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NewspaperArchive has a rating of 1.41 stars from 59 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers complaining about NewspaperArchive most frequently mention customer service, credit card, and search engine problems. NewspaperArchive ranks 501st among News Other sites.
This company responds to reviews on average within 24 hours
No positive highlights yet
Found a lot of marriages, obits that were needed. Found out cousins marriages, divorces, births of children with DOB
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 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.
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.
Tip for consumers:
if this is not a scam it sure acts like one. no customer service, no recourse at all
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.
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.
Tip for consumers:
Do not trust their trial subscription, they will charge you
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.
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.
INTERNET THIEVES DONT SUBSCRIBE TO ANY OFFER FOR ANY ACCESS
YOU WILL BE RIPPED OFF! NO REFUNDS!
Clicked on a "Free Trial" Offer but was never prompted for a "Free Trail" I continued to fill out my credit card information and most sites typically require. Free Trial Option Was Never Offered Charged my card $23 for a full month THERE ARE NO REFUNDS FOR A MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION! Also I Ran My Search (since I was charged) NO RESULTS! Out Of A 140 Year Old Newspaper That is Currently Still Published today 2023 - THEY ONL HAD ARCHIVES FROM 1940 to 1947! What a RIP OFF! Basically INTERNET THEIVES!
COMPANY INFO: World Archives 5314 N River Run Dr #110, Provo, Utah, *******, US
Tip for consumers:
Got Ripped Off! No Service Provided, No "Free Trial" Offered As Advertised, No Results, No Product. It Was A Newpaper Archives Service That Only Had SEVEN YEARS FROM EIGHTY-THREE YEARS AGO! Not Exactly "up to date" And! The "Archives" Were From 1940 to 1947 For A News Paper That was Established in 1867! And it still published today 2023! Where Are The Other
ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-NINE YEARS!?!?!
Hello Kevin,
We're sorry to hear you've had a poor experience with our services! I've reviewed your feedback and I'll be trying my best to assist you and provide some clarification.
Unfortunately we only offer a 7 Day Free Trial on our 6 Month and 1 Year subscription plans at this time, which is why you received an immediate charge when purchasing a Monthly plan. We provide clarification about this distinction on the subscription landing page as well as in the following billing pages (what charge you're going to receive, when, what your renewal will be, etc.). Account information was not provided, so I'm unable to pull up your account for reference, but Monthly subscriptions are normally ineligible for refunds.
In regards to your issues with the publication in question, I would mention that we provide a full index of all of our publications within our archives without requiring a subscription. Therefore, anyone is more than welcome to review the current holdings we have to ensure we have the newspapers you're looking for. Both our Publications tool and Browse tools would be helpful in that regard.
If we can provide any additional clarification or assistance, please reach out to us at customerservice@newspaperarchive.com and we'll do our best to assist you.
I signed up for the 1 mo., billed for 5 recurring months, e-mailed customer service and ignored. Awful.
Tip for consumers:
DO NOT PROVIDE ANY BILLING INFORMATION. THEY WILL BILL YOU WITHOUT AUTHORIZATION.
Hello James,
Thank you for reaching out! We're sorry to hear you're not satisfied with our services, and we'd love to get in touch with you via email! You mentioned not having received service, though it's possible that we had simply not received your request, as we regularly address all requests sent to our customer service email address. Additionally, it's possible there was a misunderstanding regarding how our subscription plans work, as it would appear the unauthorized charges you mentioned were the result of your subscription's renewal being active. Would you please reach out to the email address below? We'll do our best to keep an eye out for your request.
customerservice@newspaperarchive.com
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.
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."
Tip for consumers:
THAT THEY ARE A SCAM
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.
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.
There is no customer service, they don't answer the phone or emails. The chat box doesn't work. I have called and left multiple messages to cancel and multiple emails that are never answered. They are still charging my credit card even after I have submitted fraud reports to my credit card company and they have tried to contact NewspaperArchive directly. This is a lifetime commitment! Don't do it!
Tip for consumers:
They have no customer service (literally!)
I will always let people know how horrible these scammers are. Signed up for a month, could not find anything I was looking for so they say widen the search WIDEN it so anything with the persons first name came up which is ridiculous. I cancelled and they kept my money for the month but deactivated my acct 2 weeks early. They say if you cancel they cancel acct for "safety" but still keep your money. COMPLETE SCAM! Useless information. NEVER USE THIS SITE!
