national geographic magizine

Oat23

By far the slowest service EVER. We ordered in November!

Turbulent Bill

I mailed them too, ordered on Dec 5 so more than 12 weeks have passed, no sign of anything in the post. Just got the original email confirmation at time of order (and lots of bumpf emails from the NGS shop).

To complicate matters, my credit card expired in the interim so they won't be able to charge the order now (whenever they get around to it...). I'm all in favour of companies only charging when goods ship, but if they're only going to charge something months after ordering they should at least check that the cards have enough validity. Or alternatively, just ship quicker and be done with it!

All in all, a shambles. On the face of it this was a great BA but the poor service from NGS is taking the shine off it.

RiseToTheTop

Haven't got mine either.

Cunning Stunt

still no sign of mine either - supposedly shipped early December.
I have given up on ever receiving it now.

vicwatson

Mine arrived this a.m. - February and March editions.

They haven't taken to money from my CC mind !!

So, at least we know the deal is live, and it's a matter of patience.

Slunk

vicwatson wrote: »

Mine arrived this a.m. - February and March editions.

They haven't taken to money from my CC mind !!

So, at least we know the deal is live, and it's a matter of patience.

What date did you order?

Hogzy

vicwatson wrote: »

Mine arrived this a.m. - February and March editions.

They haven't taken to money from my CC mind !!

So, at least we know the deal is live, and it's a matter of patience.

Did you order the same way as everyone on here??

TerrorFirmer

Ordered in early December, turned up last week finally.

vicwatson

Hogzy wrote: »

Did you order the same way as everyone on here??

Read the thread

vicwatson

Slunk wrote: »

What date did you order?

Received Order & Shipping Confirmation on 9/12/11, have a look back through the thread Slunk to see my reply from NGS when I e-mailed them to ask the whereabouts of the magazine. Let me know if you need anything else.

EDIT - POST 113 from 15th February - here ya go Slunk

I received a reply today from NGS and as promised here is their reply, they've only just registered the membership (obviously this is where the delay is taking place) and taken payment (I have to check this still) and they say my first issue will be April and if I want the issues from January 2012 they can arrange that (but obviously still not ship it until April 2012) -


Amsterdam, 15/02/2012

Your membership number: XXXXXXXX

Dear XX,

We wish to confirm that your membership has been registered as requested and your payment
applied accordingly. We normally advise to allow 8-12 weeks after the order is registered
for delivery to begin. Regular monthly delivery will continue from receipt of the first
magazine, April 2012, until your expiry date which appears on the top right corner of the
magazine wrapper. Each new magazine will usually arrive between the 1st and the 15th of the
month. Should you want this to start with the January 2012 issue, please confirm via return
email and we will arrange this for you. Please accept our apologies for any concern and
inconvenience caused.

Thank you for your interest in National Geographic. If we can be of any further assistance,
do not hesitate to contact us or consult your online customer service page at www.ngmservice.
com.

Exceptional customer service is our number one priority. If at anytime you feel you're not
receiving this level of service, please feel free to contact my supervisor Paul Wilson, by
email at ngmsupervisor@custserv.com.

Yours Sincerely

National Geographic Society

You can access your account information online, 24 hours a day/ 7 days a week, at www.
ngmservice.com. You can change an address, check on your expiration date, report missing
issues, renew an account and refer to a complete set of Frequently Asked Questions. Just
go to www.ngmservice.com and click on MEMBERS OUTSIDE THE US AND CANADA. You may gain access
by using your account number or entering your name and address as it appears on the
addressing label. Be sure to include your email address to complete the sign on.

Follow us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/natgeo
or on Twitter at http://twitter.com/natgeosociety
Last edited by vicwatson; 15-02-2012 at 13:42.

They obviously don't listen to e-mails as I asked them to put my subscription January-December and they ignored it and just sent the Feb and Mar editions (even though they said they would begin with the April edition), ah well they arrived so....

vicwatson

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

Ordered in early December, turned up last week finally.

Yes for me they were posted in the 12th week, they stated before that international orders can take 8-12 weeks, I imagine there should be a lot turning up in people's letterboxes this week.

They were posted from Holland.

Great deal OP - Thanks Again !

Hogzy

vicwatson wrote: »

Received Order & Shipping Confirmation on 9/12, have a look back through the thread Slunk to see my reply from NGS when I e-mailed them to ask the whereabouts of the magazine. Let me know if you need anything else.

What address did you send that email to? Iv sent loads of emails and all i have received is that "the order has been sent to the international orders dept and that we cannot check the status of your order".

vicwatson wrote: »

Read the thread

Maybe chillax with the attitude. Most of your replies on this thread have been short tempered. People are all here to help each other so just relax like.

vicwatson

Hogzy wrote: »

What address did you send that email to? Iv sent loads of emails and all i have received is that "the order has been sent to the international orders dept and that we cannot check the status of your order".



Maybe chillax with the attitude. Most of your replies on this thread have been short tempered. People are all here to help each other so just relax like.

Only with you actually, and only since you stopped telling me to tell people to e-mail NGS, it's you that needs to "chillax" as you put it, if you read through the thread in the first place you will see the e-mail address that others (as well as me) have used to contact Nat Geo and have received replies. It's in the thread. READ IT - like the rest of us.

