RADIO TIMES Avis 196

Utterly abysmal website that doesn’t work.
The old website for subscribing to Radio Times magazine - buysubscription.com - wasn’t great, but at least it worked. Renewing my subscription was simple and easy.
Since that was abandoned by Immediate Media and my account moved to radiotimes.com, my subscription is in limbo. The website will not display any details.
I have repeatedly tried linking my subscription, but it never works. And asking for help via customer service is no use. If they even bother to reply, which often they don’t, the replies are many days later and offer no help whatsoever, usually just explaining how to link my subscription, which I have told them over and over again doesn’t work.
They have admitted occasionally that there are problems with the website, but will offer no timescale for when it will be fixed (it’s been broken for months now), then revert back to denying there are problems and blaming me for not knowing how to log in.
Last time I logged in the subscription page was a mixture of random upper and lower case letters, as if the programmers were having trouble with their caps lock key. Not exactly reassuring.
My subscription is nearing renewal time, but until the website is fixed I won’t be renewing even by phone because I can’t trust them. And even then, I will be wary...

Also, the magazine is rarely delivered on time. Used to regularly arrive on Tuesday. Now we’re lucky to get it on Friday or Saturday. Two issues this year did not arrive until after the listings had finished, rendering the magazine useless. This is because of poor delivery by Royal Mail though, not the magazine’s fault.

I have had Radio Times on subscription for several years, with only the occasional missing copy (when an extra week would be added to my account). But since November 2025, I have missed 3 issues. Last week's was the Winter Olympics special, which I particularly wanted. No reply to my query so I had to buy it from the Radio Times online shop. This week's was delivered by Yodel! I'll stick it out until my subscription finishes if possible, but I can't log in to cancel as it won't recognise my sub number! So I'll just cancel the direct debit through my bank

I've telephoned and emailed as I am not receiving the Radio Times until the following week if at all. I've asked for a refund on my subscription and have heard absolutely nothing. We've had the subscription for YEARS. Never had this bad a service. I can see from other reviews this seems what is happening since Immediate Media took over the magazine. I would NOT recommend.

Another copy has simply not arrived at all. I've tried reporting this via the website drop down form but keep getting an error message telling me to try later. Delivery is abysmal, used to arrive regularly on Tuesdays, now it's Friday or even Saturday, except when it doesn't arrive at al. Not acceptable, I'm seriously thinking of cancelling.

Tried twice before and four times after renewal notice to cancel subscription for an elderly relative who due to their declining health no longer wants the magazine. Despite all these phone calls and wanting a manager to call back have heard absolutely nothing. Their Complaints & Customer Service Procedures are in need of a review to bring them up to standards that companies have in place today.

Like many customers very dissatisfied one copy turned up the week after it was due & have had numerous problems with late or no delivery. I am now going to cancel my subscription I would rather pay extra at my local shop than keep going through this shambles of a delivery service.

I have just had an email about my Radio Times direct debit for the next 6 months telling me that it will cost
£260.00, and this money has been taken from my bank. You can't get through to them on the website so I will try to phone them tomorrow, but judging from other reviews I'm not confident how this will turn out.

Took out a years subscription, two copies have not arrived , asked for a refund and told they would credit next years subscription .At 84 thats not an attractive offer!!! Shame on you RT. will contact Rip off Britain .

Since Immediate Media took over Im on my third instance of late or missing delivery…
Website has a drop down to report this but only option is to ask for replacement…too late by time ive waited a few days.
So i have to email and explain this and ask for refund then go out and buy a copy. The responses are at snails pace but i have had my refunds.
They obviously have had their problems switching from Buy Subscriptions to Immediate Media…platitudes and clunky website dont help….heavy on marketing, useless customer service…same way many online companies are going….maybe changing over has helped the bottom line, but they will be losing customers…..

AVOID, AVOID, AVOID. Have just subscribed for 6 months. Was promised first delivery 19th January. But might be delayed due to post. Now 22nd. The contact number they give you on the welcome e-mail doesn't work. So you ring 01233 356 0607. Answers eventually by an operator carefully schooled in mumbling. Apparently they don't do anything till the Friday, and some people only get theirs Saturday morning (silly me, there was I thinking it would arrive BEFORE the listings started). Anyway they won't do anything till Friday. And in the meantime it's been in all the shops since Tuesday. As they say, there ARE other TV listings magazines out there ...

