Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  06/16/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  I attempted to sign up for Acorn through **** and it wouldn't work so I contacted **** on the same day and asked them to cancel it. They confirmed that they cancelled it and refunded the charge. **** did not continue to charge me for the service. However, exactly a month later (May 16th) Acorn billed me *directly* for their service even though it had been cancelled. I contacted them, shared a copy of the cancellation verification from Roku, and asked them to refund the charge. They refused. I'm attaching a copy of the cancellation confirmation from Roku. I had no idea this business had so many online complaints about this exact practice until this happened to me. I now see that they have a pattern of doing this to customers of *************** and other services.

• Initial Complaint

  05/05/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  This company is such a SCAM. Two years ago I complained to it personally by emal regarding its advertising that it has ******* Mysteries series has full video available on all series. email back: I told the ** rep that, through Amazon payment, I got all the ******* videos, but when I chose **** app, I got no problem seeing all videos without the CONSTANT stopping. Customers are depending on RJL being honest. OK. so once again, after reupping to my chagrin, everything stops at certain episodes. It is NOT ****, it is not the updating app, it is clearly Acorn Scamming us! Also, I was promised 7 day free trail.. Of course, that is not what it says in my **** account!. No customer service at either location. Sooooo done!!!! Give me my $69.99 back!!! It is still within the 7 day trial...l of course, I cannot prove that because it was never acknowledged after I signed up. I swear, Never Again.

  Business response

  05/31/2023

  Hi *********,

  The Customer Service team here at Acorn TV is sorry to hear that you had issues with ******* Mysteries. We see that you had issues on your **** and we provided information on how to remedy the playback issue that you experienced. Unfortunately, we will be unable to refund your account as you purchased Acorn TV via **** and we do not have access to their billing system. We recommend that you contact  **** - **************

  Customer response

  06/02/2023

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  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. 
  
  Regards,
  
  *****************************
  

• Initial Complaint

  12/20/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased a 1-year subscription to Acorn TV on Thursday, December 15th as a Christmas gift for my mother. My credit card was promptly charged $73.49 for this transaction (as advertised). However, instead of receiving an email with instructions on how to access the subscription, I received an email stating: "Thank you for your Acorn TV Gift Membership purchase on December 15, 2022. You'll receive an email shortly with more details on how to deliver your gift(s)." It has been 5 days and I still have not received this email for the gift I had hoped to give in a few days. I've emailed their customer service multiple times and have not received any other response than that my request for assistance has been received. I also tried contacting their customer service on ******** where I found others reaching out with the same complaints. This seems to be theft to me. They have taken my money without providing anything in return.

  Business response

  01/18/2023

  Were are sorry to hear you did not receive our reply a month ago (Wed, 21 Dec 2022 at 9:20 AM)
  
  To:*********************
  Dear ******,
  
  
  Thank you for contacting us about your issue receiving the Gift Code for an Acorn TV membership.
  
  It would be worth checking in your junk mail but in the meantime we have located your code it is 
  
  ****** 
  
  The attached email would have been sent with the code, most of it is applicable. Thank you so much for gifting an Acorn TV membership.

  Best wishes,
  The Acorn TV Team
  
  Acorn TV
  
  For schedule updates and other Acorn TV news,  
    Like us on ********: ********************************************************
  Follow us on *******: ******************************************
  Like us on *********: *********************************************************;

