Squarespace, Inc.

December **, 2015Dear *** ***,Squarespace, Inc(“Squarespace”) writes in
response to your notification dated December *, 2015, regarding a complaint submitted to the Revdex.com by *** *** (“*** ***”)As a note, we have have responded to all inquiries sent directly to our customer support team by the complainant regarding our servicesIn your notification, the complaint alleges advertising practices with regard to our domain and account subscription servicesFor the reasons set forth below, the complainant’s complaints are without merit, and we decline to process her request for a refund.On October **, 2014, *** *** signed up for a Squarespace Personal Plan, billed at $10.00/monthLater that day, *** *** cancelled her monthly subscription plan and switched to an annual planAs a result, *** *** received a prorated refund of $for her monthly plan, and then was correspondingly billed $for her new yearly Personal Plan subscriptionThe plan was set to renew one year later, on October **, 2015, for $With this annual plan, *** *** received one free custom domainTo take advantage of this offer, *** *** registered the domain ***On October **, 2015, *** ***’s subscription for Squarespace services, as well as the domain ***, were set to renewIn her complaint, *** *** incorrectly notes that this renewal invoice was for $However, the Squarespace annual plan renewal cost was $96.00, while the domain was free of chargeFurthermore, *** *** seems to have erroneously deduced that the $bill was solely for the renewal of the domain, and not for Squarespace servicesFor reference, please note that Squarespace website pricing plans are displayed clearly on this page: ***. On October **, 2015, *** *** failed to make the renewal payment, and her account was marked Past DueWhen an account is Past Due, users receive an email notification and see a Past Due banner at the bottom of their site when logged inFifteen days after the payment is past due, the account is deactivatedAccordingly, on November *, 2015, *** ***’s account status was changed from Past Due to Expired.On December *, 2015, *** *** contacted our support teamIn her message, she expressed confusion regarding the renewal fee, and again erroneously stated that she paid $for her domainMoreover, she inquired whether she could take her domain to a different siteIn response, our customer care agent pointed *** *** in the direction of our Squarespace pricing page, and also provided helpful information for transferring a Squarespace domain to another provider. In her recent complaint, *** *** references a change in our domain policyCurrently, after the first year of domain service, users can renew their domain for $This policy applies to free domains registered starting March *, In *** ***’s case, because her domain was registered prior to the aforementioned date, her free custom domain was part of a legacy plan and therefore she did not have to pay this $annual domain renewal feeIn short, she would have received her domain renewal for free. *** ***’s complaint also displays confusion with regard to content ownership on SquarespaceAs seen in Section of our Terms of Service (***), our users grant us a limited license to host and use their content in order to provide them with Squarespace servicesHowever, it doesn't grant us ownership of our users' contentIn short, our users remain the owner of their own content*** *** can export her photos, and other content from an active Squarespace site, by following this guide: ***For further assistance with regard to exporting content, *** *** should feel free to contact our support team. Squarespace considers customer support a top priority, and we do regret that *** *** experienced confusion with regard to her domain and our subscription servicesHowever, *** *** has been using our services to host her website for the past year under the well-documented annual subscription feeIn closing, based on the above information, we deny *** ***’s request for a refund.With that said, we would be happy to correspond with *** *** if she has any further questions or concernsShould you require any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact us. Sincerely,*** ***Director, Customer OperationsSquarespace, Inc

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ***, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:
Im still sticking to my statement, and I think its ridiculous and shady that SquareSpace will not give me a refundThe link that SquareSpace gave me to export my photos is brokenI also tried going back to my account and I'm not allowed to access the pages to at least save the photosAt this point I just want all of this to be overMy photos shouldn't be held hostage
In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above
Sincerely,
*** ***

