On a client project recently I received a file that had to be opened via a program called eFax viewer. How to get this? Simple. Go to the eFax website and download it for free. Okay, I started to, got sidetracked and forgot. Wait! There came an email from the company reminding me to complete my info for their “free trial.” Great! I clicked the link. It took me to a page asking for my credit card. Mind you, I don’t just agree right away, so I poked around, located a street address, a local phone number, and was satisfied. Besides, a friend told me about it.
I typed in my card number, having that little box at the top of the page telling me that they collect that in case you decide to continue beyond the 30 days (or forget, right?). Fine. I downloaded the free viewer, then canceled the account.
Or at least I tried. See, you can’t just push a button to cancel. Well, you do, but you have to push the “Chat” button and go through a rep. Fine. Whatever. After some delay and one disconnection (really? And you’re based online?), my account was canceled. I mentioned that I’d seen they charged me $26.95 for the “free” service and that I would like that charge removed from my card.
Removed? Was I serious? No, that was the charge for your monthly service. A charge? For a free service? That I’ve had for a minute and a half? How’s that again? No, I was told. You don’t get that refunded because you didn’t sign up for the free trial; you signed up for the plus package.
You who already know me know where it went from here. I’m a copier, a printer, and a filer. I already had all the evidence I needed. I sent them the link to the free offer. I showed them their own damned web page stating the free offer. I insisted the charges be removed. Eventually, they were – all but ten bucks.
Again, you know me. That’s not going to wash. I signed up for a FREE trial, not a free trial, oh, except for this-we-didn’t-tell-you-about-but-buried-on-page-30-of-our-customer-agreement stuff. So when the chat rep was tired of volleying my insistent shots, he/she referred me to their customer service number. Fine. Little did the chat folks know that I copied and pasted the entire conversation onto a Word document, just in case.
That just-in-case will come in handy. I got on the phone with a non-English speaker, who thought his insistence would stall my efforts. He quickly realized this one wasn’t going away. His first response to my asking for a refund – “You didn’t sign up for the correct service.”
Yes I did. Would you like to see your company’s email and the page I have printed for my records? He hesitated (evidence? he may have thought) and said to please send him the link, which he never received, he said (and I’m supposed to be shocked – BOTH my email addresses just stopped working simultaneously! Isn’t that unfortunate?).
Then I heard this: “No ma’am. You signed up for the regular package.”
No, dude. I signed up for the free one. Here it is. Oh wait! You don’t have it there. How convenient.
“There is a nonrefundable charge of $10.”
Yes, and where on the signup page does it say that?
“It’s in the customer agreement, and the link is right under the signup button.”
Yes it is. But why isn’t that information on the signup page right beside the information that insists my card won’t be charged until the 30-day trial is over? Why did you charge my card right there?
“Because you signed up for the wrong package.”
No, no I didn’t. I signed up for a FREE TRIAL from YOUR COMPANY’S email link.
“You cannot use another website’s link or anything from Google, ma’am. That takes you to the premium services page.”
I read the email to him. It’s from YOUR company – EFAX.COM. I clicked on YOUR COMPANY’S LINK. I went to YOUR COMPANY’S SITE. I’m reading everything you’re asking me to at the SAME SITE. The mistake, sir, is not mine.
Then he grew weary of my insistence. “Ma’am, what if I send you a response once I receive the link in email? Will that work?”
Fine, I said, for it was obvious he wasn’t going to do anything beyond repeating the same tired arguments. I hung up, surfed the Internet, looked up the California Attorney General’s office, and I sent them my complaint. I’ll be damned. It’s ten bucks, but it’s called deceptive business practices. If you’re going to charge me, tell me so at the outset. Don’t bury it in some massive tome and then lean on customers and keep insisting they screwed up. And don’t think you’ll wear me down. Honey, when it’s my cash, I have plenty of energy. The question is – do you?
Nice company, huh?
Nail 'em to the wall, Lori! You can also tell your credit card company the charge is fraudulent and they'll take it off the card – you have ample proof.
