Nitro Hobbies Inc

I understand the customer has an email confirmation that they removed Email Marketing & Archive.  The billing isn't for those products.  Canceling is a 1 time conversation, a billing representative would have confirmed the customer wanted to cancel the entire account and not just a specific service.  No call was made to cancel.  Instead Email Marketing and Archive was removed from the active services list.  The account clearly displays the new monthly charge for active services.  A message also encourages the customer to call if they wish to make changes or cancel the account itself.  I am unable to refund the customer for services we provided in good faith and that were used.  Nor can I answer why the customer left 3 services active in the account.  There was no attempt to hide the charges, the customer receives monthly invoices to the email specified.  Charges to the Credit Card clearly show they are from Constant Contact. Our mission is to help Small Businesses and Non-Profits succeed with our tools.  It is common that a user would drop a tool they aren't using.  We make changing the services easy for that reason.

I have identified the active account and reviewed the charges.  I have also reviewed the notes on the account.  I am certain we can reach a resolution.  The account was setup for automatic payments with a credit card.  The monthly price for the plan purchased came to $195/month...

and the first payment was made February 19th.  We allow the customer to choose a price based on their list size.  The plan selected was for 10,001-25,000 contacts.  We allow customers to manage their contact level and as such the pricing will adjust up or down depending on the number of contacts (Unique Email Addresses) on their list.  For most of the first month of service the customer had 10,454 contacts.  On March 8th additional contacts were uploaded to bring their total to 28,116.  This placed the customer in our 25,001-50,000 tier. Even though the change was during a billing period we do not charge for the new level until the next cycle.  That is why a 2nd billing was for $295 on March 19th.  There was not a change on the service, the customer simply moved into a higher priced tier.  Sending has no effect on our billing rates.  We bill based on the total number of contacts in the account.  The customer has mailed to this higher level of contacts several times. We apologize for any confusion, and would like to find a resolution.  The account is active and will bill based on the number of active contacts on the account.  If the customer would like to delete contacts to fall under the 25,001 level the price would fall to the $195/month.  The service is equipped with reporting that will help you identify contacts to keep and remove.  Our support center would be happy to recommend contacts to be removed.    While this is a simple way to manage the price of the service, it is also limiting your marketing reach.  The choice is completely on the customers end. I would also like to provide a $100 credit to the account.  This would go towards the April 19th payment.  The customer can either remove contacts under 25,000 and be billed at $195/month or continue with their current tier at the $295/month.  No matter the decision, I will provide the credit to next month’s billing.  I hope we can continue to be a valuable addition to the customer's marketing strategy.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # [redacted]. . 
[ The response from Constant Contact is unsatisfactory as was their service and their product.  I want to clarify for anyone who searches online for company/customer interactions. I also want to clarify that when I say I am seeking a “refund” what I asked for was that I did not have to keep paying for a service that I was terminating because of numerous problems. Constant Contact is continuing to make me pay for several months even though their product has serious problems. One of the managers apparently “went out on a limb” to not make me pay for the six months that I was not using only for three months I was not using and this was seen as maverick by the other supervisors. In the message from Constant Contact there is no response to my legitimate complaint that their binding “non-refundable policy” is not apparent except in certain pockets of the Constant Contact website. With that brittle and unyielding a policy, they should not only include it in every place in the website where you receive their discount for purchasing for a year instead of paying by the month, they should include in their text: “non-refundable even if the product and platform fail you” That would more accurately describe the situation. I am especially troubled by their assertion “I feel our troubleshooter could have found the cause if allowed the time to do so.  We would have liked to resolve the issue on the phone, but we cannot force a customer to troubleshoot.  We offer our customers free technical support, of which the customer has engaged often.”“I feel our troubleshooter could have found the cause.” I was not calling about “skipping or jumping” the last time I called with problems as Constant Contact just said. I was calling because when I tried to save data I got taken to a mysterious error page. This then stopped all my/our work for the day even though we rebooted, waited and tried other ways to be reinstated. My experience in problem solving is that it is best to have all data when trying to find a solution. When I placed the call to CC tech support I was told up front that the problem was an issue of speed. I explained that I had no problem with speed with any of my other platforms, [redacted] and a myriad other. I also said that in fact I was working constantly in the CC platform and saving my work without any gap in time until suddenly the error page appeared. I asked the tech person if he would like to know what the error page said and he said, (and I asked him several times) “NO.” Don’t you think that is strange? Instead he insisted that my browser was slow. He also suggested I work “[redacted]” which I tried and which also did not resolve the problem. How can a tech person resolve a problem if THEY are not willing to spend the time investigating? So- first of all, the problem was not jumping and skipping as Constant Contact said in their response, but obviously the notes taken by their tech support are not very clear.  The problem was being taken to an error page that then ended all work because every time that we attempted to work after that the error page came up.To the comment Constant Contact made, “I feel our troubleshooter could have found the cause if allowed the time to do so.  We would have liked to resolve the issue on the phone, but we cannot force a customer to troubleshoot.” I have had myriad and repeated problems, which no one at CC seems capable of digesting let alone responding to. I have changed my browser THREE times because the CC platform is so picky and then went [redacted] which also did not resolve all problems. All of this took me time, energy and acquaintance with a new browser. In regards to the jumping and skipping problems that occurred: they were ongoing for a year and a half and no one at Constant Contact tech could resolve them. Perhaps you would like to know what the problem was as one of my young assistants who knows HTML was able to enlighten me. When a CC email prototype is duplicated and (to create a new email) a window is wiped clean to prepare for new text and photos, the CC platform does not completely erase all of the code, tiny bits of code remain and have to be removed by hand from someone who understands HTML. Then the jumps do not occur. My new assistant showed me this and helped me with this. Obviously that is not a good way for a platform to function. As I do not know HTML I cannot solve that issue when my assistant is not with me, nor were any of your technical staff, despite repeated phone calls, able to enlighten me. Perhaps you would like to pass that along to them.  Then there is the company response to my just complaint: “We offer our customers free technical support, of which the customer has engaged often.” The inference behind this is that I have sucked off of the free resources CC is so graciously offering me. I am an EXTREMELY small business, there is myself, the owner/artist, and an assistant who comes once a week for six hours. I send out on average three group emails per month. When I called CC it was because their platform gave me technical difficulties that made my group emails problematic, it was not for idle chatter and I called for legitimate reasons. I would expect to be treated like a valued customer and not an irritant. I paid a hefty fee for Constant Contact per month even though my needs were low as I value the people on my mailing list and somehow thought that Constant Contact would be best. One of the reasons I paid that fee was for the technical support they offered and now it is thrown back at me as though it is “Free”!!!!! What???  I now have Mail Chimp as my platform. I get it for free because, as I said, my needs are very small. They do not have technical support very available at all but now I do not need it as their platform is user friendly and trouble free. I have not had to switch browsers once. Nor do I miss needing to call technical support or working with a platform that was so unfriendly. What really upsets me the most though is that Constant Contact feels that they can have a product that does not function for a consumer and when the consumer leaves the service because of problems they still make them pay. I expect more from an American company and am happy that the Revdex.com exists to lodge complaints that signal bad business practices.
Regards,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # [redacted].
The services of [redacted] were solicited to our business initially under the guise of a company called Constant Contact -- after requesting for clarification, the information I was given was that Constant Contact had acquired [redacted] and is the parent company of [redacted]. Parent companies should ultimately maintain accountability for the actions of the companies they maintain ownership of. 
Regards,
[redacted]

