I’m not renewing my subscription

[Enough!Participant @enough]

Posted by Raymond Sanderson 2 on 02/09/2014 00:43:08:

The statements here by some who have already pointed if using older win versions it may become impossible to transfer the digital copies downloaded to later win versions. Just try opening some old original Win Office files, thank goodness for Wordperfect Office.

This has been dealt with elsewhere. Someone will correct me if I'm wrong (I'm sure) but it's my recollection that if you do a new install of Windows (new machine etc) and install PocketMags on it, Pocketmags will then re-download fresh copies all of the past issues that you subscribed to, to the new installation.

(OTOH, I don't know of anyone who has actually tried this yet.)

[Enough!Participant @enough]

Posted by Tony Payn on 01/09/2014 20:48:36:

However, some good news is that on my new laptop (Windows 8.1), the offline reader now works! One of the enormous number of updates Windows did the other day must have done something to make it work.

It's worked on my Windows 8.1 ever since I upgraded 8.0 to 8.1 (just after it was released) – Pocket Mags was already installed (in 8.0) at the time. So I doubt that any Windows updates, per-se, have been needed to allow PM to run..

It's possible though, that your Windows installation had developed a small "glitch" or misconfiguration that prevented PM from working and that an upgrade has refreshed it

[Raymond Sanderson 2Participant @raymondsanderson2]

Thanks Bandersnatch .

Still reckon saving to an external device would be ideal and transferring between OS would be great to do if it was easy such as is with PDF and other types. Also to be able to do off-line after all if you're paying for them its like paying for a hard copy.

[Cornish JackParticipant @cornishjack]

Bikepete

Thank you for your response.

It's an interesting concept, that one can offer a 'service', specify costs and (potential ) benefits, arrange for automatic collection of customer's money and smugly sit back waiting for the customer to complain before doing anything constructive! IF the process auto email specified that one had to make contact to receive the subs number … well, acceptable, just! But NO, the auto email indicates that the essential number is included … AND IT IS NOT!

I (like many others) make a lot of on-line purchases. The various vendors seem to fall into two main categories – very good and crap! I have an opinion of the MTM subscription process and feel that the 'peanuts and monkeys' analogy strongly applies.

Rgds

Bill

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Hi Bill,

Please be fair. If something has gone wrong (which it has, as the number is normally in the email) then clearly the subs department can't do anything until the subscriber lets them know. They aren't telepathic!

I do know we had some server problems last week (which did not affect this website) that may well have caused glitches in automated subscriber emails.

Neil

[BikepeteParticipant @bikepete]

Posted by Cornish Jack on 02/09/2014 10:45:01:

Bikepete

Thank you for your response.

It's an interesting concept, that one can offer a 'service', specify costs and (potential ) benefits, arrange for automatic collection of customer's money and smugly sit back waiting for the customer to complain before doing anything constructive! IF the process auto email specified that one had to make contact to receive the subs number … well, acceptable, just! But NO, the auto email indicates that the essential number is included … AND IT IS NOT!

I (like many others) make a lot of on-line purchases. The various vendors seem to fall into two main categories – very good and crap! I have an opinion of the MTM subscription process and feel that the 'peanuts and monkeys' analogy strongly applies.

Rgds

Bill

Hey ho, I was just gently suggesting, as someone who has some relevant experience, that making contact would be the quickest way to sort it out. As Neil says it's not meant to work that way, it's just a glitch. These things happen.

Anyway, no skin off my nose if you prefer to sit there fuming and waiting. Good luck with that.

[Cornish JackParticipant @cornishjack]

Thank you Bikepete

"as someone who has some relevant experience" , would you or Neil have any further useful advice to offer.

Message sent to Subs, Auto response received (good job the robots are operating!!) REAL person response … BIG FAT ZERO!

I most certainly don't want to "sit there fuming and waiting" but, other than making a several hundred mile round trip to hammer on the MTM door, options appear to be thin on the ground. Undoubtedly, there will be 'reasons' (read excuses) for this sort of foul up – most likely "Computer problems" management speak for GIGO (in old computer terms!)