• Initial Complaint

  12/08/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I will start this by saying I have been an AcornTV subscriber for nearly 7 years now. I have loved all the programming on this streaming service. I loved it so much, in fact, that I thought I would share it with a relative who has a birthday coming up on Dec 10th. On the morning of 12/1 I ordered and paid for ($76) a one-year gift subscription to AcornTV for a relative for his birthday, which is this Saturday, the 10th. I received a confirmation email stating that shortly I would receive info on how to present this gift. I assumed that meant there would be a certificate I could print with the access code and enclose in a card to my relative could get all set up upon receipt. I never heard anything all the rest of that day or the next day, 12/2, so that evening I contacted Acorn back asking for the info I needed to be able to gift this subscription I paid for in good faith. I waited about a day and a half and tried again. No response. Another day I tried again. Nothing. Again and again, I emailed them begging for this info so I could just get this card with gift subscription in the mail to get to him before his birthday on the 10th! FINALLY, on December 5th at 8:15 at night, I got a stupid canned response telling me to wait because someone would contact me. SERIOUSLY!?? Well, they never did. This has been going on for more than a week now and I have been completely ignored by AcornTV and they are still holding $76+ of mine and I am no closer to getting the access code I should have gotten in the first confirmation email they sent me! I have not able to send my relative this gift to him by Saturday on his birthday. This is ridiculous that a company can get away with such shoddy business practices! I now have to spend all my time during holidays filing consumer complaints against Acorn with my bank & state AG's office and any other entity I can find. AcornTV has NO telephone number I can call. My advice is DO NOT BUY ACORN TV GIFT SUBSCRIPTIONS!

  Business response

  01/18/2023

  We apologize for the confusion, on 12/12/2022 we sent you an email with the gift code you purchased and an email on 12/11/2022 with the Gift code purchased! We are sorry that you did not receive the code right away as it was sent out. 

• Initial Complaint

  12/08/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On 11/25/22 I went to my Acorn Tv account to cancel my annual renewal before renewal date of 12/2/22. My account reflected renewal rate of $34.99. Based on price I did not cancel service. On 12/4/22 I saw my credit card was charged $69.99 on 12/2/22. I immediately cancelled Acorn TV service however confirmation noted effective 12/02/2023. On 12/4/22 I emailed Acorn customer service. On 12/6/22 I called customer service at which time ******** advise this was an issue other customers had experience due to having prior discounted rate. ******** engaged her supervisor for help and ******** advised me supervisor confirmed that was the issue. On 12/8/22 I received email from Acorn advising that unfortunately due to refund policy I could not be refunded. The renewal rate was falsely advertised and at minimum ACORN should honor rate since they are refusing to refund for a falsely advertised renewal rate, an issue the company is aware of.

  Business response

  01/05/2023

  We're unable to refund the charge as it is being disputed. At this point, we can only wait for the credit card provider to complete their review of this matter and issue a resolution. For additional information, please contact your credit card provider.
  
  
  
  
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  10/10/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  After a free week trial, I thought that I was subscribing to Acorn TV on a monthly basis. I will attach a screenshot of their ad giving $6.99 per month as the fee. I then see that they charged my credit card $69.99 for a one year subscription. When I called less than a month into the subscription to cancel the yearly subscription, I was told that was not possible.If they are charging me $69.99 per year, that means on a monthly basis the cost is $5.83 ($69.99 divided by 12)Since the ad says $6.99 per month, it is logical to assume a monthly subscription is available. Or else it would advertise a lower monthly fee for an annual subscription. I am asking for a refund of $63.00 ($69.99-$6.99).

  Business response

  10/11/2022

  Dear ***************************,
  
  Due to our refund policy, we are unable to process a full refund on the account.
  The good news is that we were able to refund you for the remaining unused months on your billing cycle.
  Depending on your bank or credit card company's processing, it may take up to 10 business days for the refund to show up on your statement.
  Many thanks for your patience and understanding. 

• Initial Complaint

  07/13/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I have a charge of 69.99 from RJL Entertainment on Roku dated Jul 11, 2022, but I have NEVER subscribed to this membership. I've just got access to my monthly **** of America charge list (needed a new password) and have not looked back in previous months to see how long this has been going on. Yes I have **** but watch only free programs. I have memberships to ******* and *****, but they are DIRECT, not through **** or this RJL. I want a refund for any and ALL MONTHS charged this fee. (I may need help from my bank to locate all instances of this wrongdoing.)

