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:11/04/2025

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore 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 business has sent dozens of collection emails about a service I did not use. I returned voice mails and emails about the invoice, explaining that I did not agree to the service and typically people pay prior to gaining access to a service.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:17/03/2025

  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.

  I signed up for a free trial on their website for HR information. I was not asked for credit card or payment information at that time, just my email. After the trial had ended, I received an email saying my password had been changed by the company and they sent me an overdue invoice. I have tried to contact them via email and phone and have only been able to have one conversation with someone who told me the CEO would contact me directly. I never heard from him and continue to receive overdue invoices which are accruing interest. The latest email threatening to send me to collections. When I did speak to someone they claimed to have tried to contact me several times before the trial ended, however the phone number they read to me as being on file was not mine. They have a number of similar complaints already against them via the BBB and are clearly aware of this being a reoccurring issue. I hardly accessed their information during the trial period and nothing since then and find this outrageous to claim I owe them almost $900 for this!

  Business Response

  Date: 11/06/2025

  Hi ******, 
  
  Here is our response: 
  
  "Hi Meryln, 
  
  We state that the trial converts to a membership after the trial period is over. Terms and Conditions can be found on the trial page and on our website. Trial periods converting to paid membership is standard practice. Virtually every **** company does this. As well as media companies such as *******, prime, any app that offers a free trial. We are not doing anything different than they are. 
  
  When a trial is initiated, here is the process stated below. This example is for ******* *****:
  
  8 emails + 8 calls at company and number given + 5 voicemails. Terms and conditions linked in emails & sign up form, as well as confirmation after filling out form. 
  
  Visited the website on 9 different instances during trial with a header saying term remaining on trial and link to terms & conditions.
  
  Only responded with issue after it was sent to collection.
  
  Multiple print notices & invoices.
  
  Visited membership site 7 times after trial ended and looked at over 40 different resources."
  
  
  ****** Hepso
  Director - Finance & Human Resources
  Bongarde Holdings

• Initial Complaint

  Date:13/03/2023

  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.

  I signed up for a free trial from HR Insider--likely agreed to terms and conditions, thinking those are pretty standard. There was nothing overtly expressed about being charged some $700 (laughable for a digital subscription to any magazine) when the free trial ended. I did receive phone calls but assumed they were marketing and am dedicated to prioritizing my actual job. I was sent an invoice--reached out to cancel the membership, I did not find it useful, and the company responded to tell me I cannot cancel the membership. I definitely did not use the service past the first few days I looked for some information on a couple of topics. Thought I should file a complaint with the BBB before turning this over to corporate.

  Business Response

  Date: 13/03/2023

  It is clearly documented on the landing page that the trial auto-converts after 14 days to a full membership, and this must be agreed upon before being able to gain access, download a special report, attend a webinar or receive any other marketing incentive used to generate interest.

  Our process is meticulously followed and it includes outreach of a minimum of 7 emails and 8 phone calls, with messages, always confirming the agreed upon conversion to a full membership, but that you can let us know you don't want to proceed at any time.

  *************** opted in to the conversion at 4:05pm on Feb 23rd.

  First email and phone call at 5:33am Feb 24th, left a voicemail at 10:02am

  Another email and call on the 27th, with confirmation that the email was opened.

  Another email and call on the 28th, with confirmation that the email was opened.

  Another email and call on March 1st, with confirmation that the email was opened.

  Another email and call on March 2nd, with confirmation that the email was opened.

  Another email and call on March 3rd, with confirmation that the email was opened.

  Another email and call on March 7th, with confirmation that the email was opened.

  Another email and call on March 9th, with confirmation that the email was opened.

  Another email and call on March 10th, with confirmation that the email was opened.

  We received an email today saying she did not want the membership after it had been processed, her account migrated and the invoice sent. I also have records of *************** accessing the resource multiple times through the engagement.

  There is a resolution path for canceling after a close, but I have no record of contact made other than the email late Friday evening and this BBB complaint on Monday. We are completely transparent in all our communications of our processes and aim to deliver the highest value HR compliance solutions in ******.

  If *************** would like to reconcile with the company, I would invite her to speak directly with *****, her sales rep, to find a solution that works for all.

