Complaints
This profile includes complaints for Synapse Group, Inc.'s headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see
Customer Complaints Summary
- 47 total complaints in the last 3 years.
- 8 complaints closed in the last 12 months.
If you've experienced an issue
Submit a ComplaintThe 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:12/12/2022
Type: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.
After I placed an order with **** *** ******, I volunteered to complete a survey. As an incentive to complete the survey, I was offered an opportunity to take advantage of a $100 offer. The offer was the opportunity to get "free" year long subscriptions to 4 magazines. After making my selection, I was told there was a $2.00 fee to process each subscription. Each subscription ended up being only 2-3 issues of each magazine. Then after I entered my credit card number and the order was processed, I received email notification that the charge had been changed to $2.16.
"You approved an authorization to ******** on December 9, 2022 for $2.00 USD. ******** has updated the total amount of your transaction. Your new total is $2.16 USD. See below for details."
This seems like a small, but fraudulent, increase in the charge that I had approved. I imagine that most people are equally annoyed, but do nothing. Meanwhile, ******** pulls in all these small unapproved charges from thousands of people. Please do something about this. It seems like nothing short of a class action suit will stop this practice.
Business Response
Date: 12/19/2022
******** *** ****
******* ****
********* **********
****** ******** ******
** ****** ****
********* ** *****
*** ********* **** ** ********
********* ****** **********
**** *** *****
I
write in response to the inquiry registered with your office by consumer ******
**********. We genuinely regret the inconvenience that Ms. ********** experienced
regarding her magazine subscriptions and have attempted to resolve her concerns.
Our
records show that Ms. ********** placed an order for **** *** *****, ******* ************, ********** *****, and ***** * *******, when she
accepted our online promotional offer, which was presented to her after
completing a ******* ******. The offer stated she could claim a value of up to
$100.00 when she completed an online survey. At the top of that page, it stated
“as a thank you for completing the survey regarding your shopping experience,
you will receive a thank you valued at up to $100.00 – up to four of your
favorite magazines…” After completing the short survey, additional information
about the magazine offer is provided by the submit button. This offer also
stated she would receive the first term of her magazine selections for $2.00
per title. In addition, it is our policy that customers who wish to cancel may
do so at any time by calling our toll-free customer service number, which is
provided on our renewal notice and also on the customer’s billing statement
with each charge.
The
additional $0.16 was sales tax that was applied to her order as the shipping
address provided was in a tax applicable state.
As
a one-time courtesy to Ms. **********, we issued a refund in the amount of $2.16
to her account for the inconvenience. It should be noted that banks direct us
to ask customers to allow one to two billing statements for written
confirmation of the refund to appear, depending on their billing cycle.
It
is at the publisher's request that Ms. ********** allow 4 to 12 weeks to
receive her first issue. Depending on the delivery of the magazines, daily, weekly,
or monthly, she may start to receive the issues sooner than the time provided. Rest
assured, she will receive all the issues in her subscriptions.
Please be assured that
customer satisfaction is very important to us and we take great care in
providing our customers with the highest level of service.
Sincerely,
Synapse
Customer CareInitial Complaint
Date:11/21/2022
Type: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 started receiving unwanted magazine subscriptions from 3 different magazines. These magazines just started arriving to my house. I called the contact information on the magazine label. I was told the subscription to the magazines was part of a survey I took. I never agreed to or signed anything for magazine subscriptions or have permission for this. I am outraged this can happen. The travel magazine which was one of the magazines I was receiving said the subscription came from a 3rd party company called Synapse. I could contact the company at ###-###-####. I contacted the company asked for my name to be removed from their list. This company has been charging me for magazines I didn’t choose, subscribed to, or want. They took my contact information and I believe my debit card information illegally and deceptively.Business Response
Date: 11/23/2022
******** *** ****
******* ****
********* **********
****** ******** ******
** ****** ****
********* ** *****
*** ********* **** ** ********
********* ******* **************
**** *** *****
I write in response to the inquiry registered with your office by consumer ******* **************. We genuinely regret the inconvenience that Ms. ************** experienced regarding her magazine subscriptions and have attempted to resolve her concerns.