I have reviewed the account, calls to billing, and notes on the account.  I found a conversation with billing on 4/5/2018.  Conclusion of conversation was canceling the account and the processing of a refund in the amount of $95.00.  I apologize for any confusion, the billing rep and...

approving manager processed the cancel and refund as expected.  Unsure why it was felt the refund was denied.  That isn't the case.  Confirmed the refund to Credit Card on file.  I sincerely hope we can be of use in any future marketing endeavors and apologize again for any confusion.  We also thank the customer for the many years as a Constant Contact customer.

I would like to clarify a few points.  My details of the use of our support was only meant to outline our willingness to help no matter the issue, and that for years we were available to answer and resolve any issues.  Not to insinuate any loss on the part of the company.  We greatly value the relationship we build with our customers as our passion lies in their successful marketing.  Reading over the interactions with our support team I see a history of service to a loyal customer.  There aren’t recurring themes between interactions to suggest any ongoing issues.  Questions regarding deleting lists, viewing reporting, ensuring that emails aren’t duplicated when sending, inserting contact details in an email, and importing from a [redacted] Address Book just to name a few. As for the comments around jumping and skipping, that was in regards to the original complaint:  “When creating emails the program would “skip” or seem to “jump” around and I would not be able to copy and paste my content. “  This wasn’t from the technical notes of our troubleshooter.  I couldn’t find an interaction that included that complaint.  I detailed an interaction in September of 2015 as a possible match.  When creating an email there are two options available to our users.  The first is to hit create and choose a template.  What that provides is an untouched template that can be edited and customized.  More popular, for good reason, is copying a previously sent email.  This gives you a launching point that is more attractive due to the time spent customizing and branding the email to your needs.  This is an exact copy, which would include any changes a user made to the code.  This would require like expertise to edit the code for that block, or it could be deleted and replaced with a fresh block.  I regret that we couldn’t resolve the issue while using the service.  If given another opportunity we would be thrilled to work with the customer again. I will bring forward this feedback to our Billing department in regards to detailing the terms for a prepayment in additional places.  The guidelines are clearly stated when the option is selected before a purchase is made.  I am concerned why an agreement was made, including a refund, if the customer wasn’t satisfied.  When the request was made to cancel there was a positive balance of $252.88.  A refund was made of $126.44, I will have our finance settle the account.  A refund can be expected of an additional $126.44 within 5 business days.  I will also ensure the account is closed.  It is my sincere hope that we have addressed all complaints.

