Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/02/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  January 19, 2023 when I received my credit card statement I noticed a charge on January 12th, 2023 for US$288 from Spocket. I contacted them to ask them to cancel my subscription because I no longer use the service and I requested a refund. They informed me that they were not able to issue a refund. I asked them if they informed me that they would be renewing my membership and charging me again. (I did not receive a notification ). They did not respond to that but said they would look into. And they said give them 2 to 3 days for their finance department review. Two weeks passed and I did not hear from them. I have sent approximately 10 emails and have not received a resolution. In the last four days they have not responded at all. I only wish a refund for a service that I have not used for two years. Please advise what I can do to have a refund issued. I have many emails I would be happy to provide to you.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 07/02/2023

  When using Spocket, all users are given the choice to use a free plan or upgrade to a monthly or annual plan for access to additional features. If a user decides to upgrade to an annual plan, they are informed that they will not receive a two-week trial and rather will be immediately charged and granted access to the annual plan. This is clearly stated multiple times through the user purchasing flow (attached for your reference).
  
  On January 01, 2021 this user signed up for a REMOVEDProfessional Discounted Annual Plan and renewed January 01, 2023, When a user signs up for this plan, they are required to go through a number of steps to choose an annual plan and then confirm they agree that the charge will be immediate and that there will be no trial period for this plan. Therefore these charges are valid and this user retains access for the remainder of the year per Spocket's Refund & Subscription policy. Please also note that you are being charged for an annual subscription and sadly not based on usage.
  
  Upon investigating her account, the app is still installed in her store, loveukitty, attached are screenshots of her account showing that it's active, with a total of 55 Spocket products in her store up to this date. When this user last contacted us, it was last March 20, 2021, inquiring about product measurements. The next communication was last January 19, 2023 via live chat.
  
  We informed this user that there was no attempt nor any request made for us to cancel their subscription and that they can cancel it from their end anytime. They claimed there was no usage, and the pushed products in their store are an indication. Additionally, Spocket is a monthly-subscription and not based on usage. As a courtesy, we offered a 50% discount while keeping her access active but they declined.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/02/2023

  
  Complaint: REMOVED
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I am not disputing that I ever used the service, and I have already paid for 2 terms without dispute. I am disputing this latest charge as I no longer wish to subscribe, I contacted them less than a week of the charge (5 days), I did not authorize the latest charge to my card, received NO PRIOR NOTICE in writing or otherwise, and would like to request a full refund.

  I understand that under the FAIR CREDIT BILLING ACT I have the right to dispute any unauthorized charges on my credit card as I did not receive any prior notice, written or otherwise, of a charge being applied to my card. Auto-renewal subscriptions require "clear and conspicuous disclosure of the terms of the subscription" AND "companies must obtain ongoing, express consent from the consumer before charging them" and therefore I am formally requesting that you issue a refund for this charge, $288 USD. 

  As for my membership, there is no visible way to cancel my membership ANYWHERE on the site. I have tried to REMOVEDand the instructions provided are incorrect - there is no "cancel membership" button where indicated. I cannot even remove my credit card from the site. Instructions refer to the Spocket App to cancel membership - there is no Spocket "App" that I can locate anywhere, just the website. It is very unclear, and very difficult. I have not yet found a way to cancel my membership. All of the above are a cause for great legal concern. Consumers have laws that protect them from being subject to these kinds of deceptive business practices.

  Please let me know the steps I need to take in order to resolve this issue. I am willing to take any necessary legal action to protect my rights as a consumer and inform other consumers of the dangers of the this subscription program.

  I look forward to your reply. 

  
  Sincerely,
  
  REMOVED

  

  Business Response

  Date: 20/02/2023

  Authorizing the latest charge -
  
  When signing up for any Spocket subscription plans, they must read the terms and conditions as well as our notification, and if they accept, they must check the box that says: I agree to Refund & Cancellation Policy, and allow Spocket Inc. to automatically continue membership and charge subscription fees to the payment method. I also agree to Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. (Accepted terms and conditions screenshot)
  
  
  Subscription Renewal Notification - 
  
  In terms of prior notice, before downgrading, the user has the option to "remind me later," in which case they will receive a notification three days before their billing cycle renews. However, if they have downgraded their plan, they will no longer be able to see this on the page. (See Membership page screenshot) They have also agreed, as previously stated "to automatically continue membership and charge subscription fees to the payment method." 
  