Asking me did I order the same as everyone else here - once again if you read through the thread you'll find out that I did.

Hogzy

vicwatson wrote: »

Only with you actually, and only since you stopped telling me to tell people to e-mail NGS, it's you that needs to "chillax" as you put it, if you read through the thread in the first place you will see the e-mail address that others (as well as me) have used to contact Nat Geo and have received replies. It's in the thread. READ IT - like the rest of us.

Asking me did I order the same as everyone else here - once again if you read through the thread you'll find out that I did.

Christ... Whatever buddy. :rolleyes:

vicwatson

Hogzy wrote: »

Christ... Whatever buddy. :rolleyes:

I ain't your buddy :D

Read the thread like the rest of us. All the information you require is there.

Thanks OP, great deal. Cheers

Hogzy

vicwatson wrote: »

I ain't your buddy :D

Read the thread like the rest of us. All the information you require is there.

Thanks OP, great deal. Cheers

Thanks for the help. You've been fantastic.

positron

Just as an update: I ordered back in early December (9th I think) and based on the discussion here I emailed NGS last week, and they got back to me saying it usually takes 8-12 weeks, so please bear with us etc. I was about 2 days too early from completing the 12 weeks wait, so technically they were right, so I will wait.

Good to see the subscriptions starting to come thru. This NGS subscription was part of my Christmas presents to my brilliantly studious nephew, and I am sure he would enjoy it just as much if the subscription runs March-to-March. Fingers crossed it comes thru.

vicwatson

Hogzy wrote: »

Thanks for the help. You've been fantastic.

Anytime.

cokecans

I got this reply today:

We regret to advise you that we are unable to locate an active account with the information that was provided to us. We kindly ask you to confirm if your payment was deducted from your bank account.

Checking my account, the money was never deducted but I did receive a confirmation email.

vicwatson

cokecans wrote: »

I got this reply today:

We regret to advise you that we are unable to locate an active account with the information that was provided to us. We kindly ask you to confirm if your payment was deducted from your bank account.

Checking my account, the money was never deducted but I did receive a confirmation email.

Did you give them them the order confirmation number? Payment hasn't even been taken from my account and I received Feb and Mar issues today.

I'd go back to them with the order confirmation number and have them check it again.

LizardKing

cokecans wrote: »

I got this reply today:

We regret to advise you that we are unable to locate an active account with the information that was provided to us. We kindly ask you to confirm if your payment was deducted from your bank account.

Checking my account, the money was never deducted but I did receive a confirmation email.

I got this too .. no payment was taken either though ..

They will probably ask us to re-order but i'm fed up with the waiting and crap support so just gonna leave it ...:rolleyes:

Mountjoy Mugger

I email them on Monday, no reply to date.

However, I just checked my order status again a few seconds ago, and they've shipped it seems!

No money taken either.

Hogzy

Mountjoy Mugger wrote: »

I email them on Monday, no reply to date.

However, I just checked my order status again a few seconds ago, and they've shipped it seems!

No money taken either.

We all have that. It has said it since the 12 of December for me.

Mountjoy Mugger

Well, it hadn't said it for me. It's only appeared since Monday.

vicwatson

This is from their website - but it's doubful that the BA the OP has offered has anything to do with any of these -

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Important Customer Service Alerts[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Unauthorized Renewals and Subscription Offers Through the Mail and by Phone:

We have learned that a number of unauthorized agents are sending mail solicitations and placing telemarketing calls, attempting to acquire new subscriptions and renewal orders for our magazine titles. These agents are not approved to represent the National Geographic Society, nor are they affiliated with the Society in any way. Please do not give out any personal, payment or credit card information. Do not renew your subscription through the mail or over the phone with any of the unauthorized agents listed below:

American Magazine Service
Choice Publications
4 Magazines
Global Reader Services
Magazine Billing Network
Magazine Billing Services
Magazine Consultants
Magazine Distribution Services
Magazine Subscription Services
National Magazine Services Inc
Orbital Publishing Group
Publishers Billing Association
Publishers Billing Exchange
Publishers Payment Service
Readers Billing Services
Seascape Publishers Network
Unique Readers Services
United Publication Services
United Publishers Service
US Reader Inc.

We have been working with our legal department. the United States Postal Service and state Attorney General offices to track down these agents and to issue cease and desist orders to stop this activity. Should you be contacted by any of these unauthorized agents, please notify us of the details by writing to:

National Geographic Society
Consumer and Member Marketing Division
1145 17th Street NW
Washington DC 20036 [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Sweepstake Scam:

NGS has recently received calls and emails from people who have been sent a letter by various claim services (including Guardian Financial, Global Financial, Alliance Financial and other claim services) telling them that they are a winner of a National Geographic sweepstakes. The letter asks them to call a number and cash an enclosed check. This is a scam and National Geographic has no involvement or relationship with any of the people or companies named in the letter. Please do not cash the check or give the company listed in the letter any personal information of any kind. National Geographic has alerted the Fraud Section of the US Department of Justice of the scam. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Mistreatment of Magazine Crews:

There has been recent media coverage about the mistreatment of young adults who join "magazine crews" that sell subscriptions door to door to the public. We wish to assure our customers that the National Geographic Society does not authorize any door to door agents to acquire subscriptions on our behalf. The Society does use several legitimate subscription services and our policy has been clearly communicated to all of these approved agents. We have worked aggressively to address this issue and, in the future, will continue to specifically prohibit such door to door sales of our magazines.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] If Action is Needed:

If you are unsure of an offer you have received, or if you believe you may have already placed an order, either through the mail with one of the above mentioned unauthorized agents, or through a door to door solicitation, please do not hesitate to contact us immediately at 1-800-NGS-LINE (1-800-647-5463) or at ngsline@customersvc.com. We will be glad to investigate this matter for you.[/FONT]

vicwatson

Mountjoy Mugger wrote: »

I email them on Monday, no reply to date.

However, I just checked my order status again a few seconds ago, and they've shipped it seems!

No money taken either.

I checked into my account for you, and it has the exact same status as you have shown (and I've received Feb and Mar issues) so no doubt it will be with you soon.

As of today my account has not yet been debited either. Yay free magazines !!

What's the betting they'll take the wrong amount and we'll have to go chasing them to get the refund ! Aarrgghh !!:)

ChickenBalls

Me too - they said the following to me as my account seems to of disappeared from there system for some reason:

Firstly, our sincere apologies for the inconvenience caused by the non-receipt of your magazines. Unfortunately, we are unable to locate the orders referenced in the attached confirmation email and will be investigating this matter further. Please rest assured that your order will be placed shortly and we will arrange for missed issues from the interim period (i.e. February 2012, March 2012 and April 2012) to be arranged complimentarily, in light of the inconvenience caused.

Our sincere apologies for the inconvenience caused and thank you for your patience with this matter. We will be in contact again very shortly.

K

Hogzy

keith123 wrote: »

Me too - they said the following to me as my account seems to of disappeared from there system for some reason:

Firstly, our sincere apologies for the inconvenience caused by the non-receipt of your magazines. Unfortunately, we are unable to locate the orders referenced in the attached confirmation email and will be investigating this matter further. Please rest assured that your order will be placed shortly and we will arrange for missed issues from the interim period (i.e. February 2012, March 2012 and April 2012) to be arranged complimentarily, in light of the inconvenience caused.

Our sincere apologies for the inconvenience caused and thank you for your patience with this matter. We will be in contact again very shortly.

K

I just got the EXACT same email. I responded with a link to this thread. They probably wont bother looking but here hoping.

Hogzy

Just got this back from Nat Geo Supervisor Paul Wilson

Dear *Hogzy*,

Thank you for your further reply and providing the link. We have taken a look at it and will continue to investigate this issue. We will contact you further shortly.

Thank you again for your patience.

Kind Regards,
Paul Wilson
National Geographic Customer Service

donnacha

So here are my updates ...

Like others here I ordered early Dec, got immediate order number, shipping confirmation etc. Seeing as the 12 weeks had now passed I finally yesterday am sent a request on the weblink provided by Africa here detailing both my order number(dated Dec 5th) and shipping confirmation (dated dec 6th).

The response I received to this yesterday pm was as follows:


Dear XXX,

Thank you for contacting the National Geographic Catalog/Online store.

According to our records your order for the international delivery of the NG Magazine subscription was placed on 12/5/11 and sent to the NG Magazine division for fulfillment. Our records show your billing and shipping address as:

XXX
XXX
XXX
IRL

Unfortunately we are unable to access your account or check on the status of your magazine subscription from this location, so your request is being forwarded to our Magazine division for handling. You can contact the Magazine customer service department directly via email at ngsintl@customersvc.com for further assistance.

Our National Geographic magazine customers can also complete some customer service transactions online. You can check an expiration date, change an address, report missing or damaged issues, confirm your last payment date, renew your account or give a gift by visiting www.ngmservice.com.

Thank you for supporting National Geographic.

Sincerely,

Esther R
Supervisor
National Geographic Catalog/Online Customer Service
1-888-557-4450
NGCatalog@ngs.org

On receipt of this I forwarded the mail and my original query to the email referenced above (ngsintl@customersvc.com). I got the following response this am:

Dear XXX,

Firstly, our sincere apologies for the inconvenience caused by the non-receipt of your magazines. Unfortunately, we are unable to locate the orders referenced in the below confirmation email and will be investigating this matter further. Please rest assured that your order will be placed shortly and we will arrange for missed issues from the interim period (i.e. February 2012, March 2012 and April 2012) to be arranged complimentarily, in light of the inconvenience caused.

Our sincere apologies for the inconvenience caused and thank you for your patience with this matter. We will be in contact again very shortly.

Kind Regards,
Paul Wilson
National Geographic Customer Service


TBH I'll be pretty happy getting a 15 mth subscription for the original cost. For those of you who haven't been in touch and had been waiting like me then I'd advise getting in touch with them. And fair play to their customer support response times - replies to my two requests came within 24 hrs of my first contacting them.