We are also very frustrated with how far in advance these renewal notices
come. We are getting "PAST DUE - RENEW IMMEDIATELY!" invoices for
subscriptions that start in APRIL! Strafford Publications (Municipal
Litigation Reporter, Class Action Law Monitor) is similarly weird. We will
not pay this far in advance - it throws our budget off-kilter. Anyone have
any solution to this, other than to keep a file with these notices until you
are ready to renew?
Karen Krupka
Wildman Harrold
----Original Message Follows----
From: "Robert S. Ryan" <RRyan@hfbllp.com>
To: <law-lib@ucdavis.edu>, <scall@aallnet.org>
Subject: Andrews Renewal Policy: Surprise! Surprise!
Date: Thu, 21 Nov 2002 13:13:12 -0800
Some of you may recall a discussion a few months back regarding the
somewhat bizarre policy Andrews had adopted for renewal of newsletters.
In my particular case it was the Insurance Coverage Litigation Report,
which had always renewed for us in October, but suddenly showed up for
renewal in August. Upon calling Customer Service, I was informed that in
the past an "annual" subscription was for 52 issues, with special issues
as (in effect) a bonus, but now an "annual" subscription was for 48
issues, including special issues, so it would be impossible to predict
when the subscription would renew each year. (I'm still not entirely
sure I understood this correctly.)
This morning I got the latest issue of Insur.Cov.LitRpt and happened to
look at the Subscription Rate information on the Table of Contents page
and, lo and behold, it says Subscription Rate (24 Issues) - that's
twenty four (24) - a mere two dozen - for the price that used to cover
52 and/or 48 issues. Soooo, I called Customer Service and found out 2
interesting things.
First - the very nice lady I spoke to didn't know why it says 24 issues
- it shouldn't, I've sent her a fax of it to show her boss (I'm guesing
they use the same templates for various titles and somebody forgot to
change the number from the title they were working on previously) and
they'll see that it's fixed.
Second - and much more interesting - what it should say is 52, BECAUSE
THEY'VE CHANGED BACK TO THEIR OLD POLICY!!! - so many of us complained
about the switch to the weird 48 issue renewal system that they have
gone back to the status quo ante bellum, BUT THEY HAVEN'T BOTHERED TO
NOTIFY US ABOUT IT!!!!!!
Now wouldn't you think that, having listened to their customers and made
a change that the customers had requested, they'd want to reap a little
good publicity and goodwill by announcing the fact? (You ever suspect
that all the publishers get together at regular secret meetings with an
agenda item called How Can We Drive Them Nuts This Month?)
Oh well.
Bob Ryan
Hill Farrer & Burrill
Los Angeles
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