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved
Sincerely,
*** ***

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ***, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:
[SQAURESPACE Inc will put anything in Section that bests benefits SQAURESPACE IncI paid from 1/*/to 5/*/16, that is months but they only refunded me for monthsSQAURESPACE uses big words in their terms to rob customersSQAURESPACE closed my website because I complained and refused to give me a full refund of everything I paid SQAURESPACEThey still owe me $USD]
In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above
Sincerely,
*** ***

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

Squarespace did not provide me with invoices during this time to indicate that I was being charged.  If they look in their records,  they will see that my company was not using the service - in fact, after the trials, we never logging into the account once.  I don't know what more proof they need that they was not a service we were using and we were not aware that we were being charged for it.  It is customary for businesses to notify people when they charge them for something through a invoice or payment reminder. Had I received one, I would have detected that I was being charged sooner and cancelled the account. I believe that this is an intentional tactic making customers aware that they are being charged would decrease their subscription revenue.  
I am ok with them refunding 160 (the extra $35 was a bank fee related to their charges) but it looks like Squarespace is not interested in resolving this.  I think that says a lot about the company and how they treat people. I would caution other consumers to take these things into consideration in the event that they every have an issue with Squarespace that they need resolved. $160 is quite literally nothing to them and they would rather spend that money on staff time to deal with this issue rather than fairly resolving it.  That is a business philosophy that speaks volumes about their customer service ethics.
 
 
 
 
In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

We have received your correspondence dated October **, 2015 regarding a customer complaint about our business. We have investigated the complaint and deny the customer’s request for a refund....

The complainant, [redacted], created a free trial on December **, 2014. Fourteen days later, the free trial automatically expired on January *, 2015, as is customary for any free Squarespace trial site. Two days later, on January *, 2015, [redacted] requested that Squarespace extend his free trial period. Squarespace granted [redacted]’s request for an extension of his free trial. His second free trial then expired eight days later, on January **, at 1:51:27 AM EST. On January **, 2015, four days following the expiration of [redacted]’s second free trial, [redacted] logged into his account, selected a monthly subscription to the Squarespace Professional Plan ($20/month), and entered credit card information on our checkout page to complete the purchase. Our purchase flow is clearly explained on the checkout page, which is completely separate from the free trial sign-up process. After entering his credit card information on the checkout page and confirming his purchase, [redacted] received an additional email from Squarespace, confirming his purchase of a subscription to the Squarespace Professional Plan, at a payment rate of $20/month. After purchasing his subscription, [redacted] was charged eight monthly service fees of $20 each for the Squarespace Professional Plan, from January ** through August **, 2015, totaling $160. [redacted] logged into his site on September *, 2015, and cancelled the subscription. Less than an hour after canceling, he contacted our Customer Support team requesting a full refund. However, [redacted] did not reply to two requests to verify his account ownership. Such verification of account ownership is necessary in order for Squarespace to comply with federal privacy laws and our Privacy Policy. [redacted] now claims, erroneously, that Squarespace requires credit card information upon creation of a free trial site. This is a false statement, it is not our business practice, and customers are able to create free trials without providing credit card information. Customers are only asked to provide credit card information when they are ready to purchase a subscription plan. [redacted] is also requesting a refund of $195, which is $35 more than the total amount he was charged. Based on the above information, we are denying [redacted]’s meritless request for a refund. Should you require any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact us.

January *, 2016 Dear [redacted], Squarespace, Inc. (“Squarespace”) writes in response to your notification dated December **, 2015, regarding a complaint submitted to the Better...

