THE CHECK and I DON'T WANT THIS SUBSCRIPTION. REMOVE ALL MY INFORMATION FROM YOUR SYSTEM IF ANYTHING REACHES YOU. Also, if LA Times is aware of this, do not send anyone to my community as soliciting is prohibited.

In June I converted my print subscription to an electronic only subscription. I attempted to pay my original account early (Jan 1, 2021, for payment due Jan 31) because the expiration date for the credit card I had on file was changed. The payment could not be processed by the Times due to an IT error. After at least 6 contacts, the problem was supposed to be solved by IT who was going to relate my account # to my electronic subscription. (Reference ***, 2021 correspondence attached) I thought this was corrected when I made an electronic payment in October . But, I unknowingly opened a second account. There was no indication whatsoever by the software system that this was a new account. This error was discovered after a paper bill was received 12 months past Jan 31, 2021 for the original account. Although I have not been able to access the original account and the issues were not resolved by IT, I was charged an additional $*** for 2022 auto-renewal. I have contacted customer service since February 2022 6 more times, with requests to escalate 4 times to resolve this issue with no response. (2022 correspondence attached). I propose prorating the amount owed on the first account for 2021 from 1/31 to 10/21 when I inadvertently made a payment to a second account (approximately $78.58), and voiding the auto-renewal of $*** for 2022 since I cannot access my subscription using the original account number. The original account should be closed without any auto renewal fees.

This newspaper likes to play games when it comes to people cancelling their service. I have tried to cancel & get refunded in various ways & can't. I called to cancel service last month, and talked to a rep that tried to negotiate when all I wanted was a full cancellation. By the end of the call, she assured me that it would be cancelled. That was a lie. I saw a pending charge for it in my bank account on 2/8, and called again as I wanted a refund, only to be on hold for 23 minutes to then have it sound like someone picked up the phone but didn't speak. I then saw that you can email customer services, so I went that route following the call, and I never received anything from them (yes, I even checked spam). I looked for other ways to cancel and saw that you could do it from your dashboard, which I did. I then called the number again because I still wanted my money refunded. I asked the gentleman if he could see the cancel from my dashboard, and also see that I'd called several weeks earlier to cancel, and he said no to both. He told me that he cancelled & put in a request for the refund. I got his name, a confirmation number and an ID number. The funny thing is, not only did I not receive a refund, when I later looked at my dashboard it no longer showed my cancellation request, and there was nowhere on it to attempt to cancel again. It looks like an active account. This charge has overdrawn my bank account and I now want the $36 banking fee as well as the $16 monthly fee back. This has been the most frustrating experience ever. And to think that I once thought this company was reputable.

It is seemingly impossible to cancel my subscription, clearly all resources have been put into keeping people subscribed. I got a promotional subscription (1 dollar for 8 *** I decided to cancel this before the promotional period ended. I emailed the customer service email given (as instructed for a way to cancel) and received an email back asking for my account info and the reason I wanted to cancel, I provided this information. I week later I found that I was charged *** for a subscription. I then called and was placed on hold for *** told I need to talk to digital and then placed on hold for another *** Someone picked up and then hung up when I described my complaint. I then tried to call again and picked the option for cancelation of digital services. Someone immediately picked up. I told him my situation and he tried to offer me more promotional offers. I told him that I did not want any but that I wanted to cancel, he told me he can't do that and that I would need to transferred to a new department. I said that i wanted to speak to someone because last time I was put on hold I was hung up on. He put me on hold anyways, I am currently on hold while working...which is extremely problematic. I believe that LA times should allow people to unsubscribe online. I also think that putting all the staffing behind selling people more promotional offers and not allowing that staff to cancel orders, even though a customer has expressed clearly the desire to cancel is unethical business practices. I want my *** back and I want to know that I am fully unsubscribed.

I subscribed to a Sunday delivery service 9/22. Since that time I have only received a few newspapers after many attempts to contact. I subscribed to a Sunday delivery service 9/22 however I never receive my Sunday paper. Sometimes I receive the Orange County Register. I had called multiple times to rectify the situation however my credit card was still charged. Here is the email that I sent that was never responded to. I will include the email that was sent at the end of this complaint. I have since switched to a different payment plan based on an educator discount based on my employment as a teacher. I have called at least 10 times. I have not documented every call. I have talked to *** on 6/29 7/5. *** 7/12. Gordon 7/19. *** 12/6. Each time I am told that someone would reach out to me between 24-48 hours. That call will never come. I am always polite when I call, but I am simply being read a script to get me off the phone with no resolution. Hello, In September I signed up the LA Times Sunday edition. Since then I have received a total of THREE total papers out of maybe 30 Sundays. I have called multiple times regarding this issue yet nothing has changed. I was told that my charges would be postponed, yet I was charged *** Sep. 22 *** Dec. 16 *** Jan. 21 *** Feb 25 *** April 7 My account was linked to a credit card that I do not often use, therefore I was not on top of these billing charges. I was advised by my credit card to first contact LA times for a resolution before I dispute these charges. I have cancelled my account both online and trough an agent. My Account is # XXXXXXXXXXX

