Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  07/18/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We purchased a one-year membership from *************** in July 2021. Then, the membership was automatically renewed in 2022, 2023, and 2024, with an annual fee of $99 per year. We did not notice the charges until recently. When I called the company, I was told that automatic renew was in Terms of Use. I clicked on the Terms of Use link at the company's website, I was directed to the Privacy Policy page, not the Terms of Use page, although there is a link on this page to Terms of Use. When I downloaded Terms of Use (which is attached), I found that "Recurring Billing" is on page 7 of this 12-page document. I do not believe that the company is disclosing information "clearly and conspicuously" required by Texas consumer protections laws (e.g., Texas H.B. 2259). Furthermore, the company did not notify me about the automatic renewal at all. This is also against Texas consumer protection laws (e.g., Texas H.B. 2259). "the service provider shall ... if the contract has a term of 12 months or more and automatically renews for a term of more than one month, give the consumer additional written notice of the automatic renewal and the procedure for canceling the contract not earlier than the 90th day and not later than the 15th day before the date the contract is set to renew." Given that the auto renewal term of the company is inconsistent with state consumer protection laws, I request that *************** refund me the annual fees for 2022 and 2023 in the amount of $198.

  Business response

  07/23/2024

  To Whom It May Concern:
  
  Thank you for giving TestingMom.com the opportunity to respond to the complaint for Ding **.
  
  The customer signed up for our service on July 16, 2021. He registered for a yearly membership,meaning that it renews and is billed every 12 months. We make it very clear in our Terms and Conditions that our service is an auto-renewing subscription.When members purchase a package, we require them to check a box affirming that they have read and understand our Terms and Conditions (please see Attached documents).  Our customer must click a button that says "Accept"those terms before they can proceed and complete their order. If the customer does not check the box and/or does not click the "Accept" button on the Terms and Conditions, they are unable to proceed with their purchase.  We also remind them of the auto-renewal in our Welcome Email, as well as show them how to sign up for email alerts for activity on their account (see attached).
  
  The above-detailed procedure goes above and beyond the legal requirements for auto-renewing subscription services, in an effort to ensure that our customers are not only aware of the auto-renewal, but that they understand the Terms and ************* you can imagine, it is in our company's best interest -- both in terms of our customers' satisfaction and our own internal operational efficiency -- to make our Terms and Conditions as clear and easy to understand as possible.
  On July 18, 2024, Mr. ** called us and indicated that he was unaware of the Terms and Conditions. We replied and spelled out the Terms and Conditions and explained that he had agreed to them when he signed. At this point, he demanded a refund for the previous two charges, in July 2023 and July 2024.
  Because of the misunderstanding, we agreed to refund the customers recent payment (July 2024) and cancel his membership to ensure he would not be charged again. We do not agree with refunding any additional charges as **** ** should have acknowledged those charges when they occurred.
  
  If you have any questions or need additional information from me, please contact me at ***************************************.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** ******
  Content & Student Success Manager

  Customer response

  07/25/2024

  I am rejecting this response because it did not address my complaint.

  Terms and Conditions say that the company will auto-renew my membership. But Terms and Conditions do not say that the company will auto charge my credit card without additional notification. In fact, state consumer protections laws prohibit sellers from auto charging consumers without any additional written notice. Texas consumer protection laws (e.g., Texas H.B. 2259) state clearly:
  
  "the service provider shall ... if the contract has a term of 12 months or more and automatically renews for a term of more than one month, give the consumer additional written notice of the automatic renewal and the procedure for canceling the contract not earlier than the 90th day and not later than the 15th day before the date the contract is set to renew." 

  I am not complaining about auto renew, but auto charging my credit card without additional written notice prior to the renew date required by the state consumer protection laws. If the company is not addressing my complaint, I will file a complaint against the company with the state attorney general and consumer protection agencies.  

   
  

  Business response

  07/30/2024

  Thank you for passing along the additional information. 
  