Business Bureau by [redacted] (“[redacted]”). In the notification, the complainant describes an instance where content on four of her websites was deleted. [redacted] goes on to request that we provide a backup of her websites. We have reviewed our records regarding this matter and note that on December **, 2015 [redacted] contacted our Support team via Live Chat and explained that content was unexpectedly deleted on her websites. Our customer support agent subsequently reviewed the four sites she was referring to, which were [redacted], [redacted], [redacted], and [redacted]. After reviewing the account activity on these sites, our agent explained to [redacted], via Live Chat, that it appeared as though a third party had logged in as her to delete the content. Our agent reiterated this did n ot seem to stem from an error in Squarespace system security, and recommended that [redacted] change her account password. Following this interaction, a member of our Trust & Safety team followed-up with [redacted] via email. Our agent provided further clarification regarding Squarespace security, as well as provided general safety tips and links to varying helpful Squarespace support guides. While we sympathize with [redacted]’s situation, we emphasize that we do not have any evidence that her account was compromised from a Squarespace security perspective. Instead, as we previously explained to [redacted], it appears that a third party had access to [redacted]’s login credentials and logged in as her to permanently delete the content. As a result, we cannot provide a backup for the content in question. As a general note, in terms of security, Squarespace believes the safety of our customers' accounts throughout all levels of our platform is a top priority. As such, we use numerous tools and methods to protect our customers' security. We perform regular security scans to maintain our PCI DSS compliance. In addition, we use a number of tools to guard against Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), SQL injections, and other potential vulnerabilities. We also use network hardware from industry-leading vendors to provide protection against intruders, employ a variety of dynamic threat mitigation techniques, and implement measures to protect against denial of service (DoS and DDoS) attacks. Moreover, services are redundant at all tiers. [redacted] now reiterates her request that we provide her with a backup of her websites. For clarification, when a page, blog post, or product, is deleted on Squarespace it is sent to a recycling bin. Items in the recycling bin are automatically removed after 30 days. However, they can be permanently deleted manually by opening the recycling bin and clicking Empty Trash. In [redacted]’s case, on December **, 2015, it appears that a third party logged into her account, deleted content, and then went on to click “Empty Trash”. As a result, the content was permanently deleted. We are very sorry to hear about the experience [redacted] had on our platform. However, we must point out that Section 8(i) of our Terms of Service ([redacted]) clearly states “You will not share your password, let anyone else access your account, or do anything that might jeopardize the security of your account”. Additionally, as seen in Section 3 of our Terms, “You are responsible for any Content that may be lost or unrecoverable through your use of the Services. You are encouraged to archive your Content regularly and frequently”. In closing, while we sympathize with [redacted]’s situation, we cannot provide her with a backup of the content in question. With that said, we would be more than happy to correspond with [redacted] if she has any further questions or concerns. Should you require any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact us. Sincerely, Roberta M** Director, Customer Operations Squarespace, Inc.

Buyer Beware! Absolutely horrendous/non-existent technical support with Squarespace.
My real estate web site began malfunctioning on July [redacted] of this year. I contacted Squarespace technical support through email (no phone service available) and they told me that they were working on the issue. After weeks of no resolution, they tried to [redacted] the issue off on me by sending me various 'work-arounds' - meaning it was up to me to reorganize my categories and galleries in order for my jpegs to be visible. Keep in mind I work in a resort area, and that July and August are my busiest times of the year. I do not have the time nor the patience to redesign my web site, nor should it be my responsibility. I'm paying Squarespace a fee to host my web site annually - at the very least I expect the site to function normally during this time. As a result, this major malfunction on their side has cost me ten of thousands of dollars in lost revenue - my customers were unable to access my listings (and/or photos) for the duration of the summer. Squarespace's response to all of this? They will only refund my yearly subscription from now (August **) until my year is up - not from the date when their site malfunctioned (July *) - which I think is ludicrous. On top of that, they only refund money to the credit card that you used to purchase the plan. In my case Capital One Bank issues new debit cards annually (as a security precaution), so my account number has changed since I began my subscription. Squarespace's answer to this? Your bank will eventually figure it out!
I have never encountered such a level of incompetence on all levels - Squarespace is by far one of the worst companies I've ever done business with.