Our records show that Ms. ************** placed an order for ******, ************, **** ******* ********, and ***** **** ********, when she accepted our online promotional offer, which was presented to her after completing a ******* survey. The offer provided that her subscriptions would automatically continue following the initial term and that the same credit card would be charged if she did not call us to cancel. In addition, it is our policy that customers who wish to cancel may do so at any time by calling our toll-free customer service number, which is provided on our renewal notice and on the customer’s billing statement with each charge.
On November 19, 2022, Ms. ************** contacted our customer service center and cancelled her subscriptions to ******, generating a full refund in the amount of $2.14 to her ****** account.
Ms. ************** contacted our customer service center again on November 20, 2022 and cancelled her subscriptions to ************, **** ******* ********, and ***** **** ********, generating a full refund in the amount of $6.42 to her ****** account. It should be noted, however, that banks direct us to ask customers to allow one or two billing statements for written confirmation of the refund to appear, depending on their billing cycle.
Ms. ************** can be assured that her subscriptions have been cancelled and all charges have been refunded to her account. Also, Ms. ************** may continue to receive one or two more issues of her magazines since they were in process at the time of cancellation. She may keep these with our compliments. In addition, we have added Ms. ************** to our purged customer list. We have also requested to have Ms. ************** name to be removed from our promotional mailing lists.
Please be assured that customer satisfaction is very important to us and we take great care in providing our customers with the highest level of service.
Sincerely,
Synapse Customer CareCustomer Answer
Date: 11/23/2022
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:11/21/2022
Type: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 have been getting magazine subscriptions that I did not order but did get charged for for months. I have contacted some of the magazines directly but was told that the subscription was through a 3rd party and they couldnt do anything. Today there was another charge to my bank account for $18.23 for ********** magazine, and I saw that a phone number was listed in the bank transaction. I called and finally reached a live person. They did cancel my ********** subscription and said I'll be refunded, but not without pushing. At first they tried to extend my subscription and I was adamant that they cancel now. The rep claims that that is now in process. Then I asked if I had other magazines with them. He said yes, three others: **** *******, ****, and ******* ******. I asked how those started and he claimed it was a survey "bonus" freebie that later gets charged. First of all, I do not have, nor have I ever had interest in **** or ******* ******. I would not have chosen that as a reward. IF it somehow happened that way, it was due to one of my children, who are minors. But I still don't see that happening. I MAY have done that with ********** and **** *******, but I don't remember ever doing that, and I KNOW that I wasn't told anything about subsequent charges. The representative told me that because those other magazines were charged over the summer, I cannot get a refund on those three. I am very upset because I feel that these practices are unethical and I can't believe they are legal. At no point did I authorize these charges.Business Response
Date: 11/23/2022
******** *** ****
******* ****
********* **********
****** ******** ******
** ****** ****
********* ** *****
*** ********* **** ** ********
********* ******** **********
**** *** *****
I write in response to the inquiry registered with your office by consumer ******** **********. We genuinely regret the inconvenience that Ms. ********** experienced regarding her magazine subscriptions and have attempted to resolve her concerns.
Our records show that Ms. ********** placed an order for ******* ******, **** Magazine, **** ******* Magazine and **********, when she accepted our online promotional offer, which was presented to her after completing a ******* survey. The offer provided that her subscriptions would automatically continue following the initial term and that the same credit card would be charged if she did not call us to cancel. In addition, it is our policy that customers who wish to cancel may do so at any time by calling our toll-free customer service number, which is provided on our renewal notice and on the customer’s billing statement with each charge.
When we did not hear from Ms. ********** that she wished to cancel her subscriptions at the end of her first term, the annual renewal charges were posted to her account.