Approximately 7 to 8 months ago, I was "forced" by the Los Angeles Times to take out a subscription to the digital edition of the Los Angeles Times to access an obituary published in the LA Times. I was billed $1 for six months access. The billing was required to be set up on an automatic payment. At the end of 6 months I intended to cancel this subscription, as I rarely used it. On Mar 13, 2022, I attempted to cancel this subscription on the Times website. I found out the Times had billed me $16.00 on Mar 13, 2022. The Times gave me NO advance notice as a courtesy that they were going to begin monthly billing after the six month trial offer. I have started similar trial subscriptions for about the same terms on a handful of other papers who also block my access to the Obit Archives unless I have a paid subscription. In every other case, the newspaper advised me as a courtesy that they were about to bill my credit card after the initial trial period. In most cases they offered me another trial for the current trial rate. Not the LA Times. Not only did they not give me any heads up after 6-months of zero contact, they also didn't acknowledge their billing or give a thank you. I learned about the $16.00 billing from my credit card company. As an eighty-one year old guy on a very limited, fixed income, I can not afford $16.00 a month for the occasional access to a Times obit. On Mar 14, 2022, when my credit card company processed the $16.00 charge, I emailed the Times requesting a refund of the $16 billing. Their response was (in my words) tough luck, pal. I appealed their decision on Mar 15, 2022, mentioning I felt their policy was maybe legal, but certainly their response to me was an unethical business practice, after zero contact for six months and no heads up on the billing. I have yet to hear back from them, one way or the other. I am requesting a full $16 refund for this auto billing for a subscription I requested to be cancelled.

Trying to cancel my $1 subscription for 2 weeks before I get charged again. I've provided all info they've asked, but they still will not cancel it. On 5/6, I purchased a promotional subscription for $1.00 for Digital access in order to read a collection of articles. I know it's a limited time offer, and I will be charged a regular monthly subscription if it's not cancelled within a certain timeframe, so I tried to cancel it the next day. First off, there is no way to cancel online, which is ridiculous. You have to call or email customer service. I called customer service numerous times and could not get anyone to answer during normal call hours, so on 5/7, I sent an email explaining that I would like my subscription cancelled, and I was having trouble with it. On 5/7, I was told it would take 24-48 hours for my account to even be updated into the system. I waited a week, and still didn't hear anything, so I tried calling again. Same problem. I couldn't connect. I finally had an account number, so on 5/15, I emailed the customer service address again stating that I'd like a confirmation my account had been cancelled. On 5/15, not only was I told my account had not been cancelled, they completely ignored my request and tried offering another promotion. I was also told they didn't have a valid email address on file and that my account would remain open until I replied. (How am I getting digital newspapers everyday if they have no email on file? I also provided my account number and username on the original email.) Still, on 5/16, I replied that I did not want another subscription, because I only wanted to read one story and gave the same email address to put on my account. As of 5/19, I am still receiving digital newspapers and my account still is open. No confirmation of it being cancelled. I am trying to get this settled before I get charged again. This is without a doubt the worst experience I've ever had trying to cancel something, and I will never give this business any type of money or credit card information again because of it. I shouldn't have to go through this much trouble to cancel something.

