Misleading Subscription Practices At The Financial Times

Misleading Subscription Practices At The Financial Times

6 years ago
Anonymous $TjsaxHwAP-

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20180712/00330340224/misleading-subscription-practices-financial-times.shtml

We've spent years highlighting how ISPs especially tend to really screw customers over with things like hidden fees or (a personal least favorite) "low introductory prices" that hide the price jump you'll face at the end of the term. Broadband providers can often get away with those practices thanks to absentee overseers at the FCC/FTC and importantly, the lack of competition. But it's absolutely insane to see those in competitive or struggling organizations pulling the same kinds of stunts. Right now there's all this concern out there about media business models, and lots of publications are pushing people to sign up for their subscription plans. There are lots to choose from, and playing stupid games is not a good idea. That's why I was a bit flabbergasted by the following story, which comes from Hersh Reddy, who co-hosts the Techdirt Podcast. He shared with me this following chat he had with the Financial Times.

You can read the whole insane thing below, in which it appears that FT's policies are designed to trick people (i.e., it's not at all the fault of the poor woman he's speaking to). Specifically, it appears that FT has two "cheap" offers to try to get people: one that is $1 for the first 4 weeks, and another that says a full subscription is $144/year. Here's how it looks on the site:

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