The Athletic HQReviews of theathletic.com

Their inane no refunds policy and lack of renewal warnings are scummy and deplorable, but their customer service is worse. I cancelled my auto-renewal midway through my subscription. When I checked my account a few days before the end of the term, the system said I was going to be billed again! Luckily and for some reason I was never charged, however upon emailing them multiple times about why their site said it was going to fraudulently bill me, I received a bunch of useless auto-generated responses. No number to call or chat options, either. Most pathetically, when their site and app give you errors, they tell you to email a support address — even though said address is “not actively monitored” according to its auto-replies. What?!?! How can it possibly be this bad? Your typical small business with 5 employees has more sophisticated customer service than this company propped up by hundreds of millions of venture capital funding. It’s bewildering and infuriating in equal measure. Avoid at all costs.

Wow, I didn't even expect a page for them but I can see everyone has had the same issue that I have... Took a free trial to read one article, then cancelled afterwards. Found today that they have taken over £50 from me for an annual subscription without any notification or forewarning. I've lodged a dispute with my Credit Card provider and emailed them directly but no response. Very dodgy operating processes by the looks of things

Did the free trial... wasn't impressed in the slightest. The big problem for me was the bs they constantly tried to fool me with when attempting to cancel the free trial before forking over 70+ dollars. Five times they gave a big red box (after starting the cancellation process) that would renew the subscription when the "continue cancellation" was very small underneath that bid red box. I felt like I was taking a test trying to navigate their bs to actually cancel my subscription.

Having signed up last year on a cheap deal, I was horrified to learn that they have recently taken £59.99 out of my credit card account without my permission. I have sent numerous emails and all I get is an automated response. I would leave well alone if I were you

No warning or even suggestion that I had signed up for an ANNUAL subscription and then they refuse to refund, seemingly disregarding any legal right to a 14 day cooling off period. Spread the word that the athletic are to be avoided at all costs! I had a fairly positive view of them before this, now the complete opposite is the case and I'll be making sure everyone I know thinks the same! SCAMMERS I've opened a paypal dispute.

I signed up for the Athletic as they had a dedicated writer covering my University. As of a week or so ago, they no longer cover my University and I no longer want access. I canceled the subscription but I'm not being refunded any of my fee so now I have a complete year of access to something I'll never read!!! Do Not Subscribe!!!! Overpriced, limited content (unless you like Alabama, Clemson or Ohio State), no refunds AND NO CUSTOMER SERVICE. Scam

Same issues as everyone else. Charged £60 for a recurring annual subscription with no forewarning. Non-existent customer services and no refunds. They’re essentially trying to make money by scamming their customers. The content isn’t worth anywhere near the annual subscription fee, so few people would voluntarily choose to pay so much money for what you get, so no wonder they have to trick their customers into handing over hard-earned money. Please don’t sign up to any of their trials or introductory offers, you’ll regret it

same issues as below. charged £59.99 with no forewarning. I made a point of it when I started my subscription to not auto-renew. i didn't have enough money in my account but the payment was forced through and put me into my overdraft. the payment was forced through after I had already sent a number of emails and received minimal support. the most effort I recieved from customer support was "thankyou for your time with us at the athletic unfortunately we are not able to refund this payment." this was half a week after I had sent my first email. not happy with this company and how they handle customer support and i am still chasing a full refund and my account cancelling.