ComplaintsforThe Motley Fool Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  08/16/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Problems with Product/Service

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Motley Fool charged my credit card for an automatic renewal which was NOT clearly stated when I signed up for the basic package. I tried to cancel my subscription twice but they do not allow you to do it online. You have to send an email and no one responds and my account is still active. I do not want their service and I can't cancel my subscription. They should refund me the $100 they charged and shut down my account!!! They can see I never used their service.

  Business response

  08/28/2022

  Our representatives have contacted you via email - please check your spam or junk folder if you cannot find the email. 

  Your refund was issued on April 19th, 2022. 

  Looking over your account, on March 21, 2021, you purchased a one-year subscription to Stock Advisor. It renewed for one year on March 21, 2022. Upon purchase of any one subscription, the automatic renewal feature is turned on. Your subscription will automatically renew at the then-current rate until you notify us of your decision to terminate your membership. For subscription terms greater than three months, we will email you about the length and price of your renewal before we charge you. A copy of this renewal email was sent to you via PDF file. 

  The terms and conditions set the boundaries and nature of our relationship; these were agreed to at the time of purchase. 

  The Motley Fool 

• Initial Complaint

  07/08/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing/Collection Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This company has started charging my credit card $199 every month. They give a toll free number on the credit card charge, but when I call it, I cannot reach anybody. They don't give a number to reach anybody on their website, either. Just a mailing address and a fax number. It seems shady when a company gives you no way to talk to somebody in person. I disputed last month's charge, thinking they would take a hint, but now they have charged my card again. I disputed this charge as well, and now I'm having to cancel my credit card to avoid any future charges from them.

  Business response

  07/12/2022

  Looking over the account with the email address provided, you have not been charged monthly. On June 15, 2021, you purchased a one-year subscription to Stock Advisor for $59. Upon purchase of any one subscription, the automatic renewal feature is turned on. Your subscription will automatically renew at the then-current rate until you notify us of your decision to terminate your membership. For subscription terms greater than three months, we will email you about the length and price of your renewal before we charge you. Your subscription automatically renewed for one year on June 15, 2022.

  One of our representatives has contacted you via email for more information in case you are seeing other charges. With the account provided, there has only been one recent charge of $199, and it has been refunded in full.

  Our phone number is provided in our Help Center,  which is found via the Help button on Fool.com. Please note: our phone hours are Monday through Friday, 9:30am until 4pm Eastern time. 

  Please let us know if there's anything else we can do. 

  The Motley Fool 

  Customer response

  07/20/2022

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
  
   Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:I was charged $199 two months in a row and had to dispute it with my credit card. I also want them to cancel the yearly subscription and refund the $59, as I never wanted that.
  
  Regards,
  
  *******************************
  

  Business response

  07/25/2022

  One of our representatives has reached out to you with the subject line Motley Fool Billing Follow-up. Please reply to the email. Additionally, we've provided our phone hours and number in that email. 

  On June 15, 2021, you purchased a one-year subscription to Stock Advisor for $59. We will not be issuing a refund for this expired year of service, as it was provided to you as agreed upon. We did not charge you $199 monthly under the email address you've provided. You were charged $199 one time and it was cancelled and fully refunded. Please reply to the email so that we may further assist if you are seeing other charges.

  The Motley Fool 

• Initial Complaint

  07/05/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Problems with Product/Service

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I cancelled services and it did not take in there software system. They have kept billing and collecting money for 12 months. I did not use the system for over a year and they continued to take money out of my account. I am looking for a refund of $3,999 + $1,999. They have refused to refund the money.

  Business response

  07/07/2022

  Looking over your account, refunds have been issued as of July 6, 2022. 

  Please let us know if there's anything else we can do.

  The Motley Fool 

• Initial Complaint

  07/02/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Problems with Product/Service

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I have unsubscribed twice from Motley Fool's email list over the past 2-3 weeks. They nevertheless continue to send me at least two emails daily. It is incredibly frustrating and a total scam.

  Business response

  07/07/2022

  Please allow 3 - 5 business days for your request to be processed. Your email address has been unsubscribed from our email list. 

  The Motley Fool 

  Customer response

  07/10/2022

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
  
  Regards,
  
  *******************************
  

• Initial Complaint

  06/18/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing/Collection Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Motley Fool has forced me to auto-renewal as part of their subscription. They do not provide a mechanism for opting out of this. They also do not allow to remove the credit card I registered with them from their system. My complaint is that Motley is using the unsavory practice of making money from people who forget to write to request stopping auto-renewal, or can't figure out how to stop the auto-renewal charge. This borders on predatory. The practice of forcing auto-renewals and not offering to opt-out has left me with a credit cards purchase I did not intend. If I had not been looking at my credit card statement I would have missed this.

