I have been a Wall Street Journal subscriber for over three years for both the print edition and the online edition. The terms of the online edition were $49 per year if you also had a print subscription and $99 per year if you did not.in I renewed my print subscription using airline miles (as I had done once or twice in the past).in January – my online subscription renewed with an automatic charge to my credit card. The “My Account” page on the WSJ website indicated that my renewal was $49, however when I received my credit card statement – I saw that I was charged $119. I called to have this resolved and that is where it got interesting. The customer service representative agreed that I was charged the ‘non-print subscriber’ rate and that I was in-fact a print subscriber. She said, however that there was a price increase on February 1st to $69 and that she would refund the difference between the $119 charged and $69. I argued that the price was $49 in January when my subscription was renewed – but she said that the computer would not allow her to make the proper adjustment. I asked to speak with a supervisor.
When the Supervisor came on, she said that since my print subscription was paid for with airline miles – I did not qualify for the print subscription discount for the online edition, and that I would have to pay the $119. I requested a full refund of the $119 and cancelled my subscription, which was done without issues
The part that bothers me is that this was obviously BS. I believe that the supervisor made up the “rule” that I did not qualify for the discount because their computer system lacked the ability to make the proper adjustment.
The end result is that I no longer have an online subscription to the WSJ (I’m finding that the free Reuters site is actually better anyway), The WSJ lost the current year subscription revenue from me as well as any future business and I am telling everyone I know about this experience which will hopefully result in more lost business for them. I am really bugged by incompetence and stupidity
Thanks for listening
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