On November 18, 2022, Ms. ********** contacted our customer service center and placed her subscriptions to ******* ******, **** Magazine, **** ******* Magazine and **********, on “do not renew” status. This would allow her to continue receiving the issues in her current term, however her subscriptions would not renew, nor would she be charged any renewal fees.
Upon receipt of your correspondence, we cancelled Ms. **********’s subscriptions generating a full refund in amount of $164.09 back to her account, which includes the previous year’s charges. It should be noted, however, that banks direct us to ask customers to allow one or two billing statements for written confirmation of the refund to appear, depending on their billing cycle.Ms. ********** can be assured that her subscriptions have been cancelled and all renewal charges have been refunded to her account. Also, Ms. ********** may continue to receive one or two more issues of her magazines since they were in process at the time of cancellation. She may keep these with our compliments.
Please be assured that customer satisfaction is very important to us and we take great care in providing our customers with the highest level of service.
Sincerely,
Synapse Customer CareInitial Complaint
Date:11/10/2022
Type: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 am being charged for multiple magazine subscribtions which I am not recieving. Through a series of phone calls I was able to finally get a phone number for this company and when I called, a woman answered saying 'you have reached the medical alert line', when I told her I did not call a medical alert line and only want to dicuss magazine subscriptions, she spoke over me, and gave me her whole speech about how 'falling a real concern and they would like to sign me up for a device which I would wear around my neck in case of emergency'. When I told her this was not what I wanted to speak to her about, she again spoke over me, completely ignoring my request saying 'I understand your concern ma'ma but anyone can fall, can we sign you up for a trial'. I again told her this was NOT what I needed to discuss and she then hung up on me and put me through to a recorded 'test' asking me to add numbers, almost as an AGEISM indication. I hung up the phone laughing at the ridiculouness of the position I found myself in but was actually quite shocked that this was a LEGIT SCAM. I literally have NEVER filed a complaint with the BBB, but this is beyond insane. Not only is there apparently no way to contact the company about products I am being charged for and not receiving, but obviously the company is all about trying to sign people up for their medical allert device. Meanwhile, I aam still out several dollars being auto deducted from my account, with no product to show for it.Business Response
Date: 11/16/2022
******** *** ****
******* ****
********* **********
****** ******** ******
** ****** ****
********* ** *****
*** ********* **** ** ********
********* ******* ******
**** *** *****
I write in response to the inquiry registered with your office by consumer ******* ******. We genuinely regret the inconvenience that Ms. ****** experienced regarding her magazine subscriptions and have attempted to resolve her concerns.
Our records show that Ms. ****** placed an order for **** ******, ******* ******, ******* *** ***** * *****, when she accepted our online promotional offer, which was presented to her after completing a ******* survey. The offer provided that her subscriptions would automatically continue following the initial term and that the same credit card would be charged if she did not call us to cancel. In addition, it is our policy that customers who wish to cancel may do so at any time by calling our toll-free customer service number, which is provided on our renewal notice and on the customer’s billing statement with each charge.
When we did not hear from Ms. ****** that she wished to cancel her subscriptions at the end of her first term, the annual renewal charges were posted to her account.
On November 9, 2022, Ms. ****** contacted our automated customer service line and placed her subscriptions to **** ******, ******* ******, ******* *** ***** * *****, on “do not renew” status. This would allow her to continue receiving the issues in her current term, however her subscriptions would not renew, nor would she be charged any renewal fees.
Upon receipt of your correspondence, we cancelled Ms. ******’s subscriptions generating a full refund in amount of $71.54 back to her account, which includes the previous year’s charges. It should be noted, however, that banks direct us to ask customers to allow one or two billing statements for written confirmation of the refund to appear, depending on their billing cycle.
Ms. ****** can be assured that her subscriptions have been cancelled and all charges have been refunded to her account. Also, Ms. ****** may continue to receive one or two more issues of her magazines since they were in process at the time of cancellation. She may keep these with our compliments.
