Today, 23 November 2024, marks the second time since April '24 that I have been blocked from NewspaperArchives by their new app CloudFare, which apparently has mistaken me again for a robot, even though I have been a subscriber since 2016. Since this is the weekend, I'll have to wait until Monday to resolve the issue.
I was locked out of my account. I went to customer service but could not get anything other than a robot who could do nothing. I created a help ticket and ONE WEEK LATER I got an email from someone or thing posing as a human offering to help. He told me to clear my cookies and cache but that did no good. When I tried to respond to him, I just got sent to another robot. This is probably the worst experience I have ever had with a genealogy site. It's unbelievable! Ancestry has a newspaper site that works fine.
I signed up for Trial Subscription and was charged $19.99. I contacted them, said they don't offer trial on monthly. If I could afford to pay the other subscription I would of done it. One thing I needed, just one thing. Looking for plane crash my uncle died in. I'm a senior on SS. I can't afford those expensive subscription. This company treats senior unfairly. They refused to refund. You can't even read the newspapers they are so blurry.
Very unfair, inconsiderate company. Do not trust them. Do not buy their subscriptions.
Hello Adelita,
We're sorry to hear you had a negative experience with our services! To address your grievances, I would mention that we try be as straightforward as possible with how we advertise our subscription plans, especially in regards to our 7 Day Free Trial offers. We specifically clarify that we do not offer a 7 Day Free Trial on our Monthly subscription plan, and we also clarify throughout the billing process and on the confirmation page that you will be immediately charged for your chosen subscription. While we do sympathize with that misunderstanding, it's likely that your account use after purchase made it ineligible for a full refund, either due to a certain number of images viewed, or images downloaded in the following days.
If you have any active issues, or would like to follow up with us, please email us at customerservice@newspaperarchive.com and we'll do our best to assist you.
I could not cancel the subscription during the 7 day free trial with Newspaperarchive. Com. They would not answer the listed phone or email address. Without my permission my credit card was charged $74.95 for their 6 mo. Subscription posted on 3/2/2021.
Hello John,
We're sorry to hear you had a negative experience with our services! We offer email support 9 AM to 5 PM CST Monday through Friday, and we are happy to assist with cancellation requests, however if you did not receive a response it's possible the address was entered incorrectly, or we did not receive a response to your email at the time. We also offer you the option of cancelling through your account, and have instructions available online for doing so. We do sympathize with your frustrations however and would be happy to assist you with any outstanding requests.
If you have any active issues, or would like to follow up with us, please email us at customerservice@newspaperarchive.com and we'll do our best to assist you.
I'm in a trial phase for Newspaper Archive. It's slow, laggy, and it times out constantly with "error 522" which tells me it's their problem - not mine. I was checking it out because I've used Newspapers.com for awhile now and like it but I was looking for newspapers it didn't doesn't provide. I've not seen any I can use in Archive and combined with the terrible website speed and overall performance I'm not going to waste any more time with it. I hope they let me cancel without charging but reading other reviews here that doesn't always happen evidently. I already regret trying it so I hope that regret doesn't get even worse.
Hello John,
We're sorry to hear you had a negative experience with our services! It's possible that issue stemmed from a bandwidth issue we were experiencing around that time, though it has since been rectified. Additionally, I would be happy to clarify that any 7 Day Free Trial subscription can be cancelled at anytime, and at no cost to you. While we provide instructions online for doing so, you can also reach out to our customer service team for assistance.
If you have any active issues, or would like to follow up with us, please email us at customerservice@newspaperarchive.com and we'll do our best to assist you.
Thus is a complete rip off!
I mistakenly clicked on something that said free trial what I was looking for an Obit
The next thing I know there is a $166 charge on Mastercard
I don't even remember giving my CC number out.
I have this in dispute with my bank.
I want a refund!
Hello Clela, we're sorry to hear you've had a poor experience with our services! Providing billing information and agreeing to our Terms and Conditions when subscribing for a free trial is a multi-page process, so I'm unsure of how you would have instantaneously been subscribed without providing your billing information. Additionally, I'm afraid you haven't included any account information with your review, so we cannot locate your account to review your issue and provide assistance. If you would please reach out to us at customerservice@newspaperarchive.com we'll do our best to assist you.
If only i had read reviews first! Tried to renew my script for a specific purpose. They have my card information. No way to speak with anyone. Chat doesnt work. Membership has not started. Will have to report fraud. Wasted whole day.
Hello Peggy,
We're sorry to hear you've had a poor experience with us! I've reviewed your message and the chat history and would be happy to provide some clarification and assistance.
First, I would sincerely apologize for the issue you experienced when attempting to chat with one our agents. I reviewed the history and there was a short time during the period you contacted us in which agent availability was not accurately shown. The issue should not happen again and we're following up on your email to get in touch with you.
