I recently discovered the Merc News was cheating on their billing statements. The economy must really be hitting them hard. I would pay for 6 months of service. At around 4 months, they would bill/charge me for another 6 months, to commence at the time of billing. I started looking historically, and discovered that they've done this a couple of times before (over the course of 1.5 yrs), and have been shortchanging me 2 months of newspapers every 4 months or so. I would pay for 6 months, and only get 4 months before I'd be billed again. When I called, their front line ppl promised a credit, promised to take me off Bill-Pay so they can't automatically charge my card, but they didn't follow through. I called again, and they told me they sent me a check and after I questioned that form of refund (I figured it was charged on my card, they should credit back on my card), they said they deposited directly to my bank. After I disputed that because they couldn't possibly have my bank information, I asked to be put through to a supervisor. We went through the whole history of dates and charges, and found that they've been overcharging me or shortchanging me, and he promised to make it right. Well it all sounds really good, but to prevent myself from going through this hassle again, I'm going to cancel my subscription, and just go out and pick up the paper myself when I want to read it.
Pros: Great newspaper
Cons: Terrible billing service
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