We sincerely regret that Ms. ****** experienced any difficulty contacting our customer service line. If Ms. ****** can provide us with the phone number she dialed which brought her to the medical alert line, we will be more than happy to look into this further.
Please be assured that customer satisfaction is very important to us and we take great care in providing our customers with the highest level of service.
Sincerely,
Synapse Customer CareInitial Complaint
Date:11/07/2022
Type: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.
My minor (15/16 year old) child bought a book at a bookstore and during the checkout process she was told she would be getting free magazines. She didn't understand and gave her address. No bills have been sent via our home and no bills have been sent via email. She says she called to cancel via a phone call back in May but that the phone call was confusing. She has been charged a total of $107.58 for magazines she never wanted. I called and **** says they cannot refund any of this money. I called SYNAPSE and I they say they can only refund $27. This is a minor and they should not target minors. They should ask for a Date of Birth to make sure they are only targeting adults. This seems like a scam to take advantage of children who are not expecting to be charged for things they do not want. When the magazine came, she told me they were free from the bookstore. She has learned a lesson to monitor her account but I am really upset that even after she called that more charges have been coming. It has to be scam if kids are just charged on their debit cards and not sent bills via email or snail mail.Business Response
Date: 11/14/2022
******** *** ****
******* ****
********* **********
****** ******** ******
** ****** ****
********* ** *****
************ **** ** ********
********* ****** *****
**** *** *****
I write in response to the inquiry registered with your office by consumer ****** *****. We genuinely regret the inconvenience that Ms. ***** experienced regarding her magazine subscriptions and have attempted to resolve her concerns.
Our records show that we received an order in the name of ***** ***** for ****, ****** and ******** **** * **** and **** *******, when she accepted our promotional offer after making a purchase at a *************** store. The offer allowed her to choose from a selection of magazine titles and receive the first 60 days of a 14-month subscription without charge. After the trial period, her subscriptions would continue automatically and be charged semi-annually to the same credit card used for her *************** transaction, unless she called our toll-free customer service number to cancel.
*************** sales associates are instructed to inform customers of the terms of the offer and provide them with a copy of the brochure to keep. Customers are also informed that the credit or debit card provided for their purchase will be forwarded to us for processing the magazine orders.
When we did not hear from Ms. ***** that she wished to cancel her subscriptions at the end of her first term, the semi-annual renewal charges were posted to her account.
On November 5, 2022, Ms. ***** contacted our customer service center and cancelled her subscriptions to ****, ****** and ******** **** * **** and **** *******, generating a refund to her account reflecting the value of unserved issues in the total amount of $27.15.
Upon receipt of your correspondence, we issued the remaining refund for the balance on her subscriptions in the amount of $80.35, which includes all the previous charges. It should be noted that banks direct us to ask customers to allow one to two billing statements for written confirmation of the refund to appear, depending on their billing cycle.
Ms. ***** can be assured that her subscriptions have been cancelled and all charges have been refunded to her account. Also, Ms. ***** may continue to receive one or two more issues of her magazines since they were in process at the **** of cancellation. She may keep these with our compliments.
Please be assured that customer satisfaction is very important to us and we take great care in providing our customers with the highest level of service.
Sincerely,
Synapse Customer CareCustomer Answer
Date: 11/14/2022
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:10/27/2022
Type: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.
Contacted Customer Service multiple times and they keep charging my credit card. They told me I was charged for a full year once again after I already cancelled.
I asked what state they are located in and they said "Unfortunately, we are not located in the ****** ******"
All of the charges on my credit card begin with "TME" or "TME* ********"Business Response
Date: 11/02/2022
******** ** ****
******* ****
********* **********
****** ******** ******
** ****** ****
********* ** *****
*** ********* **** ** ********
********* ***** *********
**** *** *****
I
write in response to the inquiry registered with your office by consumer***** *********. We
genuinely regret the inconvenience that Mr. ********* experienced regarding his magazine subscriptions
and have attempted to resolve his concerns.