Hey Ho!, indeed (fuming and waiting)

Rgds

Bill

[BikepeteParticipant @bikepete]

Sorry Bill, I shouldn't have been snappy, it's annoying when this sort of thing happens. Anyway, to quote from Neil's message above:

"Our Customer Care Team can also be reached by phone on 0844 543 8200 (UK) or +44 1858 438798 (Overseas) lines open weekdays 8am – 9:30pm & Saturdays 8am – 4pm (GMT)."

Might that be an option?

Edited By Bikepete on 03/09/2014 10:38:47

[Cornish JackParticipant @cornishjack]

Bikepete

Thank you – and the advice is undoubtedly good … to deal with what appears to be an incompetent, uninterested 'organisation'.

MTM's priorities would appear to be:- obtain the money, ignore the customer until the SECOND complaint and then, (although this is speculation) deliver the goods. Not, perhaps, the most ethical business model, but " hey, (in modern eejit speak) it's good for finances , yey!!"

Is that really how businesses should operate?

Rgds

Bill

Edited By Cornish Jack on 03/09/2014 11:42:09

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Hello Bill,

Bear in mind that the MTM staff who deal with subscriber issues have this as there ONLY job. They are not uninterested and have nothing to gain from ignoring people.

As I said in my message above:

Anyone who is NOT able to resolve their problems through these routes, please email me with as much detail of the problem as possible and I will pass it on with a request to get it sorted, but PLEASE try to follow the above route first.

My email is neil.wyatt@mytimemedia.com

Please do include a copy of the email you sent earlier and the address you sent it to (the reply would be useful too).

Since becoming editor I have received several subscriber enquiries; my experience has been that the MTM staff have put in a lot of effort to solve what have often been quite unusual issues

Neil

[Stephen BensonParticipant @stephenbenson75261]

After spotting this thread I got worried and tried to access my mags offline (win7) and the viewer just crashed so spent some time with primopdf printing to PDF via sIlverlight all the articles that would interest me now or in the future the append function of PrimoPDF is very useful so when a new digital mag is available I can just append.

This is actually the best way to store and access interesting articles so this restriction has forced me to do something I should of been doing anyway.

Paper copies are great if you have loads of space and a understanding wife I have neither she just about tolerates my keeping every issue of Clock magazine in the upper cupboards of our Static caravan keeping ME MEW as well would be too painful to think about.

 

Edited By Stephen Benson on 03/09/2014 15:47:10

Edited By Stephen Benson on 03/09/2014 15:50:31

Edited By Stephen Benson on 03/09/2014 15:51:22

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Hi Stephen,

You really shouldn't be having problems with the offline viewer. Check the help section of the Pocketmags website.

Neil

[Cornish JackParticipant @cornishjack]

That's it! Enough is enough!

I have no idea what is happening at MTM, but whatever it is they can do it WITHOUT any financial contribution from me

From my initial attempt to subscribe made on Sunday last, MTM's input to rectify matters has been 2 auto-messages (utterly uninformative). Even Neil's kindly attempts to help have failed to generate a response. As a last resort, I attempted to call their 'phone contact … garbled auto message which was broken up and at an inaudible level. Final attempt was to the subscription /help website to be greeted by a "This domain may be for sale " splash!

As pointed out to Neil, I believed that 35 years in the military had exposed me to real professionals in the art of confusion and incompetence – but no, MTM have it in spades!

I have no idea what is going on there – and (on this sorry episode) I suspect that they don't either. The cancellation email is on its way and I offer these details to any other forum members who may be contemplating subscribing.

Rgds

Bill

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Hello Bill,

The head of department wasn't in on Friday; she's looking at this today.

Neil

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

In the opposite direction I have been thinking of adding digital to my paper copy after it got eliminated by the changes a few weeks ago but use a variety of Company laptops with various operating systems and IT lockouts and a cheapo android tablet. So is there a test point with say a couple of sample documents that I can use to test if any of my equipment will work?

