Jeff S Posted November 9, 2009 Share #21 Posted November 9, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) I'm another victim of what seems to be sloppy business practices and poor communications...but fortunately no threats. I paid initially by credit card, but didn't renew automatically. The problem is that I don't know when my subscription runs out, having never received any renewal notice like any other magazine I purchase. However, I also bought an M8.2 within the last year and that alone should have provided a free year to LFI. Still, I haven't seen an LFI in my mail for several months. So, I emailed them (from the Leica site) recently and got an email back asking for my address. I provided it and asked if that means I will get any missed issues and/or some idea of when subscription expires. Still no reply. I consider myself lucky if issues arrive (often haphazard), but don't lose sleep since I think the magazine is generally mediocre anyway...with occasional nice surprises. Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted November 9, 2009 Posted November 9, 2009 Hi Jeff S, Take a look here Please Help: Problems with LFI. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
MikeyM Posted November 10, 2009 Share #22 Posted November 10, 2009 I had a few problems with my subscriptions a few years back but no doubt some of these were inherited from the previous UK distributor. Like everyone else I rarely had a reply to e-mails so in the end I just gave up on resubscribing. Obviously not the way to run a business ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
miami91 Posted November 12, 2009 Share #23 Posted November 12, 2009 I've mentioned before when these threads come up (which they seem to do like clockwork), that if you're in the USA or Canada, subscribe through GLP, German Language Publications. They are fantastic: issues arrive on time, billing and renewal is handled professionally, and if you need assistance, you can call and speak to someone in English. I had nothing but trouble with LFI, but it's been smooth sailing the last couple of years with GLP. Jeff. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
honcho Posted November 19, 2009 Share #24 Posted November 19, 2009 Update to my earlier post: I have received an unreserved apology from Interabo and have been notified that any invoices have been cancelled. Apparently, Interabo "....obviously have a problem with their database....". Interabo and LFI are aware of this thread. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wda Posted November 19, 2009 Share #25 Posted November 19, 2009 Interesting thread. I had a similar experience when an unidentified Hamburg business collected 60 Euros in mid-summer. My sub usually coincides with the calendar year. I emailed them, got a prompt partial reply. I sent another email late one evening and was amazed to get a swift email in reply even later that evening. My issue was resolved but I was left wondering about an organization which operates all hours! It suited me because I work all hours too! I concluded that they inherited problems and are trying to sort out their records. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter_n Posted November 20, 2009 Share #26 Posted November 20, 2009 Interabo and LFI are aware of this thread.If they are then I expect to hear from one or the other with respect to my ignored emails. I'm not holding my breath. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
honcho Posted November 20, 2009 Share #27 Posted November 20, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) If they are then I expect to hear from one or the other with respect to my ignored emails. I'm not holding my breath. Interabo and LFI are aware of this thread because I made them aware of it. To the OP: Interabo's apology came via someone called Tania Erbe. Try directing your correspondence there as a point of contact. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ndjambrose Posted November 21, 2009 Share #28 Posted November 21, 2009 I had the exact same problem as the OP. I also was sent a letter demanding 60 Euros with menaces. I replied along the same lines, and received a response saying it was a mistake arising from transferring LFI's customer services to another company. I thought that was an end to it except that a month later I got a repeat of the same letter, this time with a penalty added. I made another enquiry and asked why this was happening, and why couldn't they simply re-debit my original credit card. They informed me they'd lost my card number and I could just send them my credit card details by email. Naturally I declined, and said I wanted a secure payment solution as per new subscriptions. I still haven't been offered a secure means of renewing my subscription. So I've given up - I now buy LFI over the counter in my dealer instead. It would be easier to cancel my subscription and take out a new one from scratch - the renewal process seems fraught with problems. Good luck to anyone else. If someone manages to get a renewal working please let me know. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
masjah Posted November 21, 2009 Share #29 Posted November 21, 2009 I had the exact same problem as the OP. I also was sent a letter demanding 60 Euros with menaces. I replied along the same lines, and received a response saying it was a mistake arising from transferring LFI's customer services to another company. I thought that was an end to it except that a month later I got a repeat of the same letter, this time with a penalty added. I made another enquiry and asked why this was happening, and why couldn't they simply re-debit my original credit card. They informed me they'd lost my card number and I could just send them my credit card details by email. Naturally I declined, and said I wanted a secure payment solution as per new subscriptions. I still haven't been offered a secure means of renewing my subscription. So I've given up - I now buy LFI over the counter in my dealer instead. It would be easier to cancel my subscription and take out a new one from scratch - the renewal process seems fraught with problems. Good luck to anyone else. If someone manages to get a renewal working please let me know. Well, I must be one of the lucky ones. I pay by credit card, and opted for default automatic debiting for renewal. Just before renewal was due, I got an email asking me to update my credit card details if they had changed - they hadn't - so I ignored it. My card got duly debited and my subscription was renewed. What would happen should I want to cancel, or when my card expires and I get a new one with a new expiry date, is of course anybody's guess. Maybe they will have sorted themselves out by then! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter_n Posted November 22, 2009 Share #30 Posted November 22, 2009 What would happen should I want to cancel, or when my card expires and I get a new one with a new expiry date, is of course anybody's guess. Maybe they will have sorted themselves out by then!What happens is detailed in post #16 above. The current update to that is that last week Citibank finally canceled my credit card, and I successfully closed my bank accounts there. They still cannot explain how a canceled credit card was successfully charged by Interabo. I have heard nothing from either Interabo or LFI. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter_n Posted May 27, 2010 Share #31 Posted May 27, 2010 So, six months on and I hadn't heard from anybody (of course). Then I read somewhere here that LFI issue 4/2010 was in the mail. This was my supposed last subscription mailing so I sent a panic email to both [noparse]lfi_engl@interabo.de[/noparse] and [noparse]info@lfi-online.de[/noparse] yesterday with a link to my post #16 above and enquiring was my subscription cancelled. I did include my address label with the number above my address in the email. Much to my surprise I heard back from Interabo this morning: "We hereby confirm that your subscription has been cancelled as of now." They had apparently not received my earlier communications from LFI... Based on this experience I'd advise anyone having subscription problems to write directly to Interabo and not LFI, who seem to be completely useless. The address to write to is lfi_engl@interabo.de. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
glenerrolrd Posted May 27, 2010 Share #32 Posted May 27, 2010 Ignoring emails is just an unacceptable business practice. There is simply no excuse . Staff your business appropriately or outsource the function. Its a cost of doing business period. They did this ignore emails to me twice on a simple address change. They finally responded months too late and shipped me the back issues after I had purchased them retail. Why do small businesses think that allowing the queue to build up somehow takes less time. Takes the same effort to respond today as it will next month. Then I tried to order the free subscription that came with the M8.2 and it would not accept the order? Sent an email months ago and no response. LFI if you are reading this please remove your head from your behind. I enjoy the magazine too bad I can get a subscription to it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter_n Posted May 28, 2010 Share #33 Posted May 28, 2010 One of my kids recently interned in Berlin for two years with a number of news organizations there. She told me that addresses of the type [noparse]info@domain_name.de[/noparse] are just placeholders and nobody actually monitors them. So it's a waste of time writing to them, you need an email address that someone actually uses. I'm very grateful to member tpkoester in post #11 above who provided the email [noparse]lfi_engl @ interabo.de[/noparse] that actually worked... Moderator's note: Please do not provide email addresses for third parties in the forum. Spambots will have a field day. I can see here that Peter has added a "noparse" HTML tag to the addresses, but we would rather that addresses are not displayed as full addresses in the forum. Thanks Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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