Abraham Jewett  |  August 19, 2022

Category: Legal News

Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.

Gannett Company Indy Star Headquarters.
(Photo Credit: Jonathan Weiss/Shutterstock)

Gannett newspaper renewal class action lawsuit overview: 

  • Who: Nichole Anderson filed a class action lawsuit against Gannett Co., Inc. 
  • Why: Anderson claims Gannett unlawfully renews newspaper subscriptions for consumers who have already canceled their subscription. 
  • Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in New Jersey federal court. 

Gannett deceptively and unlawfully automatically renews the newspaper subscriptions of consumers who have already canceled their subscriptions, a new class action lawsuit alleges. 

Plaintiff Nichole Anderson claims Gannett acts in a “fraudulent” and “unconscionable” manner by allegedly continuing to charge consumers for their subscriptions even if they are canceled before they are set to renew. 

Anderson argues that Gannett breaches its contract with consumers by allegedly continuing to charge for newspaper subscriptions that have been canceled.

“Defendant routinely fails to honor consumers’ requests to stop their newspaper subscriptions from automatically renewing and instead, continues to charge them subscription fees without their authorization in breach of the express terms of its contract,” the Gannett class action states. 

Gannett class action alleges breach of contract, unjust enrichment

Anderson’s subscription to the Courier News was automatically renewed despite her canceling the subscription and receiving confirmation that it was done, the Gannett class action states.

“As a result of Defendant’s fraudulent conduct, Plaintiff paid nearly $10.00 in unauthorized charges from Defendant,” according to the Gannett newspaper renewal lawsuit. 

Anderson claims Gannett is guilty of unjust enrichment and breach of contract and in violation of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act and New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act

She demands a jury trial and requests declaratory and injunctive relief along with an award of compensatory, statutory and punitive damages for herself and all class members. 

Anderson wants to represent a nationwide class of consumers who continued to be charged for a Gannett-owned newspaper subscription despite already having canceled their subscription to that newspaper. 

Additionally, she wants to represent a subclass of consumers who purchased a subscription to the Courier News and who were continued to be charged after they canceled their subscription. 

In related news, last month, a judge ruled that a $6.7 million class action settlement between The Washington Post and consumers who say their subscriptions were unlawfully automatically renewed could move forward

Have you been charged for a Gannett newspaper renewal subscription you already canceled? Let us know in the comments! 

The plaintiff is represented by Rachel Edelsberg of Dapeer Law, P.A., and Sophia G. Gold and Jeffrey D. Kaliel of Kaliel Gold PLLC. 

The Gannett class action lawsuit is Anderson v. Gannett Co., Inc., Case No. 3:22-cv-05088, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.


Don’t Miss Out!

Check out our list of Class Action Lawsuits and Class Action Settlements you may qualify to join!


Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

We tell you about cash you can claim EVERY WEEK! Sign up for our free newsletter.

84 thoughts onGannett class action alleges newspapers auto-renewed subscriptions after customer cancellations

  1. Tony Willis says:

    this happened to me. online trial subscription. they just kept on taking my money every month after i canceled.

  2. Michaele says:

    I’m in the same boat

  3. Jill Liebscher says:

    I was a subscriber and carrier and cancelled multiple times. Gannett claimed I was on vacation hold falsely to keep billing me. Many of the subscribers I delivered to have this problem too, and Gannett keeps failing to inform carriers of subscription changes. This results in papers not being delivered, then Gannett refuses to provide enough papers to deliver to the customers. They charge carriers a dollar for each missed paper, despite it only paying out 11 cents to carriers per paper delivered. It’s obvious fraud.

  4. Jennifer Sheremetta says:

    We subscribed to our Gannett owned paper and decided to cancel. My husband called to cancel and they said it would be. The next billing cycle we were charged once again. We didn’t know they were going to charge us again and it caused our bank account to be overdrawn. So we had to pay overdraft fees because of them. He had to call a second time and they said they would cancel it but because they had already charged us there was nothing they could do about it so we would continue to get the paper for the remainder of that billing cycle. Then there were days our paper was t delivered at all during this last cycle. It was a mess. We refuse to buy their paper at all.

  5. Jan Burgess says:

    I did have a subscription to local Gannett for several years, but decided to cancel after several rounds of ridiculous increases back-to-back and lack of consistent delivery.
    After I cancelled, I was charged again for subscription, but did not receive paper. I called multiple times to speak with anybody – never got a return call for my messages. I ended up emailing to get it straight. They did eventually refund my money, but only after a whole bunch of wasted time and effort.

  6. Casey says:

    This has been happening to me since May! I’ve even been working to block the charges from my credit card company. Of course when I call Gannett they have no record of a subscription because it’s cancelled. I’d like to be added to the suit.

  7. Amy Beaulieu says:

    I have a subscription to a local newspaper owned by Gannett, I have tried to cancel my subscription several times and was successfully one time but I keep getting charged for a subscription.
    I have even tried to change my automatic renewal and update my account and can not even access any of my info.
    This just isn’t right to keep charging my card for a subscription I canceled.

    So could you please add me to the suit and please keep me updated on when I can put in for this suit.
    Thank you

  8. Susan Gnacinski says:

    Yes!! This happened to me. I had a subscription to local Gannet newspaper.
    Even though I cancelled my subscription, I continued to be billed on my credit card.
    I disputed the bill because I wasn’t receiving any more newspapers. The whole ordeal was a hassle
    & I ended up paying credit card late fees (because I refused to pay for something I wasn’t receiving)

  9. Jennifer namack says:

    Please add me

  10. Heather says:

    Add me

1 2 3 8

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. By submitting your comment and contact information, you agree to receive marketing emails from Top Class Actions regarding this and/or similar lawsuits or settlements, and/or to be contacted by an attorney or law firm to discuss the details of your potential case at no charge to you if you qualify. Required fields are marked *

Please note: Top Class Actions is not a settlement administrator or law firm. Top Class Actions is a legal news source that reports on class action lawsuits, class action settlements, drug injury lawsuits and product liability lawsuits. Top Class Actions does not process claims and we cannot advise you on the status of any class action settlement claim. You must contact the settlement administrator or your attorney for any updates regarding your claim status, claim form or questions about when payments are expected to be mailed out.