Till recent, I was a daily subscriber for nearly 2 decades and decided to end my subscription. The Columbus Dispatch was once a very good newspaper, best in the State. In the last few years, the quality of the local reporting, the consistent very left leaning editorials and reliance on dated filler articles from the AP have really impacted for the worse. Their coverage of the Trump administration is so awful and one sided. I have not read a single positive story involving the President since he took office. I am not his biggest fan either. Several of their recent stories, such as the family murdered in Southeast Ohio were written so poorly with misplaced pronouns that I had to read the story several times. I simply decided that I will rely on other papers such as the Wall Street Journal. The Journal cost more, but delivers more value. It's a shame the Dispatch has decided to go left, cut costs, and employ mediocre editing. Cities need local newspapers to keep politicians in check, report news fairly and share various viewpoints so the reader can be informed. Unfortunately, The Columbus Dispatch, much like the New York Times has decided in recent years to pick a side. If I wanted that, I would tune into Fox News, CNN, or MSNBC for free. read more

Horrible, horrible customer service. No way to reach a live person and chats are not helpful in resolving delivery issues. I have to go back and chat repeatedly to get a credit for a missed delivery. Our delivery person has no back-up, so when she is sick or has car trouble, we get no newspaper. I don't know how much longer I can put up with this nonsense. read more

The Columbus Dispatch used to be a respected and qulaity newpaper. It has become one of the worst newspaper currently being printed. Let's start with the quality of the editing. The Dispatch prints the same story multiple times in the paper almost daily...probably to just fill space. Then, they will print the same story multiple times in a week...again to fill space. The editing is also terrible. Many articles have spelling, punctuation and grammar errors. It looke like some of the reporters are still in elementarty school...and the editor is asleep on the job to allow the mistakes to happen. Now, let's talk content. The Dispatch is obviously an extreamly liberal newpaper and prints articles that I think few people actually read. The Dispatch constanly backs liberal elected officials and their agendas while constanly bashing the conservative officials. I would just ask the Dispatch to be more objective and not what they currenly are. Currently the only thing worth reading in the Dispatch is abou two or three comics. read more

This is the worst subscription I have ever paid for. The 1st month I was charged over $40 for a paperI never received. Just got wore from there. Called customer service.They said they don't do refunds but would give me a cheaper subscription if I continue to receive the paper. The service never improved and I still go without papers every other day or weeks at a time so I finally tried to cancel. I will never ever get the Columbus Dispatch again. read more

I have not received the Sunday Columbus Dispatch for the last 7 weeks. I have called to complain and they always say that I will receive a credit and the paper will be delivered later on Sunday. Well, it never is delivered at all and am totally frustrated. All I want is for the newspaper to be delivered on Sunday; I do not want a credit! I wish they would tell me what the problem is and they had employees that could resolve the problem. read more

Badly edited, biased, poor service. I have asked for my paper to be held while was out of town; when I returned, all the papers were on my front porch, advertising that I wasn't home. Soon after that, they stopped porch delivery, and left it on the driveway, regardless of rain. A soaked paper at least once a week. The next time I left town, I cancelled my account a couple weeks before, and when it continued to appear on my driveway each day, I called. Four times I called, and each time was assured that my account was cancelled and delivery would stop. Long story short: they continued to deliver my paper every day for an entire year after I cancelled home delivery. Who is running this operation? Nobody's editing, nobody's fact-checking, and nobody's answering the phone. read more

I've not received my paper for a month after a vacation stop was to restart January 3. No one at the Dispatch can tell me who the entity is for the newspaper delivery contractor that distributes the Dispatch and the Wall Street Journal to door to door newspaper delivery personnel. My paper carrier is no help and he says my name is not on his delivery list. read more