  
  Cancellation -
  
  The cancel Membership button is visible on their settings page, but because this user cancelled their subscription on January 20, 2023, 19 days after their plan renewed, the button is no longer visible in the membership page (Please check Membership page and cancellation logs screenshot)
  
  Spockets' terms and conditions, as well as the options, were not shielded from the users' view, and we have attached screenshots to prove the above statements are true. We have the user's best interests in mind by offering them a 50% refund despite our refund policies, given that they agreed to these terms when they signed up.
  
  
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/02/2023

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On or around January 13th, I created a Spocket account to test their platform. The advertised trial was a 2 week period with the trial end date of January 27th. I provided payment through REMOVEDand proceeded to test the platform for the following few days. Due to technical reasons with the integration plugin, I was not able to make use of the platform. On January 27th, when I logged in to cancel and end the subscription, Spocket has already charged $49/month subscription fee. I immediately contacted support team via chat to resolve the matter only to be met with a dismissive support team with generic claiming to have escalated the matter to their fiance team. I was asked to wait REMOVEDhours for an update. While waiting for the update and refund from this account, Spocket changed me an additional $49 on February 1.When I contacted the support team again. I was told, I created another account and signed up for another account using a different email address and the same REMOVED/banking information. This is absolutely incorrect. I have only created a single account and never signed up for a second account. I was again asked to wait for REMOVEDhr for an update, but no update was provided, other than to wait some more.I have now paid Spocket $98 for absolutely nothing with the company simply refusing to provide any meaningful response.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 04/02/2023

  This user signed up for a monthly subscription for Spocket's Professional Plan, which gives them access to a number of features for $49.99 per month. The user had access to a REMOVEDtrial, after which they would be charged the monthly to access Spocket. Users are able to cancel their account and downgrade anytime, however, no such action was taken on the Spocket platform until after their trial had already lapsed. Their 14-day free trial Professional Plan started Jan. 13, 2023 18:43 UTC and pushed items to her store on the same day and did not log in again until after they have been charged last Jan. 27, 2023 18:43 UTC.
  
  Additionally, this user claimed that they have been charged twice, and upon checking the REMOVEDprofile ID she provided ID # REMOVED, it's associated with her email address REMOVED while the email she's using to chat with us REMOVEDis associated with REMOVEDprofile ID REMOVED. Unfortunately,? the only way we can charge the user is when any of their information is manually entered into our system through our website or any third-party apps/platforms .
  
  This user was also not dismissed but was informed that we have a designated team that handles refunds and support will forward her request so it can be evaluated. However, last Feb. 1, 2023, this user already opened a dispute from REMOVEDand we informed the user that we can provide the refund as they have requested their subscription to be cancelled the same day they were charged. We informed them that we will not be able to process the refund through REMOVEDas the payment is already in "Held" status but if they close the dispute in REMOVED, we can immediately process it for her but the user declined.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/02/2023

  
  Complaint: REMOVED
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  

  As stated in seller's response, I created a trial account on Jan 13th via their website (providing my REMOVEDaccount).  During the signup process, it was indicating the last day of the trial was REMOVED27th.  It DID NOT state a time of day when the trial will end.  On REMOVED27th, when attempting to close my account the seller has charged me the monthly subscription fee.  To Note:  This transaction has been refunded via REMOVEDdispute.

  On REMOVED13th, I tested the platform following the integration instructions provided by the seller.  In this process, I installed the seller's plugin from the official Wordpress Repository.  Upon activating the plugin and applied the creditials from the account REMOVEDI created. I DID NOT create a seperate account using the (REMOVED).  This email is the default admin email for my website.  I did not access the platform with this email, as I did not even know such an account was created until after the seller has changed my REMOVEDan additional monthly subscription fee.  

  I was absolutely dismissed by your "customer service".   I was informed the seller's "finance team" will rectify the matter with REMOVEDhours.  The seller took no such action.  I was told to simply wait until they "investigate" the issue.  I waited an additional 48 hours before I filed a dispute with REMOVED  I was then told if I wanted a refund I should withdraw the dispute claim with REMOVED. Once I withdraw this dispute, the seller can simply ignore my request and I will have no options.  The seller has still to refund $49 from this account.