  On first glance, we are still not sure there is an auto-renewal law that is active in ******  When we looked into it, we found TX HB2259, which was a bill in 2021 that failed to pass.  Then in 2023 a bill was passed with the same number, but it had to do with the purchase of fireworks permits.  We are turning this over to our lawyers and if it turns out there is an auto renewal law in effect in 2022 and 2023, well make the necessary changes.
  
  That said, we are very clear about our auto renew policy.   We ask customers to check a box when they sign up that says they understand it.  We immediately send customers who sign up a receipt that explains how to turn off auto-renew directly from the website.  Many of our customers do that, so we know people understand our explanation as to how to do it in that first email receipt.  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** ******
  Content & Student Success Manager

  Customer response

  08/02/2024

  Dear Ms. ******************** you very much for providing additional response.

  US laws require that an LLC conducting out of state business must comply with local laws. The state of ******** where I live does have pertinent consumer protections laws.

  A supplier making automatic renewal or continuous service offers that will automatically renew after a period of more than 30 days and extend the automatic renewal or continuous service offer for a period of more than 12 months shall notify the consumer of his option to cancel the automatic renewal or continuous service offer no less than 30 days and no more than 60 days before the cancellation deadline or the end of the current contract term. (Code of ******** 59.1-207.46)

  That is, the cancellation notification should NOT be sent during or immediately after the initial transaction as the current practice of the company, but rather no more than 60 days before the cancellation deadline.

  I really appreciate the company s willingness to address my concern and hope that the company could consider refunding my fees. As a consumer I am not supposed to research consumer laws in a different state which were also not disclosed in Terms and Conditions of the transaction, and a company is supposed to comply with local laws.

  Thank you again for your consideration!

  Sincerely,

  
  Ding Du

• Initial Complaint

  04/25/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I am writing because I recently found 4 years worth of improper charges on my account from Testing Mom that I want reversed. We signed up for Testing Mom in April 2020 for a 1-year subscription and then wanted to end its use after the 1-year period. We were satisfied with the product, but my daughter finished her testing and didnt need the product anymore. While within that 1-year period, we received regular daily email updates from Testingmom.com.At the end of that 1-year period, I had received no communication that my account was being renewed (despite getting other emails from them daily) and no emails ever about how to cancel. Ironically, we received a $199 lifetime offer, which we have far exceeded (attached)! On April 5, 2021, I received an email that they had tried to charge my old credit card, but that it had been rejected (attached). Shortly after that, all emails stopped and I thought cancellation was complete. Little did I know, they had started charging my new credit card without authorization or communication.I was looking at my April credit card statement and a charge of $59.88 showed up from Testing Mom on April 6, 2024. This was shocking to me since we havent used the product since our 1-year period ended on April 2021 and never agreed to use it after that period.After finding that improper charge, I went back through my statements from 2021-2023 and found out that I had been improperly charged for Testing Mom at a cost of $59.88 each time on April 5, 2023, April 5, 2022 and April 11, 2021. Each time never having agreed to the charge and never having used the product.I spoke with the business. They were very nice and agreed to credit the charge from my most recent statement, but said that they were not allowed to open up prior year charges.I want to be credited $179.64 for the improper charges that hit my account from *********, which I didnt sign-up for or utilize. I'm not looking for interest, but I reserve my legal rights.

  Business response

  04/29/2024

  TestingMom.com LLC
  *************************************br>Ste 301
  **************************
  
  
  April 29, 2024
  
  
  Dear Better Business Bureau -
  
  
  Thank you for the opportunity to address the complaint from *****************************.
  
  
  TestingMom goes out of its way to work with our customers and we are very transparent
  regarding our billing policies.
  
  
  On April 5, 2020, ************** purchased an annual, auto-renewing membership at
  TestingMom.com. At purchase, we advise our customers that the account will auto-renew and
  in order to continue, they must agree to these terms and conditions. See attached for a sample of
  the box that must be checked in order to complete the purchase.
  