Otherwise the purchase you attempted to make did not go through under your email address you provided. You have no active subscription and no charge in relation to it. If you have received any charge, please us know at customerservice@newspaperarchive.com and we'd be happy to assist you further.
Company operates on a bait and switch process. The main page offered "free for 7days" but when you get into subscription plans they hide that only two of the three plans are free for 7 days. When you select the cheapest plan, they charge you 24 hours later. Emeline in customer service made it clear they stand behind the scam and refused to refund.
Hello Mike,
We're sorry to hear you had a negative experience with our services! To address your grievances, I would mention that we try be as straightforward as possible with how we advertise our subscription plans, especially in regards to our 7 Day Free Trial offers. We specifically clarify that we do not offer a 7 Day Free Trial on our Monthly subscription plan, and we also clarify throughout the billing process and on the confirmation page that you will be immediately charged for your chosen subscription. While we do sympathize with that misunderstanding, it's likely that your account use after purchase made it ineligible for a full refund, either due to a certain number of images viewed, or images downloaded in the following days.
If you have any active issues, or would like to follow up with us, please email us at customerservice@newspaperarchive.com and we'll do our best to assist you.
Sometimes the site works and sometimes not. The only way to contact the company for help is sending an email which takes them 24 hours to respond. So if their solution to your problem doesn't work you wait another 24 hours for solution #2. Waste of time and money.
Hello,
We're sorry to hear you had a negative experience with our services! We were re-structuring our customer support at that time which affected availability of agents. Additionally, we had a stability issue around that time that likely contributed to your issues, however it has since been rectified. If you have any outstanding issues, please let me know.
If you have any active issues, or would like to follow up with us, please email us at customerservice@newspaperarchive.com and we'll do our best to assist you.
Trusted them with sensitive credit card information. They failed to activate my account. Customer service hours are a joke. Far below acceptable standards of internet business. Never never never never never never never never never never never never never never never never never pay for this "service."
Hello Marshall,
We're sorry to hear you had a negative experience with our services! To address your points however, I am happy to clarify that any billing information provided in regards to an account or subscription is handled in a secure, and protective manner. However, I'm afraid your issue with failing to activate your account does not sound familiar as all subscriptions are activated immediately after purchase, and would not require our assistance in doing so. Otherwise while we are not providing live support (at the moment), though we do provide email support 9 AM to 5 PM CST Monday through Friday, and we would be happy to assist you.
If you have any active issues, or would like to follow up with us, please email us at customerservice@newspaperarchive.com and we'll do our best to assist you.
Have an account, search find what I am looking for but won't let me load it telling me I have to sign up for an account. Tried to cancel and then up but won't let me. I like this site and this is my first issue but there is no where to call only send email. Poor customer service
Hello Cheryl, we're sorry to hear you're experiencing a technical issue! We've implemented some new upgrades to our login process, however a small portion of our users have experienced the issue you're experiencing now. We're expecting to have the issue resolved by tomorrow, and we sincerely appreciate your patience as we work to resolve the issue.
If you continue to experience the issue, please email us at customerservice@newspaperarchive.com and we'll do our best to assist you.
I was charged without even asking to try the service. A charge of $103 suddenly appeared on my bank account. It is listed as pendin but woukd have hone through if I hadn't spotted it. I have never had any business with newspaperarchive.com and never will.
I signed up for a monthly subscription and was not able to use the site at all. It would "grey out" and I was unable to use anything. There was no "Live Chat" feature for me to use. It was NOT in the bottom left corner as they stated. I sent TWO emails to their customer service address a few days apart. They have not responded AT ALL. I have tried the site multiple times thinking it would finally work. It did not. Do not waste your money on a site that has no way of contacting them other than an email system that they obviously ignore or are so inundated with complaints that they are unable to answer. I will be filing a complaint against them with the Iowa Attorney General office. Stay away from them!
Hello,
We're sorry to hear you had a negative experience with our services! NewspaperArchive.com was purchased since the time of your review, and is under new ownership. We do sympathize with your frustrations however, and if you have any outstanding issues, please feel free to reach out and we'd be happy to assist you.
If you have any active issues, or would like to follow up with us, please email us at customerservice@newspaperarchive.com and we'll do our best to assist you.
1. Newspaperarchive continues to bill my credit card even though we have spoken and agreed they would cancel.
2. The "chat" only returns a "too sad, system is down
Too bad there is not a minus-five rating for service.
Teresa,
We don't have telephone support so we've not spoken. If you have a copy of correspondence that indicates you did cancel your account before you were billed or within 7 days after you were billed please provide it and we will happily refund your money.
Best wishes, Christian
While searching yesterday, 3 issues occured: 1) newspaper article would load, but highlighter tool said it could not find my search term. 2) When I finally found what I was looking for, clipping tool would not work to clip the article. 3) Eventually, newspaper articles would not load.