Deliveries dont arrive, the website doesn't work despite trying many times.
The call centre for deliveries has no ability to change anything, now forced to cancel.

Abysmal customer service. Like a previous reviewer I've been trying to get a refund on my late mother's account. After sending multiple emails I was eventually promised a refund. No refund ever came. Even worse they have written a letter to my late mother two months after I informed them she passed had away asking her to renew her subscription!
Regrettably, at the end of November I took up a special offer of 10 issues for myself which was meant to start 8th December and thus far only received 2 issues.
I have cancelled my subscription and will never again subscribe to it.

I paid for a renewal of my subscription for Radio Times on 20 Nov 2025, and they claimed that a 'glitch' meant my subscription was cancelled. They said I could get a refund and confirmed today (7 Jan 2026) it was arranged. I checked my credit card account and they have taken another 49.99. This has gone on for weeks. Their processe and systems seem incapable of making business work. I am not interested in a new subscription with Immediate - I don't know what has changed but after several years of getting my weekly RT I have now given up hope of a decent service.
I wouldn't bother.
UPDATE 12 Jan: second payment seemed to disappear and got my refund on 9 Jan so all done. Will still not be using Immediate. I now use a free magazine via my local library and an app and it saves me at least £100 a year!

I started subscribing to the Radio Times in 2023. The subscription was £44.99 each 6 months. Supposedly a saving of £74.01. I checked the documentation at the time and there was no statement saying subscriptions would increase. I had no further correspondence from them about subscriptions until January 2026 when I was told that my Direct Debit had been approved for £128.70 for 6 months subscription. I was shocked but found out that they had been taking this amount off my account 6 monthly for the last year. I logged on to my account and said I wanted to leave. I had no confidence in Immediate Media as my account also said I was paying £48/month! After hitting the leave button I was offered a subscription of around £27 for 6 months with no comment that this would increase over time. I phoned them up to find out what was going on and after going through all the press buttons I was put on hold until suddenly being cut off. I have cancelled my subscription reluctantly as I cannot trust Immediate Media with access to my bank account.

Like the previous reviewer, I have paid for a print and digital subscription but received no print copies, although I have been given access to the digital service. However, for me, the real pleasure comes with the ability to settle down in front of the TV with my print copy. I have rung customer services, to no avail, just empty promises. Thank goodness I only opted for the special introductory offer of 10 weeks for £10, as I have ended up purchasing the Christmas double issue from a news vendor, at the full price of £6.50! This must be the most appalling service I have ever encountered!

Comparisons to rocking horse droppings would be appropriate. Same complaints as everyone else - taken my money, no magazines, no refund, no account on the Internet and, whilst with persistence, I did speak several times to customer 'services' they are full of empty promises - and that includes the Team Leader. Now taking legal action to recover my money.
If you want to avoid a similar experience, please take note of all the reviews and avoid at all costs.

i had a subscription with RADIO TIMES for about 20 years. Then it was taken into the hands of IMMEDIATE MEDIA. Overpriced cover price (£6.50 for Christmas edition) an offer inside invites you to the magazine for £1 an issue. You will be buying into a whole lot of trouble ranging from direct debit issues, missing copies, a call centre in South Africa which has to be one of the worst ever encountered. They do not read their one star + reviews because they do not know the meaning of customer satisfaction. The magazine serves as their Immediate Media magazine cash cow.
Immediate media has no regard for their image and Radio Times is being dragged down to match that lack of competence in business . YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Can I give zero stars as a rating? Absolutely shocking service, money taken for a subscription but no delivery! I have tried calling, no answer just endlessly on hold. I want a refund! How to get it when NO ONE ANDWERS YOUR CALL?!

Fed up with late and missing editions so considering cancelling my subscription. I often don't receive until the Saturday or the Monday or don't get at all. Sending a replacement for a missing edition is a bit pointless as I use it to plan my viewing not for the articles . I subscribe to other magazines and they can be a day late but never as late as Radio Times so I don't think it's the post to blame for such a delivery delay. In 2024 latest delivery was Wednesday before edition date but 2025 has been dreadful

I feel tricked into taking up an offer of 12 months Radio Times at £104, after cancelling my long standing subscription after erratic deliveries.

Since then I've had none delivered and rarely get a reply by email and have been trying to get a refund they've held since 15 October.

Never again. I've lost a lot of time on this.