spokeo.com Bait and Switch, False Advertisement, Deceptive Billing pasadena, CA Internet
I signed up for the $5.95/month service for 6 months. It clearly stated $5.95/month. It did not say $35.70 upfront for 6 months of service/access. There is a huge difference. I signed up for $5.95/month expecting to be billed $5.95/month, instead I was charged $35.70. I was never told I would be charged $35.70, I was never presented with anything that said I would be charged $35.70, and moreover, I never approved or would have approved a charge of $35.70. WHY even use the words "$5.95/month" if there is no charge of $5.95/month being billed? IF they are going to charge $35.70 for 6 months of access then they should advertise "$35.70 for 6 months of service/access." By the way, I have screen shots of what I was signing up for. It clearly says $35.70 and there is NO indication or mention of a charge in the amount of $35.70.
Again, it was very clear that I was buying a $5.95/month subscription for 6 months. I NEVER SAW TERMS OR AGREED TO TERMS THAT STATED $35.70 for 6 months of service.
I have filled a complaint with the BBB, I've written Spokeo.com. I want my money back asap. I want my service cancelled.
I want Spokeo.com to ADVERTISE $35.70 FOR 6 MONTHS OF ACCESS IF THAT IS WHAT THEY ARE SELLING. It's quite simple.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Nice Try Spokeo
#3Author of original report
Thu, May 07, 2015
Hey Spokeo.com, good to see that you are still shirking responsibility. To be clear, Sokeo's adverts DO NOT say the "average monthly cost" is $5.95, they merely say "$5.95/mo."
Furthermore, $5.95/month does amount to $35.70 after 6 months... the BIG suprise is that you are billed $34.70 UPFRONT, and NOWHERE in the advert does it say this. The $35.70 you point to in the fine print (which I never saw anyway) merely confirms that 6 months of $5.95 charges equals $35.70.
If I agree to $5.95/month for 6 months, then there is no surprise that I will be billed $35.70 over the course of 6 months ... the $5.95 added up and over the course of the term TOTAL $35.70.
However, Spokeo.com charges the entire 6 months UPFRONT (all at once) and that is not clear at all. Spokeo could easily clear up their adverts by stating something like this:
$35.70 billed today gets you six months of access, that averages to $5.95/month!
However, Spokeo.com continues on with their false, misleading, purposefully vague advertisements and payment terms. Spokeo.com continues to attempt to explain that the "average monthly cost is $5.95" even thought their advert simply says "$5.95/mo." Again, WHY use the figure $5.95 if no such charge even exists - Spokeo.com uses this figure to mislead.
I suggest Spokeo.com clarify that the $35.70 is not the accumulation of six months of $5.95 charges, but rather the upfront fee for 6 months of access. To be crystal clear, Spokeo.com should be transparent about the fact that $35.70 is billed all at once, upfront, on the day of purchase.
I am not letting this go. I promise.
Spokeo
Pasadena,California,
USA
Response
#3UPDATE Employee ..inside information
Tue, May 05, 2015
Dear Dallasgal,
A copy of this response has been sent to the Better Business Bureau.
We appreciate your concern and want to ensure this issue is resolved. Allow us to clarify; our payment page shows the average monthly cost of this subscription is $5.95, and at the bottom of the page in our Terms of Use disclaimer, it clearly states that you "will be billed $35.70 every 6 months until this subscription is cancelled." In order to complete the purchase process and activate your subscription, this disclaimer must be agreed to.
After reviewing your account, we can verify that a full refund was issued on April 27, 2015 in the amount of $35.70. Please allow 5-7 business days from that date for this refund to be reflected on the original method of payment used to make this purchase. Furthermore, with regards to your email request to remove your information from our database, we have forwarded this to our development team who will process this removal. Please allow 24 hours for this request to be completed. In the future, if you continue to see listings associated with your name please us at privacy@spokeo.com to submit your request.
Should you have any further questions or concerns please feel free to contact us directly by emailing us at customercare@spokeo.com, or by calling us at 1 (888) 906-0850. We are available from 6:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. PST.
Sincerely,
Spokeo Customer Care