I have reviewed all notes and activity on the account.  I have read the email in October requesting the account to be canceled as well as the reply asking the customer to call.  The account was canceled recently after a phone conversation with our Billing Department.  The customer...

insists a call was made, the account was not used.  I am happy to apply a refund of service.  The request was for $26.00, I feel a 3 month refund is more appropriate.  $60.00 will be refunded to the Credit Card listed on the account.  Refunds typically take 5 business days to complete.  I sincerely hope we are able to be of use in future marketing needs.

I want to apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.  I have verified that the email address "[redacted]" successfully unsubscribed on 8/20/2016.  This address will not receive future mailings from "[redacted]".  Previous to this I also see an unsubscribe...

from an email of "[redacted]".  I do show a third email address listed for the customer though, "[redacted]".  While our unsubscribe feature will prevent future mailings to an address it will not prevent mailings to additional addresses for a single recipient.  I will ensure no future emails from any user of Constant Contact is sent to these three addresses.Again, I apologize for this experience.  We are dedicated to provide features to prevent spam.  We were able to verify the feature was working.  In this case the last unsubscribe request was just from a different email address.  Thank you.

I'm sorry you didn't receive the refund.   I just checked with our Finance department.  We processed the refund of $43.75 on June 16, but it looks like your credit card company or bank rejected the refund, or so we were informed by Litle & Co., the payment processor.  My Finance team member checked the card again, and it's definitely one with your name on it, but the expiry date is 2010, so perhaps this is the reason for the rejected refund attempt.   I can have a billing team representative give you a call to get your updated credit card info if you like, so that we can get you the refund in the quickest possible way, or I can have the Finance team cut a check, though that takes longer.  Please let me know, and let me know if you would like me to have one of our higher level techs reach out to you to go over the technical issues.  It looks like you talked to one of our front line customer service team members, but perhaps a tech could do some more advanced troubleshooting to try and resolve the issues for you.I look forward to hearing back from you soon and helping. All the best

I have reviewed all of the notes on the account.  In addition, I have also completed a thorough search of our telephony database for any contacts from the customer.  We have exhausted all search methods to find a contact made from the customer’s number to any of our help departments. ...

I even extended the search before and after the December time frame in hopes of discovering a missed interaction.  We did not receive a contact from the customer, let alone a request to cancel.  The customer selected a billing plan that automatically bills monthly.  The specific Terms of Service are clear: 4.2. Payment; (a) Payment. Payment for the Products will be made in advance by a valid credit card accepted by us. Checks will be accepted for prepayments of at least six months. Fees are payable in U.S. dollars only. If the monthly payment option is selected or if you have previously provided us with your credit card for payment, you hereby authorize us to charge your credit card for such amounts on a regular monthly basis beginning at the end of any applicable free trial period and continuing until such time as your Constant Contact account is terminated. If we are for any reason unable to effect automatic payment by credit card, we will attempt to notify you by email and your Constant Contact account may be disabled until payment is received. 8. Termination. You may terminate your Constant Contact account at any time by calling Constant Contact Customer Support. Except as specifically set forth herein or on the Site, there are no refunds for any fees paid. YOU ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR TERMINATING YOUR CONSTANT CONTACT ACCOUNT AND THIS AGREEMENT. WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR FAILURE TO PROPERLY TERMINATE YOUR CONSTANT CONTACT ACCOUNT AND THIS AGREEMENT OR FOR ANY CREDIT CARD OR OTHER CHARGES OR FEES YOU INCUR AS A RESULT OF YOUR FAILURE TO PROPERLY TERMINATE YOUR CONSTANT CONTACT ACCOUNT AND THIS AGREEMENT.  Link for entire terms and conditions:  http://www.constantcontact.com/uidocs/CCSiteOwnerAgreement.jsp I am unable to refund the customer.  I can verify the account is canceled.  We greatly value the customer, and sincerely hope we can be of assistance in the customer’s future marketing efforts.

