I should have known better.
I was testing one of those offers for a $100 gift certificate at a local restaurant for my local marketing project.
I said “no” to all the offers. But you had to accept one to get the certificate they said (actually three, but I digress).
I thought “I could use stamps.com”
So I was going through their sign up system.
After giving them some credit card information, I decided against it.
With PayPal, cancelling a subscription is easy.
With Stamps.com it’s a bloody nightmare.
You have to call a toll free number that is answered in voice mail hell by Mr. or Ms. NoBody Ever.
After waiting through 20 minutes of muzak designed to make you feel like you’re not really ready to scream at the operator until their ears pop, you might get an answer.
“All of our analysts are currently assisting other customers”… sure they are.
For me, a cancellation procedure this tough means the company is a scam.
Nobody needs to put up with this bull to get someone else’s hand out of your wallet.
Finally after 22 minutes “Leslie” comes on the line.
“It’s the busiest time of the year” she says.
Yeah? For me too! (I think)
Cancelling wasn’t easy, but why should I have to waste 22 minutes of my time to do it?
I’ll go to USPS.com instead.
Debbie Childers on January 3rd, 2006 at 8:12 am
I too am having problems canceling my Stamps.com account. I have been on hold with them just as was stated earlier for over 45 mins and I am still waiting for a real person to come on so I can cancel. I too am going to USPS.com. I do not like that they want to raise prices without notification and that the raise from $4.49 per month to $15.95 is not worth it for me. DO NOT sign up for Stamps.com unless you do not want to cancel! It is an all day event.
Anthony King on November 14th, 2006 at 7:31 pm
My experience with stamps.com is that I signed up for a free 30 day trial period after receiving a telephone solicitation from them The solicitor repeatedly told me I could cancel at any time by calling 1.888.434.0055. My trial ended last Saturday, but when I called the number I was told that I couldn’t cancel on a Saturday or Sunday of anytime outside of regular business hours. Hardly “anytime” right? By the time I got through Monday morning to cancel I’d been charged for one full year of service. No one has addresses my claim and all I’ve received is a e-mail form response. I’d bet a small sum they intentionally set up the trail periods to end on a weekend so that people can’t cancel on the last day of their trial.
Joe Fitzgerald on November 21st, 2006 at 4:07 pm
My experience with Stamps.com is very similar. My free trial period ended on Sunday, Nov.19 and I had set a reminder in Outlook for that date to cancel if I decided against the product. When I called on the 19th, I got a pre-recorded message that their offices were closed and to call back on the 20th. When I did, I was told, in essence — too late, your fault, we gotcha! Frankly, I couldn’t believe my ears. What is this, a scam?
I’m still in the process of trying to resolve the issue with them but have gotten nowhere with them so far. It seems to me that their business model is to get people to sign up for the trial offer and not let them cancel. This will get them their annual charge of $191.88 but nothing more from completely dissatisfied customers, or as they probably refer to us — marks.
Eric Leaver on November 9th, 2007 at 1:59 pm
You are not alone, can’t the feds stop them.
Stamps.com suddenly appear on my check card statement, I really do not know how they got the card number, probably through a promotion unrelated to stamps. a week after the first charge of $15.95 showed up a second charge $15.95 appeared, My father called Stamps.com to get an explanation and to complain approx. 1 week after the second charge, Their explanation was that if you join a gym and don’t use it you still have to pay for your membership, and will not do any thing untill they talked to me. the following day they charged another $15.95 for a total off $47.85 in three weeks. I called them to stop charges and get refund, They would not refund the monies, and said that they will charge me one more time, at this point I had to close my account out, as the only way to stop them taking more money. These people cost me $105.00 additionally in overcharge fees. My father went to different sites Amazon.com for example that had an obscure promotion and got as far as giving a credit card number without once seeing any fee costs. This is a scam with support from United States Postal Service, Amazon.com, UPS. Fox news. to name a few/
Check out ripoffreport.com and scams.com, search for stamps.com complaints.
Lily Gardner on November 19th, 2007 at 10:19 pm
Stamps.com–A Hotel California experience. When I called their customer service number, the menu designation for cancellation disconnected the call. I tried it a couple times, so I know it wasn’t a fluke. I finally reached a rep. by hitting the menu number for new accounts. He agreed to cancel the account and send me a bill. He gave me a confirmation number. When I didn’t receive a bill two weeks later, I called again and paid an additional month’s service on my credit card. I received a second confirmation number. Today I received a bill saying I was in arrears and threatening collection. It’s a Hotel California scenario—you can checkout any time you like but you can never leave. Most of my internet purchases have gone without a wrinkle but this so called service has made me rethink e-commerce.
Christine Schady on January 2nd, 2008 at 12:05 pm
I know for a fact that stamps.com associates tell everyone the information theyre complaining about during the call. Its common knowledge when you have a free trial there is some sort of obligation when you stay on past the alloted time period. All you have to do is read the information they give you and its crystal clear.
Chuck on January 2nd, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Christine, obviously Stamps.com has not been very customer friendly for everyone here except you. Given that you’ve linked your name back to stamps.com, is it possible you have a vested interest?
Anne on January 24th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
OMGoodness, I am so mad right now. I have an invoice for TOTAL CHARGES $159.90 and I just canceled my membership. I too was looking for the 100$ give card and doing internet co-registration research. It’s unethical for the co-registration - win an ipod marketing campaigns to charge people during the registration process! I have a blog and I’m going to start writing about these scams. I’m also going to print up everything I find on the internet, write them a letter and then report them to the BBB. If they decided to refund my money, I will write a positive blog post. It’s my only leverage. Their reputation is tarnished on the internet! Everyone, write letters to:
Stamps.com Complaints
12959 Coral Tree Place
Los Angeles, 90066