Wish there was a way to give it a '0' stars. I have been getting the dispatch for over 20 years. It used to be a wonderful organization and something for Columbus to be proud of. If I was on vacation for two days, I got two days credit on my account. It gave unbiased news of all events going on nationally. Since it has sold and resold to the left wing, the only thing you get is lies and promotion of whatever the left is looking for and no matter what you do you can't reason with them on issues to do with your subscription. (Talking with someone who speaks broken English in India or wherever.) Their answer to everything is 'Well you had digital access!' This is what happens when there is only one paper to choose from. I buy it, but use it to wrap fish..... read more

Before you subscribe, just know that they make it impossible to cancel a subscription online. You must call. And speak to outsourced customer service who refuses to elevate an issue to a manager. Called two months ago for my elderly mother-in-law and was told it would be cancelled. Called again today after seeing two more monthly charges on her credit card -- and was told there was no record of the first call and they will not refund the money. So someone doesn't do their job at the Dispatch (Gate House, Gannett), and the organization refuses to make it right. The amount of money is not the problem, it's the principle of the matter. My family has always valued supporting good local journalism, but we refuse to give our hard-earned money to any organization that treats its customers with so little respect. read more

Tried a trial and half the time I was faced with a paywall when trying to view articles online despite being logged in. Went to cancel on their website but it said that "feature wasn't currently available" and that I'd have to call so I did. The lady was fairly nice but I was hassled on why I wanted to cancel and offered a bunch of deals I didn't want. Thought it was all over but nope! Now they're calling me CONSTANTLY trying to hassle me into resubscribing! What a gross and aggressive business practice. I can't help but wonder what fool up top thought they would get people to resubscribe by spamming them with unwanted phone calls. What an awful company, I wish i never tried their trial. Avoid at all costs. read more

I have been a subscriber for decades. I appreciate local news and journalism is very important. Customer service at the dispatch was always great. Every now and again, there was a delivery issue and they addressed it usually the same day. No longer. I placed a vacation hold on my paper on 11/1 to be lifted on 11/27. 3 weeks later, I have yet to receive a single delivery. I have called every day. Spoke to call center in the Phillipines multiple times (reps were always nice), but still no paper despite multiple promises. Today I used the online chat. Was told I would have a paper by noon. Still no paper. I DM'd them on FB only to get a bot response. Gannett taking over the paper has ruined this once great publication. read more

I finally did it. I cancelled my subscription to the Columbus Dispatch after having subscribed to it for more years than I care to tell you. The Columbus Dispatch is not a great newspaper and it's not a bad newspaper. I did it because it just wasn't very interesting anymore. The writing was trite and unimaginative. There just wasn't any "edge" to it at all. I did like the Arts section though. It's about the only part that I would actually read as there's some decent writing in this section and they are really good at keeping up on what's going on in the Columbus arts scene. Kudos to them on that. So for all intents and purposes I hadn't really much read the newspaper in years. My subscription was down to Sunday only and frankly it was for the coupons more than the actual newspaper. When Kroger stopped doubling coupons, there really wasn't much point in my weekly contribution to the Columbus landfill. So I'll say "Thank you Columbus Dispatch and goodbye." read more

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I hate this newspaper, The Columbus Dispatch. It really sucks. The paper is smaller and thinner than it used to be. Now it can't even be used for its greatest purpose: training puppies. There are countless delivery problems I'm told about, plus all the stupid editorials make me happy to not be a subscriber. It has a long and sordid history. It has been the only major daily newspaper in Columbus since the 1980s. They bought out its rival. It wasn't the first or last time the Dispatch would do this. They also bought two of Columbus's weekly alternative papers: Alive and The Other Paper. Both had been really good before. These were also considered competition. Both were bought out by them. They got a lot more lame, and more advertisements took up space. Each failed to be actual alternatives. They were run by younger members of the Dispatch staff. Soon after, they ended production of the Other Paper. They effectively silenced their critics. I would rather go to a library if I really wanted to read a newspaper. The Dispatch bullied its rivals and forced them out, which is why it's still around. The new owners still kept the stupid editorial staff around, so it's not really an improvement. read more

Columbus Dispatch - Outside - Print Media Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