Tip for consumers:
Dont use the site, waste of time and they steal your money
Hello Sue,
We're sorry to hear you had a negative experience with our services! To address your grievances, it's likely we simply didn't have the newspaper content you were looking for concerning the location and dates of your query. Please use our Publications tool to review our current holdings for the most accurate estimate of newspaper content concerning your specific query for the most accurate results. Additionally, I would clarify that we do not explicitly provide assistance with specific searches in the majority of cases, and instead provide general instructions on finding the newspaper content you're interested in, though it will depend on the complexity of your request. Lastly, while you have not provided specific account information for us to refer to, it's likely that a request of refund was denied due to newspaper images viewed and/or images downloaded under your account. While we try our best to be flexible and sympathetic, I'm afraid we do have to adhere to limits within our Terms and Conditions.
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.
Too costly, can't print articles for free anymore, give too many close to spelling on searches (I know how to spell the names I'm looking for)
Hello Dana,
Thank you for reaching out! We're sorry to hear you're not satisfied with our services, and we've reached out via email to try and solve some of those issues you mentioned.
If you ever have any further 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.
Tip for consumers:
Suspect a scam. I should have read BBB reviews before subscribing.
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 signed up for a trial of this, mainly just to get my brother in laws obit. However, I started trying out the site. My last name is Jack. I searched the local newspaper in Kittanning, Pa. I got 121,807 records. Despite the fact that I put in "Jack" in the last name search, it counts every single time the work "jack" appears anywhere. I'm doing family tree work, I don't care about jack o lanterns or Jack Nicklaus. Even if you go into the obituary search and type in "Jack" in the last name box is still gives you the word "jack" that pops up in every obit, whether it be a last name, first name, nickname or whatever. A total waste of time and money. I got a 1 week trial, I'm on day one and I am most likely going to cancel on day 1.
Hello Danica,
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.
Downloading is so slow, it makes research tobe impossible. Thankfully, I have only taken out a day's pass but having spent an hour and a half to access three pages, I'm giving up the ghost. My internet speed is very fast and I have no difficulties with all other sites I browse.
Tip for consumers:
Avoid like the plague
Hello Roger,
We're sorry to hear you had a negative experience with our services! 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 us know 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.
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.
THIS IS THE WORST COMPANY OUT THERE. Lousy search, Zero results. I demanded a refund 5 minutes after signing up and the customer service came back and said "you used the site, we're keeping your money". Now I never ever even ask for refunds because I feel you get what you pay for but in this case, it was NOT as promised and I knew right away - this company should close up it provides NO value.
Hello,
We're sorry to hear you had a negative experience with our services! While we try to be as flexible as possible in issuing refunds, it's likely that there was simply too many images viewed and/or images downloaded for you to qualify for one. We do sympathize with your frustration however, and in the future would highly recommend using our Publications tool to review our available holdings for certain states and dates before subscribing to ensure our services are for 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.
Do not do business with this company. Newspaperarchive.com has a poor product so they offer a 30 day money back guarantee to get you to subscribe for a longer subscription then ignore your attempts to claim the subscription. They have been fined $100.000 by the Iowa Attorney Generals over deceptive online practices. I paid the subscription with PayPal thinking if I had a problem it would be easy to correct with PayPal help. Wrong! They seem to not care they are dealing with a dishonest company.
Hello William,
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.
They have records essential to genealogists but DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THEM. They charge outrageously and has no customer service and finds listings in papers but when pulled up screen in blank. PLEASE PLEASE some reputable company buy them out! It is unbelievable that a company is allowed to hold records hostage. There should be legal ramifications for doing what they have done. I believe one owner lives outside the USA.
Hello Jenny,
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.
This site is a total rip-off. The search engine is completely useless as it returns hundreds of "hits" that have nothing to do with the word searched. By scrolling forever through one search I found an article to view... except it was so blurry it could not be read. The site says you can download a PDF for a clear view, which I did, only to find out that when you do that you have given up any right for a refund. Avoid this site at all costs.