Yeah – I use AmEx for online stuff for just this purpose – let them fight the battle with shady companies like this… They remove the charges right away.
Reminds me of the good old days of trying to cancel an AOL account.
Good times.
Sid.
Hmm, something must have seriously changed with eFax. I've had a free fax account with them for years (I think I can receive up to 10 pages per month) and I've never been charged a dime. I hate companies that turn getting out of a free trial into an obstacle course. A free trial should be FREE. Only after it has expired should the option of paying for the service enter the equation. Know what else I hate? Companies that put you on automatic renewal for services then make you jump through hoops to be able to renew it yourself. My virus protection works like that.
Kathy, I was thinking the same thing. I have a free account too. However, since I've changed computers, I'll need to download the software on my netbook. I guess we'll see how that goes…
Lori, I'm with Eileen. Tell your credit card company the charge is fradulent. And post a complaint on RipOffReport.com, too, for good measure.
I'm like you Lori – I make notes, take names (and sometimes employee ID numbers), and never back down. Among family and friends I'm known as the Queen of Complaint letters.
It's amazing how much one well-written and fully-documented complaint letter can accomplish.
I already disputed the charge, Eileen. To me, it's worth the hassle because it makes eFax go through a similar hassle. If enough people push back, it will end their shady practices.
Sid, you didn't really have to go into that AOL vortex of Hell, did you? Oh lord, I have a much higher opinion of your strengths now! LOL
Kathy and Katharine, my coworker who referred me to them was shocked, too. She'd had the same experience you did. But trust me – they're no longer free nor are they congenial.
Paula, I'm on it. I'm persistent. They don't understand how damned persistent I am. They're about to get the clue!
Sounds like you also need to go back to the client and ask them to find a different way of sending you information 🙂
Already done, Kirk. Like Kathy and Katharine, she had no troubles 6 months ago with them. Times sure change quickly!
When a situation is bad enough, or is dragged on too long, I will also send a complaint letter after it has been rectified. And as much as i will complain about poor customer service representatives, I will also single out those who took initiative to solve the problem. Part of an effective complaint is being fair.
I agree, Paula. The complaint has more teeth if you show fairness. Unfortunately, both people I came in contact with recited the same script – first, try convincing the client they signed up for the wrong thing. Second, keep repeating the nonrefundable charge. Third, go back to the client error argument. Rinse. Repeat.
YOU GO GIRL!
I will never use that company. Not that I ever have, but knowing this I will be sure to put them on my Never list.
I signed up for their free trial about a year or so ago and had no trouble canceling it.
Also, within the past year; I've heard several people complain about them and their service. Makes me wonder if they got tired of people asking for their money back so they went to "hiding" their real offer instead.
I'm going, Michelle! LOL
Wendy, that's what they don't get. If they stated their offer, they'd still get business. Why the cloak-and-dagger? Why the deceptive business practices? People obviously use their service and PAY for it. There's no reason to trick people into losing money. It leads to a very bad reputation, and blog posts alerting others to it. ;))
What a timely post! (Although I'm sorry it was because of your bad experience, Lori.)
My new laptop has no fax modem, so I'm considering using a web-based fax service and getting rid of my dedicated fax phone line. This certainly is a good warning against E-fax, just on principle. Anyone have a better recommendation? I'm considering fax.com and unityfax.com.
Thanks!
Also file a complaint with the local BBB in their area and the credit card company.
Cheryl, here's what I do – I have a distinctive ring service from my phone company. They give me another number, not another line. When someone dials that number, the phone rings twice instead of once. I know not to pick it up. It costs a fraction of a separate line – I think $5 a month.
Trouble is, Lori, my fax line is my only land line, so I'm thinking of ditching it altogether. I'm going to investigate what it would save to take that out of my "bundled" internet-cable-phone account and compare that to an Internet fax service. Maybe soon I'll be Tweeting a review of one that delivers what it promises!