A “Hearst CT Media” charge on your bank or credit card statement is a subscription fee from Hearst Connecticut Media Group, the publisher behind the Connecticut Post, Greenwich Time, The New Haven Register, The News-Times, Stamford Advocate, The Norwalk Hour, and the CT Insider digital platform.1Hearst. Hearst Connecticut Media Group It almost always reflects a print or digital subscription that auto-renewed, often at a higher rate than the introductory price you first signed up for. To stop future charges, call Hearst customer service at 203-333-6688 or email ctinsider@hearstmediact.com.
What the Charge Usually Represents
The charge maps to one of three things: a digital-only CT Insider subscription, a print home-delivery plan, or a bundle. Digital access is listed at a standard rate of $14.99 per month, with promotional pricing that can start as low as $0.99.2Apple App Store. CT Insider App Print delivery is billed in four-week cycles through Hearst’s automatic payment system, called EZPay. Rates vary by frequency: Monday-through-Sunday delivery has been listed at $12.00 per four-week period, and Sunday-only delivery at $4.00.3CT Post. CT Post Subscriber Services
If your charge is $19.96 or $19.97, that matches the “Unlimited Digital Access” plan cited repeatedly in consumer complaints filed with the Better Business Bureau.4Better Business Bureau. Hearst Connecticut Media Group Complaints
Why the Charge Caught You Off Guard
Three patterns account for most surprise charges.
The first is an expired promotional rate. All Hearst Connecticut subscriptions renew continuously until you explicitly cancel, and EZPay processes each new billing cycle at whatever the current price is.5CT Post. CT Post Disclaimer and Terms BBB complaints document subscribers whose bills jumped from $0.99 promotional rates to $11.96, $19.99, or $30.00 per month.6Better Business Bureau. Hearst Connecticut Media Group Complaints
The second is what Hearst calls Premium Issues. Print subscriptions can include up to twelve premium editions per year, each carrying an added charge of up to $7.00. Rather than appearing as a separate line item, the extra cost shortens your billing period, so a cycle you paid four weeks for ends sooner and the next charge arrives earlier than expected.5CT Post. CT Post Disclaimer and Terms
The third is a plan transition. In one documented case, a subscriber who signed up for a seasonal CT Insider sports package was moved to a full Unlimited Digital Access subscription at $19.96 per month once the seasonal plan ended, without realizing the switch had happened.7JustAnswer. Getting Monthly Charges From Hearst Media
How to Cancel
Hearst offers three contact channels:
- Phone: 203-333-6688. Live representatives take calls Monday through Friday from 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Saturday from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., and Sunday from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.8CT Insider. CT Insider Contact
- Email: ctinsider@hearstmediact.com or circulation@ctpost.com.9CT Post. CT Post Contact
- Online account: ctinsider.com/myaccount or ctpost.com/myaccount.10CT Insider. CT Insider FAQ
The online portal is the least reliable option. The subscription management page at subscription.hearstmediact.com lets you report delivery issues, pause delivery, and set up recurring payments, but does not display a self-service cancel button.11Hearst Media CT. Manage Your Subscription Hearst’s own EZPay terms state that a subscription continues “until you cancel by contacting Customer Service.”10CT Insider. CT Insider FAQ Numerous BBB complaints report being unable to cancel online and needing to call, sometimes facing long hold times or disconnections.12Better Business Bureau. Hearst Connecticut Media Group Complaints
One trap worth knowing about: Hearst treats different subscription products as separate accounts. Canceling a newsletter or email subscription does not automatically end a digital access subscription under the same login. As one BBB complainant put it, “at no point was it made clear that multiple cancellations were required.”12Better Business Bureau. Hearst Connecticut Media Group Complaints When you call, ask the representative to confirm that every active subscription tied to your name, email, and address is closed, and request written confirmation.
Under Hearst’s terms, cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period. No refund or credit is issued for time remaining in that period.5CT Post. CT Post Disclaimer and Terms
Getting Your Money Back
Hearst’s written policy is that subscriptions are non-refundable once canceled, and any balance under $5.00 is not refunded at all.5CT Post. CT Post Disclaimer and Terms Disputes must be raised within 60 days of the charge to qualify for a refund.13The News-Times. The News-Times Disclaimer and Terms
In practice, Hearst does issue refunds in individual cases, typically labeled as a courtesy. BBB records show documented refund amounts ranging from $19.96 to $71.76, usually after the subscriber filed a formal complaint. In one case, a subscriber who escalated received an initial refund for four charges and, after continued pressure, an additional $48.00.6Better Business Bureau. Hearst Connecticut Media Group Complaints
The practical order of operations: ask Hearst for a refund first, and if that fails, file a chargeback or fraud dispute with your bank or card issuer. Hearst has told complainants that once a bank dispute is initiated, it will not process a separate refund because the merchant is “charged back once the bank settles it.”4Better Business Bureau. Hearst Connecticut Media Group Complaints The two paths do not stack.
Connecticut’s Auto-Renewal Law
Connecticut Public Act No. 23-191, effective October 1, 2023, requires businesses to clearly disclose auto-renewal terms, obtain the consumer’s affirmative consent before charging, and provide an accessible cancellation mechanism. Subscriptions signed up for online must offer an online cancellation method.14Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection. Connecticut Autorenewal Law The Connecticut Attorney General enforces the law; it does not give individual consumers the right to sue on their own. If you believe Hearst’s cancellation process did not meet the statute’s requirements, you can file a complaint with the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection, though no formal regulatory action against Hearst under this law appears in the available record.