SurfBouncer.com Failed to cancel subscription after written request & now refusing to refund, Internet
Hello
I was in a China on a short business trip and looked for a VPN company to help me stay in touch with the USA. Surf Bouncer was one that seemed to work well. When I returned from the trip I requested them to cancel. Not only did they fail to cancel my account but they continued to charge my paypal account. When I brought this to their attention, I received the following email:
Hello, We owe you nothing. We don't keep logs so we have no idea if you used it recently or not.
I see you've managed to find the cancellation feature in PayPal. So you see it was not that hard.
All you needed to do was go to your PayPal account and cancel the subscription. We advised you three time to do this. Your failure to do so is not our fault, it's yours.
What's so hard about taking some personal responsibility instead of blaming others for your failures.
Regards, Gus
This is simply not true. They advised me to find the cancel subcription button of which there is none. It was only after filing a dispute with paypal that the subscription was canceled. As you can tell from the tone of their response, they are out to defraud people. Reputable companies when a written request for a cancelation is made it is respected. My advice is to never use SurfBouncer for any services.
3 Updates & Rebuttals
oremjim
draper,Utah,
United States of America
Some truth but not all of it.
#4Author of original report
Thu, January 10, 2013
There is a bit of truth here, I did write them to cancel and they did continue to charge me anyway.
The lies surfbouncer continue to say are that paypal emailed me once a week. They never once emailed me. And surfbouncer did give me instructions on how to cancel via paypal, but they were bogus. There is no unsubscribe button anyone on the paypal site. Log in to your own account and see for yourself.
I'm not the only one they have pulled this with take a look for yourself.
http://www.start-vpn.com/vpn-providers/surfbouncer/surfbouncer/
Kpao06 clearly had the same exact problems with their unethical billing practices.
I think this review and their rebuttal provides adequate information for most people to see who they are dealing with at surfbouncer.
But just in case you were still interested in more info, here are some excepts from their latest email message to me.
"I figured that was going to be the case from the start. I know your type well.
A little baby pretending he's a man crying when he doesn't get his way. Now go have your mommy change your diaper before you start crying some more".
I'm pretty sure they "know my type well" since they systematically rip people off and therefore produce resentment on an on going basis as demonstrated by the many reviews of their company.
I'd recommend StrongVPN for your needs. I've let them know about my case and am happy to be working with a reputable company.
SurfBouncer
Overland Park,Kansas,
United States of America
Additional information
#4UPDATE Employee
Wed, January 09, 2013
Poster of this complaint oremjim purchased under the name Boonababe.com South Jordan, UT
A now defunct domain.
He uses the Boonababe name to post on other consumer sites. Of course his name isn't really Jim either but as long as you are going to make up tall tales you might as well go all the way.
A quick Google search reveals the following about his business practices, which probably explains the domain being defunct.
http://www.planetfeedback.com/ebay/other/seller+boonababe+tried+to+extort+9+positive+feedbacks+and+were+not+suspended/265223
http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=boonababe&ftab=AllFeedback&myworld=true
SurfBouncer
Overland Park,Kansas,
United States of America
Customer is skewing the facts to tell his tale
#4UPDATE Employee
Wed, January 09, 2013
The customer asked to cancel the PayPal subscription. We told him three times how to do it. He never replied to any of our responses saying he couldn't find the button or did not know how to do it.
Today after several months he files a chargeback with PayPal claiming ignorance of all of this.
PayPal sent him a notice before being charged each week that he was about to be charged again and how to cancel. He ignored all of these messages from PayPal.
Our web site clearly states that PayPal subscriptions are recurring until cancelled.
The bottom line is that he was completely aware he was being charged every week. To say he was not is to say PayPal was charging him without notifying him. PayPal always notifies customers in advance of upcoming charges and includes a link to cancel the subscription
He was advised three times how to cancel and he did nothing.
There is more than one side to a story and we don't appreciate customers having the service for months and then going to PayPal and getting all their money back. He wants to claim he didn't use it. We don't know if he did or didn't.
However, just like your cell phone service you buy a subscription and pay each month. Whether you don't use it at all or use it all the time you still pay for the service since the service is being made available to you. This is no different. Or just like your cable TV service. You pay every month whether you watched no TV or whether you watched 24/7. The service is provided and that is what you are being charged for, the service being available.
The only ripoff happening here is from the person complaining as he was perfectly aware he was being charged, he was perfectly aware how to cancel and now will get his money back by filing a false fraud charge to PayPal regarding the transactions.