Back in October 2017 I responded to a trial offer for 11 weeks of The Economist for which I provided my Mastercard for payment. The application form made no mention of the fact that charges would be taken automatically going forward and I was never notified in writing that this would be the case. As of December 7, 2017 my Mastercard was charged without my authorization for $62.15. in early January 2018 (after receiving my CC statement) I called the 1-800 # to complain about this and demand that the subscription be cancelled and the payment reversed. I was told by the operator that the payment had been taken because The Economist follows a "positive enrolment" policy. I was also told that my request would be dealt with in the next 10-14 days, but this did not happen. I subsequently called the 1-800 # in early February to follow up, only to receive an apology and a promise that the mistake would be fixed in the next 7-10 days. Again, this did not happen and the magazines kept on rolling in every week. Finally, I noticed that my Mastercard had been debited once again for the quarterly subscription fee of $62.15 as of March 28, 2018. This time I called my credit card company who told me that they needed written proof that I had asked for the cancellation before they would consider reversing the charge. So I went ahead and sent an e-mail to The Economist's customer service centre. A couple of days later I got a response that the subscription would be cancelled and the latest charge reversed but that it would take at least 14 days. No mention was made of the earlier unauthorized charge in December. In any case, I don't believe any of The Economist's promises. I've sent the e-mail from The Economist on to my credit card company and requested that they block any future charges from them. I may also have to cancel the credit card if I don't get my refund as promised. I find it appalling that a respected publication like The Economist has such low standards for customer service and uses a positive enrolment process to trap customers into paying for magazines after they have requested cancellation. My suggestion for other subscribers (who wish to continue to receive this magazine) is to pay by check. Do not give this organisation your credit card number.