Unable to afford the $16/month after I became unemployed & cancelled, LATimes billed my credit card $52 dollars w/out my authorization. When I became unemployed in October , I contacted the LA Times to cancel my subscription. I could no longer afford the $16 a month they had been charging me. I loved reading the Los Angeles times and had been a loyal customer for over 30 years mostly while living in Los Angeles. They begged me to stay on and agreed to charge me only a dollar a week. They never said how often and I didn't think to ask. I'd never been charged more than $16 per month and certainly didn't think I would be charged more than that at once. Certainly not $*** for 100 years or $52.00 for one, as they did. Not long, maybe a month after this I had a separate problem with my credit card so my bank issued me a new card AND number. As I had been experimenting with online news sources and had other sources of news, I'd stopped reading the LA Times, meaning to cancel completely though I had not yet done so. About the same time my credit card number changed I stopped receiving daily emails from the LA Times indicating that my newspaper had arrived. Erroneously, I took this to mean that I was no longer subscribed to the LA Times because they no longer had access to my credit card info. The last regular $16 i.e. ~monthly payment was October 5. The next charge, of $52, nearly 4 months later, was on January 25, by which time I hadn't read nor thought about the Los Angeles times in months. I've asked the Los Angeles times numerous times both by phone and email to refund my $52. They tell me many things including they won't or can't, one time asking me for my credit card info again, saying that they couldn't find it in their records and implying (?) that they would refund it, though that request was In conjunction with other dubious requirements. I am getting nowhere with the Los Angeles times. What The Los Angeles times did, charging a customer more after promising they would charge less, is wrong. Could you please help me in this matter? I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you. I am, Sincerely yours, *** XXXXX XXX XXX XXXX

Am contesting a $16 regular-rate charge applied during the introductory-rate period and also a $16 charge applied 8 days after subscription cancelled. Subscription Account # XXXXXXXXXXX Subscription cancellation REF: XXXXXXXXX CHARGES (debit card transactions): $4 (2/8), $16 (3/16), $16 (4/6) The simplest way to "spell out" my complaint, I think, would be to reproduce a condensed, virtually verbatim version of the back-and-forth email correspondence I have had with so-called L.A.T. Customer Service concerning my grievances. 3/29: "We are sorry to hear that you would like to cancel your subscription. Would you share with us the reason why you changed your mind? Your account will remain active until we hear from you. If you require further assistance, please ... simply respond to this email." *** 3/29 REPLY: After providing the reason for canceling my subscription, I continued: "Unfortunately, the day I subscribed to the Times I somehow came away with no subscription info and received no "subscription confirmation" email(s) from the Times that would provide such info. To the best of my recollection, the Times' introductory period was to last 8 weeks, as today (3/29) advertised. That the L.A. Times is now (4/21) advertising an intro rate of $1 for 4 weeks (subsequent to the immediately preceding $4 for 8 weeks rate advertised) bolsters my confidence that the $4 "intro" price that I paid was, in fact, for 8 weeks. Therefore, having subscribed in early February (2/8), I was surprised to find, on March 17, more than two weeks prior to the end of that 8-week period, a $16.00 charge to my account for the first post intro period. The Times' "Terms and Conditions" explicitly states, "After the x-week, $x.xx introductory rate, you will be automatically charged $16.00 every 4 weeks." "After," it says; emphasis on "AFTER". IF my recollection is correct, then I am owed a refund on this premature (according to the subscription Terms and Conditions) $16.00 charge. If I am wrong, please inform me of what the length of the introductory period actually was." In retrospect, I do recognize that the easily misinterpreted(?) statement, "After the x-week, $x.xx introductory rate, you will be automatically charged $16.00 every 4 weeks," if interpreted with the utmost of technical precision, would probably not be considered by most as being equivalent in meaning to "After the x-week, $x.xx introductory rate period ..." In my judgment, however, it is unethical business practice to lay a regular-rate charge on a customer on an arbitrarily determined date falling within such a time period, namely one during which sampling of the service provided is yet to be completed and therefore evaluation of that service incomplete. 4/14: "Please accept this email as confirmation that your subscription will stop effective on May 3. If you require further assistance, please ... simply respond to this email" *** 4/14 REPLY: Further assistance required.To this date, I have received zero resolution on issues raised. Now, additionally, I have incurred a $16 charge (April 6) and had my subscription period extended through May 2 AFTER, on March 29, I took all actions required by L.A. Times "Terms and Conditions" to effect cancellation of my subscription. Please resolve, if able; if not, please refer the matter to someone who is in a position to do so." 4/20: "Please accept this email confirmation that your billing address has been updated." ***-R *** Each of the two emails sent earlier by the L.A.T. included a request that I supply a billing address, which I promptly did on both occasions. 4/21 REPLY: "If by 1:00 p.m. tomorrow, April 22, there is no resolution of these issues, then this matter will be referred to the Complaintsboard.com." 4/21: "Please accept this email as a confirmation that your enewspaper service will continue to be send sic until paid through date of May 2 and will stop effective on May 3." *** 4/21 REPLY: "I see it's pointless to delay until tomorrow referring this matter to the Complaintsboard.com."