Hearst Magazines UK Arvostelua 1 054

Avoid at all costs
I renewed at a special price offered by Hearst .Two months later and seven emails later to customer services there is no magazine despite one reply promising to resolve this
I would not open a subscription with this company in future and I will be checking with my bank so as not to continue in the future Please avoid them to avoid unnecessary expense and disappointment
*EDIT*27/5
So I was asked by HEARST to send my details after this review so they could sort out my magazine Despite me replying immediately over a week ago with my customer number email and telephone number so far I have NO magazine (still) and no response from them
What a SHODDY company,don’t use them
!EDIT!
Yes finally contacted by Hearst a full two months after my initial complaint…hoping that this is resolved and will wait to see if they fulfil their promise However it shouldn’t take this long and this amount of time to sort out a problem when they ask you to use your customer number through customer servivesI did and it go no where and only by using Trustpilot did I get a response

I took a subscription out in March 2026 for 5 issues for £5 this was to include a £10 John Lewis Voucher. I received the first magazine at the end of May but no JL voucher. I tried to log in to my account but it logged me into an old account with an old address. I tried to delete this account to set up a new one but there was nowhere on the website to delete the account so I was unable to create a new account.

I phoned Hearst Magazine last week (call centre in South Africa), it took me over 40 minutes to get through. The lady told me she would delete the old account and get my voucher sent to me within 48 hours (still not arrived 5 days later) and cancel my auto renew subscription (I am not convinced this has happened).

The whole thing has been very stressful. The Good Housekeeping Magazine comes across as very wholesome and embracing but the experience of subscribing to their magazine falls short of their image.

I will try and call again next week when the call centre is open and will report back. I would NOT take a subscription out with them ever again.

Update: I phoned my bank and they have put a stop of any more payments going to Hearst Magazines and as a precaution I cancelled my Debit Card and requested a new one.

Sadly scammed by this poor company- renewal was due very end of May , diary note made by me to cancel as last 2 editions not received anyway - 1st May they claimed the money ! Can’t have a refund even though I am being debited for future services - very poor & will not buy any in future as a protest - scammers !
I disagree with their deadline dates as it was not 6 months after expiry they were some 20 days early - very clever - lesson to be learnt by me

Not even one star !
Just had to cancel my Visa debit card to try and stop future payments being taken from my account. I have also lost money from a credit card.
My bank has advised to cancel both cards as the only way to stop future payments being stolen from me.
Absolute crooks. Avoid !

They have taken money from my elderly Mum’s credit card and they won’t give it back. They say that I have to cancel as it’s in my name and yet I haven’t ordered a magazine or received any magazines… this is fraud!

Don't subscribe! Please don't be lured in by the £1 deals. Shocking customer service when you try to cancel your subscription. You can't cancel online, you have to ring a dedicated line, wait times of 40 mins plus. They then assured me they would cancel and haven't. My account is STILL showing as an active subscription despite numerous attempts to cancel. They have taken payments and am going to have to contact my credit card issuer as that's the only way to avoid further payments. Such a con, I don't know how they're getting away with it. Don't fall into the trap, read the other reviews! Be warned!

I ordered a box over 6 weeks ago. It has not arrived. Each time I contact Hearst I wait over 10 days for a reply, and then receive a “heartfelt apology” and promise my case is under “urgent investigation”. I demanded a full refund over two weeks ago and have not received that either. Do not buy. These people are charlatans.

I wish I had read the reviews before subscribing to Red. Part of the offer was a £10 M&S voucher which I still haven't received, almost 2 months after subscribing. They claim to have sent out a 'replacement' (which implies they already sent one) and there is no sign of that either. I assume these mythical vouchers are invisible to the naked eye. I can already foresee that cancelling my subscription is going to be a nightmare.

Want to take out a subscription? Welcome aboard.

Want to cancel a subscription?

Edited review.

I been in communication with Hearst magazine and they have fix the problem I had. The first call took a long time to get through to, unfortunately they were rude and not helpful. So I complained and asked to speak to a supervisor. Once I spoke to them they were understanding, kind and helpful. Took time to get through to them as well.
The system is still flawed, as I felt tricked into another year as the email doesn’t state clearly when your subscription will renew or when money will actually be taking from your account.

Do not subscribe to any of these magazines, without reading the small print! When you receive the email to confirm you have subscribed check your actually renewal date and date money will be taken from your bank account. Or the date to cancel your subscription. They will renew without your authorisation and no email to say they will/have take money.

Such a shame I had a bad experience and I love to read magazines. I thought this would be a more economical way to buy but now I don’t think I even buy in the shops as the price is extremely expensive.

I emailed to cancel my subscription - which they replied to confirm they had done. However, they continued to take money from me - despite my account saying it's cancelled. Have emailed twice - but they are no longer replying. Tried calling, but get a message get a message saying it's out of office hours, which isn't true. Have come here to discover this is standard behaviour...

