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:11/26/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore 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.

  We purchased membership last year and just found out by looking at our credit card that there was a $579 charge. I called customer service and they said they cancelled the auto renew but the charge is non refundable for this year? We didnt receive any email or text and we moved so we will no longer be able to use the membership at all. I asked to speak to supervisor and she said there was nothing she can do except for me to send an email. They were not helpful at all. This is very deceptive business practice without asking for consent to renew. All our other membership will send email or mail or some notification? Please issue the refund as this is quite a large amount.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/27/2022

  Guest was refunded for renewal please wait 2-3 weeks for refund. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/27/2022

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.
  
  Regards,
  
  *********************
  
   
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/26/2022

  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.

  My wife and I purchased SeaWorld annual passes for San Diego SeaWorld on 11/14, and deal was that these tickets should be active for the rest of 2021 and whole 2022 year. My tickets didn't expire yet, but they charged me for another year without my approval on 11/14/2022.I didn't notice that immediately until **************** statement didn't come on 11/24/2022.When I called them about it and wanted to tell them that we don't want to pay for another year, first the SeaWorld ambassador (customer service) didn't want to listen and when I asked to talk to manager, customer supervisor *******************, didn't want to listen as well. Both told me that they have on their web site that the annual tickets will automatically renew if I don't tell them to stop. I didn't give them a call since my tickets from 2021 are still active and I didn't get any notification (or at least I didn't see or expected - I still can't find it) that they will charge me for the next year. As you can see from my screen shot of my account there is no order that my wife and I gave them or agree to continue with the annual tickets.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/27/2022

  Guest was refunded for renewal please wait 2-3 weeks for refund.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/26/2022

  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 purchased two silver annual passes on November 15, 2021. The passes expired on November 15, 2022. That same day my credit card was charged ****** for an auto renewal of the passes. I never authorized SeaWorld San Diego to automatically renew my passes. I called SeaWorld San Diego to dispute the charges and ask for a refund. I explained that I did not authorize for an auto renewal and asked for a full refund. I was informed that I would not receive a refund. I asked to speak with a supervisor and explained to her that I did not authorize a renewal. She informed me that she was not able to give me a refund either. I never authorized SeaWorld to charge my credit card for the pass renewals. I went back and looked at my account and it doesnt even give me an option to remove my credit card from my account! This is predatory and they took complete advantage of us. I received no warning or any sort of notification that my card would be charged and my passes would auto renew. They also renewed at a higher price than I payed for last year!

  Business Response

  Date: 11/27/2022

  Guest was refunded for renewal please wait 2-3 weeks for refund.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/23/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore 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.

  Their Annual Pass program is very scammy. There is no notification that it auto-renews other than one sentence in fine print on a page that I can no longer find due to the convoluted website and account system. After noticing the charge on my credit card, I called customer service to cancel the charge and they refused to refund because they can only refund the date they post the payment. My credit card didn't show the payment until the day after. How would I know preemptively that they would be charging? Again, I got no email notice stating I would be charged the full price of memberships. After waiting for 22 minutes and 42 seconds, I was told there was nothing they could do except cancel auto-renewal for the next year, which I did. The website only shows cancelling the ***Pay option, nothing about cancelling an auto-renewing annual membership that isn't clearly listed anywhere else. This is a very deceptive business practice and I have lost all faith in Sea World as a company because of this. Very, very scammy business practice.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/25/2022

  Guest was refunded for renewal please wait 3-4 weeks for refund.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/26/2022

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. IAW California Assembly Bill *** 390, Sea World San Diego did not act in accordance with California State law requiring notice be sent out 15 to 45 days prior to renewal. Repeated calls to customer service were met with an inability to assist over the phone. I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.
  
  Regards,
  
  *****************************
  
   
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/23/2022

  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.

  November 28 2021 I purchased a membership for me, my wife and 2 sons and was charged $52.49 but in December I had 2 charges of $44.49, $34.50 so I thought that was the full charge so for the 8 months we were being charged $77.00 a month for our membership and when my wife was looking over them going, she noticed they had been overcharging us for actually 8 memberships for the same names. I reached out to them and directed me to membership and they cancelled the 4 memberships on 9/4/21 and said they would forward to the appropriate department to issue my refund. On 9/12/22 I emailed Corporate because I hadn't got no refund. On 9/19/22 I reached out to our local Seaworld and spoke with the Supervisor to inquire about my refund and the best they said they could do is offer a food voucher for the 4 of us on our next visit and thats all he could do and nothing else. Per our records they owe us $222.58 for overcharging us and they said the voucher would be worth more than that and I still declined. 10/17/22 reached to our local media as I seen a report that other customers had happened to and the media helped them to get their refund and as of 11/22/22 we are still waiting and on top of that we just got a debt collector letter in the mail trying to collect $127.50 that we owe them. I called again the local SeaWorld to get either a Management or Corporate contact and they said the best they could do is another Supervisor. Please Help! I have also left a message for the Debt Collector.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/25/2022

