Hearst Magazines UKOpiniões 

Unable to cancel. They took the payment for a renewal and despite e-mailing, cancelling online twice and calling they just don't want to issue a refund. They just tried to upsell and give me the magazine for longer.
Thankfully I paid with paypal so will get them to persue a refund.
I'll never sign up with Hearst again.

Wish I hadn't signed up. The magazine subscription went through twice for one magazine and they have not refunded me. Email response is extremely slow. Have had to send multiple emails with the same evidence, and they appear very stupid. Difficult to cancel as website never loads. FFS, please don't buy cheap magazine subscriptions through this company. Can't even cancel through PayPal

Hearst's business model seems to be based on using well known titles to snare people into direct debit agreements that they then abuse. This might be slightly better if they were even capable of reliably delivering the magazines you pay for.

Horrible company

Please do not take up the offers of 3 months magazines for a special price. An auto renew payment was taken from my account two months after I signed up for this offer, without any warning & I had only received two of the three magazines so far. I rang customer service to cancel the subscription & was told I couldn't do that until 6 months time now or have a refund, even though I hadn't received any of the next batch of magazines. I was on the phone for over half an hour while the customer service agent recited the same thing over & over in parrot fashion to me. I was adamant that I didn't want any more magazines & wanted my money refunded. Finally, I asked to speak to her manager who authorised her to give me a refund. I will never deal with this company again !

Please be VERY careful when subscribing to one of Hearst Magazines' offers. I subscribed to Country Living for 3 months. I tried to cancel in early January - March was meant to be my last reduced price copy. Turns out they had charged my card in early December. When I challenged it and pointed out I hadn't been able to log on to their system. They just said tough luck you are paying till August. Such a rip off.

Just spent 45 minutes on the phone with them to try and give them another chance after their email refusal. I spoke to an agent who passed me to a supervisor who then passed me to his supervisor as he seemed sympathetic but after leaving me on hold for 10 minutes just came back and repeated the mantra that I had had an email saying I needed to cancel 8 weeks before end (on a 12 week sub).... I have been getting 15 emails a week from them with various offers and just don't have the time to plough through them to find the one key one....

This has to be one, if not, THE, most deliberate and misleading companies I have ever come across in the UK offering misleading 'trial subscriptions' to then take your money without your knowledge well before the trial ends, with the pathetic excuse when you ring up to complain (not that they have any complaints procedure on place), that "you should have called us to cancel the auto-payment" post the trial run starting but at least 8 weeks before the trial period ends...so in my case of a 3 month trial, that is within 4 weeks of the trail commencing (which unbelievably would have been before I even got the first copy of the magazine to read to see if I liked it enough to officially subscribe). All very underhand, and I cannot stress this enough to anhyone reading this AVOID THIS FIRM AND ALL OF THEIR MAGAZINES IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF!!

IF I COULD SCORE THEM MINUS 5 STARS, THAT WOULD BE TOO GENEROUS.

If I could give this company a zero rating I would!
They helped themselves to my money without authorisation.. They fib about the renewal date and send NO notification before they attempt to steal money from your Credit card !!! BEWARE.. I am on hold now for 30 minutes trying to get through on the phone! I will not get another magazine from these thieves! Make sure you get an email stating ALL subs are cancelled !

After a hassle with having to speak to a Senior person they refunded my money! So don't take it when you are told that you cannot get a refund! Let's hope their reviews now pick up! Never had any of this trouble before they gave their business calls to overseas call centres.. Also they should be more transparent with their contact numbers instead of saying send an email!

Just awful! Renewed by subscription early without any prior warning! No reminder email that the renewal date was approaching. Just took the increased subscription cost money from my account!

When I rang customer service to request to cancel and ask for a refund they refused to give me back my money. Avoid this company! Just terrible customer service.

As stated in previous e mails. This is a compelete RIP OFF!! Tho company LIES and takes money from your account even after they have e mailed and assured that they won’t . Should you ask in the correct timescale to cancel your subscription they will sneakily go behind your back and take the money from your account. They will then tell you that you cancelled after the timescale. STAY AWAY!! Take no subscriptions and buy NOTHING ! They are fraudulent con artists!!!!

Like others, received a random credit card charge. No confirmation and definitely doesn’t match up with the initial £5 offer - 6 months, started in December charged already in February??? Auto renew disabled from the get go but to my surprise turned back on when looking into account. Very shady and sneaky company, never using again.

