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Original poster

Newspaper delivery company. What should I do?

33 replies

AlJalilia · 12/04/2022 02:53

My DM is housebound and I live overseas. In order to help with the isolation, I set up a newspaper delivery service for her. I got the details from The Sun newspaper, who recommended this delivery company.

Over the year or so that we have had deliveries from them, they have got steadily worse. They are meant to deliver The Sun every day and Take A Break once a week. They were barely managing to deliver the paper twice a week and she didn’t get the magazine for months. Every time I complained they said they would “credit the account”, but they never did.

I then discovered that Mum was paying the delivery driver £5 a day to deliver her paper!!! This was on top of me paying for the service. If she didn’t leave £5 in an envelope, they wouldn’t deliver it the next day.

Now the company has changed to a new one but I STILL haven’t had a refund and they are STILL taking money from my account.

What do I do? I am so anxious about this. Should I contact The Sun as it was them who are promoting the company?

OP posts:
Kinneddar · 12/04/2022 02:58

Don't think you can hold them responsible. I'd cancel the order straight away & contact a local papershop

Original poster
AlJalilia · 12/04/2022 03:13

I don’t blame The Sun. but I think they should know, seeing as they are promoting them?

OP posts:
Monty27 · 12/04/2022 03:27

OP get on and tell them then

DifficultBloodyWoman · 12/04/2022 03:34

Contact the Sun so they can do a sad face story which may shame the delivery company into a full refund and police prosecution of the delivery driver committing extortion.

Original poster
AlJalilia · 12/04/2022 04:13

@DifficultBloodyWoman just done that. Thank you. Will let you know what they say. I hadn’t seen it as extortion before, but you’re right. That’s what it is. She’s 87 FFS.

OP posts:
vastgrandupgrade · 12/04/2022 04:31

Cancel it and tell your mum to stop giving them cash. You can indeed tell The Sun but they are not going to cancel it for you. Be realistic and just get it cancelled yourself. You can organise a magazine subscription online directly from the magazine’s website.

Original poster
AlJalilia · 12/04/2022 04:36

@vastgrandupgrade it IS cancelled. I am trying to get my money back for all the missed deliveries. And also to stop them extorting money from other elderly folk as I’m sure Mum isn’t the only one who this has happened to.

OP posts:
vastgrandupgrade · 12/04/2022 04:40

OK, I have a lot of sympathy, it sounds very dodgy and they obviously shouldn’t be taking advantage of your mum. But nowhere in your OP does it say that you have cancelled it. I will leave you to it and hope that you get it sorted out.

Original poster
AlJalilia · 12/04/2022 04:45

@vastgrandupgrade it says in my OP: “... the company has changed to a new one”. Sorry if that wasn’t clear, but they are no longer delivering the paper to her, it’s a new company.

OP posts:
notaflyingmonkey · 12/04/2022 05:20

Can you google which shop does paper deliveries in her area? Or if there is a local Facebook group you could ask for recommendations there?

I did something similar for my DM to what you have done - each company got progressively more patchy in their delivery and more expensive. What didn't help was DM had dementia and would often complain she wasn't getting the paper delivered, when she actually was, but forgetting.

EarringsandLipstick · 12/04/2022 07:18

Now the company has changed to a new one but I STILL haven’t had a refund and they are STILL taking money from my account.

Your OP was unclear. It sounded like you were still having the issue, just that the company was being managed by new owners.

You contact the delivery service directly, with the dates of non-delivery, how much is owed, and evidence of your mum paying £5 a day. You tell them you'll be contacting The Sun.

Teeturtle · 12/04/2022 07:22

[quote AlJalilia]@vastgrandupgrade it says in my OP: “... the company has changed to a new one”. Sorry if that wasn’t clear, but they are no longer delivering the paper to her, it’s a new company.[/quote]
Not in any way does this sentence suggest you had cancelled delivery. Confused. Glad to hear you have though.

maddening · 12/04/2022 07:23

Cancel the delivery service and contact local shop, our local newsagent does delivery

maddening · 12/04/2022 07:26

Sorry, you have cancelled with the old company and sourced a new company? As pp it did read like the company had changed hands.

Cancel the dd at the bank.

Original poster
AlJalilia · 12/04/2022 07:30

I have tried to complain to the company, but you just get a different admin person every time. Their company website does not list its management team. It's really difficult to get anywhere with these people.

OP posts:
Original poster
AlJalilia · 12/04/2022 07:31

I didn't cancel them, I just randomly got an email from the new company saying they had taken over from the old company. The new company do at least seem reliable.

OP posts:
RebeccaCloud9 · 12/04/2022 07:34

OP I thought it was clear that you had cancelled and moved to a new company. You said they are still taking money from your account which suggests they shouldn't be because you've cancelled with them!

getawayfromme · 12/04/2022 07:36

I'd let the Sun know (wouldn't bother 'taking it to social media' as their following is so massive it would just get lost on Twitter). My experience of newspaper subscription/circulation teams (I'm a former journalist) is that they have all worked in them fir years and years and are efficient and will be useful.

Contact your mum's local trading standards if that is relevant for her area.

girlmom21 · 12/04/2022 07:36

They probably thought they were doing her a favour and she was paying them a fiver a day to not force her to read The Sun...

Seriously though, this is pretty outrageous. Is the original company still running because I'd consider reporting them to the police for theft tbh, considering they were essentially stealing from her.

EarringsandLipstick · 12/04/2022 07:38

@AlJalilia

I didn't cancel them, I just randomly got an email from the new company saying they had taken over from the old company. The new company do at least seem reliable.
Oh for goodness sake! So you haven't cancelled, it's the same organisation, under new management. As we thought.

Write a really clear email setting out the issue & what you'll do.

If no response, you cancel, of course. And go to the Sun. They'll lap it up.

RebeccaCloud9 · 12/04/2022 07:42

Blimey op well of course they're still taking money! Why on earth haven't you cancelled! It is just a bloody scam!

Original poster
AlJalilia · 12/04/2022 07:43

@EarringsandLipstick I don't think it is the same company. The delivery is completely different.

OP posts:
Original poster
AlJalilia · 12/04/2022 07:46

Old company -> News Team based in Stoke on Trent.
New company -> Willis News based in London.

OP posts:
girlmom21 · 12/04/2022 08:26

[quote AlJalilia]@EarringsandLipstick I don't think it is the same company. The delivery is completely different.[/quote]
What delivery? They're not being delivered are they?

EarringsandLipstick · 12/04/2022 09:00

[quote AlJalilia]@EarringsandLipstick I don't think it is the same company. The delivery is completely different.[/quote]
But they took over a going concern. It's the same company under new management. Or else they couldn't have your business automatically 🤷🏻‍♀️