- Report: #323789
Complaint Review: Real Networks Inc. (RealOne RealPlayer SuperPass) - Seattle Washington
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Real Networks Inc. (RealOne RealPlayer SuperPass)
2601 Elliott Avenue, Seattle, WA 98121 Seattle, 98121 Washington, U.S.A.
Phone:
206-674-2700
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Real Networks, Inc. (RealOne, RealPlayer, SuperPass) RealPlayer Running Scam with SuperPass 14 Day Free Trial Seattle Washington
I just wanted to put the word out. RealNetworks is scamming people with negative billing methods. I wonder how many people they have done this too and gotten away with over the years?
Here is a copy of the email I sent to their customer support today:
Dear RealNetwork Customer Support:
I am trying to cancel my 14-day SuperPass free trial account offered by RealNetworks, Inc. I reside in Canada.
I recently signed up for a 14 free trial via the RealPlayer website www.real.com and while your website has options for Canadian customers to sign up and enter their credit card information for the free trial, the number you list to cancel the service is not available to Canadian customers.
In fact, every single toll-free customer service number, technical support number you list on your website DO NOT WORK FOR PEOPLE CALLING FROM CANADA. Yes, I have gone through them all.
And every single time I dial them all I get is a recording saying "The number you are trying to call is not available in your area" and then the call is automatically disconnected. I've contacted your customer service support about this before and they will not help. They only refer me back to the same number that DOES NOT WORK.
If I cannot call to cancel before the free trial expires RealNetworks automatically rolls it over into a subscription and charges my credit card subcription fees every month. And RealNetworks, Inc. has also set it up so that the only way you can cancel the free trial is by phone. You cannot cancel the trial in writing, or by email or even through the customer service chat feature. I have also heard that sometimes people call in to cancel and all the hear is a recording telling them that the line is busy please try again later.
THIS IS A BLATANT SCAM.
Please be advised I am notifying Canada's Office of Consumer Affairs and I'm posting this message on the internet as well to warn everyone about your deceptive business practices. And finally also be advised that RealNetworks, Inc. does NOT have my permission to charge my credit card any subscription fees.
STOP scamming people with this free trial business just to get their credit card numbers you thieves.
Michelle
Vancouver, British Columbia
Canada
Here is a copy of the email I sent to their customer support today:
Dear RealNetwork Customer Support:
I am trying to cancel my 14-day SuperPass free trial account offered by RealNetworks, Inc. I reside in Canada.
I recently signed up for a 14 free trial via the RealPlayer website www.real.com and while your website has options for Canadian customers to sign up and enter their credit card information for the free trial, the number you list to cancel the service is not available to Canadian customers.
In fact, every single toll-free customer service number, technical support number you list on your website DO NOT WORK FOR PEOPLE CALLING FROM CANADA. Yes, I have gone through them all.
And every single time I dial them all I get is a recording saying "The number you are trying to call is not available in your area" and then the call is automatically disconnected. I've contacted your customer service support about this before and they will not help. They only refer me back to the same number that DOES NOT WORK.
If I cannot call to cancel before the free trial expires RealNetworks automatically rolls it over into a subscription and charges my credit card subcription fees every month. And RealNetworks, Inc. has also set it up so that the only way you can cancel the free trial is by phone. You cannot cancel the trial in writing, or by email or even through the customer service chat feature. I have also heard that sometimes people call in to cancel and all the hear is a recording telling them that the line is busy please try again later.
THIS IS A BLATANT SCAM.
Please be advised I am notifying Canada's Office of Consumer Affairs and I'm posting this message on the internet as well to warn everyone about your deceptive business practices. And finally also be advised that RealNetworks, Inc. does NOT have my permission to charge my credit card any subscription fees.
STOP scamming people with this free trial business just to get their credit card numbers you thieves.
Michelle
Vancouver, British Columbia
Canada
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Claudia
Seattle,Washington,
U.S.A.
This was a technical error and the problem appears to be resolved
#2UPDATE Employee
Thu, April 10, 2008
The problem referenced below (Canadian customers unable to reach RealNetworks' Customer Support through published toll-free numbers) was an unintentional result of a technical problem. The problem occurred recently when Real's customer support operation migrated to a new telephone system in a phased approach with the final stage completed March 26th. We first became aware of the problem on or about April 1st by customers reporting the issue on our community forums. We posted a response asking for customers to provide the toll-free number that they dialed and the number they were dialing from so that we could isolate and correct the problem. We also informed customers that they could private message (PM) support through the forums to receive immediate help. We received our first response containing the information today (April 8th) and were able to immediately track and correct the problem. Simply put, it was a programming error on the phone system that we were able to immediately correct to allow area codes from Canadian Provinces. We are hopeful that this will resolve all accessibility issues for our valued Canadian customers. We apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused. If any Canadian customer tried to call to cancel their account during this period (March 26 - April 8) and were unable to reach customer support resulting in a charge for subscription service(s) during this time, please send me an email to [email protected] along with the email address that you used on your account, the type of subscription you wished to cancel, the date you attempted to call and number you called from. I will refund any subscription fees charged during this time, upon verification. If anyone from Canada reading this post continues to have a problem, please send me an email at [email protected] with the email address you used to sign up for your account, a brief description of how we can assist you, the telephone number that you tried to call from, the toll-free number that you called and the best way to reach you. I'll personally make sure that you receive the requested support and the additional information will help us uncover any other problems that we may not have yet been resolved. Sincerely, Claudia Lowman General Manager, Consumer Customer Support [email protected] 206-892-6221