  Sincerely,
  
  REMOVED

  

  Business Response

  Date: 16/02/2023

  This user had created both accounts REMOVEDand REMOVEDthe same day and also lapsed from the trial plan the same day. They were able to cancel the account with REMOVEDID
  REMOVED(REMOVED) but left the other account active and the dispute in REMOVEDthat's currently active is from her account REMOVED(REMOVED) as they were only able to cancel it last Feb. 1 when the end trial date was last Jan. 27th.
  
  According to their statement, " I installed the seller's plugin from the official Wordpress Repository. Upon activating the plugin and applying the credentials from the account (REMOVED) I created." However, upon checking (screenshots attached) REMOVEDwas used to sign up via REMOVEDand REMOVEDwas in fact used to sign up from Woocommrce.
  
  We have also informed the user that we are forwarding the case to the team until such time that the case was handled by a Senior Customer Success Manager who explained the situation and offered to the user to withdraw the case so we can process the refund right away. As mentioned in the previous response, their payment is currently being held by REMOVED. We totally understand where the user is coming from, however, we do stand by our offer which can also be seen in our chat transcript as evidence.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 17/02/2023

  
  Complaint: REMOVED
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  The seller stating I created both the accounts is absolutely FALSE.  As I have previously stated, I acknowledge the creation the trial account using the email REMOVEDand proceeded to follow the seller provided instruction to integrate their platform with my site.  In what LOGICAL REMOVEDI then to assume following the instruction to install and activate a Wordpress plugin on my site will CREATE A DIFFERENT account using the default site admin email (REMOVED)   This is absolutely illogical for a user to assume installing a plugin equates to creating additional account.  I installed and used the credentials from the account i created directly on the seller's site using  REMOVED.  Installing the plugin was describing as an integration process and not creation of accounts.  The seller then claims I lapsed the trial plan on this account.  I DID NOT even know this account existed until I was charged for this account.
  
  The seller's offer to refund once the REMOVEDdispute is withdrawn is unacceptable because this REMOVED business REMOVED.  Once the dispute with REMOVEDis withdrawn I have no recourse to obtain a refund.  Should the seller wish to refund, the seller can always respond to REMOVEDin a timely manner, rather than continuing to drag this situation into the third week.
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  REMOVED

• Initial Complaint

  Date:23/01/2023

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On January 15th, I started what Spocket’s website said would be a free “14 day free trial” that stated I would not be charged the annual $288 until the 14 day trial was up. When I hit the “start free trial button”, I was immediately charged for $280 to my PayPal account. That is a very misleading and a flat out lie, I have tried emailing them and they will not email me back. I have chatted with a couple people there, but they just give me the runaround and say they cannot refund me, and that they are looking into it. It has now been almost a week and they now will not get back to me. When I call their customer service line it says “we cannot take your call at this time.” I do not know who else to contact, and I feel that this business needs to be reported because they are REMOVEDto their customers. Thank you for taking the time to read this and I’m hoping I can get them to refund me the $288!

  

  Business Response

  Date: 25/01/2023

  When using Spocket, all users are given the choice to use a free plan or upgrade to a monthly or annual plan for access to additional features. If a user decides to upgrade to an annual plan, they are informed that they will not receive a two-week trial and rather will be immediately charged and granted access to the annual plan. This is clearly stated multiple times through the user purchasing flow (attached for your reference).
  
  On January 16, 2023, this user signed up for a Spocket Professional Discounted Annual Plan and will renew next year. When a user signs up for this plan, they are required to go through a number of steps to choose an annual plan and then confirm they agree that the charge will be immediate and that there will be no trial period for this plan. Therefore these charges are valid and this user retains access for the remainder of the year per Spocket's Refund & Subscription policy. Please also note that you are being charged for an annual subscription and sadly not based on usage. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 27/01/2023

  
  
  Complaint: REMOVED
  
  
  
