Ahhhh...I can't believe it.

Today, I got charged $72 for a full year Athletic subscription and they won't refund me.

I'm usually meticulously on top of my subscriptions.

Last year at this time, they offered me 1 year for $10. I didn't put an alert on my Google Calendar to cancel. And I used my freaking debit card.

Is there anything I can do? Can I dispute the charge with my bank?

The thing is, I already have a New York Times subscription, which comes with The Athletic.

The New York Times bills me $4 every 4 weeks, or $52 a year.

okaydo said:

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Ahhhh...I can't believe it.

Today, I got charged $72 for a full year Athletic subscription and they won't refund me.

I'm usually meticulously on top of my subscriptions.

Last year at this time, they offered me 1 year for $10. I didn't put an alert on my Google Calendar to cancel. And I used my freaking debit card.

Is there anything I can do? Can I dispute the charge with my bank?

The thing is, I already have a New York Times subscription, which comes with The Athletic.

The New York Times bills me $4 every 4 weeks, or $52 a year.

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I'm assuming you put it on your credit card, in which case, I would dispute the charge with them. Essentially they are charging you for a service you dont want, that is BS.

golden sloth said:

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okaydo said:

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Ahhhh...I can't believe it.

Today, I got charged $72 for a full year Athletic subscription and they won't refund me.

I'm usually meticulously on top of my subscriptions.

Last year at this time, they offered me 1 year for $10. I didn't put an alert on my Google Calendar to cancel. And I used my freaking debit card.

Is there anything I can do? Can I dispute the charge with my bank?

The thing is, I already have a New York Times subscription, which comes with The Athletic.

The New York Times bills me $4 every 4 weeks, or $52 a year.

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I'm assuming you put it on your credit card, in which case, I would dispute the charge with them. Essentially they are charging you for a service you dont want, that is BS.

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I've done some googling, but I can't find an official source that California has a law mandating that I have to be alerted to a renewal after a promotional period shortly before the payment is processed.

ask to talk to a supervisor. they're basically double charging you, right?

I immediately wrote an email accusing them of fraud.

And I was in the middle of crafting an email saying that they are in violation of California law, when I got an email that they are refunding me.

philbert said:

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ask to talk to a supervisor. they're basically double charging you, right?

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It's not so much that they were double charging me. In the middle of my Athletic 1/year for $10 deal, I got The New York Times at a cost of $4 billed every 4 weeks. And The New York Times comes with The Athletic. And The New York Times with The Athletic is, as I said above, cheaper than The Athletic alone.

I'm glad The Athletic exists, but I barely read it.

Anyways, I hope all you Athletic subscribers learn from my mistake.

Here is my payment history.

Basically, for a long time, they charged me $1 a month. Then suddenly, it was $8/month in May 2023. So when I tried to cancel, they offered me $10/year, which expired yesterday. As I said I should've alerted myself. I'm shocked I didn't. I always set alerts.

Cancel the Athletic with your credit card company. Then go to the NYT and cancel your subscription with them since they now collectively turned their backs on the Installed one.

bear2034 said:

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Cancel the Athletic with your credit card company. Then go to the NYT and cancel your subscription with them since they now collectively turned their backs on the Installed one.

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The New York Times didn't technically mischarge me. The Athletic did. Yes, The Times owns The Athletic. But my bed was with The Athletic's website.

okaydo said:

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bear2034 said:

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Cancel the Athletic with your credit card company. Then go to the NYT and cancel your subscription with them since they now collectively turned their backs on the Installed one.

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The New York Times didn't technically mischarge me. The Athletic did. Yes, The Times owns The Athletic. But my bed was with The Athletic's website.

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The coordination between the Times and the Athletic is less than perfect. I cannot seem to convince my cellphone's Athletic app that I can sign in using my New York Times' credentials. I am glad you got this straightened out as you report in your earlier e-mail. FWIW, I am *very* leery of signing up for anything at a promotional rate because I fear that it will get renewed without my noticing.