New Scientist Avis 

It has taken the New Scientist six months to reply. Says it all really!

I have been subscribed to New Scientist for about a year, and all I can say is that it is a great science magazine. I haven't encountered any major problems, and I am really impressed by how they manage to consistently come up with very interesting articles every week. Also, I really like the new website design. The UI is much better, and it has really enhanced the experience

I have been trying to move my subscription date by two weeks. The contact centre in Australia is absolutely awful. No customer service. No help - useless. I have been a subscriber for years but ask them a simple question and you get no where. NS used to have some credibility. Now they are as bad as other non customer focussed companies. Shocking.

I took a print gift subscription but 8 weeks later had not received a copy. 7 or 8 queries went unanswered, except for one, querying the name of the recipient, but never answering the simple question, when will the first copy arrive? In frustration, I asked if it was easier to cancel than just deliver, or, even, tell me when delivery would commence. They simply cancelled, a relief, but they literally threw a year's subscription back rather than answer a query. It remains to be seen if they return the money, though they indicate they will.

I love the journal/magazine - it is full of interesting stuff. But I wish they would do something about their paper-copy mailing department. It is useless. Copies are invariably late and sometimes come three together. If they cant pay enough staff to have a mailroom they should not offer paper copies.

Brilliant science journalism, but I wish they would sort their app out. It's slow and there is no quick way to go back to where you were in a previous magazine, it takes ages to manually find your place again (there is a bookmark function but you can't continue through the magazine that way). and now the audio versions aren't working at all.

These people are thieves - be very very careful. Impossible to get your refunds and extremely hard to stop subscriptions. Based in India - Ankit and team are terrible.

The team in UK seem to be equally inadequate. Terry was a liar and made false promises. Over 27 calls, 8 hours and 47 emails to sort it out. Every single person related a different story as to why it wasn't done. Promise after promise. A 78 year old is poor and in financial hardship, they will not stop his subscription. No food to eat but NS team are stealing his monies.

Avoid the subscription. Having been a subscriber for well over 20 years I've now cancelled.

For over 4 weeks I've not been able to access the print version (they blame postal strikes for it not arriving), web or app version. I've tried to contact the support team for over a month, just to be placed on hold, emails are not replied to. I've had nothing in return for my money. Gone from good to little more than a money grabbing rude scam outfit, offering near zero product or service.

This is a lovely magazine where various scientific knowledge is shared. I'm a student who is quite inquisitive and interested in science. For me, it helps me to know about what's going on in our world and what positive and negative news we have.
It's worth its cost. It's worth reading. By reading it I can realize how much I have more to discover. Especially, I enjoy reading it on the train. I'm going to collect as many as I can!

Recently had new promotional ads sent to me. I did contemplate signing back up again— maybe their awful editorial team had moved on and been replaced? Well looking on Trust pilot and the steady flow of awful reviews I take that as a no. Looks like this platform has saved my bacon. No thanks you New Scientist.

Subscription scam making me hate a great magazine. They auto-renew your subscription without any warning and the customer relations over the phone just keep on repeating the same lie following a frustrating script. Promised to call me to investigate my case and never did... just winning time so my payment can be taken from me. Very sad that this is the customer experience from a magazine I really liked. Have no intention of subscribing to it again, nor buying a single issue. Very sad. Taking A LOT of money from me without my consent.

They are charging me, without my consent, for almost double the amount I've subscribed to them in the past. Shame on you... very sad this great magazine need to rely on this trick to keep customers. You are actually destroying the feeling of a good experience. Very sad.

Great publication ruined by shady business practices. Auto-renews without notification, customer support only available during work hours if you can even get through - I kept being disconnected before even getting through to a human. E-mails are simply ignored. Despite having a shelf's worth of books by New Scientist, I won't be buying from them again.

It’s a good magazine but the subscription cancellation and billing process is abysmal. I was charged more than the stated period before the end of the subscription at a rate more than twice the yearly period before without any warning or choice. You can only cancel by calling the help line (online message was not responded to). The refund was supposedly processed yesterday (more than 2 weeks since the cancellation and 4 weeks after the payment) and now told it will take another week for it to appear in my statement.

This is not service at the level people expect (and receive) from other similar services. Avoid.

I'm a subscriber but to date I've never received a single edition on time. I've constantly had to be after them to chase up the whereabouts of my issues. I've never had problems with other magazine subscriptions. This company must be deliberately withholding issues or some serious fundamental administration problems at play. Either way you never get what you pay for as a subscriber so certainly one to avoid!

Took out time limited offer and cancelled in good time. They ignored cancellation and took further £65 from card. They reluctantly agreed to refund within ten working days. At end of period said problem with card so must give my bank details. Now saying will be another 10-14 working days before refund. They are just using this to get interest free loans.

(update below)
I discovered that the company kept my credit card on file, so I wrote as asked them to delete it. The response I get did not address my question; it only told me how to cancel a future renewal. Avoid this company unless you want to lose control of your cards.

(update, in reply to the company's response to the above)
Thank you for your prompt reply. I subsequently received email indicating that you retain my card on file -- but it's encrypted, so you can't use it to charge me for renewal. This is nonsense. My yearly subscription was paid, so you have no reason to keep my card on file, encrypted or not. I ask you again to delete all record of my credit card.

FYI, here is my original email:

"You have my credit card number on file. Please delete this immediately, as I do NOT EVER leave my credit details after I've paid. Thank you!"

Here is your response:

"Please be advised that this subscription to New Scientist is paid by continuous credit card authority. The subscription will renew automatically unless we receive a cancellation request and then no further payments will be taken."

You have yet to address my security issue, so still not acceptable.

I've subscribed for 3 months and my plan inclyued printed magazine on 26th of December. I havent gotten an issue by 6 of Februray and when I contacted they told me they have sent but it is probably lost in the mail. It's 20th of February and still no issues. But I get deliveries from China on time. And again from Britain. So it is not that difficult, is it?

Count the titles containing a question mark, the words "may/might", "can/could/should/would" or anything else defining the article as guesswork, add Netflix and book reviews and you'll realize New Scientist has hardly anything scientific to publish anymore. Historical scientific data is forever hidden behind a subscription fee, where NS declares itself owner instead of the scientists who did the research. This revenue model is sick and needs to be replaced urgently.

Having subscribed for a trial period of NS, I can certainly relate to the reviews here. What bothers me big time is the plethora of animated pop up ads. Very hard to read an article while being distracted by ads jiggling around on the page. Having paid good money to read the magazine on line, I don't see why I should have to put up with this unwanted rubbish. After much thought, I have decided cancel and just by the mag from my local newsagent.

These people just don`t let go, they keep spamming after sub finished. Beware, they will inundate you with e mails and even phone calls. There is no-where on e mails that has an unsubscribe link. They are pests and I didn`t like their very expensive magazine at all. Waste of money. I would not recommend a sub to anyone