MGL93a Deceptive Business Practice Letter to The Boston Globe, Consumer Protection Law $27.72...such a deal!

Jon Chesto can be reached at jon.chesto@globe.com

Boston Globe

1, Exchange Pl, 

Boston, MA 02109
Phone: (617) 929-2000

To the Boston Globe,

This is an article for my popular blog regarding customer service elder abuse by the Globe's Phoenix Arizona based outside subscription company.

Massachusetts has a consumer protection law, MGL 93a in place "If you are unable to resolve a complaint with a merchant informally, then you may decide to take legal action." 

One of the aspects of the law provides safety against the "Purchase of goods through "bait and switch" tactics results in owning unwanted goods which are more expensive than originally planned."   https://www.mass.gov/service-details/30-day-demand-letter

Here's my complaint and my First Amendment opinion onwhy the Globe's "bait and switch" tactics, through an outside company, are hardly customer friendly.

MGL 93a letter:

To the Boston Globe:

The provisions dictated in Massachusetts General Laws of Consumer Protection, Chapter 93A, Section 9, grant me the right to make this demand, and I hereby make a written demand for the relief that is outlined in that act.

On the following date of October 12, 2020, what I deem deceptive and unfair business practices occurred, which are detailed below:

1)October 11 I wrote to the Globe to cancel my subscription due to end Oct 22,2020. 

2)October 12, 2020 I found $27.72 deducted from my Eastern Bank account around 7 AM Monday morning.

3)8:13 am October 12th I phoned 888-694-5624 - which resulted in 47 minutes of my life being deducted from me this morning, 8:13 am to about 9 am.

4)The Globe claims they have an "easy to use automated system" which, of course, is another deceptive business practice.

   

Easy is hardly the word I would choose to describe a forty-seven minute ordeal

Exhibit A

Visit our mobile site: http://www.bostonglobe.com/bgcs
Log into the member center by clicking here.
Call 888-MY-GLOBE (888-694-5623) and enter the complaint through our easy to use automated system.
https://customerservice.globe.com/hc/en-us/articles/360020710811-Home-Delivery-Digital-Subscribers-Customer-Service

5)After about ten minutes I got the not so lovely "Elizabeth" on the phone, badge I.D. #C99070

6)Elizabeth enjoyed cutting me off, like Donald Trump refusing to speak to Joe Biden at  the first debate, and then,

like Mr. Trump, blaming me for cutting her off.  It was exasperating!   So much for "easy to use automated system"

7)Elizabeth informed me:

a)you can't unsubscribe via e mail

b)you have to call the subscription phone number (which is 888-myGlobe)

c)you have to phone two weeks in advance

d)they will rebate you which will or can take 10 days, 1/3 of a month!   

Yet they got YOUR money instantly off of your card.

8)I explained to Elizabeth that at 66 years of age, I considered holding my money deceptive and wrong.  Elder abuse.

She kept cutting me off and blabbing and telling me that I was cutting her off.  (Note, her supervisor was much more polite, so evaluate the two  different ways of handling a customer and do the simple math!

9)I informed Elizabeth that holding my money was unacceptable and that I wanted a supervisor

10)Another 20 minutes of wait time followed, which I figured would happen, but now I'm determined to write a story about the experience.

11)Finally, "Amy" the supervisor, Badge / ID #C99070 gets on the phone.  She was VERY polite, as opposed to Elizabeth's bull-dog approach (and remember, YOU'RE the customer!)   As expected, the call went nowhere, but at least she politely told me that my money was in process.

12)I asked Amy if she was at the Globe office.  She wasn't being very forthright, so I asked again.  She then told me that they are in Phoenix AZ but refused to disclose the name of the company that handles subscriptions for the Globe/

Customer Service Amy the supervisor REFUSED to say what company she works for in  Phoenix, AZ  

13)1-888-694-5623 was about 47 minutes on the phone (46 plus.)

      Elizabeth  ID#C99250
      Amy  ID #C99070

        $27.72  attempt to get a $1.00 customer to pay twenty-eight times the amount for the same product, after he paid $1.00 twice ($2.00 in a one year period.)

14)Of course we can write to the advertisers about customer abuse by the Globe's designated outside subscription company

15)Good old Dan Kennedy has an interesting article on the Ombudsman position in his Media Nation blog:

   https://dankennedy.net/tag/ombudsman/

 And as former Globe ombudsman and former Phoenix media columnist Mark Jurkowitz has told me, the ombudsman’s column is actually the tip of the iceberg — most of the job consists of politely handling reader complaints about everything from smudgy ink to the cancellation of a favorite comic strip. This is basic customer service, and no blogger is going to do that.

I’d like to see every serious, 24-hour news operation in Boston have an ombudsman. Why stop at the Globe? But, barring an unexpected return to financial health, it’s not likely to happen. It’s too bad.

____________________________________________________________________________________

So, if you sign up for the $1.00 subscription, get ready to note on your calendar to unsubscribe three weeks in advance.

16)The Boston Globe, once they have your credit card number, will pounce on it even if you make an attempt to stop the subscription, and then you have to wait up to ten days to get your money back for a product 

Remember, the consumer protection law is also about  "bait and switch" tactics results in owning unwanted goods which are more expensive than originally planned."

17)When my first $1.00 subscription ended on or about April, 2020, the woman bargained with me, from about $27.00 down to maybe $13.00 down to maybe $6.00 when I said "Hey, your advertisers need readers, I've written for the Boston Globe and got paid for my work, I will pay $1.00 for another six months" and she agreed to that.    So it is on record that I did NOT want to pay $27 for a product

According to Chapter 93A, Section 2 (Unfair Practices), this subscriber is outraged that the Boston Globe or its subscription company wants to play with my money for up to a third of a month when they got my honest dollar more efficiently ...more "quick and easy" than the complaint line they falsely claim is with this nonsense: "enter the complaint through our easy to use automated system.   Easy?  Who do they think they are, the Staples corporation?

Due to the unfair and deceptive practice, I have been subjected to, I have suffered the loss of property and money as described below:

$27.72 from my Eastern Bank Mastercard.

This letter now serves as my request to obtain the following relief in the amount of $27.72. I am gracefully providing this business an opportunity to rectify and remediate the situation as requested above within 30 days of receipt of this letter. Should you fail to meet the aforementioned requirements, I will follow through with legal action as allowed by law which can result in the judge ordering the Globe pay me court costs and triple damages.

I look forward to further discussion and hearing from you, please use the following number 617-xxx-xxxx to get in direct contact with me to resolve this matter.   Or you could offer me the dollar deal again!

Regards,

Joe Viglione

Editor and Publisher
Medford Informaton Central Dot Com

P.O. Box 2392

Woburn MA 01888

P.S. Amazon pulled a similar stunt with IMDB whacking my card for $150.00...yikes.  But "here's the deal," to paraphrase Joe Biden, the IMDB service has information and content important for my clients, so I kept their service.

The moral of the story: be real careful about dollar deals with big corporations.  

Whatever happened to "the customer's always right?"

Not when companies can hide behind the world wide web!

Exhibit B:

----- Forwarded Message -----

From: Joe Viglione <joeviglione@xxxxx.xxx>
To: support@email.bostonglobe.com <support@email.bostonglobe.com>; Varulven Media Storage <xxxxxx@var_xxx.xxx>
Sent: Sunday, October 11, 2020, 10:57:14 PM EDT
Subject: Account # xxxxxx Discontinue by Oct 22


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JOE VIGLIONE
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