  Shortly after purchase, TestingMom also sends a receipt and Welcome email with information on signing up for alerts.

  Unfortunately, ************** did not sign up for these reminder emails nor did he cancel the
  membership at any time prior to an email to us on April 22, 2024. At that time we cancelled the
  membership as requested.

  
  We called ************* at his request to discuss a refund. Because he hadnt accessed his
  membership for the last year, we agreed to refund his last renewal fee. We were unable to
  process the refund request because he had already disputed the charge (we have accepted the
  chargeback so he will be given the refund through his credit card company). We do not refund
  prior years charges due to the timeliness of the request. In lieu of further refunds, we did offer
  three additional years of membership at no additional cost (or renewal charge) to **************.
  This offer was declined.
  

  All the best,

  
  ***********************
  Student Success Manager
  

  Customer response

  05/10/2024

  The response from the business is completely unfair! I was never given an opportunity to cancel. I was never communicated with about a renewal or that THEY had renewed me. The only piece of information I ever got on the renewal was the rejection from my credit card company (attached). At that point, all emails from them stopped (compared to sending daily) and I thought I was canceled and then they charged me for 4 more years on a new credit card I NEVER gave them when I didn't know about it or use the service!!! They also charged me materially more than the advertised rate in the email I have attached from them.

  This absolutely needs to be fought. Apologies that I was a day late on responding, but this definitely needs to continue with the business to reach an amicable solution.

  Business response

  05/23/2024

  TestingMom.com LLC 
  ***********************;
  Ste 217 
  *******************************;
   
  May 23, 2022
   
  Dear Better Business Bureau - 
  

  When our customer's log in, the landing page allows them the opportunity to view their membership.  When they click to do so, they are shown their purchase date, the last four digits of the credit card used, and the next payment date.  They are also given the option to receive payment reminders prior to the next scheduled payment.

  As shown on the attached document, they also have the option to cancel their membership.

  This information has been available to ************** since the day his membership was purchased.  As stated in our original response, it was **************' responsibility to cancel his account when he desired.  He has now been refunded for the April 2024 payment due to his dispute about the charge with his credit card company.  TestingMom accepted the chargeback to ensure the funds would be released to him without further effort.  TestingMom is not responsible for charges preceding 2024; it would have been up to ************** to cancel his account upon seeing the charges on his credit card statement, or contacting us to discuss a refund for that renewal.

  We have nothing further to offer **************.

  All the best,

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

   

   

   

  Customer response

  06/02/2024

  I am rejecting this response because:   I was never provided a clear option when signing up to not have the service auto-renew and was not given good instructions on how to prevent it from auto-renewing. As a result, I took steps with my credit card company to make sure it would not auto-renew. Since we were finished with the product after one year (having completed the test we were using it for), I watched my credit card statement at the end of the 1-year term and made sure that a rejection of the renewal was processed from my credit card company (previously attached). In addition, the Company stopped sending out the daily email that I had been receiving so I was led to believe I was OK. Shortly after that time period, I experienced a medical emergency that caused me to not check my credit card statement for my credit cards as closely as I typically do and I missed the fraudulent charge. Unbeknownst to me, they had billed a completely new credit card that I had NEVER given them permission to use, without informing me at all. I never authorized this on the credit card and they never ever communicated that they were charging me. In addition, they also did not restart the daily email that I had been getting every day for the entire first year, which would have given me some clue that they had restarted the service. We never logged into the system once since that first year until I filed this dispute with the BBB and my credit card company.

• Initial Complaint

  02/20/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I just found out that TestingMom.com has been charging me for over 4 years at $21.55/month for a service that I cancelled years ago. Be very careful with this company, not worth the one-time test prep that I used them for many years ago.

  Business response

  04/24/2024

  TestingMom.com LLC 
  ***********************;
  Ste 217 
  ******************************;
  
  April 24,2024
  
  Dear Better Business Bureau - 
  
  Thank you for the opportunity to address the complaint from ***************************.   
  