  Business response

  06/20/2022

  Upon purchase of any one subscription, the automatic renewal feature is turned on. Your subscription will automatically renew at the then-current rate until you notify us of your decision to terminate your membership. For subscription terms greater than three months, we will email you about the length and price of your renewal before we charge you.

  The terms and conditions set the boundaries and nature of our relationship; these were agreed to at the time of purchase.

  The Motley Fool 

• Initial Complaint

  06/17/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing/Collection Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I participated in a one year plan for $49 per year.MF charged my account however for a grand total $213.25, claiming the one year subscription expressly stated in writing was actually for 2 years.This has never met my undertsanding, and I disagree I consented to 2 years because I only received about 1 year of access.Request is made the difference of $164.25 be credited back to original payment method or alternatively mailed to the consumer address provided in BBB portal.

  Business response

  06/20/2022

  There are no active subscriptions under the email address provided for this complaint. The most recent subscription was purchased on Dec. 26, 2020. It expired on Dec. 26, 2021.
  
  Please contact our Member Services department for inquiries regarding your account/billing issues. You can reach them via the Help tab on Fool.com as well as via email: Help@Fool.com
  
  The Motley Fool 

  Customer response

  07/08/2022

  --------- Forwarded message ---------
  From: ***** <***********************>
  Date: Thu, Jul 7, 2022 at 5:02 PM
  Subject: Re: You have a new message from the BBB of Metro Washington DC & Eastern Pennsylvania in regards to your complaint #********.
  To: Better Business Bureau <info@mybbb.org>
  
  

  I tried to click the reject business response button however I was not able to get it to work, please help me by submitting t as follows business has been provided with the billing information requested already, however a refund has yet to be processed as expected escalation will continue until it is satisfied

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
  
   Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Regards,
  
  *************************
  

  Business response

  07/11/2022

  We have not been provided with the billing information. We have not received a response to our email sent on June 22, 2022. 

  One of our representatives emailed July 11, 2022 with the subject line "Please reply: Motley Fool Billing Follow-up." 

  Please reply to the email. 

  The Motley Fool 

• Initial Complaint

  06/07/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Problems with Product/Service

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I ordered services back over a year ago. I was charged $99 upon registration and as I became a member I quickly noticed that their services are not very useful plus they seem to get you to want to spend more money for basically useless information. I quickly called to cancel my subscription and did not receive a refund. A year later I was charged about $299 from the same company. As I did not agree to a renewal I submitted a fraud report to my credit card company. I still have not recieved my money back. I am very upset by this happening to me. I reached out to the company and they are saying I missed the 30 day refund policy even though I called them over a year ago before the 30 days was up and it was never canceled apparently. I hope the company does the right thing and refunds me the money

  Business response

  06/13/2022

  Looking over your account, on Feb. 11, 2021 you purchased a one-year subscription to Stock Advisor. This was cancelled and fully refunded on March 1, 2021, per your request. An email confirmation was sent to the email address associated with your account. 

  On Feb. 15, 2021, you purchased a one-year subscription to Rule Breakers. We did not receive a cancellation request from you regarding your Rule Breakers subscription until June 6, 2022. 

  We understand your frustrations that the website and your service have not been accessed/used much since you signed up. But even if you didn't use the service, we still delivered it to you. We have consistently sent you content emails since you signed up and you have had access to the premium part of our Fool.com website.

  Upon purchase of any one subscription, the automatic renewal feature is turned on. Your subscription will automatically renew at the then-current rate until you notify us of your decision to terminate your membership. For subscription terms greater than three months, we will email you about the length and price of your renewal before we charge you. The terms and conditions set the boundaries and nature of our relationship; these were agreed to at the time of purchase.
  

  Your Rule Breakers subscription automatically renewed for one year on Feb. 15, 2022. Unfortunately, as you did not request cancellation until June 6, 2022, we are unable to issue a refund for this renewal. 
  

  Please let us know if you have any additional questions or concerns.

  The Motley Fool

• Initial Complaint

  04/18/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Problems with Product/Service

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased a one-time subscription for a lower price. During the initial subscription (12 period), I had decided that the subscribed information was not useful. Before the end of the subscription period, I made sure that I would not continue to subscribe to the service by selecting not to renew.However, a year or so later, while reviewing my bank information, I discovered that this company had not only charged me for renewal subscription, the price had almost quadrupled. I believe the initial amount was $59 and the subsequent transaction was billed at $199 ($217 total). (Approx. 06/07/2021)I have not used the product since my initial subscription.I emailed the company and explained the situation and requested a refund however they denied my request. Basically insinuated that it was my fault, despite my belief that I did not renew and would have selected the non-renewal/not to auto-renew.Upon receiving the refusal of refund, I research the company and any issues that other consumers may have had with this company. It was quickly apparent that it was a pattern of this type of complaint against the company. However, some did appear to receive a refund.

