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Business Profile

TV Stations

ESPN, Inc.

This business is NOT BBB Accredited.

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Complaints

This profile includes complaints for ESPN, Inc.'s headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see

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    Customer Complaints Summary

    • 196 total complaints in the last 3 years.
    • 58 complaints closed in the last 12 months.

    If you've experienced an issue

    Submit a Complaint

    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.

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    Complaint status

    Complaint type

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:10/02/2023

      Type:Order Issues
      Status:
      Unanswered
      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.
      For a long time I had a stand-alone ****+ subscription, but switched it to ****************** thru *******. When doing so, I was told I could keep the same account, same username, same password, so I did. My username is ******************m

      For the past 9 months, every month, my account is turned off. **** * ******* work flawlessly, but ****+ is disabled. Every month I spend hours on chat, phone, or email with **** and they finally re-enable my account. Every time they tell me that I need to use a different email address, then they say I don't need to do that, then they fix my account and it works for a few weeks, then it stops working and the cycle beings again, wasting countless hours of my times. Each of the 9 times I've had to have the account re-enabled, they assured me it'd never happen again, but it continues to shut down.

      The reason for the problem is that my old account & new account use the same email. It needs to be this way for multiple reasons:
      1) I need to use the same email/password for ******* *** **** and those work flawlessly
      2) My **** fantasy teams use this same address, so else I'd have to log out and back in continually

      No matter who I talk to at ****, whether on the phone, or via chat, or via email - whether it's the supervisor, another supervisor, or a customer service rep, they all assure me the problem is fixed and it'll never happen again, then I go to sit and watch a game, that I've paid to watch, and the service does not work. Month after month after month.

      It is infuriating. Please help me get this problem fixed.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:09/25/2023

      Type:Product Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      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 ESPN+ app that I pay for does not work. Every time I try to watch a game a dumb*** little circle just spins for a few seconds then disappears. I pay for it through my cell phone plan could you please refund me the cost of my cel phone plan for the last 12 months.

      Business Response

      Date: 11/01/2023

      We reached out to the viewer on multiple occasions via email but we have not received a response from the viewer.   The email contacts were made on 9/28/23 and 10/5/23.   We have not heard back from the viewer in regard to their complaint.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:09/12/2023

      Type:Product Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      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.
      With my ESPN + subscription I was unable to login to any device that was not my phone. I purchased multiple *** ****** that I could not watch for hours because the technical support team would send an e mail to log in on the device I was using that never arrived. The final straw was tonight, after re-subscribing to ESPN + to watch the ********** game, I was yet again greeted with the incorrect credentials message after using the exact same credentials to log in on my phone. More than an hour later there was no solution to my problem, no email sent to me and no resolution to the waste of my time and the waste of time of the people I had over to watch the game. There is no reason a billion dollar conglomerate should not have their affairs in order so that customers can resolve issues with their service in a timely manner. The entirety of my local workplace as well as corporate channels will be informed of how ESPN + handles their shortcomings and with any luck thousands of customers will drop this glitch prone app from a customer-last company.

      Business Response

      Date: 10/11/2023

      We reached out to the viewer via phone on several occasions (9/14/23; 9/22/23; 9/28/23; 10/2/23 & 10/4/23) and we were not able to speak with the viewer.   We followed up with emails on 9/20 and 10/5.  On the email on 9/20, we advised them that we will be providing them with access to *** *** ***.  They have not responded to any of our contacts.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:08/23/2023

      Type:Billing Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      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 8/22/23 I attempted to cancel my ESPN+ subscription using both a web and mobile browser, but there isn't a method to do so anywhere on the site.

      Their website ************************************************************************************************************** provides the following instructions:

      "Cancel my ESPN+ subscription
      If you’re billed directly by ESPN+ and would like to cancel your subscription:
      Log in to your ESPN+ account through a computer or mobile browser
      Hover over (web) or select (mobile browser) your Profile picture in the upper right corner of the page
      Select ESPN+ Subscriptions under the Manage my section
      Select Manage Subscription
      Select Cancel Subscription
      Select Cancel Now
      If you are having difficulty completing these steps, please contact us for further assistance.
      NOTE: You cannot cancel your ESPN+ account using the ESPN app. A mobile or web browser is required."

      I followed these instructions and arrived at a webpage that didn't have the options to "Select Cancel Subscription, or Select Cancel Now" as stated per instructions. A photo of this is attached.

      I then contacted customer service and requested to remove my payment information and cancel the account.

      I asked the agent to provide me a link to cancel, and it took me to the same page I had arrived at earlier. There was no option to cancel my subscription. Photo of conversation is attached.

