TalkSpace

I contacted TalkSpace requesting a refund for services I did not use and did not know I even paid for. I was going through my accounts and saw a deduction of $337 AUD from Talk space. I was not aware that I paid for monthly subscription and did not even open the Talk space app during that month. I was aware I paid for the month prior- however was extremely unsatisfied with the services provided so opted to not renew for next month. I am extremelt upset that I have paid for 2 months of therapy with nothing to show for it- that is in total $571! Would not recommend Talkspace to anyone. You are better off paying extra for 1:1 services locally.
I have contacted customer support requesting a refund however am yet to receive a reply.

I need customer support. The company is unreachable. The therapist took days to respond to me. I have been trying to contact a representative for months! I am more stressed after using this service than I was before using it.

Talkspace was recomended to me by a friend who had a great experience, so I was very disappointed when mine wasn't. I should have trusted my gut and walked away when the salesperson stopped responding to my questions about the three therapists I was "matched" up with in the beginning. But I needed help. I stayed the course and chose the only therapist from the three options presented to me that mentioned an interest in the field that I needed help in. The therapist seemed ok but the process is slow. It's like texting with someone, only they respond once every twelve hours (best case scenario). "24/7 access" means you can pour your soul into writing all you want but you will have to wait until that afternoon or the following day for a response. As you may have read in the many other reviews here, it's not uncommon for a therapist to not respond for a day or two (or more apparently). I understand therapists must be working pretty hard these days during the pandemic, but to be told "will read and respond tonight" after you've already been waiting the allotted wait period, only to NOT receive a response later is insensitive and frustrating. The eventual response didn't even give me the sense that they had read what I had written. Furthermore, I write paragraphs only to get back a sentence or two. This feels less like a conversation with a therapist and more like an overpriced journal entry. I lost interest and didn't reach out for about 8 days. I was surprised the therapist never checked back in that time, but perhaps another flaw in this platform. In hind sight, I should've changed therapists sooner but it was too late to start over with someone new as my 1st month was coming to a close. I told the therapist that I was disappointed with the experience and that I did not plan on renewing. The response I received felt indifferent. Didn't seem to matter to them if I stayed or left. After that I decided to pursue a refund for which I have not been given. Do your research folks, I wish I had. But then again, that's my problem in the heat of the moment... Maybe I should talk to someone about it.

I would not waste your money on this service. I have been trying to get in touch with someone from their customer service team for a month now through different channels and have had no luck.
I started using the service on July 10 and selected a counselor. I didn’t know she would be taking a vacation starting on July 13 until after I selected her. I spent three days exchanging messages with the counselor before she started her vacation. Four days after her vacation started I received a message saying she would remain on vacation for another 5 weeks. No one contacted me to tell me that I should get a new counselor, and personally I didn’t want to after that experience. I was just left paying $200 for three days of service and a few messages. Have been trying to reach someone in their customer service to get a refund.
I cancelled my subscription but would like at least a partial refund for the month I paid for. It’s extremely frustrating to waste your time being vulnerable with a counselor you don’t know to get only 10% of the service you paid for.
Obviously, this service is not helping people with mental health issues.

Where do they find these therapists? I've had SIX in three months. They all keep quitting their jobs. Two even complained about the company to me. One told me to work with her privately in her business because she said she can't afford to live off of what Talkspace pays her. This is insane. Apparently I signed on for a therapist sweatshop and didn't know it. Do they all work in India and China? It makes me feel guilty for even signing up! I'd love to know what they pay... Is it minimum wage?

This app is a SCAM. I need a refund. I’m 17 and made a split decision at 3 in the morning to purchase this. I’ve been laid off because of the Coronavirus. I do not have enough money for this. I haven’t used the therapy or had anyone reply to me. Talkspace said there was a deal where it would only be $65 so imagine my surprise when $160 is taken from my bank. This is a scam and it isn’t right. I’ve contacted everyone I can think to contact and still no reply. I need my money back ASAP.

Talkspace said there was a deal where it would only be $65. I check my bank account before anyone has even talked to me or before I’ve even contacted anyone, and there’s $160 missing from my account. This is a scam and I want a refund. I’m 17. This was a stupid decision at 3 in the morning that I made. I’ve contacted everyone I can and no replies yet. I’m going to have a mental breakdown just from this lol. Please give me a refund.

My therapist quit during my trial. Some may know better than others that it is not easy to open up to anyone. After that, I no longer wanted to continue and in fact had a month left. I aked to be refunded as this was not my fault the therapist quit. In real life, I'd get my money back. I hate to say it talkspace, but this is still real life. Customer Service is still a thing. Having my money stolen leaves a really bad taste in my mouth. All I can do is add to the million one star reviews and make sure other people don't allow this platform to steal their money! It is not what they say it is, and I'd recommend turning to anyone but talkspace.