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 13/03/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  Emails were received Friday, Feb 24th, Mon Feb 27th, Wed Mar 1 and then the invoice on Mar 10.  Only one of the emails prior to the invoice being sent on March 10 had a disclaimer at the bottom about the terms and conditions which was easily overlooked because it's all advertising.  Also do not see any reference to procedure for resolution in the terms and agreements.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************

  Business Response

  Date: 14/03/2023

  I have attached a screenshot of the trial form, with the language for the conversion process highlighted as well as the checkbox and link to the terms.

  I have also attached a screenshot of the last paragraph of each of the emails received that also document the conversion process and link to the terms.

  There is a dispute resolution process with the business development rep that closed this trial and has sent the invoices, emails, and made the calls. What I do not understand is why a complaint was filed with BBB when we have been 100% transparent in our communication, the process was agreed to, and there is a process to communicate directly with the company to resolve it. The first email communication to dispute was received less than 4 days ago (2 days after the conversion of your membership), after hours on the Friday, but the BBB complaint was filed on Monday. Such complaints can be detrimental to a business. Our process of auto-conversion is a common online purchase agreement, like that used by streaming and other **** services. This was opted into, and reminders were sent out throughout the initial trial period. It was only after the invoice was received that communication to cancel was sent out, at a cost to our business for processing & fulfillment.

  Of course we would prefer to keep you as a member, and your business development rep had been alerted to respond to you by phone the next working day (Monday) after initially responding in email that you had lapsed in your cancellation notice period, but you had already filed a complaint with BBB and escalated this to a level that seems intentional.

  We pride ourselves on:

  - helping businesses with their compliance and training needs, being compliant with all regulatory standards ourselves, and offering a **** solution that saves time and money

  - repeatedly communicating the purchase process, allowing people full access to the **** solution to review before becoming full members

  - on communicating the terms associated with this full access and giving you multiple channels to opt-out, whether online, via email, or telephone

  - doing multiple outreaches via different channels to engage you and help you get the most value out of this open access (not something you get from a streaming service).

  It is absolutely critical that the BBB fully understand that we have NOT done anything illegal or unethical; that we have been transparent throughout the entire marketing and purchasing funnel; that we have also been burdened with additional cost of time and resources to respond to this complaint, filed within a business day of the first notification to cancel, after the expired trial period.

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/11/2022

  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.

  Someone in the HR department at my work signed up for an HR insider free trial. I was away on maternity leave when this happened. Then I kept getting emails from this company about this free trial. I did not respond because I thought it was just spam. Then one day I randomly got an email invoice for a whole year subscription which I had never signed up for! I emailed the Representative back saying to cancel right away, and she refused. This person had not even entered in the right information for sign up, yet they went and found out my personal information anyway and decided to start the trial without my approval and then charge me for a whole year subscription also. They never confirmed anything with me, did not even get a credit card number to confirm if the subscription was even wanted. They are just trying to get money and don't even confirm it with you in person, they just charge without getting consent. To come back from maternity leave after having to leave my kids all day to come to work and provide for them, then dealing with this is just complete nonsense. This company is a ****

  Business Response

  Date: 16/11/2022

  We offer a free 10-day trial
  on HR Insider. This 10-day free trial auto converts to a full membership after the
  trial ends. This is outlined in our terms and conditions which is included in 5
  emails directed to the subscriber during the 10 day memberships. These emails state that the trial is bound by our
  terms and conditions. Additionally, there were 5 voicemails
  left which notified her of the free trial converting to a paid membership if the trial was not cancelled before the end of the trial.

  
  Modern Beauty and more
  specifically, ****** ******, has been signing up and using HR Insiders content
  for years (dating back to 2019): Free webinars, trials, free downloads and we
  have the records to back this up. ****** is well aware of our company and products.

  
  She did not cancel her free trial and as a result her
  trial converted into a paid membership. This is the first time ****** has received
  an invoice directly as a result of not cancelling the free trial. Her first
  reaction was to complain to the Better Business Bureau, however, we have been providing her with free
  resources for years.

  We are surprised by the hostility in her complaint by simply following company processes and abiding by our terms and conditions, as I'm sure her company does as well.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 18/11/2022

  
  
  Complaint: ********
  
  
  
  I am rejecting this response because: ****** is not even an employee of Modern Beauty, she is an independent contractor consulting for us. She doesn't work in-office, she does not have access to VM, and she only works part-time on the side. One of the team members used her account to sign up for the trial as they couldn't sign up with the [email protected] email since it was used before, (and not charged in the past after completing a free trial)

  This was not approved as a Modern Beauty expense, and should not be billed to Modern Beauty.

  
  
  
  Sincerely,