New Scientist Reviews

Like everyone else saying the same thing, getting rid of your subscription through the website or app is basically impossible. Their help section tells you to click on a setting that doesn't even exist. This is a pretty shady move for a publication that's supposed to be trustworthy.

After checking out other customer feedback, I decided to skip purchasing a subscription. Sounds like they're more interested in chasing whatever's trendy right now rather than doing serious analysis of actual scientific progress and discoveries.

I'd strongly advise against subscribing to this magazine. You're going to be unhappy. Canceling is incredibly frustrating. But the real problem is they'll spam your inbox constantly with promotional offers while never actually sending you a reminder that your subscription auto-renews or telling you the amount they're about to charge. You won't know anything happened until you check your bank and see the money gone. This automatic renewal without advance notification is actually against the law these days, but they seem determined to ignore that requirement. I've been reading this publication for decades and have watched the actual content slip from genuinely excellent to just mediocre. Plus the advertising has become increasingly tacky and frankly contradicts what the magazine claims to stand for scientifically.

Similar to other bad experiences shared here, I wasn't informed about what people were saying before I ordered. I bought a gift subscription for the holidays and requested it start with the issue after Christmas. The company scheduled the first magazine for early December, and when I called to change this, they refused saying it was already locked in. That was the end of that.

The articles themselves are decent, and I signed up partly to avoid politics in the mainstream press since I work in physics and sports science. Unfortunately, the subscription model is deceptive. They don't clearly explain what you'll be charged once your trial ends and you can't cancel through the app. I ended up paying 65 pounds every three months, which is way too much.

I recently emailed Customer Services asking them to extend my subscription expiration date to account for two missing issues that arrived on specific dates in May and June. However, they're now requesting information I've already provided multiple times through their website and via email over the last several months. This is getting ridiculous. The magazine itself seems to arrive damaged regularly in flimsy protective wrapping that tears easily, which is likely why copies go missing. Plus, I've had neighbors return magazines that were delivered to their houses by mistake. I'm still waiting to hear about the postal audit they mentioned conducting with their delivery partner.

I was charged for a subscription I never asked for. I've sent an email requesting they refund me right away. If they don't cooperate, I'll have to file a chargeback through my bank.

STAY AWAY. Canceling requires you to send an email, which feels intentionally difficult. They should have an easy online way to stop your subscription instead.

They respond to customer emails without actually reading what you write. The answers I get back don't make any sense for what I'm asking about. I've been trying to tell them for years that it's nearly impossible to locate the letters section on their website, but nothing ever changes.

Like lots of frustrated customers, ending a subscription here is practically impossible unless you call them directly, which honestly shouldn't be required anymore. Save yourself the headache and don't bother signing up if you think you might want to cancel, because you'll probably get charged multiple times before they finally stop.