The business has responded Please see below: Hello Revdex.com, Thank you for contacting the [redacted] Help DeskWe've received your query and will respond as quickly as possibleWe will respond to most queries within the same business dayWe will do our best to respond immediately, but sometimes the best way to get fast help is to check out some of our most frequently asked customer support inquiries below:How Does Talkspace Work? Talkspace is here to provide help and advice for anything including relationships, health and depressionTalkspace is a therapy service where you can chat privately with a licensed therapistAt Talkspace, you can log on on whenever you want and share your experiences with your therapist when they are fresh in your mindYou do not have to wait a week to remember what to talk aboutYour therapist will follow a schedule and respond to you with digestible doses of therapyTo begin, go to [redacted] , type your question in the blue box, and click "Chat With A Therapist Now." They will chat with you long enough to give you a good idea of what the private chat can do and help you to select a therapist and discuss payment options with youAll of our subscriptions are automatically charged each week, month or quarter depending on what you choose and can be canceled any time!How can I reset my password? You can reset your password by clicking on the "forgot password" link below: - Please verify the email address entered is the same as the one used to sign up with Talkspace (please check for spelling and punctuation) - Go to [redacted] - Enter the email address used to sign up - You will be sent an email with instructions on how to reset your passwordHow do I make changes to my Talkspace account? You can do the following through your account Change the email address on file Update payment info Request a new username Cancel your account Request another primary therapist Change your subscription Place your account on a day hold - Login through our website directly at [redacted] using a web browser - Find your username located on the top right corner of the screen - Click on it and scroll down to 'My Account' - On the My Account page you will see options to change your account information, cancel your subscription, put your subscription on hold, change your subscription or change therapists.What do I do if messages are not being sent / received when I'm using the Talkspace app? This issue is usually caused by a poor internet connectionPlease try to following steps to resolve: - Check the internet connection strength - Log out of the Talkspace app completely - Log back into the app This will force the room to refreshPlease let us know if you are still experiencing problems on the app and we will investigate this further with youIn the meantime, please log into your chat room directly via our website at [redacted] .Where can I ask questions regarding joining Talkspace as a therapist? Please click on the link below and fill out the initial application to the best of your abilityYou will have the opportunity to ask a member of our clinical team any questions you have when they respond to your application: [redacted] We hope this is helpfulAnd again, thank you for contacting usWe’ll be getting back to you as soon as possible! Sincerely, The Talkspace Team

I am very unhappy with Talkspace. My son was having some issues that he needed to talk to someone about. He signed up with Talkspace for a three month period using my credit card and talked with the therapist for a couple of months and then deleted the app and had no additional contact with the therapist. After 4 months, my card was charged $852 dollars. I have tried for the past three days to call Talkspace and to email them to have this issue corrected. I have not been able to talk to them directly. I have called several times on several days and left a message and have left a message, but have never gotten a return call. I have sent several emails, but have never gotten a response other than the emails from them saying they "have received my emails and will respond as soon as possible." But, no response. I have been through days of this. I am angry! This place seems like a scam! I am a retired lady who tried to help her son and feel I am getting ripped off! I would like Talkspace to refund my money and make no further charges to may account.

The actual company is Groop Internet Platform, Inc. doing business as Talkspace.com. The company's terms of use are long and VERY confusing. Given that they are actually profiting from serving therapists and patients this is not good. For example, the terms make it clear that TalkSpace is only a platform for connecting health providers with clients (patients) therefore Talkspace is not liable for basically anything, however it is Talkspace that is directly contracting with the patient. They take the patient's money, host the information, provide the additional services etc. Moreover, Talkspace includes statements about the privacy of the individual's information (including that they are HIPAA compliant) but in there contract they basically disclaim liability for anything. So how does it work if a patient relies on the representations of Talkspace and Talkspace violates those representations? Under the contract, Talkspace has NO LIABILITY ? Reading the terms and the misleading FAQ, this is a business seeking to make a profit on mental health patients. The RevDex.com ought to do a better job of flagging 'businesses' like these given that their patient population is actually vulnerable and could be exploited.

I am very upset because I used Talkspace until April 2019. The therapist was helpful, but as I was able to get an appointment with an in-person therapist, I cancelled my subscription and let my Talkspace therapist know. Imagine my surprise when I was just charged $196 automatically for Talkspace on my credit card. I had cancelled, but apparently it still charged me?! What is this nonsense? It's a scam, that's what it is.