  Business response

  07/18/2022

  We're sorry to hear that you have been charged by **** for an annual ****** TV subscription. Unfortunately we do not have access to the their billing system and unable to process the refund for you. Please contact **** ************.

  Customer response

  07/21/2022

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  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. 
  --------- Forwarded message ---------
  From: ******************************* <********************************************>
  Date: Thu, Jul 21, 2022 at 4:30 PM
  Subject: Re: You have a new message from the BBB of Metro Washington DC & Eastern Pennsylvania in regards to your complaint #********.
  To: Better Business Bureau  <info@mybbb.org>
  
  

  I would like to cancel investigation #********. As it turns out, the charge in question was not fraudulent. I will attempt to convey this information by phone as well.

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

  
  

  Get ******* for ***

  
  Regards,
  
  *******************************
  

• Initial Complaint

  06/13/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  9 Jun 2022 On 1 Jun 2022 I attemped to cancel my Acorn account. I was offered one month free on them at which point my yearly account would end by Aug 2022. I had to cancel prior to 9 Jun. On 10 Jun, my account was charged for a full year and I was notified by my bank. I was really upset that Acorn didn't honor their agreement so I disputed the charges (see the attached documents). I was given the phone number by my credit union today and called this morning. The lady attempted to tell me that I should have taken a screen shot of the offer, to show to their internal team and I asked why I would have thought to do so at that point, it wouldn't have raised any red flags. It certainly does now. I was getting upset at that point and she said we offered you a discount on sunday and we are not giving you your money back and I told her the whole point was to cut costs because my rent was going up 100-240 / month so I was cutting all extraneous costs across the board, not just acorn. I'm warning all Acorn customers to please be careful with these special offers if you ever try to cancel your memberships. I don't anticipate that I will get a refund from Acorn or even an apology but hopefully the word will get out to be very very careful when dealing with these types of memberships in the future. Best Wishes

  Business response

  06/21/2022

  Dear *****************************,
  
  We can confirm that your membership under this email address is now canceled so you will not be billed in the future. We have also issued a refund for your most recent charge. (Depending on your bank or credit card company's processing, it may take up to 10 business days). If you do not see the refund after 10 days, please reach out to us directly.
  
  Best wishes,
  The Acorn TV Team

  Customer response

  06/22/2022

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  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. 
  
  Regards,
  
  *****************************
  

• Initial Complaint

  05/17/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I signed up for a year and cancelled right after. I been keeping an eye on it when it was suppose to cancel. I noticed they still continued to take out ***** from my bank account even though my Acorn TV account says cancelled. I took a screen shot. I did not authorize them to do so. The Acorn tv account is under my wife ***********************************. We have the same bank account. I tried to get ahold of them. No response. I flagged my credit card with my bank to investigate. Told them it was fraudulent. I want a full refund and my card number removed from their company.I have never encountered this issue before with a streaming site. This is not good business. I heard they don't get out refunds but this fraud and deception on customers

  Business response

  05/23/2022

  We have also initiated a refund for your most recent charge. Depending on your bank or credit card company's processing, it may take up to 10 business days.  If you do not see the refund after 10 days, please reach out to us directly.
  
  Once again, we truly apologize for the delay, please reach out if you have any other questions or concerns. 

  Customer response

  05/25/2022

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  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. 
  
  Regards,
  
  *********************************
  

• Initial Complaint

  05/03/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Acorn tv charged me $59.99 for a service I did not want or solicit. I had an old account with an active charge card attached to the service which they used. This service is attached to an old email I can no longer access so I can't even access the account.

  Business response

  05/06/2022

  We're sorry to hear that you have not had access to your Acorn TV subscription located under email address *********************. We have successfully canceled your account and processed a full refund please allow 3-5 business days for the refund to process. 
  

  Customer response

  05/07/2022

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  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. 
  
  Regards,
  
  *****************
  

*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. ↩