** August 2015 Dear [redacted], We have received your correspondence dated August *, 2015 regarding a customer complaint about our business, and we have reached out to the...

complainant regarding his complaint and refund request. As discussed below, we have issued the complainant a refund, and advised him that his credit card may have been compromised. Though there is no Customer Account record or Customer Service ticket associated with the complainant’s name or contact information as listed in your notice, following an internal investigation we discovered that complainant’s credit card had been charged on multiple occasions to purchase Squarespace accounts that are apparently unrelated to the complainant. Unfortunately, the charges are consistent with credit card fraud. We emailed complainant on Friday, August *, 2015 to make him aware of our findings and to let him know that we have refunded all charges to his credit card. We also advised him to cancel his credit card. Finally, we have canceled the accounts charged to complainant’s credit card. Sincerely, __ Roberta M** Director, Customer Care Squarespace, Inc.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID[redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.
Sincerely, [redacted]...

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

Keeping a backup, regardless of the "recycling bin",  is responsibility of the Squarespace. Just me and my assistant have that login, and the "emptying of the site" was not made by us. We detected the fact two days after it happened and we stiil want a fair solution for the incident.
 
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Dear [redacted], We have received your correspondence dated July *, 2015 regarding a customer complaint about our business, and have responded to all inquiries sent by the complainant...

regarding our services. [redacted] made a complaint to the Revdex.com regarding her Squarespace account and affected website, [redacted]. The complaint referred to her expired account and her public domain, [redacted], not being immediately available for renewal. The details below are responses and clarifications to the issues [redacted] has presented. We have now resolved the issue favorably for the customer by ensuring her Squarespace site is now visible at [redacted]. On March *, 2015, [redacted]’s account failed to renew, so our system set the website to Past Due and the website did not show at the domain that was registered with the website. In this state, the account is kept active while Squarespace attempts to obtain payment. Since our system could not collect payment within the 15 day window, our system set the website to expired. Therefore, the domain name did not auto renew due to the state of [redacted]’s account. Once a domain has expired, it will be in Auto-Renew Grace Period (for 0-45 days), followed by a 30-day Redemption Grace Period. At the end of the Redemption Grace Period, the domain is released to the public. This means anybody can register the domain on any domain provider. [redacted] contacted Customer Care on June * and twice on June **, asking about reactivating her account. In all three instances, [redacted] was given directions on how to reconnect her Squarespace website. In addition, in one of the responses on June **, [redacted] was explained the difference between reconnecting her website, and registering her domain, both provided by Squarespace. We believe the confusion [redacted] refers to is that once renewing her Squarespace account, it did not automatically make her domain name ([redacted]) live. The domain is separate from the website and making the domain active requires a second step. Therefore, although [redacted] renewed her account, her domain was already in the deletion process and could not be renewed. [redacted] was instructed by our Customer Care team on July * she would have to wait until July * to claim the domain again. On July **, upon receiving the correspondence, we were able to re-register the domain, [redacted], on [redacted]’s behalf as it was released (past the July * date). Therefore, [redacted] still has the following domain: [redacted] In [redacted]’s letter she also stated that once the account was reactivated, she could not access her site. With that being said, Squarespace does have a built-in URL that can be used to view and edit the website. In [redacted]’s case, it's the following: [redacted], which allows for editing and viewing of her website as does the domain [redacted]. In conclusion, we were able to resolve favorably for [redacted], making her website available at [redacted] by claiming the domain name for her and connecting it to her account. However, we did not provide [redacted] with a discount because her website was still accessible publicly and to edit via [redacted] Sincerely, Squarespace Customer Operations Team

Horrible company. They are all too happy to take your money and provide no service. If you select monthly billing they bill you early before the end of the month and even if you try to cancel the renewal a few hours later the same day they will not honor it. Rip off artists.

Revdex.com:At this time, my complaint, ID [redacted] regarding Squarespace, Inc. has been resolved.
(By clicking "OK", your complaint will be closed as...