Our
records show that Mr. ********* placed an order for ****** ******* ******, *******,
******* ****** and **** ******* ********, when he accepted our
online promotional offer, which was presented to him after completing a *******
survey. The offer provided that his subscriptions would automatically continue following
the initial term and that the same credit card would be charged if he did not
call us to cancel. In addition, it is our policy that customers who wish to
cancel may do so at any time by calling our toll-free customer service number,
which is provided on our renewal notice and on the customer’s billing statement
with each charge.
When
we did not hear from Mr. ********* that he wished to cancel his subscriptions at the end of
his first term, the annual renewal charges were posted to his account.
On July
20, 2022, Mr. *********
contacted our automated customer service line and cancelled his subscriptions **** ******* ********, ****** ******* ******, ******* and ******* ******,
generating a full refund to his account in the amount of $70.30.
Upon
receipt of your correspondence, we issued the remaining refund
to Mr. *********’s account for his subscriptions in the amount of $78.70. It should be noted that banks direct us to
ask customers to allow one to two billing statements for written confirmation
of the refund to appear, depending on their billing cycle.
Mr.********* can be
assured that his subscriptions have been cancelled and he was not charged again
after the cancellation. The charge dates on his statement were prior to the
cancellation date. In addition, Mr. ********* can be assured that all renewal charges
have been refunded to his account.
Please be assured that
customer satisfaction is very important to us and we take great care in
providing our customers with the highest level of service.
Sincerely,
Synapse
Customer CareInitial Complaint
Date:08/30/2022
Type: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.
This company has been charging me for ********s I never received. I must have filled out a survey and they stole my financial information. That or signed me up for automatic ******** renewal. ****.com and synapse Group, LLC are one in the same and have been stealing my money.Business Response
Date: 09/09/2022
********* ** ****
******* ****
********* **********
****** ******** ******
** ****** ****
********* ** *****
*** ********* **** ** ********
********* ******* ******
**** *** *****
I
write in response to the inquiry registered with your office by consumer *******
******. We genuinely regret the inconvenience that Ms. ****** experienced regarding
her ******** subscriptions and have attempted to resolve her concerns.
Our
records show that Ms. ****** placed an order for **** ********* ********,
******** * **** ***, and ********** ********, when she accepted
our online promotional offer, which was presented to her after completing a
******* survey. The offer provided that her subscriptions would automatically continue
following the initial term and that the same credit card would be charged if
she did not call us to cancel. In addition, it is our policy that customers who
wish to cancel may do so at any time by calling our toll-free customer service
number, which is provided on our renewal notice and on the customer’s billing
statement with each charge.
When
we did not hear from Ms. ****** that she wished to cancel her subscriptions at
the end of her first term, the annual renewal charges were posted to her
account.
Upon
receipt of your correspondence, we cancelled Ms. ******’s subscriptions to ****
********* ********, ******** * **** ***, and ********** ********, generating
a full refund in the amount of $140.99, which includes the previous year’s
charges, back to her ****** account. We have also issued a refund check in the
amount of $6.00 for the 2020 charges. Ms. ****** should allow 2-3 weeks to
receive her refund check in the mail.
It should be noted, however, that banks direct us to
ask customers to allow one or two billing statements for written confirmation
of the refund to appear, depending on their billing cycle.
Ms.
****** can be assured that her subscriptions have been cancelled and all
charges have been refunded to her account. Also, Ms. ****** may continue to receive one or two more issues of her
********s since they were in process at the time of cancellation. She may keep these with our compliments.
Please be assured that
customer satisfaction is very important to us and we take great care in
providing our customers with the highest level of service.
Sincerely,
Synapse
Customer CareCustomer Answer
Date: 09/09/2022
Complaint: ********
I am rejecting this response because I would like the entire refund by snail mail check.