Firstly, Trust Pilot needs to allow 'zero stars',or 'abysmal' as a category. I hope someone reads these reviews BEFORE subscribing to a magazine. This company is appalling.

I have phoned several times, and tried via online contact, to try and sort out issues with my subscriptions. Despite assurances, they have taken further money for a magazine I don't want, and cancelled the order for one I do. They also keep sending me 2 copies of the same magazine, and have taken money on auto renewal for the magazine I didn't want.

I have managed to speak to someone today, after 3 phone calls of being put on hold. I have been assured (again) that my subscriptions won't auto-renew, but no refund is being given for the recent auto-renew as 'you are given 14 days to cancel'. Grrr - if you don't know they are doing this until the money has been taken, and then notice it too late, then it's no notice. I also have to keep taking the magazine I didn't want until March 2027!

Do not subscribe with this company. If you do, make a note of when your subscription ends, then cancel the auto-renewal 2 MONTHS beforehand. Notify your bank that you are withdrawing auto-renewal.

I will never purchase another magazine from the Hearst organisation.

As many have said - they are operating a scam. They get you to order and send the first issue more than a month after that date. You fall for the trick because you wait for final issue before cancelling only to find they already took a renewal based on order date. they don't even tell you in their emails they are doing this either on order or on taking the renewal. They are con artists do not be tempted to sign up with them.

After the reply it confirms you put your process before customer experience. They use a CPA because a direct debit comes with protections that they don’t want:

The Advance Notice Rule

A company cannot take money from your account unexpectedly or change the amount without telling you first. By default, a company must give you 10 working days' advance notice before a payment is taken, unless you explicitly agree to a shorter period in their terms. The notice (usually sent via email, letter, or digital invoice) must clearly state the exact amount to be debited and the exact date the funds will leave your account.

You are NOT transparent. You do not do this. Companies who ignore customer satisfaction and the value of word of mouth rarely survive - I look forward to the day that you fail.

SCAMMERS!

Hearst magazines have taken payment for an auto renewal 2 months before the renewal date. I have since cancelled the renewal, yet they are withholding my
money as they have a ‘no refund’ policy. This goes against their terms and conditions as stated: “You can cancel this at any time, but no later than 28 days before the end of a subscription”. Despite cancelling after payment has been taken, I am still well within the 28 day window, the money should never have been taken in the first instance.

It also goes against their terms and conditions as stated: “If you are not entirely satisfied with your subscription, you can request a refund for any un-dispatched issues at any time.” The entire 12 months is still undispatched as they have taken payment 2 months early.

I have contacted them multiple times over email, and dealt with awful customer service over the phone. I have since sent one last strongly worded email insisting on a refund, and contacted my bank claiming a dispute. I do expect a refund within 14 days.

Sadly I have to add to the many poor reviews on here. Hearst direct customers to the online account management but somehow I had two separate subscriptions to the same magazine (Red) running and it was really difficult to work out when I was going to be billed again. I love my Red magazine but have had to tell the bank to block Hearst from taking payments. I had emailed and asked Hearst to cancel my subscription but had no reply and the subscriptions are still live. I have just tried to call and waited for 20 minutes without an answer. I will miss my Red magazines but I am not willing to give my business to a company that treats loyal customers like this.

Utterly useless. Completed online subscription and direct debit form only to receive an email to say application failed. Contacted CS still waiting for them to sort the subscription out despite emailing numerous times. Total waste of time.

Absolutely shocking company. They do not allow you to cancel online, do not respond to emails, then renew your subscription. It seems the only way to get rid of it is to cancel your payment methods.

You'd think such a famous magazine brand wouldn't operate like dodgy call center scammers but there you go.

WARNING….DO NOT SUBSCRIBE TO THESE COVERT THIEVES.
ITS A TRAP!!!!!

If I could pick no stars I would but I was lured in by their packaged products so 👏🏻👏🏻 for that.

I wish I had read the reviews prior to applying for a Good Housekeeping subscription as a present for my wife.
Having read the cancellation process and to ensure I don’t fall foul of the auto-renewal I requested a cancellation.
The auto-response was a promise that a member of their customer care team would make contact within 24 hrs………
after 3 attempts my patience has run out.

Hearst are one of the reasons that the Government has stepped in to change these RIP OFF subscriptions.

DO NOT SUBSCRIBE!!

UPDATE AS OF 7th April 2026

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Finally!! someone from Hearst customer service department made contact and acknowledged my request to cancel.
It is ridiculous that it took 3 attempts for them to make contact and my final communication was a “frustrated” one with a threat of a negative review; I suspect this was the catalyst for a response.

Reading Hearst responses to reviews, it is evident they do not even read the reviews properly. My review specifically stated I was out of country and not accessing online banking so was not aware of auto renewal subscription being taken until back home 5 days later, they “allow” a 2 day grace period. This is such a simple fix for Hearst but I think they would go out of business if they refunded all their disgruntled ex-customers!