Horrible customer service center. Had issues with my digital subscription so I called the 1-888-884-9026 number. Customer service center is offshore and when approached with an issue and I requested to speak to a manager-the rep spoke over me and then HUNG UP on me and I am sure not on accident. Ridiculous what you have to go through as a paying customer and is unacceptable. Get it together Columbus Dispatch! Cancellation of all subscriptions associated with the dispatch in progress! read more

I have tried three or four times to get home delivery of the paper. Each time the Dispatch has taken my money but I've not received a single paper. I keep receiving offers to restart, so tried again this week after having been assured that there was a carrier for my area. Paper was to start on 12/14 - 3 days later, still no paper. The customer service person said there were no refunds (paid for 2 months.) I know papers are struggling - this is not helping their cause. read more

I had a vacation hold for a week and now they still haven't delivered my paper. It's now been 3 weeks. I call daily and update the failure to deliver and extend my service. Not only did they not extend my service, they increased the autopay amount. There is no one to call to complain to. Such a poorly run company. read more

No rating I subscribed for a year to the Sunday only paper well they include a pRemium package thatt I never askeD for causing by subscription to expire in six months Talk about bait and switch I calleD customer service they said 'didn't you read the terms and conditions? really for a damn newspaper? I cancelled and will never return You have lost another customer read more

CAUTION when signing up for the printed delivery subscription! The Dispatch uses deceptive practices where they require you to call to opt-out of additional "premium" services (like magazine inserts) that are automatically added to your subscription, even though you did not request them. The "General Information", or terms and conditions section when subscribing is a confusing, 400 word, one paragraph legalese designed to trick you into additional charges. Your invoice will not show these specifics and in fact will indicate an entirely different subscription request. You will only learn about them when they try to bill you for the additional, unwanted services. Shame on them. read more

The Dispatch doesn't deserve one star, terrible customer service even worse delivery service not even worth finishing this review.!!!You have lost another customer. read more

Black Friday ads? Forget it. The Columbus Dispatch did not deliver to many businesses or home delivery. No press release that there was an issue. Nothing! Nothing on recorded line. Carrier rarely answers my calls or talk to me, even though I may call a couple of times a year. I asked carrier to put it in bottom of mailbox. They do not even have to get out of their car, yet they prefer to throw the paper in the gutter, on the sidewalk or in the yard. No papers on holidays or Saturdays and now no Black Friday ads. Not to mention left leaning opinions and articles. This paper has gone downhill ever since it was bought by a chain that owns hundreds of papers across the country. Apparently Columbus is not worth their time to get things right. read more

The last two days the paper was almost in the street. Looks like it was dropped out the door of the car. If it can not be delivered on the porch I want to know now, so I can cancel it. Looking for the paper in the morning should not take hours. read more

Subscribed for the free trial, didn't really use it except to read one pay-walled article. Let it charge me for a couple months, didn't get around to canceling for a bit. When I finally did, I tried every week for a month to cancel online, it ALWAYS said "online services not available at this time. Please contact 1-888-whatever for assistance..." Every fucking time. For weeks. It's broken on purpose so that people have a harder time canceling, which is indeed illegal with the FTC. Hopefully sometime with more time than I ends up reporting this. Finally called on the 23rd to cancel, he said it was done, and then I STILL got charged today. Called again and am on hold, currently at the 12 minute mark. read more

Bought a $5 Sunday paper from Kroger this morning. Front page was clearly marked "Sunday," but inside contents were all Saturday. That's the last Dispatch newspaper I ever buy. read more

The Dispatch just can't get the paper at a reasonably early time. Its 11 am and no paper. Called the home delivery line and expected to get an answer that the paper would be delivered asap. Nope, they will not deliver today. And this isn't the first time.. Thanks Dispatch, I can't read about Saturdays college football! You simply do not care about your customers. read more

