Complaint Review: SmartFax.com

My fax machine broke. I had to send 1 fax. So I signed up for a free trial at SmartFax.com. Big mistake. I should have come to ripoff report first because I had the same problems everyone else described.

First of all, I deliberately used a credit with an expiration date that I knew was expiring at the end of the month. Somehow I figured if these people were con artists then I would be OK.

It didn't work. Somehow I got billed anyway. Is this some kind of feature of my AMEX card or did someone there change the expiration date?

Anyway, after getting billed the first time, I went to my credit card statement to call and cancel. Their phone number just had a message telling me to cancel online.

So I went to the url give in the phone number. After filling out the form I got a message telling me that I would either receive a confirmation email or get a phone call within 2 business days.

I got neither. I did the same thing the next month. Same issue.

The third time I was really mad. I filled out the form and at the same time put in a chargeback request with AMEX. Somehow, this time I got an email from them them finally saying my service was cancelled.

It also stated "Your final invoice will reflect a pro-rated monthly fee for the period to your to your cancellation and will be available online on your regular monthly billing date." (I left their typos in there)

Hey smartfax, why don't you pro-rate back to the time I originally cancelled?

I contacted them asked for a refund. They asked for proof. I send them a pdf print of their confirmation page. They said they would need an actual dated email like the one I just received. Conveniently for them, they don't give you anything like that!

I think these guys are somehow affiliate with eFax because I saw their name in emails and credit card statements.

Well, I'm glad it's over (I hope) and I've figured out what was wrong with my fax machine. That was the most expensive "free" trial ever!