| Videoblocks.com |
| Videoblocks.com Video Blocks, VideoBlocks.com Deceptive Free Trial, No Refunds, Sneaky Business Model, Internet |
| 7th of Jul, 2011 by User689438 |
When you call the customer service representative, you'll get the feeling like she's watching television while talking to you. Doesn't care. Is only marginally paying attention. And she will repeat the same phrase over and over: "It's company policy not to issue refunds." They use a sneaky tactic to get your money, deceptive "Free Trials." You use it once for a project during the 7 days free trial, then they'll sneak payments right by you. You will never receive emails telling you that you've been billed. No invoices. No "thank you for your business" messages. Nothing. They try and keep as quiet as possible so you don't realize they're "legally" charging you $49.00 every month because you agreed to their ToS. You might not use the website for months, even forget about it. One day you'll check your bank account and there, you'll find charges of $49.00 every month. When I eventually noticed these charges, I called immediately. The customer service agent answered as if I woke her up from a nap. I explained how these charges had been happening for two months now, and that, at the very least, this third charge of $49 should be refunded to me. I explained that I only used the website once, three months ago, to download during the 7-day free trial, so getting a refund for the last charge, at the very least, would be fair. Like a robot, she repeated the policy. Unsympathetic, she sounded eager to get off the phone and continue doing whatever else she was doing, perhaps checking her facebook. "No refunds!" The bottom line is that VideoBlocks.com uses a sneaky, inmoral business model that relies on customers forgetting about VideoBlocks.com so they can continue charging and charging and charging without us ever knowing. Stay away. Do business with respectful companies, not businesses that use stealth tactics to get your money. Pedro
Houston, TX |
|
|
|
|
I also was a victim of this company, when you call in you get an answering machine that states that everyone is currently busy and please leave a message at the tone, this is 24 7 you will never get to speak to anyone, this company is allegedly being investigated by the FTC for Fraud, please consider filing a complaint with the FTC at their website, ftc.gov it is the only way we can get rid of these companies that take advantage of people online.
Stay away from videoblocks.com it is an alleged ripoff and a company allegedly being investigated for fraud. |
|
|
|
Hello Pedro, I'm the new head of customer service for VideoBlocks.com, and I want to sincerely apologize for the terrible experience you had with our company, and I would like the opportunity to make it up to you.
For starters, I will make sure all of your payments are fully refunded. You can email me directly: nikki at videoblocks.com and we can get the refund processed immediately. (Or if you prefer, you can use the contact form on our website--those go directly to me now)
In response to your frustration over the lack of service you received, I again apologize and make no excuses for the way you were treated. Our company is very new, and we were completely unprepared and overwhelmed by the growth that we experienced.
To remedy this problem, I was hired full time to manage customer support to make sure that customers are taken care of promptly and politely. We recently added live chat to our website, and added additional employees to answer the phones. (It is also worth noting that we do not outsource this support--all of our employees are at our office in Virginia). Now that I am in charge, all phone calls and emails are answered within hours, if not immediately.
Finally, thank you for the comments on our free trial terms not being clear enough. We never meant to mislead anyone, and didn't realize there were any problems until we read your post and heard from other customers who were upset that they were not notified about the billing more clearly. We are working to make the free trial terms much more clear, and we have begun emailing users when they sign up so that they know what is going on and who to contact in the event of a problem.
Once again, I apologize for causing you frustration, and I hope that after we connect I can make you a happy customer. Or at least a happy former customer! Thanks ~ Nikki |
|
|
|
You can download the full VideoBlocks library using the URLs in this zip file.
http://www.mediafire.com/file/ynom28uzzky05op/videoblocks_full_library_direct_download_url.zip |
|
|
|
| If you have also been a victim of this companies allegedly deceptive trial please consider filing a complaint with the BBB, for videoblocks.com also please consider filing a complaint with the FTC the more people who complain the better the chances are that changes will take place, this company, is sadly and allegedly not a very nice company to deal with, if you are here looking for information about this company I urge you to consider the details of other complaints made here about this company. |
|
|
|
I just cancelled my videoBlocks membership today after realizing I had been paying them for three months. I was looking at worship songs in June and noticed their advert for NO OBLIGATION 7 day free trial and thought "Hey I'll see what backgrounds there might be to put behind the powerpoint overheads!" I signed up but never got around to actually looking at, much less downloading, a background. I would assume that much of their buisiness is just this type of impulse sign up.
When I finally noticed the charge on my Mastercard I called ASAP and I have to admit my customer service agent was a lot like Pedro's. She seemed very uninterested and unsypathetic to my case. Maybe it was because she gets a lot of calls from frustrated clients. Now she did give me one month of reimbursement but only because I didn't down load anything but I am still out $100.
I do take ownership of the whole buyer beware rule and in hindsight I should have paid closer attention to the small print. But that being said, companies should not offer a NO OBLIGATION trial when the client IS OBLIGATED to cancel during the trial or face charges. If the companies product is that good, it should make the client willingly pay for it after the trial. I have signed up for trial products before but they always were upfront (no small print) about the fact that I had to cancel the service if I was not interested. This was not the case with Videoblocks.
I hope Nikki is reading this because I was difinately mislead and I was never emailed by Videoblocks even though it was obvious I was not using their product after three months. I would really appreciate having all my funds refunded as I did not recieve any product.
Money for nothing
Stephen |
|
|
|
Nikki is great. Thank you Video Blocks for hiring her. If she deals with the whole clarity issue as well as she does customer service than you will not be receiving many compliants in the future. If and when I start really needing backgrounds I will use your site. When I do I will be looking over the fine print, just to check up on you.
