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Anyone Else Having Problems Renewing Subs?

O

oroadfc

Gone But Not Forgotten
(ACCOUNT RETIRED)
Joined
Nov 17, 2003
Messages
14
ok, not a fortean times website issue, but the subsinfo.co.uk site they use to process subscriptions to the magazine

got a mailshot last weeks saying "your one chance to extend at the lowest rate"...tried the online method, enter a password, got into my account ok, clicked on renew, entered the offer code...

"Unrecognised offer code. Please check and try again. "

hohum tried it with spaces, with lower-case (auto-changed to upper-case), zero's and o's swapped round - nothing

:-(

yeh I have emailed the fortean subs email address, but I was just interested if anyone else managed it successfully?
 
aah.... i see from browsing the sticky at the top there's been a similar problem in the past. Soz for posting to the website forum but I didn't think this problem was with the magazine itself, more its distributors. I might phone them tomorrow, but a) today it's sunday and b) i hate using the phone. At least with email I have a sort of proof I said something and I appear to be in the system now after answering their "read our faq" email...
 
Try phoning them is my advice. I got no results using the Internet to contact them, but found success when I plucked up the courage to phone.
 
ho hum

the subsinfo offer code still doesn't work, and the offer ends on monday :?

even more bizarrely, i decided just to renew my regular subscription and its offered me 12 issues for £27 (£2.25 per iss) as opposed to the offer's claimed LOWEST rate which is 6 issues for £14.49 (£2.41 per iss) - i mean, erm? :? not complaining, though i miss out on a mouse mat...

PS If the web chappies want to append this thread to the subscription sticky above feel free
 
Subs problems

oroadfc said:
ho hum

the subsinfo offer code still doesn't work, and the offer ends on monday :?

even more bizarrely, i decided just to renew my regular subscription and its offered me 12 issues for £27 (£2.25 per iss) as opposed to the offer's claimed LOWEST rate which is 6 issues for £14.49 (£2.41 per iss) - i mean, erm? :? not complaining, though i miss out on a mouse mat...

PS If the web chappies want to append this thread to the subscription sticky above feel free
Click to expand...

You should try phoning the subscriptions dept. at Dennis - Barbara Abbis (020-7907 6145) or Sweeta Dhakan (020-7907 6153) or try e-mailing them on [email protected] or [email protected]
 
it's subscription time again

and guess what? the subsinfo offer code I got sent doesn't work :roll:


and again, the special offer £14.49 for 6 issues doesn't really look that special compared to the £27 for 12 issues clicking on "i am renewing a uk subscription" gets me

ho hum 2
 
oroadfc said:
it's subscription time again

and guess what? the subsinfo offer code I got sent doesn't work :roll:


and again, the special offer £14.49 for 6 issues doesn't really look that special compared to the £27 for 12 issues clicking on "i am renewing a uk subscription" gets me

ho hum 2
Click to expand...

Bump.

16th November 2008

Got sent a renew 6 issues for £14.49 with a free mug mailshot with an offer code

You'll be less than surprised to hear that the offer code doesn't work

Why do they do this? why do they bother? 3 years now, and I've emailed them, phoned them, and reading other posts on this site other people have too. Why are they sending out what must be bloody expensive mailshots to their subscribers which do not work? why god why? Should this go in the conspiracies forum? why?
 
Well, it makes you think, doesn't it? I reported a problem with Offer codes back in 2006 and all anyone seems to get is 'Phone X or Y at Dennis Publishing'. The impression given is that it's preferable to have subscribers or potential subscribers spending their own money on phone calls rather than paying Dovetail (the CRM company behind the website) to resolve this long-standing and often-reported issue.

Indicative, I feel, of the low regard in which the readership of this tragically-un-hip magazine is held by it publishers.

PB
 
Subs complaints

Brown_Forever said:
Well, it makes you think, doesn't it? I reported a problem with Offer codes back in 2006 and all anyone seems to get is 'Phone X or Y at Dennis Publishing'. The impression given is that it's preferable to have subscribers or potential subscribers spending their own money on phone calls rather than paying Dovetail (the CRM company behind the website) to resolve this long-standing and often-reported issue.

Indicative, I feel, of the low regard in which the readership of this tragically-un-hip magazine is held by it publishers.

PB
Click to expand...