Carol,
Using our search tools you can search "any of these words" or you can do an "exact phrase" search. Both have their uses. I'd suggest you try your search again using Advanced Search and Exact Phrase. If you get too many results limit your search by place and time.
https://newspaperarchive.com/advancedsearch/
Best wishes, Christian
I saw site that said that this was similar to another site. It's not. This company is horrible. The site doesn't work very well and there is no customer service. Instead there is a Chatrobot that refers you to the same video no matter what your question. It then asks you to give it a thumbs up. Right after I signed up, I was told that I was cancelled. I then wanted to be canceled, but was told that I had to pay for a month. Absolute garbage. They should be shut down.
Hello David,
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.
What a wretched, unprofessional company this is.
I had a one-year subscription and it was, without notice or receipt, renewed on my credit card on 28 November 2022.
Worse, the vendor name on my credit card bill is nothing like "Newspaperachive.com" and my bank tells me it's listed under "appraisals". So... we think it's a fraudulent charge, they cancel my credit card and start an investigation.
Then on 5 December 2022 I get an e-mail from Newspaperarchive.com telling me my subscription has been cancelled. I finally am able to deduce what the original charge was for which the bank refunded. So now, I have a new credit card, have to update all my accounts, the bank had to start an investigation... all because these people cannot advise their own customer of when their subscriptions are up for renewal or indeed provide a receipt at time of billing.
This is unacceptable business practice.
AVOID DOING BUSINESS WITH NEWSPAPER.COM
The headline for this newsaper should read: "DISHONEST SCAM WEBSITE"
UPDATE:
Sorry, Brad... but no e-mails were sent to me either advising of the subcription being due for renewal OR that the charge had been put through. None. They did not go to "Spam", they were never sent.
If you read the other reviews here you will appreciate this is standard practice by NewspaperArchive once they have your credit card details. Given the 1.6 rating here, I think I will let others judge for themselves.
Thank you for your reply.
Hello Peter, we're sorry to hear you had an unhappy experience with us! We try our best to ensure you're informed about when your subscription will renew, which will include automatic renewal notices provided via email one week before renewal as well as receipts that are also automatically provided after your subscription renews. Sometimes those emails can end up in your spam folder, or aren't received if your email address denies them (we wouldn't be able to say without an email address for reference). Your membership confirmation email you should have received when initially subscribed would have also provided an additional reference for the plan you purchased and when you could expect a renewal. We do sympathize with your frustration however and your feedback has been duly noted.
If you ever have any 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.
Absolutely useless website with a useless search engine. Would give 0 stars if possible. I guess if you're looking for your grand-uncle's obituary maybe that's the place to go, but if you're trying to find articles on a specific subject in a specific area don't waste your time. I cancelled within 3 hours of signing up, so hopefully I will receive a full refund.
Lillie,
Yes, our site requires a high level of aptitude. If you don't have that we wholeheartedly suggest you don't try to search through our 2.4 billion articles in 1/3 billion documents covering 411 years of history from 30 countries; it will boggle your mind.
Christian
I responded to the NewspaperArchive.com "30 DaYS FREE" promotional order and (as I was directed) I clicked on the "Restart Membership" from my old expired membership and it charged me IMMEDIATELY without the opportunity to enter the PROMO code.
The Customer Service "Chat Box" they mention is non-existent.
I then "UNSUBSCRIBED" which eliminated the opportunity to remedy the situation.
This is a fast money scam in that they are quick to debit your account (instantaneous) and then disappear when it comes to being accountable for their actions.
Hello Mel,
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.
Well, I did a google search for a relative, and the name popped up as an obituary. I decided to register for a 7 day trial, I got billed for 6 months, but it was a gift card, so, no great loss.
It turns out that the "result" that they gave was not in their database, it was a generic snippet, probably from the SSDI.
I did 10 searches in a few minutes, nothing I looked for was available.
Cancelled.
Tom,
We don't have a 7 day trial. If you did register and then cancel within a few minutes as you say then you are eligible for a full refund - you are eligible for a full refund for up to 30 days if you don't save 2 or more pages of premium content. Please let us know if you didn't receive your refund.
Yes, we do have SSDI death notices in our archives which are clearly labelled as "from the United States Social Security Death Index". These are very helpful for many visitors and the bottom of each page contains a link to every article we have about that person during their life.
Best wishes, Christian
Gain trust and grow your business with customer reviews.
Search 5.6 billion genealogy records including newspaper articles, obituaries, marriages, births, passenger lists, arrests, divorces, war casualties and more.
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.