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is not satisfactory to me. As far as I can tell I haven’t seen a refund to the ****** account, but I do accept the resolution. I just would like a different method for my refund, please. Additionally, I would like to say that I won’t be receive any complimentary ********s because the address that’s been used is no longer the correct mailing address or electronically registered account does not actually exist. I do not have a known account with this company. Lastly, I am not sure how this company is continuing to be in business since it validated my exact complaint. Clearly, if a consumer fills out a survery and then is bolstered to an automatic renewal system and now must CALL a toll free number for cancellation, then this is the exact reasoning why consumers then have to make complaints to the Better Business Bureau. Thankfully the BBB has protected consumers like myself and afforded coverage from predatory services like Synapse Group.
Sincerely,
******* ******
Sincerely,
******* ******Business Response
Date: 10/05/2022
******* ** ****
******* ****
********* **********
****** ******** ******
** ****** ****
********* ** *****
*** ********* **** ** ********
********* ******* ******
**** *** *****
I write in response to the inquiry registered with your office by consumer ******* ******. We genuinely regret the inconvenience that Ms. ****** experienced regarding her ******** subscriptions and have attempted to resolve her concerns.
On September 7, 2022, we issued a full refund in the amount of $140.99 back to Ms. ******‘s ****** account. That same day, we received notification from ****** that were unable to process a refund back to her account in the amount of $48.50, resulting in the refund automatically being issued in the form of a check. Ms. ******’s should allow 2-3 weeks to receive her refund check in the mail.
We have checked our ****** billing system and have confirmed that Ms. ******’s refunds totaling $92.49 were issued to her account. She may reference this transaction ID confirm that our refunds were processed (*****************). If Ms. ****** is still not showing these refunds posted to her account, she may contact our customer service center directly at 877-373-1936. One of our representatives will be happy to assist her.
This is not a usual occurrence, and we understand Ms. ******’s frustration. Please be assured that customer satisfaction is very important to us and we take great care in providing our customers with the highest level of service.
Sincerely,
Synapse Customer CareInitial Complaint
Date:08/22/2022
Type: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.
Over the course of a few weeks I have been billed $80.50. Every other day I’m billed 21 or 16 dollars. I never wanted these magazines. Not once have I gotten an email, or a call from this company confirming my order and I haven’t gotten the magazines I’ve paid for either!
I would like a full refund.Business Response
Date: 08/24/2022
****** *** ****
******* ****
********* **********
****** ******** ******
** ****** ****
********* ** *****
*** ********* **** ** ********
********* ****** *****
**** *** *****
I
write in response to the inquiry registered with your office by consumer ******
*****. We genuinely regret the inconvenience that Mr. ***** experienced
regarding his magazine subscriptions and have attempted to resolve his concerns.
Our records show that Mr. *****
placed an order for F*** * ****, ******* ***, ********** ******, and ******* ***********, when he accepted our online promotional offer,
which was presented to him after completing a ******* survey. This offer
allowed him to receive the first term of his magazine selections for a nominal
fee of $2.00 for each subscription. The offer also provided that his subscriptions
would automatically continue following the initial term and that the same
credit card would be charged monthly if he did not call us to cancel.
Prior to the subscriptions
renewing, a renewal notification would be sent including the renewal details
and the date the subscriptions needed to be canceled by to avoid further charges.
The renewal notice also contains our toll-free phone number, email address and
self-service website which can all be used to cancel subscriptions.
Upon receipt of your
correspondence, we cancelled Mr. *****’ subscriptions to **** * ****, ******* ***, ********** ******, and ******* ***********, generating a full refund in
the amount of $80.50 back to his account. It should be noted that banks direct us to ask customers to allow one to
two billing statements for written confirmation of the refund to appear,
depending on their billing cycle.
Mr. ***** can be assured
that his subscriptions have been cancelled and all renewal charges have been
refunded. Also, Mr. ***** may continue to receive one or two more issues of his
magazines since they were in process at the time of cancellation. He may keep these with our compliments.
Please be assured that
customer satisfaction is very important to us and we take great care in
providing our customers with the highest level of service.