I'm sorry you think my suggestion inappropriate. I've tried explaining this several times, but I'll try again. The MB is not a feedback mechanism for complaints. It is an opportunity for readers to chat amongst themselves - using MB handles, i.e. anonymously. Seriously - what would you expect any organisation to do with an anonymous complaint? No one in editorial or in other Dennis departments has the time to monitor what's going on in message boards. I check in from time, but usually I'm just too busy trying to meet our print deadlines. If you have a complaint, you should take it to the appropriate place - phone numbers and email addresses are listed on the Editorial page in the mag. If it's to do with distribution or subscriptions, it should be [email protected] (020-7907 6145) or [email protected] (020-7907 6153) - they are Dennis's liaison with Dovetail. But to deal with your complaint, they will need to know your details, not some MB handle.

We do take your complaints seriously, and we do want to make sure that you receive a good service - but a user message board is just not the right place to air your grievances - other than seeking sympathy or advice.
 
Owen, you are missing the point. Of course this forum is not a vehicle for feedback and complaints. That's understood. Rather, it is a forum for discussion amongst readers and subscribers of this magazine, and in this particular thread we are discussing amongst ourselves the abysmal level of customer service that Dennis Publishing and Dovetail provides. I personally couldn't care less whether you deign to read it or not.

We are perfectly aware that Barbara Abis and Lucie Jelfs are the proper conduit for complaints. My ongoing point here is that nothing appears to get done when these complaints are made. I approached Dovetail about the issue with Offer Codes back in 2006 and nothing changed. It seems that every time somebody rings up with a subscription query or problem with the online service, the transaction is (apparently) put through manually, and the underlying problem not addressed. Has not one approach to Barbara or Lucie been made in the past two years? Are Dovetail aware of this issue?

For my part I am sorry if you choose to dismiss all this as anonymous bitching by the usual malcontents. A slightly more proactive editorial team might have taken it upon themselves to establish the nature of this long-running problem for themselves once it came to their attention, rather than repeating the 'Ring Barbara Abis' mantra and whining about how busy they are.

The time and trouble you spent typing your last post might have been better employed making a few tentative enquiries of your own. As you say, this isn't the first time you've posted about this, so you (and by implication the rest of the editorial team) are aware that there is a problem with online subscriptions. It's one thing to say that the Message Board is not the place to air grievances because FT staff visit only infrequently and might not spot things, it's quite another to stonewall in the way you are doing when you, by your own admission, are aware of these issues.

Wearily

Paul Brown, Subscriber 76593 (no anonymity there)
 
Subs problems

Actually, Paul, I generally do copy relevant posts from the MB to the appropriate depts. at Dennis (i.e. distribution/shop placement/subs etc.) and then try and follow up to see what progress has been made. I think that if there were large numbers of complaints about the subs offer codes not being accepted, the team that maintains that web page would have dealt with it by now. I will pass on your comments, but since I lack both the skills and the authority to fix that particular problem, that's all I can do.
 
heh, I've started a fight :)

anyways, i got another mailshot from the fortean times today, offering direct debit of 16.99 per 6 months issue (up £2.50 since last month's offer!) - cos after all my bitching I didn't get round to renewing

And you'll never believe me but the offer code actually worked! :shock:

so progress on that front

still, the normal 12-month uk renewal was again cheaper than the trumpeted 'cheapest rate!' in the mailshot blurb at £27.00 so I went with that. Having said that the mailshot did achieve it's aim of poking me into renewing.
 
I got the mail shot too, for a free mug if I renewed early, although the code didn't work, I had the option to send it off by post, which is what I did!
 
Just to bump my 4 year-long bitch about the subsinfo site to the top

got the mailshot earlier this month, subscribe for the lowest price blah blah enter offer code blah blah blah the promotional code you have entered is invalid blah blah blah (the offers meant to stand till the 28th)

it DID work last year (late 2009), but now its slipped back to broken again

They DO test this stuff before they mail it out to people right?


They'll send me another mailshot later in the year i guess, i've still 5 issues to go on my current sub so no panic yet
 
Huzzah, another mailshot as predicted and an offer code that works


I am slightly confused as to why the 12-month renewal with the offer code was £35.10 compared to the straight £34.10 12-month renewal though... :?

Still, I paid the extra quid as apparently I'll get a free gift (or a £1 gift) ;)
 
Let us know what your gift is! Mug. mouse mat or Grow Your Own Nessie (just add water)?
 
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