Hello Revdex.com,We are happy to let you know that this issue was resolved to the customer's satisfaction on November ***, The customer was given a full refundThe reason the customer could not reach us by phone was because our offices were closed for the national
Thanksgiving HolidayOur answering service took his call and we were able to resolve it when our Offices opened againPlease let us know if there are any other questions or concerns. Thank you,Talkspace

I am very frustrated with your advertising because it shows that Talkspace is a certain price per week, but I was charged an upfront charge monthly. That is not what I intended to agree with, as I only wanted to pay for one week at the moment. I would appreciate a refund for the weeks I did not use as this is not acceptable. If you advertise a certain price, that should be the amount charged.

I first started Talkspace when they were charging $99 a month and the therapist responds twice a week. I found several therapists that were wonderful and I would give TalkSpace 5 Stars.

However, I recently tried Talkspace and it was $200 for the month and the therapist responds 5 times a week. The therapist assigned to me only responded with one or two sentences each time. It seemed like she didn't even read what I wrote. Talkspace has an option to switch therapists, which I did. This is a fantastic service. I felt heard by the new therapist, where I was complaining about how toxic people are these days. She kept telling me that in her Church it's not that way. She encouraged me to find a Church to join. She may be right, but it really annoyed me because I'm not religious.

The business has responded.  Please see below:
Hello Revdex.com, Thank you for contacting the [redacted] Help Desk. We've received your query and will respond as quickly as possible. We will respond to most queries within the same business day. We will do...

our best to respond immediately, but sometimes the best way to get fast help is to check out some of our most frequently asked customer support inquiries below:How Does Talkspace Work? Talkspace is here to provide help and advice for anything including relationships, health and depression. Talkspace is a therapy service where you can chat privately with a licensed therapist. At Talkspace, you can log on on whenever you want and share your experiences with your therapist when they are fresh in your mind. You do not have to wait a week to remember what to talk about. Your therapist will follow a schedule and respond to you with digestible doses of therapy. To begin, go to [redacted], type your question in the blue box, and click "Chat With A Therapist Now." They will chat with you long enough to give you a good idea of what the private chat can do and help you to select a therapist and discuss payment options with you. All of our subscriptions are automatically charged each week, month or quarter depending on what you choose and can be canceled any time!How can I reset my password? You can reset your password by clicking on the "forgot password" link below: - Please verify the email address entered is the same as the one used to sign up with Talkspace (please check for spelling and punctuation) - Go to [redacted] - Enter the email address used to sign up - You will be sent an email with instructions on how to reset your passwordHow do I make changes to my Talkspace account? You can do the following through your account page:
Change the email address on file

Update payment info
Request a new username Cancel your account Request another primary therapist Change your subscription
Place your account on a 30 day hold

- Login through our website directly at [redacted] using a web browser - Find your username located on the top right corner of the screen - Click on it and scroll down to 'My Account' - On the My Account page you will see options to change your account information, cancel your subscription, put your subscription on hold, change your subscription or change therapists.What do I do if messages are not being sent / received when I'm using the Talkspace app? This issue is usually caused by a poor internet connection. Please try to following steps to resolve: - Check the internet connection strength  - Log out of the Talkspace app completely - Log back into the app  This will force the room to refresh. Please let us know if you are still experiencing problems on the app and we will investigate this further with you. In the meantime, please log into your chat room directly via our website at [redacted].Where can I ask questions regarding joining Talkspace as a therapist? Please click on the link below and fill out the initial application to the best of your ability. You will have the opportunity to ask a member of our clinical team any questions you have when they respond to your application:[redacted] We hope this is helpful. And again, thank you for contacting us. We’ll be getting back to you as soon as possible! Sincerely, The Talkspace Team

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]...

The actual company is Groop Internet Platform, Inc. doing business as Talkspace.com. The company's terms of use are long and VERY confusing. Given that they are actually profiting from serving therapists and patients this is not good. For example, the terms make it clear that TalkSpace is only a platform for connecting health providers with clients (patients) therefore Talkspace is not liable for basically anything, however it is Talkspace that is directly contracting with the patient. They take the patient's money, host the information, provide the additional services etc. Moreover, Talkspace includes statements about the privacy of the individual's information (including that they are HIPAA compliant) but in there contract they basically disclaim liability for anything. So how does it work if a patient relies on the representations of Talkspace and Talkspace violates those representations? Under the contract, Talkspace has NO LIABILITY ? Reading the terms and the misleading FAQ, this is a business seeking to make a profit on mental health patients. The Revdex.com ought to do a better job of flagging 'businesses' like these given that their patient population is actually vulnerable and could be exploited.