  Business response

  04/21/2022

  Looking over your account, on June 4, 2020 you purchased a one-year subscription to one of our services. On June 4, 2021, it automatically renewed for one year.

  We did not receive any cancellation requests from you until April 15, 2022. Although your renewal offered a 30-day, money-back guarantee, this cancellation request was more than 10 months after the renewal occurred.

  We're sorry about the unexpected charge. All of our subscriptions are on automatic renewal, stated on your order form, as part of the terms of agreement, and in your order confirmation email. We also send out email notifications prior to your renewal date. Our representative provided you with a copy of the email that was sent to you on May 5, 2021.

  We are unable to issue a refund for this renewal. 

  The Motley Fool 

  Customer response

  04/22/2022

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
  
   Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  This business has not provided any information that supports their claim of auto-renewal not selected by customer. It is my belief that the company manipulates software to auto-renew, despite any action by the consumer to de-select auto-renew. 

  Several customer complaints have mentioned these tactics by this company.

  I would like the company to provide me with all data and meta data that indicates each action taken by consumer, including logins. Consumer maintains that every attempt would have been made to not renew services.
  
  Regards,
  
  ***** ****

  Business response

  04/25/2022

  Attached are images from the initial order page that state: "Your subscription will automatically renew at the then current price." Additionally "Your subscription will automatically renew at the then current price, using the most recent credit card we have on file. Subscriptions purchased with Apple Pay will renew using Apple Pay. All prices quoted are in U.S. dollars." 

  We are unable to issue a refund for a subscription that renewed more than 10 months ago. The terms and conditions set the boundaries and nature of our relationship; these were agreed to at the time of purchase.

  The Motley Fool 

• Initial Complaint

  04/08/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Problems with Product/Service

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I was suckered into a free trial in which Auto renew was automatically applied. I received no warning that my subscription was set to renew. I noticed on my credit card that I was charge $199.00 back in January. I have never used this service and do not find it useful. This company refuses to listen and make no exceptions for a product that I do not want any part of. They claim they had emailed me several times all of which ended up in my Spam folder. I offered to be willing to accept a prorated refund for the remaining services not yet rendered, but the company rejected this. All I am asking is for them to recognize that I did not willingly agree to this renewal and that I do not want the remainder of this yearly subscription. As a concession I will pay for services provided to date. This company has some of the worst customer service of any company I have dealt with.

  Business response

  04/11/2022

  Looking over your account, in January of 2021 you purchased a one-year subscription to one of our services. It automatically renewed for one year in January 2022. Although your renewal offered a 30-day, money-back guarantee, you did not request cancellation until April 2022.

  We're sorry about the unexpected charge. All of our subscriptions are on automatic renewal, stated on your order form, as part of the terms of agreement, and in your order confirmation email. We also send out email notifications prior to your renewal date.

  When you sign-up for a subscription, it is your responsibility to manage it. We have disabled the auto-renewal feature, which will allow your subscription to expire on its end date and avoid any subsequent subscription fees.

  The Motley Fool 

  Customer response

  04/13/2022

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
  
   Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: the agreement they refer to was a trial more than 15 months ago. They refuse to acknowledge that I do not want their product, I never intended to continue using their product. While I have offered to pay for the few months that I was unintentionally subscribed, I feel it is only fair to offer a prorated refund of service not yet rendered.   They don't care about the customer and why they feel compelled to charge me for a product that I clearly don't want it beyond me.   

  Regards,
  
  *****************************

• Initial Complaint

  04/02/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing/Collection Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Fool.com auto renewed my subscription to rulebreakers. The subscription was useless to me from the start and I never saw an email about renewal just a charge on my credit card for $299. The service is not worth any amount of money and would never pay for another service from fool.com again. I would like a refund.

  Business response

  04/03/2022

  Looking over your account, your subscription renewal was cancelled and fully refunded on April 2, 2022. A confirmation email was sent to the email address on file.

  We're sorry about the unexpected charge. All of our subscriptions are on automatic renewal, stated on your order form, as part of the terms of agreement, and in your order confirmation email. We also send out email notifications prior to your renewal date. We sent emails to your email address on Jan. 30, 2022 and Feb. 24, 2022. 

  The Motley Fool 

*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. ↩