The following is the reply from Christopher James, customer service, "You are so frustrated by our site, why not just quit? Click on your name while logged in and select "Cancel".
Chris
Signed on for a trial. Have been billed since 2015, twice a year. Very little data, poor search engine, NO CUSTOMER response. Did not catch the twice yearly billing, ok shame on me, did not catch it until this year. Hidden in all the other card bills. Hard time cancelling, non-responsive phone number, questionable e-mail response...
These people sit back and rely on consumer mistakes and billing oversight / lack of close scrutiny to make a good living...
Within 24 hours I tried to cancel 6 mo subscription $74 but was charged $80. I did not find anywhere on the site that I could cancel so I sent an email. To this moment no reply. I notified my credit card company and am disputing. I tried numerous searches and found 1 item - a marriage picture I could use. Every search was information I already had and had gotten from Ancestry.com or Newspapers.com. Searching here is extraordinarily difficult and there are many steps you have to go through to even begin searching. I've inquired as to why my 6 months was $80 while they show 6 months as $49.95, hum! If you want great results use anything but NewspaperArchive. I am most likely STUCK with this charge but I will make every effort I can to warn others to stay away, far, far, away. Watch what you check off too as there is something you check and agree to not dispute fee. In my opinion just not worth the effort when I can do better other places.
Hello Loretta,
We're sorry to hear you had a negative experience with our services! NewspaperArchive.com was purchased since the time of your review, and is under new ownership. We do sympathize with your frustrations however, and if you have any outstanding issues, please feel free to reach out and we'd be happy to assist you.
If you have any active issues, or would like to follow up with us, please email us at customerservice@newspaperarchive.com and we'll do our best to assist you.
The advertisement promises a 30-day full refund. I gave them $49.95 yesterday afternoon for a subscription. This morning at 6:30 a.m. I attempted to sign on and their system rejected my login information. I started an online chat with their customer service (they don't publish a telephone number), and the guy was rude, saying their site was currently "undergoing maintenance" and could not estimate when that maintenance would be completed. He suggested I try to login again in a couple of days. I reminded him I had given him $49.95 only hours earlier, and said I wanted to talk about getting that 30-day refund the website had promised. He said he would cancel my subscription, but he could not refund the money because I had "exceeded the number of downloads allowed" for a refund. (I think I looked at only 3 newspaper articles yesterday.) Then this guy closed the chat box, and has refused to talk to me further. These guys are real losers--don't lose your money like I did!
William,
Our Terms clearly state that if you download 2 or more full quality images that you give up your right to seek a refund and that is what happened in your case. Based upon feedback from customers like you who didn't read our Terms we have since implemented an "I know I am giving up my right to seek a refund." notice when a new member tries to download their second full quality image that must be clicked to continue. Since then I'm happy to say no one is unpleasantly surprised even if they don't read the Terms.
Thanks for trying NewspaperArchive.com. Chris
Because the advertisement promised a 30 day full refund if not satisfied, I decided to give it a try. In order to see what is available, you must pay for six months which they say is fully refundable for 30 days. I will admit that I didn't read the small print on a different page but I did read the small print on the sign up page and there was nothing that said once you actually use the site, you no longer get a refund. The data available is not from major newspapers, so the product is not good. The customer service just kept giving me a broken record response, though I know they could have returned my money as promised in their advertisements. Newspapers.com gives a very good product and is a much better company. I hope people read the reviews here and don't fall for this bait and switch.
Jane,
We have almost 10,000 newspaper titles on our site. If you only want major titles then I do agree Newspapers.com is a better site for you.
Our Terms clearly state that if you download 2 or more full quality images that you give up your right to seek a refund and that is what happened in your case. Based upon feedback from customers like you who didn't read our Terms we have since implemented an "I know I am giving up my right to seek a refund." notice when a new member tries to download their second full quality image that must be clicked to continue. Since then I'm happy to say no one is unpleasantly surprised even if they don't read the Terms.
Thanks for trying NewspaperArchive.com. Chris
They charged a nominal fee to join for 3 days. The site was OK but then I decided to cancel. In order to cancel, you have to call an 888 number. Although I beat the deadline, they billed me for another month. Of course, if I were to complain, they would probably put me on hold for half an hour with their 888 phone number.
Overview
NewspaperArchive has a rating of 1.2 stars from 61 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers dissatisfied with NewspaperArchive most frequently mention customer service, credit card and search engine. NewspaperArchive ranks 1057th among News sites.
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Hello Bruce, we apologize for the delay in our response! We experienced a technical issue and were working to have a solution put in place, with our response intending to provide further assistance. We do not provide live support at this time, with email support being our primary source of assistance. Our automated support online is more so intended to get you in contact with our customer support and to provide assistance with a variety of basic queries and issues. We sincerely apologize for any frustration we caused for you and we're happy to continue assisting you via email if you're interested.