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:03/09/2023

  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.

  The system of SeaWorld is absolutely terrible when you want to have access to your payments. You will never be able to cancel the auto-renewal of your membership. very fraudulent ez pay scheme. I spent the whole day but I still couldn't get to the page where I could manage payments. For 2 years, they have never sent me a single notification or warning about auto- renewal. everything is done very secretly, it is almost impossible to cancel auto payments.. they offer to make phone calls to contact managers on these matters and probably go through all circles of h*** they have an absolutely unacceptable approach to work, especially when they charge monthly money from you, as well as an additional not small fee for this service. I was planning to take a membership for a year, but as a result I pay for the second year, which I'm not going to use. it's also impossible to cancel anything on their website, everything is done to **** the person off and make them nervous trying to access their payments. absolutely terrible, absolutely unacceptable. I want to return all the money that I paid after the first year.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/09/2023

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

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/05/2023

  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.

  Seaworld automatically renewed my membership without notice. No email or regular mail. Seaworld refused to refund even though pass has not been used yet because it has been over 30 days since the renewal. The fact that the pass is automatically renewed is not clear upon purchase.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/15/2023

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

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/08/2023

  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.

  Seaworld automatically renewed my membership without notice and refuses to refund. Someone purchased my membership last December as a gift with no warning about an automatic renewal when purchased or on the card. Just that it was EZ pay. I found out it was renewed when the person who purchased the pass got the charge. Seaworld refused to refund even though it has not been used yet because it is been 35 days. They will try to dispute the charge but there should have been an email or this charge should have been approved when the pass was purchased

  Business Response

  Date: 02/09/2023

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

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/29/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  UnresolvedMore 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'm writting to express my extreme disappointment with my experience at SeaWorld park on 1/3/2023. I purchased two Gold Passes during Thanksgiving, and we drove all the way from ************ to San Diego in anticipation of a fun day at SeaWorld. Unfortunately, 1/3/2023 was a heavy rainy day, and after just two hours, we had to leave due to the rain. I contacted SeaWorld online in the hope of having my three guest passes re-issued so that I could revisit the park at a later date, but my request was refused. In comparison, I had a similar experience at Legoland on 1/1/2023, and they quickly resolved my issue by re-issuing my tickets. I am therefore requesting the same level of resolution from SeaWorld. I would like to be compensated for the inconvenience that I encountered, as I believe that I am entitled to it.

  Business Response

  Date: 02/01/2023

  Guest was contacted VIA email. Complaint resolved.. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/01/2023

  I did not receive any communications from SeaWorld, San Diego at all after I created the case. Please show the proof for that statement.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/26/2023

  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.

  I purchased 2 SeaWorld annual passes on 12/26/2021. On 12/15/2022, I received a nonsensical email from SeaWorld stating "Your Account Will Renew in ****** Days." It was very difficult to figure out how to cancel versus end EZPay on their website, before versus after whenever the renewal date was supposed to be. I was surprised to then see a charge on my credit card on 12/28/2022 (not ****** days later) for $359.10. I feel that this was a case of obfuscation to have consumers like me be unwittingly charged hundreds of dollars; therefore, I should have the right to receive a full refund.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/26/2023

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

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/26/2023

  
  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:01/24/2023

  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.

  I purchased a Platinum pass for Sea World. With that pass I was supposed to receive 1 free animal experience. Prior to my trip to Sea World I tried to redeem and book ********************* so I could save a spot. I wasn't able to do this on the app so i called customer service multiple times and each person said to me I can't book it in advance. I had to do the day of at the customer service window. After multiple attempts and also telling them it says on line I need to do it advance they kept telling me they couldn't help me and to do it onsite when I get there. When I got to Sea World San Diego and tried to book ********************* the *** said I had to do that in advance and they couldn't do it same day. I was furious and ended up having to pay cash for ********************* because they wouldn't let me use the free one. Its unacceptable that I had to pay additional when a free experience came with my pass. No one would let me or help me redeem it.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/26/2023

  Please send proof of purchase, in order to investigate complaint. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/21/2023

  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.

  In July 2021 I purchased 3 year passes for both SeaWorld and ************ that expired July 2022 before entering ************. They have no signage warnings about how they auto-renew your passes nor tell you this when you purchase these passes. They only inform about the 1yr commitment and monthly payments for that year. They have you sign a receipt with the contract information that no normal person has time to even read when they are trying to get into the park. I also never got an email that they say has information about the auto-renew. I just noticed on my back account that they were still billing me $35.31 when to my knowledge my tickets had expired based on the date provided on my membership card and when I started my membership. Why would they put an expiration date when they really don't end on that date? I called to cancel and asked for a refund from when the auto-renewal started because the membership wasn't used and I wasn't aware that they were still charging me. They only provided a refund for this month of January saying that I signed a contract and they sent an email with that information. I never received this email nor was informed about this before signing their contract. If they were able to cancel and refund this month that was almost over clearly they know what they are doing is wrong. They should have refunded the entire amount but didn't want to. They are taking advantage of their customers. Auto-renew is not a convenience but a nightmare. I could barely afford my passes last year and would have never agreed to getting passes knowing this information.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/22/2023

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

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/20/2023

  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.

