u/Inevitable-Bunch-501

I am the owner of a small, UK-based PR agency.

We are currently in contract with Meltwater for media monitoring; and have attempted to cancel our contract.

Their - frankly - aggressive sales team are now saying that the way in which we gave them 90-days notice wasn’t adequate (although they’ve not been able to specify exactly how we should give notice, nor does the contract) and we have automatically renewed for another 12 months at quite the princely sum.

They are now saying that if we don’t pay the invoice (which is for a service that hasn’t started yet, as we are still in our current contract) that we will be taken to the debt collectors, and face legal action.

I’ve asked to speak to someone outside of the sales team by way of exploring a resolution, and have been advised that the sales team deal with complaints, as well as sales.

Has this happened to anyone else? We simply can’t afford to pay this, which is why we let them know we were leaving.

Looking to speak to UK-based PR agencies who have used or are currently using Meltwater for their media monitoring needs.

In particular, keen to understand how many agencies have been affected by their ‘auto renewal’ function that appears to be used to trap businesses into a further 12 months.

There are many, many reviews on Trust Pilot and other similar sites suggesting Meltwater in particular makes it complex and challenging to leave this costly subscription; and when challenged things quickly escalate with threats of legal action and sending in debt collectors.

Welcome UK PR professionals’ first hand experience of this, and how you have navigated or are attempting to navigate what seems to be a fairly grim part of the industry for many.