Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Lee Enterprises Incorporated's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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  Lee Enterprises Incorporated

  4600 E 53rd St Davenport, IA 52807-3479

• 

  Winston-Salem Journal

  418 N Marshall St Winston Salem, NC 27101

• 

  The Times and Democrat

  PO Box 1766 Orangeburg, SC 29116

• 

  Madison Newspapers Inc

  1901 Fish Hatchery Rd Madison, WI 53713

• 

  Madison Newspapers Inc

  P.O. Box 8056 Madison, WI 53708

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/29/2025

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Jan. 2024 we received a renewal notice reflecting a price of $442.99 for 52 weeks for a printed edition 3x weekly via US mail. Spoke to representative on 02/24/24 & said we were not interested in renewing due to price increase ($108.00 increase from 2023). She then offered a 2024 renewal rate of $330.00 - less than we paid in 2023. We agreed to renew. She asked us to pay immediately over the phone by either credit card or bank account info. We were not willing to do so, but agreed to send an electronic payment immediately from our credit union - which we did. Our subscription was renewed from 02/27/24 thru 02/27/25. Our payment was accepted. We heard nothing further re: our account until a renewal notice reflecting a due date of 10/29/24 for 52 weeks for a price of $576.99. This was inaccurate. Our current subscription is valid through 02/27/25.A barrage of phone calls began from the *******. We honestly felt harassed. Spoke to a representative in Nov. & told our subscription was expiring in November. We were not only given incorrect answers, but blatant misleading information regarding our account. Finally spoke to supervisor on 11/25/24. He also gave incorrect information re: length of current subscription, but finally admitted it was valid until 02/27/25 as we had stated multiple times. He also tried telling us we owed more $ because we didn't pay via phone on 2/24/24. I reminded him our payment was received & accepted in February, ******* date, they have terminated our account 2x (once in Dec. & again last week) because of a "glitch" in their system. Both times our account was reopened after we initiated numerous calls to complain. Calls documented on Dec. 12 & 13, as well as Jan. 9 & 23. At least 6 printed editions were missed to date.Last supervisor promised to fix **************** call on 1/23 - which did not happen. What kind of inept & bullying tactics is the Tribune using?We have not received the complete ***************** we paid for.

  Business Response

  Date: 02/28/2025

  The account was restarted prior to our outage. He should be receiving the papers. The last payment mentioned in the complaint in the amount of $330 was made 02/27/24 for a yearly subscription. He has received all the papers due (except for the missed when the account was terminated), therefore, there is no refund.

   

  The account did have two rate increases, which accelerated the expiration date.  This is why the account was terminated due to non-payment. We have added a credit, which will take the subscription until approximately 04/25/25. This is 2 additional months to his original expiration date of 02/27/25.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/10/2025

   
  Complaint: 22869595
  
  I am rejecting this response because:  We didn't base our initial complaint in January because of an outage that happened in February.

  During the first 7 months of our year renewal (2/24/24), we reported 3 occasionally missed papers.  Why is that not acknowledged?  Starting in October we began receiving numerous calls requesting additional payment, and claiming our subscription would expire 11/4/24.  We disagreed and spoke at length to a supervisor who did admit our subscription was paid for until 2/27/25.  We continued receiving papers.

  Then in both December and January our account was incorrectly terminated without further communication to us - just started missing papers.  Both times we missed multiple papers and had to make lengthy phone calls to correct it.  If the terminations were due to nonpayment, why was our account reopened and deliveries resumed both times if it wasn't incorrectly handled?  We were even told during one of these calls in January that there was no record of our account!    If you're willing to take the time & have the patience, listen to our recorded call dated 1/23/25 at 11:24 a.m.  It reflects quite an example of the poor customer service we continually dealt with for the last 5 months of our subscription.  At the end of this call, please note the promise to again return a call to us - which never happened.  That was the deciding factor for filing our initial complaint.

  We have renewed yearly for the last 40+ years.  We've never been asked for additional money.  We made every effort to ensure our renewal was honored, but was continually met with incorrect information and false promises.

  Your reply states a credit has been added to continue our delivery until 4/25/25.  To date, we've not received any papers since 2/27/25.  So, we guess that offer was again not followed through with.

  Sincerely,
  
  ******* *****

  Business Response

  Date: 03/20/2025

  During the first 7 months of our year renewal (2/24/24), we reported 3 occasionally missed papers. Why is that not acknowledged? - There is only one call found on 06/26/24 and a credit was given for the missed delivery. There are no additional phone calls found reporting missed papers. Phone numbers searched for in our telephone systems: ************ /************

  Starting in October we began receiving numerous calls requesting additional payment, and claiming our subscription would expire 11/4/24. - This is due to a rate increase to $438 on 11/05/24 and a rate increase on 12/10/24 to $570, which accelerated the expiration date. Retention is retrieving these calls to see what was said, and if the agents stated errors.

