Realtytrac.com

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
This offer does not have any value to me because, as I stated, I am not interested in the service that this company provides. I tried the service and after one try I realized that I did not want the service, however I forgot to cancel the membership. In order to try the service I had to give my credit card number, so then I was charged in though I did not use the service. I am asking for a good faith refund for something I didn't use. Your analogy is not a good one because cable service is pretty much a commodity. You know what you get with a cable service. The service that realtytrac.com provides is a niche service that only a very small percentage of the population can make use of.
Regards,
[redacted]

Member registered for a 7-day free trial of RealtyTrac on 1/10/2016.
The terms of the trial are clearly stated on the registration page prior to
submitting a form of payment for the monthly subscription fee. The terms state
that if the trial account is not cancelled during the trial period, the...

account
automatically converts to a monthly subscription and the monthly fee of $49.95
will be charged to the account information supplied by the new member. These
terms must be agreed to by the registrant prior to continuing with
registration. The member’s account was not cancelled within the 7 day trial
period, and the account was to be charged
the first monthly subscription fee on 1/17/2016.  
In the complaint the customer claims to have called twice
and in an email received by the customer on 1/17/2016 they claim to have called
three times. Our records show the number 773-706-4917 called one time on
1/17/2016 shortly after receiving email notification the account had been
charged despite the claims made by the customer. The representative processed
the cancellation and notified the customer of the charge. There was no request
for refund made during the recorded phone conversation.
The customer’s email was sent immediately following their
call. The email was processed on 1/18/2016 by the online support team. Because
there was no usage on the account following the trial and the charge fell
within a grace period, a refund was processed in the amount of $49.95 despite the
customer’s failure to cancel during the trial period per the terms of use
agreed to at the time of registration.

On 6/7/2012 the member spoke with RealtyTrac regarding promotional packages for the service. The member chose to take advantage of a special $199.95 annual membership instead of the standard Premium access of $49.95 monthly. The member indicated that they understood the terms and conditions of the...

promotion prior to the charge. All members agree that once billed the RealtyTrac fees are nonrefundable and will not be eligible for a prorated refund of any portion of your current term's paid membership fee.  The customer requested that the account automatically renew to lock in the low annual rate until cancelled. Because the customer did not cancel the account, the annual promotion renewed automatically in 2013, 2014 and 2015. There is no record of phone calls made by the member from June 2012 until May 1, 2015 when the customer called to request cancellation and a refund.The representatives explained the terms of use, why the account had continued to renew and asked the customer for the confirmation number as proof of a previous cancellation. All customers are supplied a confirmation number via email and verbally over the phone whenever an account is cancelled. The customer is unable to provide a confirmation number as there was no request made for cancellation. All members agree that the membership fees are nonrefundable. Although no refund was due, the member was advised that a refund of $199.95 would be issued. The amount refunded is per RealtyTrac’s terms of use regarding billing disputes:“…In no event may Member dispute any charge or account billing here under later than ninety (90) days after such questionable account billing or other discrepancy should have been or could have been discovered by Member. Otherwise, any and all such Member complaints are waived by Member.”It is unfortunate that several months’ time had elapsed before the charges to the account were disputed, and we were notified of his desire to cancel. The time frame for credit card disputes is limited, and it is the cardholder’s responsibility to investigate charges that are unfamiliar to them in a timely fashion.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
At no time did I acknowledge that it is OK to debit my credit card nor did I agree to any terms of use to a direct debt to my credit card on a monthly basis. A Credit Card charge on 10-3-14 was refunded however I was not notified of  a submittal of charges for the first month and did not agree to a charge on my credit card. I still have not been refunded the first $49.95.
Regards,
[redacted]

Many consumers sign up directly for the subscription service
via a link labeled “Subscribe” which is posted conspicuously within the...

site
navigation bar appearing on all pages of the website.  For users that are unsure of their desire to
pursue a distressed property transaction or who simply want an opportunity to
review the data offered by RealtyTrac, we offer a 7 day free trial permitting
them to make an educated purchase decision following their evaluation of the
service.
The Trial Registration page advises users that by
registering they are agreeing to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Our Terms
of Use are clearly visible on the page and summarized as:
Your
credit card will not be billed for the 7-day free trial. Cancel before your
trial ends and you will not be billed. If you want to keep your account after
the trial, do nothing and we will enroll you in a monthly subscription for just
$49.95 per month until you cancel.
The free 7 day trial offer is free of charge for a period of
7 days.  Users who elect to utilize the
trial offer are permitted premium access to the website for the entire 7 day
period and may cancel during the trial period without incurring any charges to
their account.  Users that elect to keep
the service are enrolled for a thirty day recurring membership at the
conclusion of the trial period.  The free
7 day trial period is not debited against the first 30 days of paid service;
rather it is provided free of charge in addition to any paid period.
RealtyTrac is able to provide a positive experience for
thousands of users and we will continue to work with the small number of
unsatisfied customers on a case by case basis as concerns arise.

