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After 3 months I've finally managed to get a refund for my Warhammer Visions subscription on the iPad.

Backstory: as most know, the White Dwarf magazine we all know and love was split into White Dwarf Weekly and Warhammer Visions back in February. iPad subscribers had their remaining subscription (in my case, 11 months) simply replaced with Visions in a move that was extraordinarily badly thought out at best, and deliberately duplicitous at worst; then as a final "feth you" worthy of the Angry Marines, they jacked the subscription price up 43%.

I downloaded one issue of Visions, decided it was not what I wanted, and went through the process documented on the GW website (involving iTunes) to get a refund. Nothing. No confirmation, no action. I emailed GW support multiple times, receiving some sympathetic and friendly emails that ultimately ended with "we can't do anything about iPad subscriptions". I tried submitting support requests via iTunes, nothing. No response.

Finally I hauled myself into an Apple Store and explained very clearly to the assistant, and then to her manager, and then to their phone support tech in the US, that I had paid for one thing which had been replaced almost immediately by another substantially different thing. and I was not happy.
After another ten minutes on hold while she conferred with her own manager, she agreed to refund the subscription pro rata. Today my credit card was refunded the full amount of the original subscription.

My advice if you're experiencing the same issues: speak to an Apple Store person face to face, and don't leave until you have a resolution.

Sucks that you had to go through all that hassle and waste so much time and effort. That kind of thing drives me crazy. Glad it was resolved in the end.

I actually wonder at the legality of what GW did with the switch from WD -> Visions, and specifically for people who have agreed to pay and receive an item but actually receive something else instead. And especially as there doesn't seem to be an official procedure for fans cancelling their subscription, which should surely have been offered as a matter of course?

And asking that existing subscription holders have to pay more is pretty unbelievable.

I'm not an expert but I do wonder what Trading Standards would make of it?

I'm certain they wouldn't have a leg to stand on with Trade Practices authorities. It's the literal equivalent of buying an NFL season pass on cable and being given the Home Shopping Channel instead.

Where was that wonderful GW customer service everyone is always going on about?!

But seriously, I'm sorry you had to go through that bullgak, ruprecht; and I'm glad you were able to get our money back.

 Pacific wrote:

I'm not an expert but I do wonder what Trading Standards would make of it?

It wouldn't surprise me if there was a standard term in the majority of magazine subscription agreements that allowed a publisher to 'rebrand' their output as long it had the same subject matter.

A lot of the subscription terms folk sign up to let a publisher discontinue a magazine an only you give you the option of picking up one of their other (unrelated titles)

as I know to my cost (do read all the fine print people),

(although most do offer courtesy refunds eventually)