This company are thieves and liars whatever you do don't not subscribe THIS IS A CON AND STAY WELL CLEAR OF THEM AS THEY TAKE YOUR MONEY THEN STATE THEY HAVE NOT RECEIVED YET ITS CLEARLY SHOWING ON YOUR STATEMENT THAT TRANSACTION HAS GONE THROUGH SHANE ON YOU

Corrupt

I called to renew my mother’s magazines as they sent a letter stating the magazines had gone up in price . After lots of negation it was agreed each magazine could be purchased at £12 for 12 months . Taking payment one magazine had not been delivered . I chased the magazine and they said no , the payment was for only one magazine not 2 but if I want the other one they will do it for £12 ….. what a scam ! They wouldn’t refund the over payment and wouldn’t do the second magazine FOC to compensate the incorrect payment …..

I took out a subscription for Country Living Magazine as a Christmas gift for my wife in 2023. At the point of taking out the subscription I noticed that Hearst would automatically renew it after the initial 12 months was up. I 'phoned them on the day of taking out the subscription asking them not to auto renew it and was assured that this would not happen. 12 months later, they took £54.99 from my account. When I EVENTUALLY got through to someone, they had no record of that conversation and refused point blank to refund me or even refund the next eleven issues of the magazine. It's basically my word against theirs. I hope Trading Standards or some other similar authority close them down and their CEO Katie Vanneck-Smith is held to account! It's basically theft!

Another angry 😡 customer here, also been scammed out of a £29.99 payment that I Did NOT agree to!! How dare you help yourselves to a payment that I did not agree to or authorise. My 3 months is not even up yet, but you seem to think you can just do whatever you want?! Of course I should have read these reviews first but for some reason I thought it would be illegal and unethical for you to help yourself to funds?! I have emailed you on numerous occasions and get the same “speech” every time. I DO NOT want your magazine, I want my money back please?! It is disappointing and disgraceful that you can treat people this way. It really is the dreadful deceitful way you operate that is so frustrating. AVOID, AVOID

I took out a special offer for three issues of two monthly magazines. I received one issue of each and they then charged me for a subscription of almost £60. I got onto customer service immediately by email and they said they would not reimburse my money, even though I had not even received all my magazines from the special offers yet! Worst experience ever! Now that I see the same thing has happened to others, I am thinking of involving my solicitor, as this is not on.

How can a company with such bad reviews not be bothered with trying to rectify it failings.
Tried to cancel a subscription that I don't want and still no response.
They take your money but are less interested in refunding it.
They said that this subscription is due to start in March..so why take the money in January...and why do I have to give them 8 weeks notice??
Jobelle, I'm still waiting for a response. Thanks for the refund..but your service is atrocious...4 phone calls and about 6 emails..2 months of my life wasted 🤣🤣
Kind regards

Unlike other reviews, I did know that I had the subscription set to auto renew. However, I fully agree that they should send an email. I am annoyed with how loyal customers are treated. I’ve subscribed for a few years now so £44 was taken from my account, but when I went on their website the same subscription is available for new customers for just £19.99! That’s a really terrible way to treat a loyal customer base.
Update: over email they offered to cancel and refund the auto renewal and give me the better price but they said I had to phone to action this. When I phoned, they said they couldn’t do it, had no record of this, and would have to email! I’m still trying to sort this and have had to email again.

Not possible to contact them to cancel subscription. Avoid!

I’m only giving one star as I can’t give none!!!
Shocking customer service- absolutely awful.
I advise anybody NOT to buy any subscription from them.
I had a tempting offer to get a subscription to Country Living for 6 months & was told I could cancel after this. Tried online - thought I’d succeeded but magazines kept coming. Phoned & cancelled. Or so I thought. Money taken from my account £29.99
I rang today & was told that I couldn’t cancel until this subscription had ended. I told them I had before money taken but they said I’d agreed to think about it & then email to confirm the cancellation. I ABSOLUTELY DID NOT HEAR THIS OR AGREE TO THIS!!
I said I didn’t have time to read these any more & wanted to cancel immediately & have a partial refund.
I then spoke to a supervisor who wouldn’t cancel the subscription & then my husband spoke to them & asked to speak to his supervisor. He said he’d phone back. We are still waiting……!

UPDATE:
A manager has rung back & apologised for the incident yesterday.
They have promised to refund my money & I can keep the magazines. Lovely person on the phone.
Restored my faith in human nature.
Thanks to the management.

If you want to retain your sanity, avoid this company. Trying to sort issues with my own account has failed. They have not responded to my emails and despite having current subscription, their App tells me I don’t have an account, even though their website shows it’s active. I have now cancelled my subscription (I hope) and will not deal with them again as it’s too frustrating.
UPDATE.
Thank you for your response. Things appear back to normal now and the magazine is being delivered. Please consider the matter closed.