I was doubled billed as an e-subscriber. The very day I of my new subscription rate, as my transaction showed pending, I asked for a refund. They refused, stating policy: Company policy will not allow refund for e subscription customers (even though I had never accessed the site to read the paper). They said if I was a home delivery customer, a refund would be given. I carried the paper for the Dispatch as a kid. I would never treat a new subscriber this way. Obviously, I'm just one of a 1000 e-customer units for the Dispatch - just a number. Appeal to supervisor found kind associates, but unable to refund or allow me to speak with a decision maker. read more

I started a trial online to read articles. More often than not I was blocked by a paywall. The website won't let you cancel. You have to call customer service. The customer service was clearly outsourced. They were helpful but I shouldn't have had to call. read more

Review: Have tried to get delivery twice. Not once have I received a newspaper. First time, charged me for digital even though digital was free with delivery subscription. Who authorized that? The second time they guaranteed delivery and no newspaper. Cancelled and asked for refund. Wouldn't even give me a full refund and I'm still waiting after 3 months. Called and emailed. They apparently want to go digital and are crooks. read more

The Columbus Dispatch needs to be named The Columbus Disgrace. I cancelled my multiple year subscription in June 2012. They owe me money. I followed up in September. The rep (and I used the term loosely) said, "Huh. Looks like we do owe you money." It's now November and I have yet to see it. Today, just now, I get a call from a rep (again, loose term used here) offering me a fabulous holiday subscription for a grossly discounted rate to tap into holiday specials. When I advised I cancelled the DISGRACE in June and they still owe me money she referred me to the crappy 800 number. Get your facts straight. Understand your audience. Do not call me ever again and my anticipation is this company will eventually close. Unfortunate for the handful of effective employees whom I've never had the pleasure of connecting with as I'm assuming they are on the back end trying to produce whatever is left of this publication. Not cool. Highly offended. read more

I can't speak as to whether the content of this paper is worthwhile as I don't read it. However, I purchased a subscription for my dad because he enjoys it. The only problem is that the morons responsible for delivering the paper couldn't quite make that happen. 2 or 3 times during the first 10 days the subscription was active - no paper. I cancelled and told them what they could do with it. read more

I've had a long and tortured relationship with the Dispatch. I used to love the Citizen-Journal, and mourned when it was bought by the Dispatch. Then The Other Paper and Alive were bought and ruined by them. I read it at work if it's laying around, to try to keep up on local news, but it is far from a good paper. It's moderate-conservative, which I can live with, but I'd like more variety, and in-depth news coverage. (I laugh when people call the Dispatch liberal.) I have subscribed off and on over the years, mainly just Sunday for the coupons, and always ended up cancelling in frustration. Billing issues, delivery problems, you name it. And it's not even big enough to use for traditional "extracurricular" things anymore, like putting it down for the dogs. The small format sucks. We just subscribed, again, for the coupons. We got 2 papers in 5 weeks. We have had several phone conversations with them, and for now we're getting papers when we're supposed to, but they better keep things together or we'll dump them. Listen, I know times are tough for newspapers. And I love papers, and keeping up with what's going on. But in a tough market you need to bring your "A" game. And the Dispatch is a C-. read more