  Guest was contact , and guest issue was resolved.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/23/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore 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 11/16/22 I was charged an automatic renewal fee for annual Sea World passes for $289.80 for me and my sister. I did not want to renew my passes and did not give SeaWorld permission to charge my checking account for another year. I also did not receive any email notification that our passes were expiring soon or that there was an automatic renewal. My checking account was charged on 11/18/22 and on 11/19/22 I called SeaWorld to try and get a refund and was told that it is not possible because I checked the terms and conditions box and did not cancel before 11/16/22. I feel that SeaWorld is taking advantage of people and they should have to make it clear that when you sign up for an annual pass online you are agreeing for an automatic renewal. Please help us get a refund for our passes and help other people who sign up for annual passes!

  Business Response

  Date: 11/23/2022

  Guest was refunded, please wait 3-4 weeks for refund.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/23/2022

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.
  
  Regards,
  
  ********************
  
   
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/22/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore 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.

  At the time of purchase there was no immediate notification of auto renew and nothing glaring that advised me to double check whether or not I want to auto renew for the 2022 season. My only confirmation email received on 11/21/2021 was confirming the ticket purchases with no contract attached and NO documentation advising of the auto renewal process. Additionally, It was not until I checked my bank statement today 11/22/2022 that I observed a charge from Seaward for 300+ dollars. I immediately called customer service and spoke with a supervisor who re-iterated that she understands my concerns; however, since auto renewal was selected (Which I did not physically select in 2021) and that there is a contract that was emailed out (which I do not have after reviewing all spam emails/regular inbox emails and deleted emails that were received from SeaWorld dating back to 11/21/2021 until today 11/22/2022. The representative that transferred me to the supervisor mentioned that I would have received a reminder email of the upcoming auto renewal (which I did not receive). Further discretion should be used from seaworld in situations such as this and it is completely unethical to do this to someone regardless of an email with a contract that was reported provided a year ago in which I do not have a copy of. A copy of this exact complaint is also being sent to the Better Business Bureau today 11/22/2022 as I would have thought such a large company/organization such as Seaworld would have some sort of compassion for this situation especially with the economy the way it is. Thank you for your time.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/23/2022

  Guest was refund ******, please wait 3-4 weeks for refund.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/23/2022

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.
  
  Regards,
  
  ***********************
  
   
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/22/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore 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.

  SeaWorld auto-renewed my annual passes without my consent. I requested a cancellation and refund however, **************** Reps stated they cannot provide a refund. In their own contract it says "if I permit auto-renewal, the ** Pay charges would be monthly." None of this is true. I did not permit auto-renewal, nor receive a notification that my passes would renew. I also was not charged monthly, but for the main total of $264.60. As An *********** military member, this is outrageous that you treat your patrons this way. I will NEVER give SeaWorld or ************ my business again.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/23/2022

  Guest was refunded for renewal, please wait 3-4 weeks for refund. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/23/2022

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.
  
  Regards,
  
  ********************************
  
   
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/20/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore 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.

  We purchased season passes for the whole family during the black Friday sale last year on 11/11/21. We enjoyed the park (despite it being incredibly run down and multiple attractions closed all year). They just auto charged my credit card for a full renewal without any notice that it was going to happen. They send emails for everything, but no heads up that a huge charge was about to occur! Called, and after being on hold and talking to SeaWorld reps for an extremely long time, ************ refused to help, or even say why there was no email or notification informing me of the charge. She said I agreed during the initial contract and there are no refunds. She even said she had no boss and there was nothing more she could do for me and hung up on me! I never sign up for auto renewals for this reason, so if it was in the contract it was super hidden on a long terms and conditions form. This is such a shady practice. Even when I log into my account now there is no indication that I renewed the purchase in my purchases history. ***** said they could have helped me if I caught it before it processed but now it's too late. How am I supposed to catch it beforehand if it doesn't show before my cc is charged, and they don't send a notice!!!!

  Business Response

  Date: 11/23/2022

  Guest was refunded for renewal, Please wait 3-4 weeks for refund.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/26/2022

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.
  
  Regards,
  
  *******************************
  
   
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/19/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore 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.

  11/16/22 Seaworld charged me an automatic renewal fee of $359.10 that I did not want & did not authorize. I never even received an email notification. When I called Seaworld to get a refund, & even spoke to a supervisor, I was told it wasnt possible because I checked the ****************** box. The same thing happened to my daughter since we signed up on the same day. She was also automatically charged $289.80 Please help us get a refund & make Seaworld notify customers!

  Business Response

  Date: 11/20/2022

  Guest was refunded for renewal please wait 3-4 weeks for refund. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/23/2022

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.
  
  Regards,
  
  *********************