I have reviewed the account and all notes in this matter.  The customer was moved into a higher billing tier when they uploaded additional contacts.  After a conversation with our billing department the billing was lowered since the contacts were removed.  The billing department...

agreed to refund the difference.  I have verified that our finance department is refunding $143.10 to the card on file.  This is not a bill credit, but a refund to the credit card on file within 5 business days.  I apologize for any miscommunication on the issue, it appears that our billing department was in absolute agreement with the customer and had already initiated the process to refund the amount requested.

Obviously losing your work after some time would be aggravating, to say the least, and I'm sorry this happened to you.  From the description you provided, it sounds like you timed out. There is an automatic timeout for account security.  It normally occurs at one hour.  If it is...

occurring sooner, then there can be settings in the user's browser or environment that may need to be modified to prevent this happening.  If you would like me to have a technician reach out to you and do some troubleshooting to make sure your settings are optimal for allowing you to avoid problems like this, then please let me know. We've issued a refund to your credit card of the $43.75 today as a courtesy for the trouble you experienced. The timing with which you see it reflected on your credit card will depend on your credit card company's transfer processes, but generally it should show within a few business days.Thank you for being our customer.

I'm sorry you had any trouble at all.  I checked your account and see  that what happened was that your list grew into the next price tier, which is what resulted in the higher charge than you had been used to.  Your fee for our service has always been a monthly charge...

determined by the number of contacts you had in your Constant Contact account during the prior billing period.  For quite some time you had been in one particular price tier, defined by having 0 - 500 contacts, which costs  $25.00 per month.  Your list of contacts has gradually grown to the point where it moved into the next price tier at 501 - 2500 contacts, which costs $45.00.I also see from the customer support notes from your recent calls that one of our support reps helped you remove some of your bounced contacts to bring your list down slightly, so for the time being your contact level is back below 500 contacts and in the price tier where you had been before.   It seems you may not have been aware of the fee structure for our service, and if our support reps did not explain this to you when you called, I apologize.  This morning we processed a refund of $40.00 for you as a courtesy.  The timing with which you see it on your credit card depends on your credit card company's protocol, but generally you should see it within 3 to 5 business days.  If your list grows into the next price tier going forward, the monthly fee for Constant Contact would go up accordingly as explained above.  I do notice your current number of contacts is riding just below the threshold of the next price tier, so if you are trying to remain in the lower one, I would recommend checking your bounces regularly and removing any that seem like they are repeatedly undeliverable, which could help keep you in the lower price point a little longer.   If you ever need help with that, please feel free to reach out to our customer support team and we'll be delighted to help you remove some contacts.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does satisfy my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint #[redacted]. I understand that by choosing to accept the business response that my complaint will be closed as resolved. 
Regards,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # [redacted].
[We have paid for services rendered.  Any monies kept by Constant Contact at this point is a de facto early termination penalty.]
Regards,
[redacted]

I have taken time to review the account and listen to the interaction with our billing department.  I am very sorry for any confusion.  We can see the feature was selected in the account, there is a coinciding screen that describes the feature and cost, this would need to be read and...

accepted to be added and thus billed.  Of course, anyone that uses the account could have added the feature.  It is briefly described below the standard Preview button, that feature hasn't moved and remains an essential tool.  Inbox Preview allows the email to be viewed using a special third party tool, and requires acceptance.  The fee is $10/month.While the feature was activated, it wasn't used.  I will remove the feature and have the service fees credited to the account.  I want to apologize again for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # [redacted]. Please add your rejection comments below. 
I waited until today to reply to see if the refund appeared on any of my credit cards, it has not, so this complaint still stands as written.  If the funds show up on one of my cards then, yes, I would accept the response.  The “timed out” scenario you posed is not valid.  I was actively working on the email and saving the work done within each block as I went along.  I did not time out.Thanks,  [redacted] Your system often has glitchesthat cost me extra time.  Just a few daysbefore this issue, there was a problem with apostrophes in social mediaheadings.  “Court Refuses toLift Hold on Obama's Actions” became “Court Refuses to Lift Hold on Obama'/sActions”.  I called and was told (aftermany minutes and a couple of hold) that indeed there was a problem and no, shewas not sure when it would be fixed.  Fornow the work around would be to post directly from the social mediaaccounts.  Another  wasted 20 minutes.
Regards,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does satisfy my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint #[redacted]. I understand that by choosing to accept the business response that my complaint will be closed as resolved. 
Regards,
[redacted]

We're very sorry if the billing terms were not fully explained by the representative you were working with when you signed up.  We've processed the refund in question to your [redacted] card. All the best to you, and thank you for having used Constant Contact.

Revdex.com:At this time, I have not been contacted by Nitro Hobbies Inc regarding complaint ID [redacted].Sincerely,[redacted]