Resolved.)
Sincerely,[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Dear [redacted], Squarespace, Inc. (“Squarespace”) writes in response to your notification dated March **, 2016, regarding a complaint submitted to the Revdex.com by [redacted]...

[redacted] (“Mr. B[redacted]”). In the notification, the complainant expresses dissatisfaction with the Squarespace product and alleges Squarespace wrongfully refused to issue him a full refund for services rendered. As a note, we have responded to numerous prior inquiries sent directly to our customer support team by Mr. B[redacted] regarding this issue. As previously explained to Mr. B[redacted], and as further outlined below, Squarespace has fully refunded all payments on the account and has no record of the allegedly outstanding purchases in question. On December *, 2015, Mr. B[redacted] signed up for a Squarespace Monthly Business Plan, billed at $26.00/month. Mr. B[redacted] titled the site [redacted], and linked the domain [redacted] to the account. In total, Mr. B[redacted] completed two subscription purchases totaling $52.00. These subscription purchases took place on December *, 2015 and January *, 2016. On February *, 2016, Mr. B[redacted]’ prepaid card was declined by our payment processor, Stripe, and his subscription was not renewed. However, also on February *, 2016, in response to a series of complaints from Mr. B[redacted], our customer support team granted the account three free months of site service credit, lasting through May *, 2016. On January **, 2016, Mr. B[redacted] initiated the first of a series of complaints with our Support team regarding the functioning of his website. Over the course of the following two months, various support agents attempted to assist Mr. B[redacted] troubleshoot the issues he was experiencing. These correspondences culminated on March **, 2016, when Mr. B[redacted] initiated a barrage of exceedingly belligerent, offensive, and at times incoherent, live chats with our customer support team. In his messages, Mr. B[redacted] further expressed a dissatisfaction with the Squarespace product and requested a refund of his purchases. As a general note, Section 15 of our Terms of Service ([redacted]) outlines our Disclaimer of Warranty in bold and capitalized font. As seen in Section 15, “The site, services and materials are provided ‘as is,’ ‘as available,’ ‘with all faults’ and without any warranty of any kind, express or implied.” However, as a courtesy, our customer support team issued a full refund for all purchases on Mr. B[redacted]’s account (totaling $52.00) and cancelled the associated site in question. With regard to Mr. B[redacted]’ claim that there are payments that have yet to be refunded, we welcome Mr. B[redacted] to send our customer support team screenshots of the payments in question from his bank statement so we may act accordingly. However, please note that after a detailed search of our records, we could not find any remaining payments associated with [redacted] or the account [redacted]. Please let us know if you have any additional questions or concerns. Otherwise, we will consider this matter closed. Sincerely, Roberta M** Director, Customer Operations Squarespace, Inc.

Squarespace refuses to provide phone support...even if you are disabled and require extra help to use their website development tools.

The interface and user friendliness are amazing when it comes to Sqaurespace. HOWEVER, if you ever would like to close an account, their customer service will make this process hellacious and never ending. I have been trying to cancel my service for 2 separate accounts for a couple of weeks now. I have been passed off to many different representatives, a few from Online Chat Support, Reps from Email Cases that had been created and was recently asked to send in information and then Billing would reach out to me. I have done my part faithfully but I have still been getting the run around. I have not heard back from the in 3 days after submitting all requested information including bank statements. I have also followed up with them with no response.