Sincerely,
Synapse
Customer CareInitial Complaint
Date:08/22/2022
Type: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 had subscriptions which were never renewed only to discover my ****** has been charged for months!! I called their customer service number 6 times today only to be initially greeted and then silence. I tried to chat online with a representative named Mark whom I requested a phone call from. He said he would call but never did nor did he offer me the opportunity to explain my concern which was a simple request to refund the amounts charged. He just signed off. I am entitled to and expect a full refund of $36.38!Business Response
Date: 08/24/2022
****** *** ****
******* ****
********* **********
****** ******** ******
** ****** ****
********* ** *****
*** ********* **** ** ********
********* ******* ****
**** *** *****
I write in response to the inquiry registered with your office by consumer ******* ****. We genuinely regret the inconvenience that Ms. **** experienced regarding her magazine subscriptions and have attempted to resolve her concerns.
Our records show that Ms. **** placed an order for *****, **** ********* ********* **** ******* ********, and ***** **** ********, when she accepted our online promotional offer, which was presented to her after completing a ******* survey. This offer allowed her to receive the first term of her magazine selections for a nominal fee of $2.00 for each subscription. The offer also provided that her subscriptions would automatically continue following the initial term and that the same credit card would be charged monthly if she did not call us to cancel.
Prior to the subscriptions renewing, a renewal notification would be sent including the renewal details and the date the subscriptions needed to be canceled by to avoid further charges. The renewal notice also contains our toll-free phone number, email address and self-service website which can all be used to cancel subscriptions.
On June 7, 2022, we received notification from ****** that Ms. **** disputed the charges for the subscriptions to **** ********* ******** and *****, resulting in the subscriptions being canceled and a full refund in the amount of $8.00 being processed to her account.On August 21, 2022, Ms. **** contacted our customer service via our online chat platform, and she had requested that we call her back directly. Our representative requested her contact information and forwarded her request to our customer service department. Ms. **** was then advised it could take up to five business days for a response.
That same day, Ms. **** contacted our customer service department again and requested to cancel her subscriptions to **** ******* ******** and ***** **** ********. Her request was honored and a full refund in the amount of $5.66 was processed to her account.
Upon receipt of your correspondence, we issued the remaining refunds for her subscriptions in the amount of $30.72, which includes the previous months charges. It should be noted, however, that although refunds have been processed, banks direct us to ask customers to allow one to two billing statements for written confirmation of the refund to appear, depending on their billing cycle.
Ms. **** can be assured that her subscriptions have been cancelled and all monthly charges have been refunded to her account. Also, Ms. **** may continue to receive one or two more issues of her magazines since they were in process at the time of cancellation. She may keep these with our compliments.
Please be assured that customer satisfaction is very important to us and we take great care in providing our customers with the highest level of service.
Sincerely,
Synapse Customer CareInitial Complaint
Date:08/17/2022
Type: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 was signed up with 5 magazine subscriptions. I went to login to my account (an account I have had for years) when it told me that I did NOT have an account. So I contacted them via email on how to get into my account. next thing I know, I get an email that ALL of my subscriptions have been cancelled! I spent hours on chat and on the phone trying to rectify this with the company telling me that there is NO WAY for this to be reversed. That I cancelled the magazines!!!!!!!!!!!! This is obviously a bait and switch tactic and they offered me these magazines for $2 each per year and it is only been a couple months and now they have cancelled them. So apparently anytime ANYONE contacts them because they have locked you out of your account, they then cancel the magazines.Business Response
Date: 08/24/2022
****** *** ****
******* ****
********* **********
****** ******** ******
** ****** ****
********* ** *****
*** ********* **** ** ********
********* ***** *******
**** *** *****
I
write in response to the inquiry registered with your office by consumer ***** ******** We genuinely regret the inconvenience that Mr. ******* experienced
regarding his magazine subscriptions and have attempted to resolve his concerns.
