- Report: #803906
Complaint Review: LIveCareer.com - Manila, Philippines Internet
Reported By:
John -
East Jordan, Michigan, United States of America
Submitted:
Updated:
-
Author Not Confirmed
Why?
LIveCareer.com
635 Madison Ave, New York, NY Manila, Philippines, Internet, United States of America
Phone:
888-816-0576
Web:
Livecareer.com
Categories:
Business Rating:
(0)
Tell us has your experience with this business or person been good?
LIveCareer.com North America Livecareer, Inc. Resume Service with attached monthly service charges Manila, Philippines, Internet
LiveCareer.com is a website offering services to people to construct their resume. I used this service in September, 2011 to write a new resume for my wife and paid a $4.95 fee to utilize the various resume templates they displayed. In the fine print, it was stated that I had access to the resume information for 7 days along with the fee I paid. What I did not realize, if I did not cancel within 7 days, a monthly fee would be charged to my account. I had paid the basic fee using my debt card bank account so they had my financial information. Without my knowledge nor my consent, they started making monthly withdrawals of $34.95. This continued for almost 3 months until I discovered that these monthly withdrawals were being made.
I called LiveCareer.com on November 23, 2011, and got their billing department, located in the Philippines and talked with the person there, who was somewhat challenged using the English language. They immediately agreed to cancel the upcoming November payment. After all, they have a money back policy. I was quite upset with the operator I was talking to so I asked to speak to the supervisor. The supervisor reminded me that I had agreed to allow these ongoing monthly charges and I assured him that had I realized that I was subject to these charges I would not have used the website. I asked him to refund the other 2 months (Sept & Oct) payments that had already been withdrawn. He said that he did not have the authority to do so and that he would have to email the headquarters in San Francisco for authorization. He said, give me a couple of days. The company did credit my bank account for the November payment. However, nothing happened about the previous 2 payments.
While talking to the supervisor, he gave me an address for the headquarters in San Francisco along with a couple of phone number he thought might connect me to that office. However, he said that he had no way to directly contact this office by phone ... only by email. I thought that was quite unusual that he had not direct contact with headquarters.
A week later, I called both numbers and was again connected to their office in the Philippines. Next I went online to look up their headquarters address in the San Francisco yellow pages. No such company was listed. However, when I used the online map, when I entered the office address in CA it was redirected to an address on Madison Ave in New York City. There was a phone number listed for that location and when I called it, I was again connected with the office in the Philippines. I was eventually connected to the same supervisor in that office. I asked why can't I talk to the offices located in the USA and he informed me that they were a world-wide company with offices located in several countries. They have over 10 million customers world-wide.
I think it is highly unusual that a company with millions of customers and offices in two major US cities does not have a listed phone number here in the USA. I also have concluded that his company "traps" it customers with additional and unnecessary fees that are charged month after month without providing any services to their customers. I consider myself to be very careful with my purchases on the internet and feel like that I have become of victim of a very organized "scam." However, I am a very persistant person and I don't tolerate it when someone attempts to "con" me. Probably most people would not take the time to investigate a situation like this one. Most people would be satisfied with getting a refund for 1 monthly fee and consider the other monthly fees to be the cost of learning a lesson the hard way.
If Livecareer, Inc really has 10 million customers, and if each of these customers gets $34.95 "stolen" from their bank account each month, it will equal $349.5 million each month. Whoever got this "scam" going is making a bundle at our expense.
The Livecareer website should probably be shut down completely. At least, they should be forced to remove the "automatic" monthly billing feature from the same box on their website where a customer makes a selection for using their service for a one-time purchase. They clearly have designed it so that the average person will be deceived into agreeing to allowing them to make monthly withdrawals from your bank account.
This is another warning ... buyer beware.
I called LiveCareer.com on November 23, 2011, and got their billing department, located in the Philippines and talked with the person there, who was somewhat challenged using the English language. They immediately agreed to cancel the upcoming November payment. After all, they have a money back policy. I was quite upset with the operator I was talking to so I asked to speak to the supervisor. The supervisor reminded me that I had agreed to allow these ongoing monthly charges and I assured him that had I realized that I was subject to these charges I would not have used the website. I asked him to refund the other 2 months (Sept & Oct) payments that had already been withdrawn. He said that he did not have the authority to do so and that he would have to email the headquarters in San Francisco for authorization. He said, give me a couple of days. The company did credit my bank account for the November payment. However, nothing happened about the previous 2 payments.
While talking to the supervisor, he gave me an address for the headquarters in San Francisco along with a couple of phone number he thought might connect me to that office. However, he said that he had no way to directly contact this office by phone ... only by email. I thought that was quite unusual that he had not direct contact with headquarters.