I have little faith in geeks getting it right for more than a few machines as my own company's customer facing apps and websites don't work on my tablet or even on my company issued laptops. It seems that unless you can fork out for fruit based products or this week's version of MS the geeks don't put the effort in.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

If you use the viewer on this site as you were previously to view the archive and newly published mags then it will be exactly the same as it was previously so you should have an idea of what that works on for you.

Pocket mags viewer that you will also be able to use if you have a Print Plus may be different and Neil would have to answer your query about a " Try before you buy"

J

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Hello Bazyle,

If you visit the Pocketmags website they have single issues of several magazines on offer which you can use as a test.

Details of various fruity and fruit-free readers are here: **LINK**

Neil

[Cornish JackParticipant @cornishjack]

10 days and still no reply!!!

Rgds

Bill

[Cornish JackParticipant @cornishjack]

Update …

While I was out shopping, a chap from Model Engineer 'phoned (at long last!). Left a message that he would ring back and… HE DID!!! Now have a subs number and start date etc. – not yet tested but at least there is hope.

What to make of this episode?? Chap who rang said that there was "an email team" and he wasn't on it. On this evidence, no-one is! I appear to have an active subscription at last, but what a palaver to get there!

Now to get the house and workshop rebuilt!

Rgds

Bill

[Raymond HodgesParticipant @raymondhodges20973]

Hello Bill

I have had a similar problem.

I phoned the number given to upgrade my subcription and was told to wait for a letter from the subcriptions dept, i asked if the could simply send me an email and was told no.

Now i have at last recieved a letter from them which also says that this could all be done per email.

It seems to me that the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing.

Regards

Ray

PS Neil Wyatt tells me they dont send out letters!!

 

Edited By Raymond Hodges on 10/09/2014 20:04:41

Edited By Raymond Hodges on 10/09/2014 20:05:08

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

I have apologised to Ray and Bill for their difficulties.

The problems above seem to have been caused by details which should have been emailed being sent out by letter instead, creating unacceptable delays. We still haven't got to the bottom of why this has happened, if it does happen again please let me know.

Things are not simple because, as is not unusual these days, there are multiple routes to buying a subscription, and some of these are serviced by third parties. There is a small team at MTM who oversee all this and who do their best to sort out problems, but it is not always simple to know who to contact about what, as I have discovered.

The contact details I gave above and in the magazines are correct; please try them first if you have any other problems. If that doesn't get your problem sorted, I'm still happy to be contacted and I will try to make sure someone who can solve your problem hears about it.

If you do contact me, though, please let me know your personal details and exactly who you have been dealing with to buy your subscription.

Hopefully things will now settle down a bit and I can focus on my real job – editing!

Neil

[SteambuffParticipant @steambuff]

I upgraded my ME Print subscription by email to Print + Digital back in May about 6 weeks before I was due to renew. (I subscribe by Direct Debit), At that point in time I appeared to have no issue … I started receiving my Pocket-mags edition straight away.

Then a few weeks after my original renewal date I could no longer access the online-archive, then my paper editions stopped arriving … I was still getting the Pocket-Mags edition though.

After emailing the subscriptions department and getting no response, I emailed Diane and she sorted it out (Thanks again Diane) …. what they had done was to cancel the original direct-debit when I upgraded, but did not set another one up!!!!

So I missed 4 paper issues while all this was been sorted … (I managed to buy the missing issues on eBay)

I thought the idea of a direct-debit was that they could just change the value……

So if you upgrade and pay by direct debit … ensure that if they cancel the old one, that they set up the new one.

Good Luck

Dave

[John CParticipant @johnc47954]

Well, I have just upgraded my MEW subscription to print and digital, and will renew both in 3 months. I like the direction the magazine is going and want (amongst other things) to be able to look at any articles originally associated with the excellent series of free plans.

John

[Barry McDowellParticipant @barrymcdowell95834]

Before I take out a digital sub I would like to know if when going back through the archives can I down load any of the articles and/or print them out. I am interested in some of the older articles about mini lathes and accessories for them.

Barry

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

You can't easily download any of the archive or complete mags. You can print individual pages and it is possible to store individual pages.

Any mags after you start the subscription can be downloaded for viewing in the future

Edited By JasonB on 12/09/2014 07:28:06

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