The Columbus Dispatch is the worst publisher that I have ever known. The management of the company is very bad in billing, delivery, customer services, accurate customers' subscription information, etc. Here are the evidences: (1) Fees charged and services given are operated under black box, not open and not transparent. 1) For our subscription, we are never told the charge details and what newspaper layouts/types we will get such as premium services or special Sunday mornings. 2) We pay but we cannot get. This year on April 16, we paid for a new subscription. The period is one full year. It is supposed to expire on April 15. But recently I was told that my common sense thought is wrong. The subscription will expire in March, 2022. When I heard that, I felt cheated. I felt so disappointed by Dispatch's unclear charges. And we never get any confirmation email/letter from Dispatch when we subscribe. Above can show that the business behavior of the Columbus Dispatch is fraud and cheating. (2) Less respect to customers, neglect customer complaints and bad customer service. The agents of Customer Services are of very low quality and irresponsible. They show up just for getting their income/salary but not for trying to help us to settle down our problems. In the morning of Feb. 11, I called the Dispatch to complain about all wet newspapers for delivery. I was told that before 11 AM, the second delivery would arrive at our house. But it was not. After 11 AM, I called to inquire what had happened and didn't keep the promise, but the agent was speechless and of course helpless. The second day (Feb. 12), I called Dispatch again, and asked for compensation, but they did nothing to reverse the loss. They never realize that their jobs are to help our customers. But they are not trying to. Is it the company's policies to direct them to ignore customers' unsatisfactions and problems as much as possible? If so, that means the Columbus Dispatch is completely not reliable and does not deserve to be trusted by the vast amounts of customers in America. August 1st and 2nd, 2021, the newspaper was not delivered to our house for two days. For the first day, I called and I was told we would be given an extension for one more day and would never happened such kind of miss delivery any more. But the second day, the newspaper was missing again. I was told that we would be given two more days of extension till March 22. But why is March 22 not April 18 ( I subscribed on April 16, 2021)? He agreed that he would send me a confirmation email to let us know that the extension would go to April 18. But we didn't get any email from him, nor did we get any email from Dispatch. The agents like telling lies to cheat or play at customers, but do not try their best to report our issues to related departments, never give us feedback about the results after we report problems. (3)Very terrible delivery services. On a snowy day, the newspaper will be thrown on the driveway and always under the snow. My husband Bob (who has been suffering from dementia for years) has to try to find and dig out of the newspaper. On a rainy morning, the newspaper is always wet and Bob has to dry them by spreading them all over the tables before he can read them. For such bad delivery services, we reported many times, but no change. We never get any reimbursement and apology from Dispatch. (4) Inaccurate customer information which is disordered. July 23nd, I called Dispatch, inquired to prolong the temporary delivery to 3710 Olentangy River Rd, Columbus, OH 43214. But I was told again and again that the subscription had ended in 2015, never renewed since then for the address of 1111 Medhurst Road, Columbus, Ohio, 43220. The agent was so confused by the information of customers in their system. So, we can tell that the company of the Columbus Dispatch is very bad in managing customer information. (5) Irregular charge. On June 21 and July 9, respectively, Dispatch charged us two amounts of prices: $130.01 and $71.96 for no reason. Bob has dementia ( Alzheimer's), he cannot explain why he called Dispatch to cause these amounts of money to be charged. On May 11 and May 23, I had called Dispatch many times about temporarily delivering newspaper from our house (1111 Medhurst Road, Columbus, 43220) to 3710 Olentangy River Rd, Columbus, OH 43214 (Whestone assisted living place, a nursing home) while I was in China from May 21 to July 26. On April 16, we already paid the full-year subscription for the newspaper of the Columbus Dispatch, but why were we still charged? read more

For over one year now, our morning paper arrives around 2 in the afternoon and I don't see any change in site as I have called multiple times and spoken with very nice customer service people but it never changes. More importantly, twice I have put my paper on vacation hold and it still gets delivered and piles up in our driveway. This presents a dangerous situation. The Dispatch simply cannot get it right. read more

Thieves & liars. Never have I felt so ripped off. I signed up for a promo they offered for 3 months of the Sunday paper $23.99. I complained using the automated call line 2 times after not receiving the paper, the 3rd time I spoke to a person and they said it was being reported to the division supervisor. Week 4, I got the paper and a bill for another $23.99 taken from my account. I called back and Moses told me that my account was for 1 month of the daily paper and if I wanted a refund I should have called daily to report it missing. THAT IS NOT WHAT I SIGNED UP FOR! Why would I report something I wasn't expecting? Needless to say I cancelled my account and am supposedly getting $27 refunded. $21 for one Sunday paper! Ridiculous. read more

I have been a 20+ yr customer with the Dispatch. Now I am not. I paid my subscription in June, I get a letter in January requesting payment for a full year. Talked to a number of people, none willing to help me with the issue. Said they would go back and listen to the tapes of my discussion with their representative, no call back. Today called and talked to a representative who said he saw what the issue was and would correct it and call me back. Michael did call me back but said there was nothing he could. The End for the Columbus Dispatch. Sad state of affairs. read more

