Future plc Avis 

I'd been a customer with Imagine Publishing for about five years before it was acquired by Future Publishing (FP) and have been a reluctant customer since. No issues with Imagine Publishing but I've had serious issues with Future Publishing especially with customer service.

Good things about FP: they standardized shipping fees, have a magazine I like and were unintentionally giving me free issues for a while.

Bad things about FP:
-Subscriptions cost about $10 USD per issue for Canada and I can't pay in CAD.
-FP upped my subscription rate when I changed my credit card information.
-FP doesn't provide DRM-free digital subscriptions and you can only view on Android/IOS devices.
-Support has been terrible, here's some examples:
-I couldn't find my purchase history after Future transitioned to a new website. I spent eight months with support over two different cases for them to eventually say that my purchase history was lost. I can still only view recent subscriptions but not purchases and they don't provide invoices/receipts unless you ask.
-FP has charged me for two different purchases and then claimed that both were declined. They acknowledged the first mistake after more than a month of back and forth emails but they absolutely refuse to accept their mistake on the latest purchase. This is after I've sent screenshots of my credit card bill, the individual transactions and confirmed the purchase went through with my bank. I was forced to dispute the transaction with my bank.

Beware of the dysfunctional support. You might find a bookazine on sale and get a reasonable purchase experience but steer clear otherwise.

If it could be nil stars that's what they deserve. Absolutely disgraceful the way they deal with subscriptions. I have been missing 3 copies of W&H from my yearly subscription. I have been emailing since September to ask where they are. Must be 10 emails now. Still the same brush around. " I've escalated to the relevant department.."...ha ha. Pull the other one...Thats just a lie.
.you're just hoping I'll go away.....I won't.

Echoing the significant numbers of complaints here, this lot don't know their a*** from their elbow. No one knows anything about your subscription(s) and you're fobbed off with the most useless overseas customer service centre it's ever been my displeasure to deal with. Avoid avoid avoid and if you have to buy one of their magazines just buy it in a newsagent not via a subcription, unless you want to be paying for the rest of your life for something that probably isn't sent out anyway. Shocking!

I took out a subscription to Golf Monthly in early December 2022 with promises of a free gift to be delivered 28-60 days after payment. After many emails and one phone call to their call centre in Philippines, I still haven’t received my free gift and it’s now been 66 days since payment. I’ve cancelled any further subscriptions because of this fiasco, but my account won’t let me delete the payment details. I wish I had read the other awful comments about this company before, and some subscribers might not realise that My Magazine comes under the name of Future Publishing.
Postscript:
On 15 Feb the ‘free gift’ of golf balls were delivered after more emails and one to the editor of Golf Monthly. Royal Mail should not be blamed for the wait of 69 days.

I have recently purchased a magazine called "101 Places for the over 50's to visit". I was so looking forward to reading it but was very disappointed to find that two thirds of the magazine is copied from earlier issues. There are just 34 out of 101 destination articles that I haven't already read! this isn't how magazines should be produced, especially with a price tag of £10.99!! I won't be buying another copy. Maybe they think that people over 50 will have forgotten what we read in the previous edition!! The first word on the front cover is NEW!!!!

This company owns Magazines Direct. I've seen other reviews on here and they echo mine. I'm going to be pursuing my complaint until it's resolved. It's only two issues of Country Life that they owe me but it's the principle of the thing. I encourage others to not give up with their complaints. Otherwise they will carry on ripping off their customers.

Future publishing seem able to take money from my credit card account at will. Odd figures have been removed twice. One is ongoing and another I had to involve my bank. Avoid this company.

Have so far received zero copies from my confirmed online order. Do not bother subscribing!

This week 30/09 edition try to download,goes to week before. I get problems with then fairly frequently

If I could award no stars I would.
I finally managed to get onto the site find subscription number and telephoned them after looking through the site which confirmed I had no magazines delivered between Sept 21 and now Sept 22.
While I was on the site and explaining the screen changed in front of me removing the confirmation of none delivery and listing deliveries from July 22 only.
July, August and Sept now showing as despatched.
The guy on the phone was polite etc and then explained that the site was being redeveloped and they could not cancel or do anything meaningful. He agreed to cancel when he could and he would raise the refund request when he could.
I asked for confirmation by email and was repeatedly told it would be confirmed by phone or email when it was done.
This company is outrageous.
Do not go near.

I have no complaints about the magazine itself (Total 911) that I took out a subscription for. But as for the publisher...
(1) It is impossible to cancel the subscription on their web site. The only option is to suspend the subscription temporarily
(2) This is because the site states sub will terminate on next renewal date. But then it renews via DD, with no way of cancelling this.
(3) I cancelled by telephone. Agent promised an email confirming cancellation. No such email was sent.
Avoid this company unless you want to keep paying them forever.

Future Publishing?
More like FuTURD Publishing.....

Future Publishing in Bath owns a large stable of magazines, they also own Magazines Direct the subscription service for all the magazines.

I have had constant recurring problems with Magazines Direct, mainly about lying that my subscription had lapsed when it had not, because Magazines Direct refuse to acknowledge any complaints, I emailed the CEO of Future Publishing, not surprisingly this email and its follow-up too were ignored. Do not use Magazines Direct, there is NO complaints policy if anything goes wrong even at a senior level, and the company does make lots of mistakes.
This shambolic orgaisation, despite me cancelling my subscription a week ago insists they will take payment, I have been forced to contact my bank.
Do not trust Magazines Direct with any banking information, they are untrustworthy.

Dreadful service, no timely support for a terribly flawed process to read chosen titles, support is useless, only asks to repeat processes, no real person support.
Do not use this failed service, the very worse example of on line suppliers.

Customer service absolute shambles! Now run by Mymagazines. Missing a Total guitar issue that I have a subscription on. Called them 5 times and they said replacement magazine sent out each time. Never received any. Requested a replacement off web site. Still no magazine. Asked via email if replacements sent out and kept coming back with "We can see from your account the issue was sent out". Really! I can see that the original issue was sent out. No confirmation replacements sent out.Cancelling subscription tomorrow.

I had a years subscription of my guitar magazine paid for in December 2019. There were no deliveries up to September. Despite complaining to customer services via email and their help line it has been one mess after another.
I even emailed the director of music for the magazine who apologised but informed me I needed another department. After a long frustrating discussion with customer services I was eventually given the name of a Chief Executive in London office.
I cancelled the subscription and eventually I was offered a total refund plus a years free subscription to the magazine starting in Jan 2021.
I was informed that a cheque would be raised in September 2020 and it would take 10/15 days to arrive. It is now 21Nov 2020 still no cheque. Excuse after excuse after excuse.
There is also no confirmation of a free subscription and when you ring their customer services it appears in total turmoil.
This was supposed to be a Christmas present from my daughter which has turnabout to be the worst scenario possible and seems to be getting worse. We do not think this company will ever respond and therefore are now considering alternative action.
My advice is do not purchase anything that has Future Publishing on it. A year late and still not resolved after being calm, polite and reasonable.

Further to some positive contact from this company my review is under review. I will report back on the outcome as it turns out when it turns out. Things may well improve.