P B.

I think it's pretty clear -- based on the reviews here -- that newspaperarchive.com leaves much to be desired (to say the very least!) re. Its billing practices. But they're also very disappointing in terms of customer support, or lack thereof. And, they don't have a great rep with the Iowa Attorney General's Office.

First things first: I'd been a subscriber longer than I care to admit (kind of embarrassing, in retrospect), when I began having problems clipping and downloading some articles, and tried to get assistance. Where I'd once been able to put in a quick phone call to resolve something, I discovered they had discontinued phone support; customers must now rely on online support. Well and good, except, it didn't go well and good for me. I admit it: I am not a techie. I needed someone to talk me thru something. They didn't. Two different support people sent me basically the same response -- which I could not comprehend. Again, I'm no techie.

But, I know when someone is blowing me off. One of the support people at first sent me a response that didn't relate to my question... doubtless because they were having to deal with multiple "calls." You see, with the "live" online support, you type them a Q and they eventually type back an A, though you can find yourself waiting for a lengthy period of time before you hear back. I let the one support person (a gal) know that she'd sent me the wrong response. Whoops! She quickly sent me another.

But, they never did resolve my issue. I later figured out how to do what I wanted to do, on my own.

In the aftermath, I fired off a complaint to the company, letting them know I'd had to deal with "two idiots" (my words, I admit...) who weren't able to help me. And lamenting the lack of customer phone support. Ha! Turned out that one of the support people who failed to help me figure things out was the company co-founder, who sent me the following:

**
Pat, I am one of the total idiots you worked with via chat. I founded the company 20 years ago and understand every line of code, every button, and every one of the 400 million records we have online perfectly. It is you who could use an IQ boost. Your money was refunded April 19th. You have now been blocked from further communications with our company. Chris

**

Based on some clips I found, I suspect that "Chris" is Christopher Gill, who reportedly started the archive in 1999. Now, on a personal level, I think Chris should have been nicer to an admittedly tech-challenged customer (with a longtime subscription!) who wrote a wacky complaint following a frenzied night of trying to clip and download. On a professional level, as someone whose work requires considerable research (as an author-journalist-sometimes TV producer), I have other concerns: I worry about valued newspaper records being in the hands of this company.

In December 2015, the company was ordered to pay $100,000 as part of a settlement, involving deceptive online practices. This after an investigation by the Iowa Attorney General's Office. Some subscribers were able to get refunds. But that was then. Based on current complaints, is another investigation in order? I am contacting the Attorney General's Office for an update and will file more, when I get a response. In the meantime, I'm going to be contacting the various libraries that utilize the archive, to voice my concerns over the way they treat their customers. (You can do this, too.)

--Pat B in California