Our records show that Mr. ******* placed
two orders with our company when he accepted our online promotional offer,
which was presented to him after completing a ******* survey.
The
first order was for ******* ********* ****** and **** ********* ********. The second order was placed for ********** *******, ********** ********** and **** * **** *******.
Both offers allowed him to receive the
first term of his magazine selections for a nominal fee of $2.00 for each
subscription. The offers provided that his subscriptions
would automatically continue following the initial term and that the same
credit card would be charged if he did not call us to cancel. In addition, it
is our policy that customers who wish to cancel may do so at any time by
calling our toll-free customer service number, which is provided on our renewal
notice and on the customer’s billing statement with each charge.
On August 12, 2022, Mr.
******* contacted our customer service center via our online website and
requested additional information regarding his online account. Unfortunately,
his subscriptions to ******* ********* ******, **** ********* ********, ********** *******, ********** ********** and **** * **** ******* were cancelled
in error.
This is not a usual occurrence,
and we understand Mr. *******’s frustration, therefore we have placed a
complimentary order for ******* ********* ******, **** ********* ********, ********** *******, ********** ********** and **** * **** ******* on August 19, 2022.
These orders will be added
onto his remaining subscriptions with the publisher. In addition, the updated
expiration date will appear on his magazine's label after the publishers process
these orders.
Regarding Mr. *******’s
online account, we will be sending him a link to reset his password to his
email address ******************. Prior
to clicking on the link, we recommend he clears the cache, cookies, and browser
history on the web browser he is currently using.
We apologize for the
unsatisfactory experience Mr. ******* had with our company. Please be assured
that customer satisfaction is very important to us and we take great care in
providing our customers with the highest level of service.
Sincerely,
Synapse
Customer CareCustomer Answer
Date: 08/29/2022
Complaint: ********
I am rejecting this response because: I would accept this decision and have my magazines renewed but each time I go into my account (even after deleting cookies, cashe, etc) it shows I have NO active subscriptions and that the magazines were cancelled on 8-12-2022. I have sent several messages about this but nothing has been done nor has anyone contacted me back. Again, I would accept this solution since someone cancelled my subscriptions without my permission but I don't see where the magazine shave been put back onto my account.
Sincerely,
***** *******Business Response
Date: 09/09/2022
********* ** ****
******* ****
********* **********
****** ******** ******
** ****** ****
********* ** *****
*** ********* **** ** ********
********* ***** *******
**** *** *****
I
write in response to the inquiry registered with your office by consumer ***** ******** We genuinely regret the inconvenience that Mr. ******* experienced
regarding his magazine subscriptions and have attempted to resolve his concerns.
To confirm, we have placed the
complimentary subscriptions with the publisher directly for Mr. *******
therefore his online account will not reflect the subscriptions. We took the
liberty of contacting the publishers to confirm the start date for each of Mr.
*******’s subscriptions and we have listed the details below:
For ******* ********* ******, the start date is October 2022 issue, and the subscription will
expire with the September/October 2023 issue. Account Number# ***********
For **** ********* ********, the start date is the September 2022 issue, and the subscription
will expire with the September 2023 issue. Account Number# ********.
For **** * **** ******** the start date is the September 2022 issue, and the subscription
will expire with the August 2023 issue. Account Number# *********.
For ********** **********,
the start date is the September 2022 issue, and the subscription will expire
with the September 2023 issue. Account Number# ********.
For ********** *******,
the start date is the September 2022 issue, and the subscription will expire
with the October 2023 issue. Account Number# ********.
If Mr. ******* does not
receive any issues to his subscriptions, I would request that he please contact
our customer service center directly at ###-###-####. One of our
representatives will be happy to assist him.We apologize for the
unsatisfactory experience Mr. ******* has had with our company. Please be
assured that customer satisfaction is very important to us and we take great
care in providing our customers with the highest level of service.
Sincerely,
Synapse
Customer CareCustomer Answer
Date: 09/13/2022
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,
***** *******
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