I have cancelled the Columbus Dispatch. I had a subscription, $51 for 26 weeks which I paid in May. It is 2 months later - so approximately 8-9 weeks and my account is out of money. So what happened with the other 17 weeks? Apparently there were some "premium" editions that took the rest. I was given no notice of these premium editions. I spoke to Rolando/ Orlando with customer service on Friday as I was asking about other available subscription options and he told me that I had the least expensive plan. He apparently did not notice that the $51 was only lasting 8 weeks instead of 26 weeks. I called again 3 days later because the paper stopped arriving and I could not access my account online. All of the sudden Orlando/Rolando says that my account is up for renewal. Only then did he tell me that the $51 from 8 weeks ago was already all used up. I asked him to cancel the whole damn thing and send me confirmation. If they would have had me on autocharge I might not have even noticed! This is bait and switch - publishing a lower price with hidden costs that makes it actually 3x as expensive. The reporting is ok for local news if you are a Democrat with a 6th grade education. Mostly I like the Sudoku on Sunday. I'll spend my $25/month that should have lasted 3 months elsewhere and subscribe to 614now which has just as good news without the horrendous customer service. read more

There was a man inside Walmart selling subs,which I got and never received one paper..contacted this dispatch,no help,did the same with Walmart to try to get the man's name-yet again no help.. probably for the best-what I have seen recently from the dispatch is strictly one sided(personally, politically etc) reporting is supposed to be non-biased, which is not what they are... Since when is reporting more about your personal views as a reporter than just relaying the news... read more

Second week of missed delivery (after a pattern of every other week of missed deliveries). You are a sucker if you pay for this.

I get the paper for the local Columbus and Ohio news. I don't need it for national and international - I can get that online. I've been a subscriber for virtually the entire 4+ years I've lived here. I initially got a special price to subscribe and after the introductory period it went up considerably. I called them and said I would cancel at the new rate and they reduced it, though not to the original level. I can somewhat understand that. They have tried to raise me significantly a couple of times since then and I was able to moderate the increases. I received a letter last week increasing my rate almost $40 per billing period and there's no way I will pay that. I called customer service and held for and held for 10 minutes. A recording kept coming on to use their callback service so I finally used it. I never received a callback. I sent them an email and they didn't respond. I left another email the next day after trying to call again. I still haven't heard from them. You can't cancel without talking to them; the website doesn't let you cancel. This is about as bad customer service as I have ever had with any company. No wonder their circulation keeps falling rapidly, but that's pretty amazing since they make it so hard to cancel. read more

Loyal subscriber for over 30 years. Treated like a piece of dirt by the customer service department. Check your subscription costs! Great rates for new customers but lousy rates for renewing customers! What a rip off!!! Rewarding loyal customers by overcharging them. How can that be right? Don't sign up until you read the fine print... Such a disappointment...You can take your paper and shove it! read more

I've been had been a subscriber for probably 4 years- Sunday + e-edition. In the last year, they failed to deliver my paper more often than they completed the delivery. I logged online complaint after complaint and followed with calls hoping they'd see there's a problem and correct it. They didn't. I called to cancel and they talked me into speaking with their area distribution manager. He assured me he'd take care of it. I received 1 paper after that and then they resumed missing me. I tried to check out alternative subscriptions (to look at 100% e-subscriptions) but that section of their site isn't working for some reason (which shouldn't have surprised me given their app kept logging me out and erroring). I want to support print media- I really do, but they cannot make it into a part time job for their subscribers just to get the content they paid for or to pivot to something they can deliver. Frankly- their operations team and app people are doing a huge disservice to their editorial staff who generally do an fine job of generating local stories. I'm just disappointed, overall. At least the guy I talked to about cancelling my subscription was nice enough. I'm submitting this, not so much to vent or to warn other consumers, but more as a desperate plea to their management to turn things around- I really don't want to see another paper fail. read more