Review: Good morning, I messaged my therapist online during the weekend just to speak with her about issues I was having. We discusses the possibility of starting therapy. I never authorized it myself. The therapist never responded to my needs and we never started therapy. Therefore, when I saw that my card was charged already I contacted customer service and I told them that I never started therapy, and that the therapist never responded to me, only days after did she respond about money issues instead of responding to my issues. When I contacted customer service, they said they spoke to the "Head of clinical development" THEY decided that they were not going to refund me. There were no services started and I cancelled before they could even start. That is very bad business. They are not even in the Revdex.com and I am not sure if they are licensed. Either way, the fact that they denied me my money, which I have full rights to because they did not render service nor did they do a good job at it. I do not trust this business anymore and I think it is unjustified for them to keep my money! I have e-mails of proof that I wrote them to refund me the money and the many reasons as to why they have no right to keep that money. Among the conversation there is a part where the therapist wrote:"...If you are interested in therapy again, I can let customer service know because I want you to get the half off special for returning clients. I can do this if you are going to use the same form of payment on file. Or, if you want to contact customer service that would be ok, too if you are going to use a different form of payment." "It will be $50 for the first month."I responded: "Yes that's fine thanks" I never said yes that's fine go ahead and tell customer service" I was replying to the $50 monthly that that was fine. So therefore, I never authorized the therapist to tell customer service to charge my card. That IS illegal.Desired Settlement: I would like to get the money back that is rightfully mine. [redacted] has no right to keep my money for services that were not even rendered & that I did not authorize personally or myself from my computer. Also, I do not think they should be running a business that does not even respect the clients personal and emotional needs. I have already contacted my credit card company to dispute this charge because I will not give money to a company that does this.

Business

Response:

Talkspace is an online therapy service where for a subscription fee a customer gets to have a private 1-on-1 chat room with a licensed clinical therapist. This customer is not a new customer. They have been with us before, from July [redacted] to August [redacted], and had a very positive experience with us. On September [redacted], the customer returned to speak with her therapist about an issue she was having. So, the therapist offered the user a special 50% off promotion in their chat room. As the customer states in the complaint, the therapist wrote, "If you are interested in therapy again, I can let customer service know because I want you to get the half off special for returning clients. I can do this if you are going to use the same form of payment on file. Or, if you want to contact customer service that would be ok, too if you are going to use a different form of payment." "It will be $50 for the first month." To which the customer replied, "Yes that's fine thanks." Furthermore, the customer wrote to us on September [redacted], complaining, "I haven't gotten a reply" and that she "needed help over the weekend and today." She was clearly wanting therapy to take place, and for that to happen the customer (who again, was not a new customer) was fully aware they would need to pay for it. We say all this just to demonstrate to other customers who may be reading this, that Talkspace is not at fault here. However, that being said, out of good faith to this customer we are going to refund this charge of $49.50 that the customer wants back. This customer filed a chargeback as well, and we will use that to return the money. In closing, and again this is for the benefit of other customers who may be reading this, we would like to share the review this customer left for their therapist: "[redacted] is a great intellectual therapist who is compassionate, attentive, understanding and responds usually the same day. She is non-judgmental and has helped with me with the grieving process with the (we removed this part because she states her issues). I recommend her without reservation!"

Review: This company advertises $9 a week services, I signed up for $9, and they took out $288 for the entire year up front. That is not what I intended to authorize. My requests for an immediate refund have been ignored. Their customer service number is out of service.Desired Settlement: Refund entire amount of $288 immediately, please.

Business

Response:

Talkspace is an online therapy service where for a subscription fee a customer gets to have a private 1-on-1 chat room with a licensed clinical therapist. This customer signed up on October [redacted], 2014 and began sessions with one of our therapists that day. Then the customer complained about their therapist on October [redacted]. To try to resolve the situation we immediately notified our head therapist, and we switched the customer to a different therapist that same day. Then on the [redacted], the customer sent a complaint about the second therapist also, even though that therapist said that their conversation had not even begun. The customer had not responded to her at all. The customer also began complaining at that time that they had been overcharged. (We have several different plans to choose from, but the customer had opted for our quarterly plan, which is $19/week of Unlimited Messaging Therapy paid quarterly, or $228.00 per quarter.) That same day the customer filed a chargeback via [redacted] and then a Revdex.com complaint the following day. We did not fight the [redacted] chargeback, and the customer has been refunded their money via [redacted]. We have done everything we can to try to help this customer.