Getting Money Back for a Subscription to the Wrong Email Address
January 26, 2019 12:41 PM   Subscribe

One year ago, I signed up for a digital subscription to the Washington Post with an error in my email address "****@gmailc.om" and then forgot about it. I didn't notice that I had been charged until the subscription renewed this year and I looked back through my PayPal transactions. The email address has now been corrected, but what are the chances that I can get my money back for last year's subscription?

I wrote to the support department, and they said they couldn't refund me. Am I out of luck because I made the error when subscribing, or is it worth pushing them for a refund? Are there any magic words I can say that will increase my chances?
posted by Prunesquallor to Shopping (6 answers total)
 
I am sorry to say I don't think they'd refund the money. As far as I can work out (if I'm misunderstanding, I'm sorry), from their perspective they delivered what you ordered, where you ordered, and you didn't tell them you didn't get it for a year. While I'm sympathetic to the feeling that you didn't get what you intended, I think it's reasonable for them to feel that they gave you what you paid for.
posted by howfar at 12:50 PM on January 26, 2019 [2 favorites]


I’d push. It costs them almost nothing to give you an extra year based on this error that neither you nor they noticed (they’re not monitoring bounce back messages nor does their system recognize common domain typos and this is the result.) Be a squeaky wheel and help them to see it’s better to have a happy long-term customer. Don’t ask for a refund, ask for them to honor the period you paid for by extending your subscription by the same period you paid for, but delivered to your proper email address.
posted by quince at 1:00 PM on January 26, 2019 [4 favorites]


Did you ever activate the account, create a password, log in? I'd write back and ask them to re-consuder, and/or call and ask for a manager to review. It would be excellent customer service for them to give you a break.

If they still say No, ask your credit card company to intervene.

There's a local grocery chain(Shaw's) I don't like much for Reasons, but stopped there last night, had excellent customer service from an employee who had already clocked out, and it goes a long way to changing my mind. 1st level reps are told to say no and given little authority, but a manager can and should look for an easy win.
posted by theora55 at 1:06 PM on January 26, 2019


Also, be super polite, friendly, make your case that you paid for services you did not get, and ask them to extend the subscription. It helps when customers know what they want as a resolution, and when you're friendly, you're an ally, and they're more likely to want to help you.
posted by theora55 at 1:08 PM on January 26, 2019


I agree that you're more likely to succeed if you ask not for a refund but for an extension for the service you weren't able to use.
posted by brianogilvie at 5:28 PM on January 26, 2019


I found out after 22 months that Amazon had me marked down for TWO Kindle subscriptions to the New York Times. For the same account (how is that even POSSIBLE?). I called (calling is MUCH better than email) and was told "I can refund you for the last two months." I spent around an hour on the phone talking to a succession of people. Each one, I told the same thing: you made a mistake, you should have caught this, you need to refund ALL my money.

Eventually, after "escalating" to "another department" for several days they refunded the whole 22 months. Your case is similar to mine: the WaPo could tell that mail they sent didn't reach you and they could see you never logged in AND THEIR COST WAS NOTHING and you had another paid subscription. What kind of e-jackholes don't bother running any kind of quality-assurance tools on their Web 2.0 bullshytt?

It is also possible you will decide that life is too short and Bozo deserves the money. Good luck, whatever you decide.
posted by Gilgamesh's Chauffeur at 7:35 PM on January 26, 2019 [1 favorite]


« Older 🅱️ass from my face   |   Moving Hacks [Inclement Weather meets Awkward... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.