      The agent said they would cancel my subscription for me if I provided my full name, email address, and payment information. So now instead of having an easy way to cancel, ESPN makes you contact customer service, and BEG to have your subscription cancelled. I can't imagine the difficulty and stress that this could cause for some folks. I bet many have tried to cancel but can't!

      This was extremely frustrating and time consuming. I had tried to cancel months prior in May but ran into the same issue. Finally now I found the time to do so. I believe ESPN intentionally makes it difficult

      Business Response

      Date: 09/09/2023

      We have reached out to the viewer via email on 8/27/23 in regard to their complaint.     We advised them that based on their chat on August 22nd, their subscription was canceled. We processed a refund on 8./27/23 in the amount of $9.99 back to their card. We advisd them to allow 3 to 5 business days for the refund to reflect in their account. 

      Thank you,

      ESPN+ Customer Support


    • Initial Complaint

      Date:08/21/2023

      Type:Product Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      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 called in at 10:30pm, 40 minutes after I purchased the ESPN Plus with *** *** *** service; I had spent the entire time after purchasing trying the steps they provided to access the service. It never worked. I called at 10:30pm to cancel and was on hold for a long time. Finally when a representative answered, she verified my information, and I explained that the service did not work at all so I wanted to cancel. She had placed me on hold and then came back and confirmed that the refund was processed and would show up back to my account in a few days. I asked to confirm that the service was completely cancelled and I would be receiving $132.48 back as a refund and she confirmed yes. After getting off of the phone I received an email showing the service had been cancelled, but it was still going to give me subscription access through 8/19/2024 (which would mean paying for the full year of service); this is not what I was told on the phone and not what I wanted. The service did not work at all so I should not be charged for a service that I did not and cannot use. I believe this is an unfair and fraudulent business practice on their end and I would like to be refunded in full; I do not want or need access to a service that does not work and I cannot use. I signed up at 9:51pm, called them at 10:30pm after no success with their service working, and received their "cancellation" email at 10:55pm.

      Business Response

      Date: 08/21/2023

      We have reached out to the viewer today via email.  We acknowledged that their subscription was canceled.  A request for a refund was processed by our agents but pending approval by our backend team.  We attempted to approve the refund today but failed as the viewer's card processor filed a dispute claim on their behalf today.  By filing a dispute claim, we are not able to process and/or approve a refund.   We suggested to the viewer to reach out to their card processor to discuss the dispute claim that was filed on their behalf.   

      Thank you

      ESPN+ Support

      Customer Answer

      Date: 08/22/2023



      Complaint: ********



      I am rejecting this response because:

      This response is not valid; a business can still refund a charge when a dispute claim has been filed so this is an excuse.  Once the business provides the refund the card processor is informed of this during their dispute process and would settle/resolve the filed dispute accordingly.  (I have experience in the industry and with dispute claims.). 

      I will continue to let the card processor and the Attorney General's Office investigate the matter.




      Sincerely,



      ***** ****** ******

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:07/31/2023

      Type:Billing Issues
      Status:
      Resolved
      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 have attempted several time to cancel ESPN Plus through their website and just get looped around. We called their customer service number today and have been on the phone for an hour now. The rep told us they can cancel it but will take a VERY long time to do so. She keeps coming back on the line to ask questions and then places us on hold, even saying there is only one person working today. At one point, she assumed she was muted and we could hear her carrying on and laughing with other women in the background. They loop the same snippets of a podcast over and over, while we are on hold, hoping we will get discouraged and hang up. This is an AWFUL company and we will never again use ESPN to watch any sports events in the future. We want to cancel our subscription and receive a full refund.

      Business Response

      Date: 08/17/2023

      Good evening.  We have reached out to the viewer via email and phone.  We called the viewer on 8/1 and 8/7.  We followed up with an email.  We have not received a response from the viewer.  We have canceled their subscription under **************** (which is their other email that they provided in their call with our Tier 1 agent) and processed a refund in the amount of $99.99 on July 31st.

       

      Business Response

      Date: 08/17/2023

      Good evening.  We have reached out to the viewer via email and phone.  We called the viewer on 8/1 and 8/7.  We followed up with an email.  We have not received a response from the viewer.  We have canceled their subscription under **************** (which is their other email that they provided in their call with our Tier 1 agent) and processed a refund in the amount of $99.99 on July 31st.

       

      Customer Answer

      Date: 08/18/2023



      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.




      Sincerely,



      ***** *******

      Customer Answer

      Date: 08/18/2023



      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.