  SWC-Guest Relations Sat, Dec 19, 2020 at 3:45 PM I would like to say thank you for responding. I am very disappointed in Sea World and not understading their customers. I will never go back to Sea World and I will let all my friends know. ******** was able to give me my money back and Sea World does not take their customers in consideration.Sad!!!Hide original message On Saturday, December 19, 2020, 03:38:27 PM PST, SWC-Guest Relations <*******************************************> wrote:Hello,Thank you for contacting SeaWorld, San Diego.I apologize for your experience over the phone, however, we are unable to refund anything further than what was previously promised to you on 10/22/2020.I have escalated your 3 months refund request to our Refund Review team, however, there is no estimated timeline for when this will be completed.We want to thank you for being a Pass Member with us. Stay safe, and Happy Holidays.Kind regards,************** Correspondence Team 500 SeaWorld Drive | San Diego | ********** ******************************************* *************** ************** -----Original Message-----From: *************************** <*********************> Sent: Saturday, December 19, 2020 9:24 AM To: SWC-Guest Relations <*******************************************>Subject: [EXTERNAL] EZpay Pass Hello All,I have been trying to get a credit back for my 3 passes and I have had no luck.Please see below.Sea World had been charging my card since March monthly the amount of $25.02 on my account. In May I called Sea World to check on the cancellation policy. At this time, they informed me that when Sea World opens again, if they were closed for 5 months, they would not charge for 5 months going forward. At the end of September, I started to emailed Sea World to cancel the charges. I did not hear back from them. Two weeks later I emailed them again and I did not hear back again. On October 19, 2020 after being on hold for about an hour I was able to get through to an agent. I informed the representative that I wanted to cancel my account and stop all changes. Additionally, I told them I wanted my account credited for all the charges since March that would be a total of $175.14. The agent informed me that they are only allowed to do three credits. This was not acceptable I asked to speak to a supervisor or manager. I was transferred to *****. He informed me the same thing we can only credit back 3 months. I was really upset at the information they were giving me I even told him my daughter has a underlining condition and her pediatrician does not recommended me taking her to Sea World. I went to even telling them that ******** was able to give me my money back and they were really nice about my daughters medical condition. ***** didnt care what I was telling him. Finally, I told him please cancel my charges and credit back my account and do not continue to charge me anything. I will not be coming back to Sea World. At this time, he informed me that he would process the credit and not continue to charge. On October 20, 2020 another charge from Sea World was processed on my account. I almost fell out of my chair when I saw the charge. I called and spoke to another supervisor and she informed me that she could only see on the account the credit but that I asked to cancel. She went into detail about the cancellation and at this point I just told her that I was extremely disappointed with Sea World and the no empathy with customers.I am hoping you can assist me with the getting any credit back on my account. This is horrible customer service and I feel like you are stealing from hard working people. My daughter has a medical condition and her physician recommended not to take her out due to COVID 19. I would think Sea World would be more understanding to kids with underling conditions.I am requesting that the error be corrected, that any finance charges related to the disputed amount be credited to my account.Passes for: *************** *************************** ********************* ******************

  Business Response

  Date: 01/28/2023

  Guest was contacted via phone. Complaint resolved. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/13/2023

  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.

  Seaworld San Diego has been charging payment even after I canceled it.They made sure you could not reach them, and the portal made it hard to cancel payment even after I did so.They can check their records that we haven't been to the park since May 2022.Seaworld doesn't send any notification on the payment; no receipts are sent to **** had to do my investigation to find out that they kept charging me even after I canceled the autoplay.I need a refund of all my payments taken from me illegally.Attached is the payments made to my card by Seaworld without my authorization.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/18/2023

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

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/18/2023

  
  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,
  
  Guest 
   
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/08/2023

  Type:Customer Service 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.

  I purchased 2 annual passes during Black Friday 2021. I was not aware that they would auto-renew. I have purchased annual passes in the past and they have never renewed. My printed passes said expiration of "11/28/22." I visited the park on 11/27/22. However, coincidentally, I was notified by my credit card company on 11/27/22 that I was charged for another year of memberships ($289.80). I NEVER received notification (email or **** mail) that this would happen, which is a violation of CA law. On 11/27/22, I tried the Sea World Chat feature, called them twice (on hold for over an hour), and finally spoke to a representative that was supposed to call me back (after he rebooted his system), but he never did. I used the website "contact us" form to request an immediate refund. On 11/30/22 SW ******* called me @ 6:12 AM but I could not answer. I called them back @ 3:49 PM and waited on hold for 60 minutes. I spoke with ***** who refused to give me a refund.On 12/4/22 I received an email reply that they "pushed a refund request" to their Sea World ********************* review team. To date, I have not received my refund.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/11/2023

  Guest refunded was processed on 12/9/22, please have guest contact their bank for status of refund.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/12/2023

  
  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,
  
  ***************************