  If you're willing to take the time & have the patience, listen to our recorded call dated 1/23/25 at 11:24 a.m. It reflects quite an example of the poor customer service we continually dealt with for the last 5 months of our subscription. At the end of this call, please note the promise to again return a call to us - which never happened. - Retention located this call, a supervisor callback was promised but the agent never escalated it to the manager, thus no callback was placed.

  Your reply states a credit has been added to continue our delivery until 4/25/25. - credit of $26 for 13wks delivery (Tue-Thu-Sat) was posted 03/06/25 moving the expiration date to 06/10/25.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/22/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I have recurring payments starting from March 2024 through June 2024. These charges of ***** were taken out of my account without my knowledge. I did not permit Lee Enterprises Incorporated to take this money and Im dont know how they obtained my card information.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/22/2025

  This is a ******** Gazette account: ******

   

  She signed up herself online on 09/30/23 with the promo $1 for 26 weeks. After the trial period, the subscription rate is $10.99, per terms and conditions.

   

  Weve processed the refund for $43.96 back to her ******; please allow 2-4 weeks for refund to be received.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/16/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  ****NEWS & RECORD DAVENPORT IA. is charging my credit card with $23.99 monthly for some sort of subscription that I never purchased or authorized. Their customer service person asks for many personal details. This whole thing is a fraud and I want their charges reversed and previous money they took returned to me.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/17/2025

  Mr. ****** subscribed online 05/03/24 for the $1 for 13-week promotion using email ****************************************************************** We have cancelled the account and processed a refund for $125.94, all the charges after the promotion. The refund will come in the form of a check, please allow up 6-8 weeks for processing. We have also removed his credit card information.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/14/2025

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My wife and I are seniors and are long time ************* residents and Journal/Sentinel subscribers. When the newspaper became so expensive, we tried the electronic version as it was very inexpensive and we primarily used it for the obits. All of the sudden in June of 2023 my wife noticed her charge card was being billed $26.99 a month without notice for the e-edition, about as much as the paper edition was when we cancelled it. She called on June 20, 2023 to cancel and they convinced her not to cancel by telling her she could have it for $1 a month. She used my credit card for the $1 charge. On that day, they started charging my charge card for a second copy of the e-edition that is now up to $31.99 a month. I called twice about our situation and asked for at least a partial refund. They cancelled both accounts before I asked and offered no refund. This whole situation smells of a senior scam to me. Not what we would have expected from a once reputable ************* ******** We are very disappointed and very sad. All told we lost over $500.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/16/2025

  Refund Request Both requests have been processed on the accounts and will be mailed by check. Please allow 45 days + mailing times for receipt.

   

  The refunds will come as two separate checks since the initial payments processed on two accounts individually. Both credit cards have been removed from their accounts.

   

  ******** *****, account ***********

  She was aware of this subscription and we sent price increase letters to the email address provided (**********************************************************************) the last 4 being letters were dated 01/09/23, 06/12/23, 01/08/24, 08/12/24

  ******** called on 08/06/24 due to the rate/price and agreed to continue the subscription with a $9.99 rate. This rate did go up to $18.99 after two months and the account was charged $18.99 three times. The refund for those three charges, total $56.97.

   

  ***** *****, account ***********

  The subscription was self-initiated online on 06/19/23, not through an agent over the phone, for the promo $1 for 6 months. Per standard Terms and Conditions, the $10.99 rate was applied after the promotional period expired. Price increase letters were sent to the email address that was provided (****************************************************************) on 11/20/23 and 07/22/24. ***** stated on a call that his wife might have signed up and used his card. We have refunded all the charges on this account totaling $313.87.

   

  Both email addresses for the renewal notices to be received were verified as valid on the calls.

   

  For the Statement that he called twice about their situation, we cancelled both accounts before he asked and offered no refund:

   

  Call 01/03/25 9:59 AM - ***** ***** called *************)

  He stated he was charged hundreds of dollars without his authorization and without his knowledge. He wanted to speak with someone local because the agent tried to keep him from cancelling and instead asked to renew him for another year. He did ask for lower rates and offers were made, as well as paper delivery prices were discussed, all which he declined. Due to the verbiage used on this call, only Scotts account was cancelled, Margarets was not. He did not ask for a refund on this call.

   

  Call 01/06/25 11:35 AM ******** ***** called *************)

  She called to cancel; offers were made to lower the rate, she declined all offers, and her account was cancelled on that call. She did not ask for a refund.

   

  Call 01/13/25 1:20 pm ***** ***** *************)

  ***** called to get confirmation that both accounts were cancelled and wanted assurance that there would be no future charges on both their credit cards. He did ask for a refund and the agent stated we cannot refund the charges. He stated that he will call the bank and reverse the charges, so no further action was taken by the agent.

