Complaints

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:10/09/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore 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 a promotional offer with The Baltimore Banner for $1, which provided 6 months of access with the option to cancel anytime. After the 6-month promotional period ended, I was automatically charged $19.99 + tax for the renewal. However, I did not receive any reminder or notification prior to the renewal, which would have allowed me to make an informed decision on whether to continue the service at the higher rate.When I reached out to customer support, I was informed that I had received an email with the renewal terms at the time of the initial sign-up, but no reminder was sent closer to the billing date. This practice left me unaware of the upcoming charge, and I would not have consented to this renewal if I had been properly notified.Despite my request, the company refused to issue a refund for the renewal, citing their policy. I am filing this claim to request assistance in obtaining a refund for the unauthorized charge, as I believe the lack of proper communication regarding the renewal is unfair and misleading.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/29/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore 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.

  When I took an introductory offer to the Baltimore Banner in the fall, I was told delivery would continue unless I notified the paper in February that I did not want to continue my subscription. In February I pressed unsubscribe on the newsletter to let them know that I did not wish to continue it. I stopped receiving The Baltimore Banner. I thought that everything was alright. When I received my credit card bill, I noticed that there was a charge of $21.19. I called the Banner and was told that unsubscribe only stopped the paper. It did not cancel the subscription. I was not informed of this when I accepted the initial offer. I asked if I could cancel the subscription and get a refund of the subscription price. I was told that this was not possible. I don't think that I should be charged for a paper that I am not receiving.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/17/2024

  THE BALTIMORE BANNER, 621 East Pratt Street, Suite 401, Baltimore, MD 21202
  

  VIA EMAIL ***********************                                        April 17, 2024
  
  ********* ****
  Dispute Resolution Specialist
  Better Business Bureau
  502 S. Sharp Street
  Baltimore, MD 21202
  
                                                         RE:       Code No. 21504124-DF31F received April 9, 2024
                                                                       ******** *******
  
  Dear ********* ****:
  
  I am in-house counsel for The Baltimore Banner pertaining to the above referenced matter. Your letter dated March 29, 2024, which arrived via U.S. Postal Mail on April 9, 2024, has been referred to me for a response.
  
  We understand the importance of customer care and do not wish our subscribers to have a negative experience with us. We regret any confusion Ms ******* may have encountered in seeking not to renew her subscription to The Baltimore Banner.
  
   According to our records, the following activity appears on Ms *******’s subscription account:
  
  On August 23, 2023, Ms ******* purchased a subscription on our site and agreed to all terms and conditions.
  On February 25, 2024, Ms ******* was charged for her first regular rate charge.
  On February 29, 2024, Ms ******* opened an email and clicked our email preference management option “Unsubscribe From All Banner Emails”.
  However, this unsubscribes the customer only from our marketing email list and does not affect their paid subscription service to The Baltimore Banner.
  Ms ******* was shown the unsubscribed from the email list screen on her browser which states they are unsubscribing only from marketing emails from our mailing list.
  Ms ******* was then shown the unsubscribe from marketing emails confirmation page. (See enclosed confirmation page).
  On March 24, 2024, Ms ******* was charged her 2nd regular subscription rate charge.
  On March 26, 2024, Ms ******* called customer care who walked her through the explanation that her actions had unsubscribed her only from our marketing email list and did not unsubscribe her from the paid subscription service. Customer care explained that per our policy that she had agreed to upon subscribing, we were unable to refund her for that charge. But before customer care could finish helping her, Ms ******* hung up.
  
  On March 29, 2024, Ms ******* called back and customer care again explained that she had unsubscribed only from our marketing email list and did not unsubscribe from the paid subscription service. Customer care explained that per our terms of sale, we were unable to refund the charge.However, customer care did turn off the auto-renew to ensure that the customer could access The Banner until the end of her paid term (April 22) and wouldn’t be charged any further.
  
  It appears from the foregoing activity that Ms ******* made an unsuccessful attempt to unsubscribe from her paid subscription to The Baltimore Banner and instead unsubscribed only from the marketing emails.  As a gesture of goodwill, we are willing to resolve this matter by offering to cancel the renewal of the subscription and refund the amount of $21.47, since our records and Ms *******’s subsequent actions demonstrate her intent to unsubscribe and not renew the subscription.
  
  Please advise if the offer is acceptable and we will promptly process the refund and end the subscription to The Baltimore Banner.  We also hope that Ms ******* will give us another chance by becoming a subscriber again in the near future.
  
                                                                                                  Very truly yours.
  
  
                                                                                                  Leon ** ********
                                                                                                  In-house Counsel
  Enclosure