Billing issue

Good evening,

Some time ago, I was offered the 10 day trial which requires credit card information in order to be activated. The page, however, does not explicitly say that activating the trial also activates a subscription plan, nor any information about which plan it is. There is also no way (that I have found) to view the status of your subscription and finding how to cancel it is rather difficult.

10 days have passed and my expectation was that the trial would end and I would be asked to reauthorize and choose a plan if I would like to continue the membership subscription, instead I was billed $99 from the bank account and received no notification through e-mail or on the website of either the expiration or rebilling.

I do not agree with this practice, as it is shrewd, while at the same time it is not entirely fair for the customer, due to the lack of transparency, difficult access to information and improper notification. Thus, I have requested a refund and a complete cancellation of the paid services.

The terms of service do mention that you are required to cancel your subscription through the Support Center, in order to not get further billed, however, from what I recall, there is no mention of the trial being an actual subscription.

The refund request was filed aproximately two hours ago and I would like to know when I should expect the money refunded, because you so wildly flaunt your "30-day moneyback guarantee".

Gladly,

Ioan Mateescu

I believe that you should email the billing department or one of the staff members of chess.com so that they can helpy ou out. 

Ioan, although I know it is frustrating you must understand that many websites will do this, not only chess.com. For example, if you want to activate your one month free trial of amazon prime you have to make sure to cancel the trial before a month is over or you will be charged!

Perhaps they will provide you a refund? Hope this helps. 

@OP: Sorry to learn of your dissatisfaction, but the responsibility to cancel a trial is generally on the consumer. This is typical business practice all over the world, not just Chess.com (as DivineSoul said). Hence the saying, "Let the buyer beware."

You did not say whether you overtly asked Chess.com for a cancellation during the 10-day period. If Chess.com does not receive such notification from you voluntarily, should they not interpret that as an acceptance of the terms?

I fully expect that Chess.com will refund your money and fully satisfy you. The staff members are very reasonable and work well with the members.

I perfectly understand the situation, however the owner of the bank account that facilitated this does not, who I am trying to stall from doing something unnecessary until the situation is indeed resolved.

I am aware that other service providers like Xbox live and Amazon also practice this and it's rather common practice, that does not change the fact that it is taking a bit advantage of one's disinterest or lack of experience to take his money.

In fact, I do understand that this is entirely my fault and I would not really expect a refund had they not advertised the 30-day money back thing. So, while I await for that to happen, I want to actually thank Chess.com for teaching me this lesson. You guys not only help me get better at chess, but also teach me about online business.

This thread is more of a PSA or a plea to inform other people of things like this so they also learn from my mistake. It is only the right thing to do in this situation.

I was not explicitly informed of the terms, so no, I don't think my lack of disapproval should mean an approval of something I do not know.

@OP: A lack of disapproval can reasonably be interpreted as an approval. Since you signed up for a trial diamond membership, Chess.com was reasonable to infer that you had at least a passing interest in keeping their services.

Consumers' knee-jerk reaction is generally to assume unscrupulousness, that businesses merely want to usurp money. When we remember that businesses are in business to make money, we then realize that businesses are not unethical in the least to engage in this practice.

A diamond membership has the best value among all the memberships offered by Chess.com, and the services are well worth the cost. On that basis, I politely recommend that you keep the membership.

Also, I caution you that "I was not explicitly informed of the terms" is a feeble argument: ignorance of the terms. Arguing ignorance in order to accomplish something (such as a refund) is very difficult when the other party supplies the details in writing--as Chess.com does. Do you recall, for example, checking a box that said something to the effect of, "By checking this box, I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Chess.com's Terms of Services"?

@Whirlwind2011, I perfectly understand and I am only requesting this because of the 30-day moneyback guarantee, not because I feel entitled for a refund due to their unethical wrongdoing or anything like that. Yes, it was my mistake for not being aware of the situation. I understand how businesses work, and if you read again, I even commended them for this a little bit.

This is not a kneejerk reaction to anything and I am sorry that you feel the need to argue with me for no reason on opinions that don't even matter. You don't seem to have any authority over the matter, so I would respectfully ask you to step down from this conversation if you want to stir conflict.

That applies to you too.

I am sorry that you perceived my statements as argumentative. They were not so intended. However, I kindly remind you that the public forums are especially for varied opinions. 

Hint and Warning to everyone...on the net read the terms and conditions...I have been screwed in this way...If they put it in there, they are not liable....though they may agree to refund the money

The same thing has just happened to me from yesterday (5/5/13) to today (5/6/13). I cancelled the 10-day free trial yesterday (5/5/13), thinking that my diamond membership would expire today (5/6/13) at 12:00AM. I have messaged them today about the billing issue. Hopefully I could get a refund for this.