   

  There were 3 more calls made from number ************

  01/13/25 1:11PM, this call was abandoned at 24 seconds

  01/13/25 1:17 PM, this call was abandoned at 29 seconds

  01/13/25 1:18 PM, this call was abandoned at 4 seconds

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/02/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On November 13th I was charged $14.99 for a subscription to Lake Geneva Regional News.I rejected the price and asked for a refund. I was offered $10.99 for the subscription on November 15th. This was also rejected. I haven't heard from them since. I emailed on the 21st and on the 28th and got nothing in reply. All I want is a refund on my ****** account.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/03/2025

  We have requested $14.99 refund to be processed back to her ****** account, please allow 2-3 weeks for processing.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/07/2025

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******** *******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/27/2024

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I have notified the company, I have canceled the charge with ****** and I have made a call to *** Enterprise in **** yesterday Dec 26. I was told that there was no info for what this charge was for nor could they find my name for any purchase I might have made with them. I left an email this morning to **************** And I notified ****** yesterday and had the charge disputed. I found this morning that it went through and am hoping that it will be reversed. I was told by ****** yesterday that it had been removed, They also had no way to tell what it was for.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/30/2024

  Ms. **** subscribed online for $1/26wks on 06/26/24 for the Munster NWI Times. We have terminated the account. Her account was charged only once for $14.99. She has already disputed the $14.99 with *******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/19/2024

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My monthly bill for **************** is $36.06 paid via auto pay. On 10/23/24 $36.83 was withdrawn by *** Enterprise and again on 10/25/24 $36.83. I called and asked them to remove my card from their system and to send my bills to me in the mail instead. On 11/26/24 $36.06 was withdrawn by *** Enterprise again. I called again and they said they would remove my card and send me my bills in the mail. On 12/14/24 $36.06 was withdrawn by *** Enterprise again. I now need to contact my bank and try to block them from automatically withdrawing money from my account

  Business Response

  Date: 12/20/2024

  We have applied a Non-Ezpay template to her account; this will remove the automatic payment method. Her rate will stay the same  - $110.50 for 13 weeks.

   

  We have also added credit to her account so that shell have more time to mail in her payment. The account was due on January 4, 2025, but it is now due January 24, 2025.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/16/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I signed up for the trial at a reduced price of .99 cents a month. When they tried to jack up the price to $***** a month I tried to cancel. It was impossible online. I tried to call multiple times they would not answer. I emailed they kept trying to force me to keep the subscription I said no I want to cancel immediately. I never agreed to a ***** charge. They charged me $***** anyway now I need to go on to ****** and dispute the charge. This company is unethical.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/17/2024

  We have refunded the $14.99 back to her ****** account. Please allow 2-3 weeks to be returned.

   

  She had signed up for the $1 twice, one for the ********************** (account ******* and one for the *********************** (account ******.

   

  Her phone number pulls up ********************** only and this account was cancelled immediately upon her request made on 11/22/24 -  We cancelled and refunded her *********************** account yesterday.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/10/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On December 7th, 2024 I was made aware of re-occurring monthly charges on my credit card statement. Back in January of ******************************************************************************* order to read the full article you had to give information. I subscribed to the paper for their free trial to read the article and then cancelled the account so that no further charges would be made. They continued to charge me starting July 2023 going forward until December 2024. In that time period $440.56 was spent. Unfortunately, I was not made aware of these charges, I received ZERO emails, and no paper. My credit card is set to auto pay so that is another reason why I was not made aware of the charges. When I attempt to log into this ** Journal the website tells me that there is not an account that exists with that email. Therefore that right there tells you I am paying for an "E Newspapaper" that I don't even have access too, and I have not received even one email from them stating that I have access to this paper or that I am being billed for it. When I checked their reviews they have 1.2 stars and almost all of them are complaints about them continuing subscriptions without permission or making it impossible to cancel. When I called them they told me they could not issue me a refund and did not comprehend the fact that I don't even have access to an account I am paying for.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/30/2024

  The total payments made on the account equal $431.83. A refund for $95.97 was processed on 12/17/24. Weve processed a refund for the remainder $335.86 back to her credit card. Please allow 2-3 weeks for the funds to be received. They will come in the two different amounts mentioned above.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/05/2025

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ********* *******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/25/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I am due a refund of $9.99 as of October 28, 2024, I called to get this refund and then I got a refund of $7.51 when they shorted me on November 1, 2024. I then called again to get the short charge refund of $2.48 and I still have not gotten that refund as of November 22, 2024. They also shortchange any refund, and you must call again to request the rest. They think the customers who they s**** with have nothing to do but keep calling them to get the refund they are due. This has happened now about 3 times and it is always the same runaround to get the refund that you are due. If they are doing this to me then I only can believe they are doing it to all their other customers. They need to stop their deceptive business practices and stop charging customers for new subscriptions that they have not requested. I want the additional refund that I am due of $2.48. Thanks

  Business Response

  Date: 12/03/2024

  Weve requested the additional $2.48 to be refunded back to the card ending in 8115.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/24/2024

  This has not been refunded yet.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/30/2024

  ****,

   

  $2.48 was refunded by check which processed on 11/27/24. $7.51 was previously refunded to the credit card. Our system will allow only one CC Refund per charge.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/06/2025

  I have not received this refund check for $2.48.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/16/2025

  This check has been printed and will be mailed yesterday, apologies for the delay.