  I am rejecting this response because I was never made aware that by upgrading, I would not receive the free 14 day trial. I never once saw anything that indicated otherwise than a free 14 day trial. I can’t believe a business would have such REMOVED. The whole website is REMOVEDand I’m still within the 14 days. I can’t believe they wouldn’t refund my money. I know they never notified me that it would charge me because I 100% would not have done it. I know I can’t be the only person this has happened to. If this is the way this company makes money is REMOVED, that’s pathetic. Thank you for looking further into this.

   l
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  REMOVED

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/01/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  1. On December 2, 2022 I purchased an annual membership to Spocket Inc at a cost of $649.80.
  2, December 16, 2022 and deducted my $49.99. December 08, 2022, when the $49.99 deduction was in pending status I was communicating with customer service, it's been 1 month today and still no solution for me.
  3, during this period I communicated many times, customer service told me the finance team will give me processing, let me wait for the email notification, but just do not give me processing.
  4. I have 2 screenshots, one is a screenshot of the payment I communicated with customer service after I made the payment, and the other is the billing information I downloaded from REMOVED. Both can prove that Spocket double charged me.
  5, I'm posting one of the screenshots of the communication, and each time the result of the communication is for me to wait, no progress at all. Spocket, Inc website: REMOVED

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/01/2023

  Last September 14 2022, the merchant, REMOVED, accepted the offer Promotional Professional Plan for $20.89 for 3 months via chat, and it was applied within 24 hours under his account email address REMOVED@gmail.com and store name REMOVED. The promotion ran from September 15 to November 15, and the attached screenshot of his transaction history shows that he was billed accordingly. However, Aaron upgraded to the discounted Empire Annual plan $649.80 on December 1, 2022, and he was charged on the same day.
  
  Unfortunately, the upgrade did not trigger the cancellation of his Professional plan, which reverted back to its original price of $49.99 on Dec 15 (user's billing start date is every 15th of each month) and we only identified the error after the user had been billed. It took a while for us to process his refund, which he was eligible for from the time we found out about the error, due to internal processing backlogs but we sent Aaron the email confirmation 4 days ago, Jan. 7, 2023 that his $49.99 charge had been cancelled and the downgrade and billing issue was forwarded to the technical team to be investigated.
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/01/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I paid Spocket $49 on January 16th, 2021. Spocket committed to provide me with access to a service in exchange for payment. The nature of the dispute involves a refund due to the fact that I did not receive any services. After a free trial, I contacted them the minute the charge was made with an inquiry about a refund. I was immediately told that my subscription would be canceled while they look into it. Both my subscription and account was cancelled. I had no access, although I was supposed to at the very least have access according to them. Despite them claiming that I can still access the subscription with cancellation, I was not able to. Therefore, I did not receive a refund or the service. I do not believe that Spocket has tried to resolve the problem despite my efforts. I have only been taken around in circles. billing ID is REMOVED

  

  Business Response

  Date: 05/01/2023

  As per checking the user's chat history, we were not able to find a reactivation request or from her contacting Spocket. Upon checking, the chats are from 2 yrs ago (Oct. 209, 202) and the next would be from July 3, 2022. No communiction was received from this user in 2021 (Screenshot provided).  Also, please know that the REMOVEDwas used as the payment method and as per REMOVEDpolicies, refunds can only be processed within 180 months. Other than the payment method used, Spocket do not have alternative means to process refunds. We would like to request the user to provide any helpful information or a copy of the conversation so we can investigate deeper.
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 13/01/2023

  
  Complaint: REMOVED
  
  I am rejecting this response because:I have been in contact with Spocket the minute the issue occurred in 2021. As of today, this is the history I have. Im sure the business should have any and all chat history, especially about an inquiry like this. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  REMOVED

  

  Business Response

  Date: 25/01/2023

  The attached screenshots will show that this user contacted us on October 29, 2020, and the next was July 3, 2022. The thread of email they sent was dated Jul 3, 2022, at the earliest. If this user is able to provide the email communication as they claimed "After a free trial, I contacted them the minute the charge was made with an inquiry about a refund" we would possibly obtain information and establish their claim is true. However, There was no communication from them until 2022. Furthermore, according to REMOVEDpolicy, refunds can only be processed within 180 days. This user could have disputed the charge through REMOVEDif the time frame for which they are requesting a refund is still within REMOVED's eligibility.