Very sad. Isn't PCW one of the oldest computer magazines published? It should have gone out with a clear "final issue".
First thing I knew about it was when a letter came through from PCW this morning (20th July) to advise that the August issue was the final and my subscription would be transferred to "ComputerActive". A copy of "CA" was also in the post this morning.
I flicked through "CA" this morning and wasn't really impressed. If I cancel "CA" then this will be the first time since I subscribed to "Your Spectrum" in the 80s that I won't have a subscription to a technology magazine of some sort.
My postman will be smiling.
Isn't computeractive one of those magazines for people who know bugger all about computers?
I can't see why the avergae reader of PCW would be interested in such a thing - beggers belief.
I'm not going to say that I think the whole thing has been handled in the best possible way, but I certainly don't think telling people they don't have to pay is actually very good advice.
They've written, and said what has happened, and effectively have made an offer to you. If you don't cancel, and you carry on receiving magazines in the post, you will be deemed to have accepted that offer. You can't just say "It's a freebie" and hope to get away with it.
Regardless of the rights and wrongs of it, in the present climate, no company is going to cancel subscriptions unless they absolutely have to - they will rely on customer inertia. It's pretty common practice in lots of lines of businesses.
Nigel.
Actually Nigel I have to disagree with you.
It is common practice but it is also nefarious. And Trading Standards agree.
If you receive unsolicited items in the mail then you have no obligation pay for them. If the company concerned wish to have them returned then they must do so at their cost, not yours.
Technically, they're not unsolicited. Unsolicited goods are those where you don't have a relationship with a company, and they send you something completely out of the blue, and then pursue you for payment. It is that pursuit of payment for unsolicited goods that is an offence.
In this case, the company was already supplying you with a product - you had an existing relationship with them, and subscriptions are paid for in advance. They've written and said "We can't supply that exact product any more, so instead we're sending you the best alternative we have. If you're not happy, you can cancel."
That is a rather different situation, and I'm pretty certain it doesn't count as unsolicited goods, not least because they are not pursuing you for payment. They have the money already, and are offering an alternative product in an attempt to fulfil their side of the contract (and, of course, to hang on to the money).
If you don't like CA (and yes, many PCW readers may find it lacks the technical depth), then cancel.
I'm pretty certain that if you keep all the copies of CA you receive over the next year, and then turn round and say "Actually, I don't want these, I wanted PCW, so I'd like my money back," the chances of actually getting it back are pretty close to zero. You might have a slim chance, if you've never even opened one.
But beyond that, the company's made it clear what it's doing, and it's not sending you unsolicited goods that it will then want you to pay for. It's sending you a substitute for the things that you have already paid up front for, which are no longer available, and if the substitute isn't acceptable, then you have to tell them.
Isn't computeractive one of those magazines for people who know bugger all about computers?
I can't see why the avergae reader of PCW would be interested in such a thing - beggers belief.
It is aimed at a much less technically savvy reader, yes. But it's also the only title in the Incisive Media portfolio that even comes close. When they (actually the company was VNU at the time) closed PC Magazine, they transferred subscribers over to PCW, which was broadly comparable.
CA is the only alternative that Incisive has. While readers might actually prefer the level of technical information in some other titles from different publishers, they're not about to hand over cash to another company, I'm afraid.
If you don't like CA (and yes, many PCW readers may find it lacks the technical depth), then cancel.
I suspect most subscribers will do exactly that, and send back their unwanted CAs. They should've offered a refund, not a subscription to an uncomparable title.
PC Advisor or PC Plus are the most similar to PCW.
What about PCPRO? Anyone still buy that...back in the mid 1990s I reconed that was the best on out there....not bought it for about 13 years mind, so it could have changed!
Isn't computeractive one of those magazines for people who know bugger all about computers?
I can't see why the avergae reader of PCW would be interested in such a thing - beggers belief.
Having sat down and taken a proper look at ComputerActive, I've now cancelled the DD.
The magazine has been deposited in my recycle bin. As my payment was only £4.50 every 3 months with the last collection at the end of May, there's not much loss there.
What about PCPRO? Anyone still buy that...back in the mid 1990s I reconed that was the best on out there....not bought it for about 13 years mind, so it could have changed!
Forgot about that one. Mid 90s? It only launched in November 1994 (I checked Wikipedia) so you must've been buying it when it first came out.
Yep; 94 would seem about right - I was editing Computer Buyer at Dennis when they launched Pro; they closed Windows magazine, and moved all the staff over to Pro, together with some new recruits.
Yep; 94 would seem about right - I was editing Computer Buyer at Dennis when they launched Pro; they closed Windows magazine, and moved all the staff over to Pro, together with some new recruits.
Yep, spot on, I can still remember the first one I bought as it was just when Windows 95 came out and had the Office 95 clouds/box and icons on the front cover........also remember a lot of the laptops being reviewed were still coming with Windows 3.11 FWG for quite a while after Windows 95 camer out, only some laptops were coming with with Windows 95 as standard.........back in the day.
Comments
Isn't computeractive one of those magazines for people who know bugger all about computers?
I can't see why the avergae reader of PCW would be interested in such a thing - beggers belief.
Actually Nigel I have to disagree with you.
It is common practice but it is also nefarious. And Trading Standards agree.
If you receive unsolicited items in the mail then you have no obligation pay for them. If the company concerned wish to have them returned then they must do so at their cost, not yours.
In this case, the company was already supplying you with a product - you had an existing relationship with them, and subscriptions are paid for in advance. They've written and said "We can't supply that exact product any more, so instead we're sending you the best alternative we have. If you're not happy, you can cancel."
That is a rather different situation, and I'm pretty certain it doesn't count as unsolicited goods, not least because they are not pursuing you for payment. They have the money already, and are offering an alternative product in an attempt to fulfil their side of the contract (and, of course, to hang on to the money).
If you don't like CA (and yes, many PCW readers may find it lacks the technical depth), then cancel.
I'm pretty certain that if you keep all the copies of CA you receive over the next year, and then turn round and say "Actually, I don't want these, I wanted PCW, so I'd like my money back," the chances of actually getting it back are pretty close to zero. You might have a slim chance, if you've never even opened one.
But beyond that, the company's made it clear what it's doing, and it's not sending you unsolicited goods that it will then want you to pay for. It's sending you a substitute for the things that you have already paid up front for, which are no longer available, and if the substitute isn't acceptable, then you have to tell them.
It is aimed at a much less technically savvy reader, yes. But it's also the only title in the Incisive Media portfolio that even comes close. When they (actually the company was VNU at the time) closed PC Magazine, they transferred subscribers over to PCW, which was broadly comparable.
CA is the only alternative that Incisive has. While readers might actually prefer the level of technical information in some other titles from different publishers, they're not about to hand over cash to another company, I'm afraid.
V
What about PCPRO? Anyone still buy that...back in the mid 1990s I reconed that was the best on out there....not bought it for about 13 years mind, so it could have changed!
Having sat down and taken a proper look at ComputerActive, I've now cancelled the DD.
The magazine has been deposited in my recycle bin. As my payment was only £4.50 every 3 months with the last collection at the end of May, there's not much loss there.
Yep, spot on, I can still remember the first one I bought as it was just when Windows 95 came out and had the Office 95 clouds/box and icons on the front cover........also remember a lot of the laptops being reviewed were still coming with Windows 3.11 FWG for quite a while after Windows 95 camer out, only some laptops were coming with with Windows 95 as standard.........back in the day.