Member registered for a 7-day free trial of RealtyTrac on 11/17/2014. The terms of the trial are clearly stated on the registration page prior to submitting a form of payment for the monthly subscription fee. The terms state that if the trial account is not cancelled during the trial period, the...

account automatically converts to a monthly subscription and the monthly fee of $49.95 will be charged to the account information supplied by the new member. These terms must be agreed to by the registrant prior to continuing with registration. The Member’s account was not cancelled within the 7 day trial period, and the account was charged the monthly subscription fee on 11/24/2014. The Member called in and requested cancellation 12/2/2014, after the trial period had expired. The representative advised the member of the charge and that they would have access until 12/24/2014. The representative explained the terms that were agreed to upon signup, which states that charges on accounts are non-refundable.The account is not eligible for a refund due to the Terms of Use agreed to by the member. However, we can accommodate the member with complimentary exclusive website access for up to 2 months. This offer has been noted on the account; please contact your Account Manager [redacted] at ###-###-#### to take advantage of this offer.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
I don't expect them to admit that they make their money off of scamming people, or for them to admit that for the past year they have been preventing people from cancelling the subscriptions that they clearly never intended to get in the first place. They don't mention in their response that when I spoke with them they admitted that their system shows I never once logged onto their site, or used their product. Even though they admit that they can see that I never once logged on and used their product, they still won't do anything to compensate me for all the money that they took from me after I contacted them to cancel my trial membership. It is clear from their response that their whole product model is designed as a scam. They lure people in with the free trial offer, then prevent them from cancelling while silently billing them without ever sending an invoice, receipt, or statement; not even electronically. They are a total scam.
Regards,
[redacted]

Member registered for a 7-day free trial of RealtyTrac on 12/26/2014. The terms of the trial are clearly stated on the registration page prior to submitting a form of payment for the monthly subscription fee. The terms state that if the trial account is not cancelled during the trial period, the...

account automatically converts to a monthly subscription and the monthly fee of $49.95 will be charged to the account information supplied by the new member. These terms must be agreed to by the registrant prior to continuing with registration. The member’s account was not cancelled within the 7 day trial period, and the account was charged the first monthly subscription fee on 1/2/2015.Although phone and email support were closed for the holiday, customers were able to cancel their memberships online through the Account Details page in order to avoid any fees. Our records indicate the customer sent several emails requesting cancellation beginning on 1/1/2015. Upon returning to the office on 1/5/2015 the customer’s cancellation request was processed and a refund of $49.95 was issued.

The customer has been advised that a refund in the amount of $100 was successfully processed and returned to the credit card on file 2/15/2016 at 2:39 pm Pacific Time despite the fact that no refund was due based on the Terms of Use. On 3/2/2016 the customer was advised to contact her bank for...

posting information as there is no further action required by RealtyTrac. We invite the customer to request her credit card issuer to contact RealtyTrac for verification.

The member registered for a 7-day free trial of RealtyTrac on 7/27/2015. The terms of the trial are clearly stated on the registration page prior to submitting a form of payment for the monthly subscription fee. The terms state that if the trial account is not cancelled during the trial period, the...

account automatically converts to a monthly subscription and the monthly fee of $49.95 will be charged to the account information supplied by the new member. All members receive an email welcoming them to the service and explain the date the trial will convert to a monthly subscription as well as cancellation directions should the member choose not to continue past the 7 day trial period. This account was not cancelled within the 7 day trial period, and the account was charged the monthly subscription fee beginning on 8/3/2015. The member spoke to a representative on 1/10/2017 to request cancellation and inquire about the charges. The representative explained the Terms of Use agreed upon at the time of registration and offered to submit a refund request for charges dating back 90 days, this is the maximum refund amount provided by the Terms of Use.In the case of billing disputes, members must contact the billing department within 90 days of the disputed charge in order to receive consideration for a refund:“…In no event may Member dispute any charge or account billing hereunder later than ninety (90) days after such questionable account billing or other discrepancy should have been or could have been reasonably discovered by Member. Otherwise, except as required by applicable law, any and all such Member complaints are waived by Member.”It is unfortunate that several months’ time had elapsed before the charges to the account were disputed, and we were notified of the member’s desire to cancel. The time frame for credit card disputes is limited, and it is the cardholder’s responsibility to investigate charges that are unfamiliar to them in a timely fashion. Although no refund was due, RealtyTrac issued a refund of $149.85 on 1/10/2017 which is the maximum allowed as per the Terms of Use agreed to by the member.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. 
Regards,
[redacted]