   TestingMom goes out of its way to work with our customers and we are very transparent regarding our billing policies.  
  
  On November 20, 2019 , **************** purchased a monthly, auto-renewing membership at TestingMom.com.  At purchase, we advise our customers that the account will auto-renew and in order to continue, they must agree to these terms and conditions.  See below for a sample of the box that must be checked in order to complete the purchase.
  (see attached document for screenshot)
  
  Shortly after her purchase, TestingMom sent her a receipt and Welcome Email.  
  This email included the following message:
  How to Set Up Reminders

  As a friendly reminder of the terms stated on the payment page, which you agreed to when you signed up for you preferred membership plan, we will auto-renew your subscription at the same rate and for the same time period you selected when confirming your purchase.  This way, you'll enjoy continuous access to our site and all the benefits your program provides, and you and your child can bond as you learn together using our monthly call information, practice questions, online games and school enrichment activities.  To request an email from us reminding you about your billing cycle, simply go to "My Account" in the site's top navigation menu and select the "Membership" icon.  There, select "Yes" to receive an email reminder for your next billing.  Don't worry, you can easily cancel your membership at any time to avoid future charges.  If you choose to cancel you will continuee to have access to our program through the last date of your paid membership period.  To cancel, click on the "My Account" link in the upper right corner of our site, then click the yellow "Membership" button on the next page, then fill out the fields letting us know the reason you're canceling on the pages tht follow.  Yes, it's that easy!
  
  Unfortunately,**************** did not request these reminder emails nor did she cancel the membership at any time prior to an email sent to us on February 21, 2024.  At that time we cancelled her membership as requested and refunded the most recent payment.
  
  As you can see by the screenshots that **************** provided, her account information was available to her during her entire membership.  It showed her purchase date, and had a button to easily click to cancel her membership.  Below her Membership Status, it also included the original terms and conditions that she agreed to when she purchased her membership, which also mentioned the auto-renewal.
  
  Again, we have refunded her most recent renewal charge.
  
  All the best, 

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

  Student Success Team Manager

• Initial Complaint

  12/15/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This program is a scam, they advertise $7.99 monthly payments / annually $95.88 (12M = $7.99) was given the amount of $38.97 at checkout (WHICH I ALSO WAS NOT PROVIDED TO WHY THE CHARGES ADDED UP TO THAT MUCH) and when I processed the transaction I was charged the full amount of $95.88. Which I then immediately closed my membership with them. So this membership was active for no less than 20 minutes. I contacted there **************** and was told by *** and ******************** was unable to receive a refund because I had looked through the course, which of course I did because how am I going to purchase something and not look through it or try to understand what it is? I have all supporting documents. I advise ALL parents to not go through this program. It's absolute garbage.

  Business response

  04/22/2024

  Dear Better Business Bureau,

  This customer did call us after her purchase and requested to refund.  We stated our no-refund policy and she was very angry.  She scheduled time with a manager and was given a refund of her payment, less $7.99 for a month's access.  We then sent her links from her school district stating the tests that they use, and gave directions on getting to our interactive questions to study for it.  
  

  I'm sorry to hear she thinks our contents are "pure garbage" when she really didn't seek out information on our website or even watch our Site Tour video.  TestingMom.com has literally helped thousands of children prepare and excel at gifted testing.  We have a 4.8 (out of 5) star score on Trust Pilot because of the success of so many children!

  As for the pricing, there was a radio button on the payment page she enclosed where she changed from the quarterly pricing to the annual pricing so she could take advantage of the lower cost.  She entered this page from choosing a Quarterly payment at $38.97, but after clicking on the annual charge of $95.88, that is what she was charged.  

  Again, for her dissatisfaction, we ended up refunding her all but $7.99 on November 16, 2023.

  Thank you,

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

  Student Success Team Manager

   

*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. ↩