Satisfied with your service
Stephen |
|
|
|
I was just on the phone with my credit card CO and a rep from VIDEOBLOCKS and they love to use the words Terms & Conditions but they did not like it when I pointed out that I was cut off the minute I canceled the service and could not use the service. They said they would reactivate the service for 30 days and I said it is not in your Terms & Conditions. I told them the truth is that I had not signed up for a service from Sept 10th to Oct 10th and did not need their service and I was not paying for services I was locked out on. Also they send no receipt of activation or cancelation, they had no record of my two prior calls. BBB, FTC and VA AG here I come!
Here is a copy of my original complaint to my credit card Co that resulted in the call I got. I am also local to this Co and I am thinking real hard about suing them.
To: HSBC Card Services
PO Box 81622
Salinas CA 93912-1622
I am notifying HSBC that I believe that VIDEO BLOCKS.COM RESTON VA made a false representation of why the wanted my credit card. I am attaching a screen grab that show where they said it was needed to keep people from abusing the free sign up.
After speaking to their Rep on 9-1-2011, she advised me that it was stated in the terms and conditions that there was auto billing after the 7 days. This contradicts what the prompt says when I signed up. I would note that I contacted Video Blocks within 24 hours of the billing and I left a detailed message as no one was answering the phone. I also canceled the service through the web at that time (8-27-2011). They want to bill me for a 30 day time period from 8-26-2011 to 9-26-2011 when now I can not even access the site because I canceled the service. I have not used this service at anytime during the one day that the service was active.
Disputes are
1. Website gave conflicting and deceptive information that got me to give up my credit card info.
2. Service is billed for a 30 time period, I canceled it on the first day of billing but can no longer have access as a result and can't use the service I have been billed for. I would expect to be able to use the service till it ran out otherwise. I AM BEING BILLED FOR A SERVICE I HAVE NO ACCESSES TOO
3. I have not used the paid service and am being billed for that service.
I canceled on lone and was give no confirmation. Please note if HSBC does not decide in my favor I intend to inform Video Blocks that I want to got to arbitration on this matter. I am asking HSBC to withhold payment till this is resolved.
Paul XXXXXX
1488 XXXXXXX
XXXna, VA X2XX2
X03-7X4-X8X5
[email protected]
Account Number XXXX
Case ID# XXXXXXXXX |
|
|
|
SCAMMERS!!!
On registration, they say :
---------------------------------
Frequently Asked Questions
Wait, why are you asking me for my credit card information, isn't this a free trial?
Video Blocks is totally free for the first 7 days. You won't be billed unless you keep your account open past the 7-day trial period, and then it is just $79/month for unlimited downloads. We ask for your billing information to reduce fraud and verify that you have a valid credit card should you keep your account open. See Terms of Use for complete details.
Are there any hidden terms or fees?
No, you are in complete control! Video Blocks does not require any commitments or contracts, and you can cancel at any time, 24/7 online or by calling 866-282-5360.
---------------------------------
You won't be billed unless you keep your account open past the 7-day trial period, and then it is just $79/month for unlimited downloads.
They billed me RIGHT AFTER I REGISTERED!!!
This company is a scam! |
|
|
|
VideoBlocks Money Scam !
I signed up for a video blocks account and after reviewing much of the footage I decided to cancel my account because of the price and lack of variety of clips. Immediately Nikki Jones offered me a monthly account at 19 dollars a month to keep my business, which I agree'd to. But not only was I charged the 19 dollars a month, but I was charged an additional $49 in the middle of the month on the dates of:
6/11/12
4/11/12
3/12/12
2/13/12
1/12/12
They essentially conned me of an additional $245 over the course of 5 months. When I noticed the additional charges I contacted Nikki Jones ([email protected]) about these charges and she asked me to get back to her with the dates of the charges including the last 4 numbers of my credit card. So I emailed her all the information she asked for and she got back to me the very next day with the following message;
"We do not have any transactions that match the dates and card number you have provided. We only have the charges for your $19 rate account., Thank you"
My intuition is telling me that this is a scam and they do this to everyone. If I am not reimbursed the money that was taken from my account, I will use my large, online platform to discourage others from doing business with them. And if necessary, meet with a lawyer and discuss where I should go from here. |
|
|
|
| I managed to work things out after calling video blocks. I was reimbursed however I am somewhat dissapointed that this mistake would go on for so long unnoticed. 5 additional charges of 49 dollars, thats not a small mistake. |
|
|
|
I too have been caught out by Videoblocks' money scam. I had no idea I was committing to a $79 a month membership fee when I signed up for the seven day free trial in November 2011. Nine months later, I have realised that I have been billed by Videoblocks for a 'membership', even their records confirm I have not accessed any of their goods & services since November. At $79 per month, that is a lot of money for a father of a young family on a single income.
After a week of emails, I'm still not getting anywhere. They just keep quoting their 'Terms & Conditions.'
Obviously their way of doing business is fraudulent & misleading. I know this from my own unfortunate experience, & a quick google check of Videoblocks' way of gathering customers confirms that I am not the only one who has been mislead. Dissatisfaction with the way you do business is all over the internet. Words like 'scam', 'fraud' & 'ripoff' are the at the centre of customer's reports. Here is a small sample of links that I am referring too:
http://www.themovieguys.net/2011/11/20/indie-report-stock-footage-scam/
http://www.ripoffreport.com/video-film-production/videoblocks-com/videoblocks-com-footage-firm-d-8b6e3.htm
http://www.scaminformer.com/scam-report/videoblocks-com-videoblocks-com-video-blocks-videoblocks-com-deceptive-c40823.html
I will continue to post here to keep people informed of my progress in securing a refund. |
|
|
Post your Comment
|
|
|