      Sincerely,



      ***** *******

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:07/24/2023

      Type:Billing Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      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.
      They make it impossible to cancel! Such a scam. SEVERAL attempts at cancelling this subscription bundle through various avenues and I am still getting billed. When I first called them directly, they said they can't do anything because it was through a 3rd party app. The button to cancel is conveniently missing from their site. Fine, I also tried doing it through ****, *******, ****** *********, etc. They are still charging me and make it unreasonably cumbersome to cancel. I am at a wits end and am about to just cancel my card altogether.

      Business Response

      Date: 08/01/2023

      We have reached out to the viewer via email.   We provided the steps to them to cancel.  We asked them if they were unable to cancel that we can would be able to cancel on their behalf.  We also advised them that we would provide them with a refund for the most recent charge.   The viewer responded that they were unable to cancel.   We processed the cancellation of their subscription and processed a refund for the latest charge from July 22nd.   We advised them to expect to receive the refund in 3 to 5 business days.


      Thank you,

      ESPN+ Customer Support

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:07/21/2023

      Type:Order Issues
      Status:
      Resolved
      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.
      ESPN is actively blocking the cancelation of subscriptions to their ESPN+ service. This is deserving of a class-action lawsuit.

      I've made several attempts to cancel my subscription. When going to "manage subscription" on the website, you simply get a loading wheel that never loads the page. All other pages and streaming events work fine at full latency. Additionally, when you try to contact them through their "Help" portals, the live chat and phone chat options are disabled. It is clear that they are dissuading customers from being able to cancel subscriptions.

      ***************************************************************************** ********************************************************

      Business Response

      Date: 07/21/2023

      We have reached out to the viewer today via email.  We apologized to them of the inconvenience they have encountered.  We advised them that after reviewing their account, their subscription is through a 3rd party vendor (****** ****).  All subscriptions purchased through a 3rd party provider can only be canceled via the provider.  ESPN+ does not have access to third party provider systems to cancel/refund subscriptions.   We advised them that we do see that the subscription was already canceled via ****** ****.   We also advised them that through ****** ****, we were able to refund the latest transaction from July 19th.    We also asked them if they can provide the HTML link and screen shot of the webpage where they saw the contact us links that show as not functioning.  We advised them that by looking at the screen shots, that looks to be an from an old link that is no longer an active webpage for ESPN+.  


      Thank you,

      ESPN+ Customer Support

      Customer Answer

      Date: 07/24/2023



      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.




      Sincerely,



      ******* *******

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:07/20/2023

      Type:Product Issues
      Status:
      Resolved
      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.
      ESPN charged my card $99.99 I canceled my prescription same day they refunded my money July 3rd they said it is July 20th I spoke with them 10 times and they have not given my money back they said they have I have not received it and they said they're not giving it back I want my money back they ripped me off

      Customer Answer

      Date: 07/21/2023

      Good morning *** my name is Larry regarding my complaint ESPN Plus credited my account back $69.99 but they took $99.99 I did not receive my full refund and I've already waited three weeks and now they're telling me to wait another five to seven days for my refund I am not happy and I want the rest of my money from ESPN Plus

      Business Response

      Date: 07/26/2023

      We have reached out to the viewer via email today.   We have advised them that the refund was processed by our team on July 3rd.  After further review, the refund was being held up by our processing center.   They have released the refund on 7/25.    We have advised them that they should receive the refund in 3 to 5 business days.


      Thank you,

      ESPN+ Customer Support

      Customer Answer

      Date: 07/27/2023



      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.




      Sincerely,



      ***** *******

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:07/18/2023

      Type:Product Issues
      Status:
      Resolved
      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 7/16/23 I followed a link to subscribe to ESPN in order to watch ********* matches. I subscribed for one month. After watching the ***** ***** in the morning, I tried to watch other matches that evening. None of the other matches listed were available though my subscription! I called ESPN and they said I needed to use a different link. I called again and they said because I used the service through ****, I had to call ****. When I called ****, I talked to three people, the last of whom said I needed to talk to ESPN. When I called back to ESPN, they said that ESPN and ESPN+ are two different things and refused to help me. This all occurred on 7/16/23.

      Business Response

      Date: 08/01/2023

      We reached out to the viewer via phone on 7/21 and apologized to them for the experience they had with ESPN+.   We advised them that their subscription is via a 3rd party vendor, ****, so they would need to cancel and refund via ****.  We advised them that we will work with our partners at **** to see if they can process the refund and cancel the subscription on their behalf.   We reached out to **** and on July 27th, they confirmed that they were able to process the refund and cancel the subscription for the viewer.   We advised the viewer via email about this.

       

      Thank you

      ESPN+ Customer Support

      Customer Answer

      Date: 08/02/2023



      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.




      Sincerely,



      ***** ****

    ESPN, Inc. is NOT a BBB Accredited Business.

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