To Whom It May Concern,
id="docs-internal-guid-7bb0e0dc-b42f-f2d9-729d-5aba7bb83405">Squarespace, Inc. (“Squarespace”) writes in response to your notification dated September **, 2016, regarding a complaint submitted to the Revdex.com by [redacted] (“[redacted]”). In the notification, the complainant expresses dissatisfaction with emails he received from [redacted].
Initially, please note that Squarespace did not create the content at issue (see [redacted], explaining that Squarespace is a neutral platform that allows users to create, publish, and share content). Squarespace is a provider of content creation tools, not a mediator of that content. If the site contains a contact phone number, email address, or mailing address, we recommend [redacted] resolve the matter directly with the site owner.
With regard to our policies, as you can see in our Privacy Policy, found here [redacted], we do not sell our users personal information to anyone. We also do not share our users personal information unless they have specifically allowed it, or for the very limited purposes described in our Privacy Policy.
As a note, it appears that [redacted] does not have a Squarespace account. As you can read in our Message To The End Users in Section 9.4 of our Privacy Policy, “If you’d like to make any requests regarding your personal information, please contact the owner of the site you’ve visited or used, as they control your data. They may then submit any such information requests to us, and we’ll respond to them. We retain your information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.”
As a final note, if [redacted] has a complaint he would like to file regarding a site, he may reach out to our Trust & Safety team at any time by sending the full details of his complaint to [redacted]. Squarespace takes complaints, and any alleged violations of our Terms of Service ([redacted]), very seriously.
In sum, we thank [redacted] for his time and encourage him to reach out to our Support team at any time with any further questions or concerns. We trust this letter resolves the complaint, but should you require any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Sincerely,
Roberta M**
Director, Customer Operations
Squarespace, Inc.

Squarespace, Inc. (“Squarespace”) writes in response to your notification dated January **, 2016, regarding a complaint submitted to the Revdex.com by [redacted] (“[redacted]”). In the...

notification, the complainant claims that a Squarespace subscription charged to her credit card in the amount of $192.00 was unauthorized. In response, and for the reasons set forth below, we have issued a full refund for this purchase. On January **, 2016, [redacted] contacted our customer support team inquiring about a $192.00 charge from Squarespace issued to her card on June **, 2015. A few hours later, a Squarespace support agent responded to [redacted], and in order to locate the charge in question, requested [redacted] provide the cardholder name, the last four digits on the card, and the type of card used. On January **, [redacted] responded with this information. Later that day, a support agent responded to [redacted] explaining that the charge was for the website [redacted]), and asked if she was familiar with this account. On January **, [redacted] responded to our agent. However, she did not confirm whether she was familiar with the site, [redacted] Instead, [redacted] provided the telephone number of her bank in Waterloo, Iowa, and informed our agent to call there with any questions. As a general note, Squarespace does not offer assistance by phone. Since the issues that we troubleshoot are online, detailed screenshots and videos are fundamental for clarifying how we can help our users. Because of this, we focus on email and live chat support, and our agents are available via Email support 24/7. Later that same day, January **, our support agent responded to [redacted] with general instructions for how to cancel a Squarespace site and receive a prorated refund for services. Following this message, we received no response from [redacted]. Our next contact with [redacted] was via your agency’s complaint. Following receipt of your complaint, we conducted an additional investigation of [redacted]’s account and confirmed that, on June **, 2014, the site [redacted] was initially charged to the same card detailed in [redacted]’s complaint for $192.00 as part of an annual Professional Plan. In other words, this was the initial annual sign-up fee for the account. This June **, 2014 charge was not disputed. As per our renewal policy, this account was renewed on June **, 2015. The June **, 2015 charge [redacted] references in her complaint was for a renewal of this plan. As seen in Section 10(c) of our Terms of Service ([redacted]), all subscriptions renew for an additional term, unless they are cancelled by the user. Customers are conspicuously and clearly notified of this auto-renewal several times throughout the sign-up and account management process, and conspicuously and clearly notified of the renewal charge via email one week prior to processing. This feature ensures continuous service for our users, and can be cancelled anytime from the site manager, or by contacting us. We have reviewed our customer records and confirmed that this renewal notice was sent to the account owner on June **, 2015. Although we acted in accordance with our policies, we have nonetheless removed the card from the account, [redacted], and issued a full refund to [redacted] for the renewal subscription purchase amount of $192. We trust this letter resolves the complaint, but should you require any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact us. Sincerely, Roberta M** Director, Customer Operations Squarespace, Inc.