A week later, I called both numbers and was again connected to their office in the Philippines. Next I went online to look up their headquarters address in the San Francisco yellow pages. No such company was listed. However, when I used the online map, when I entered the office address in CA it was redirected to an address on Madison Ave in New York City. There was a phone number listed for that location and when I called it, I was again connected with the office in the Philippines. I was eventually connected to the same supervisor in that office. I asked why can't I talk to the offices located in the USA and he informed me that they were a world-wide company with offices located in several countries. They have over 10 million customers world-wide.
I think it is highly unusual that a company with millions of customers and offices in two major US cities does not have a listed phone number here in the USA. I also have concluded that his company "traps" it customers with additional and unnecessary fees that are charged month after month without providing any services to their customers. I consider myself to be very careful with my purchases on the internet and feel like that I have become of victim of a very organized "scam." However, I am a very persistant person and I don't tolerate it when someone attempts to "con" me. Probably most people would not take the time to investigate a situation like this one. Most people would be satisfied with getting a refund for 1 monthly fee and consider the other monthly fees to be the cost of learning a lesson the hard way.
If Livecareer, Inc really has 10 million customers, and if each of these customers gets $34.95 "stolen" from their bank account each month, it will equal $349.5 million each month. Whoever got this "scam" going is making a bundle at our expense.
The Livecareer website should probably be shut down completely. At least, they should be forced to remove the "automatic" monthly billing feature from the same box on their website where a customer makes a selection for using their service for a one-time purchase. They clearly have designed it so that the average person will be deceived into agreeing to allowing them to make monthly withdrawals from your bank account.
This is another warning ... buyer beware.
3 Updates & Rebuttals
Katrina_LiveCareer
San Francisco,California,
Livecareer Response
#2UPDATE Employee
Sat, April 20, 2013
Dear Pj,
I work at LiveCareer. Please contact us immediately so we can help you with this issue. Our toll free number is 1-888-816-0576 we are available 7 days a week 6am-midnight EST. Or if you prefer, you can email us at: [email protected]
PJ
hillside,New Jersey,
Same here
#3Consumer Comment
Fri, April 19, 2013
I recently had a run in with LiveCareer. I used the site to help me update my resume a few months ago. I did the seven day trial for $2.95, and on the second day I cancelled my subscription then left it at that. A month later I get a bill on my credit card for $34.95 and went to the web site looking for answers. After two emails I got this:
Dear Customer,Thank you for contacting LiveCareer Customer Service.Our records show that you purchased a Resume Builder subscription plan on january 31, 2013 for $2.95. As stated on the Payment Confirmation page, your Payment Confirmation email, and our subscription Terms of Use, we have a continuous billing feature which charges your account after the 7-day period and every month afterward unless you choose to cancel your subscription before hand. Your account was up for recurring billing on February 08, 2013, so that explains the additional charge of $34.95.Checking your account, You signed up for our 7-day full access subscription for $2.95. Since we were unable to receive any form of cancellation notice from you before the 7 days is over, it automatically renewed to our monthly subscription for $34.95 on the 8 th day. We tried to make this clear on our website sales page and on the payment confirmation email that we sent.Please feel free to contact us if you have any additional questions. You can reply to this message or click on Live Chat on our site. Customer service representatives are available during our business hours. We are open daily from 6AM to Midnight, EST.
Needless to say I felt this was a joke and probably I am not the first nor the last recipient of this same exact email. I sent them back an email stating that I wanted it cancelled right away, stay away from this site and any other sites that have '7 day trial' prices. I feel this is a game they play to get money out of people.
Thanks for the lesson in unethical business practices LiveCareer
Report Attachments
Katrina_LiveCareer
San Francisco,California,
United States of America
LiveCareer Response
#4UPDATE Employee
Wed, January 18, 2012
Hello, I work at LiveCareer. I am sorry that you had such a difficult experience.
Youre correct that we offer a monthly recurring service. Our $4.95 subscription is good for 7 days and renews to the monthly service unless cancelled. Many of our customers are on their job search for several months and continue to use our service so that they can easily create cover letters and resumes customized for each position they are applying for.
We rely on you to tell us when youre ready to cancel your service. You can cancel yourself on our website, or if you prefer, our customer service team is available 7 days a week, 12 hours a day to serve your needs.
You also mention that you tried to contact our San Francisco office which is where we do product marketing and design. We are not equipped to handle customer service inquiries at this office, which is why you were directed to our Customer Service Department.
We wish to improve our products and services and will take your feedback into account.
