I got charged for Premium after my free trial

[tomkeane]

This is now they caught me:

On purchase of a fitbit, they got my credit card and offered me a three-month free trial for Premium. 

When it expired they never alerted me, instead signed me up for a YEARLY (notice, not a monthly) premium subscription. 

Luckily I have a N26 credit card and the app alerted me that Fitbit had taken money for a yearly prescription that I never asked for. 

When I contacted support looking for a refund, they instructed me to cancel my subscription and gave me a link to an automated form. Fitbit has coded this form to cancel next year's subscription, not the current one. And of course, this made it look like it was "my" subscription, not one they fraudulently foisted on me. 

This is the email I got when I complained:

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: fitbit-support(at)fitbit.com <fitbit-support(at)fitbit.com>
Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2023 at 16:50
Subject: Re: Your Fitbit Chat Inquiry -
To: 

Hi Tom,

This is a follow-up email regarding to your request for a refund from your Premium subscription.

We're sorry to share with you that Premium purchases are final and non refundable. For more information regarding this, please refer to Fitbit's terms of service on this link.

We thank you for your understanding. If you have additional questions about your Fitbit device or our services, visit fitbit.com/help.

Sincerely,

RC C and the Fitbit Team

----------------------
That's it folks - that's how they get you.

Notice also how the email I got was not signed. Clearly, the support employee is ashamed of working for Fitbit. 

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject, updated label, personal info removed and word choice

[Linda.LSD]

It’s not a scam! You need to read the offer before confirming the subscription. Most subscriptions work that way. You need to cancel before the auto renewal date. Sorry this happened to you but it’s not a scam. 
Happy exercising. Try to enjoy the subscription. It was nice to have for a year when I first purchased my Fitbit. 

[tomkeane]

 Of course it's a scam. A classic "read the small print" scam. 

Why did the Fitbit support team tell me to cancel my subscription, knowing that this would not get the refund I asked for?

Why did they insist on setting up a yearly subscription, instead of monthly?

The people running Fitbit are unethical. 

Says a lot about your business standards. 

[tomkeane]

Fitbit is now blaming the Google Play Store for the scam and fraud they perpetrated on me. See below. 

Is Fitbit an American company? Is this the standard American companies have stooped to get people to "buy" its products?

Six-month free subscriptions?

Is Fitbit Premium so awful that it has to restore to six-month free subscriptions? to sell its substandard software?

What a dreadful company!

---------- Forwarded message ---------
Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2023 at 10:24
Subject: Re: Your Fitbit Chat Inquiry
To: fitbit-support(at)fitbit.com <fitbit-support(at)fitbit.com>

Susan, 

You are telling lies by omission. You say I "subscribed for the 6-month trial". The reality is I subscribed to a FREE trial, but you renewed a PAID subscription. You did not alert me, to give me an option on this. Instead, you used the card detail of mine you had as a result of my purchase of a Fitbit to steal money from my credit card without my consent. 

The Google Playstore did as you instructed them to do. My issue is not with them. It's with you. You are running a scam and you are the one I have the issue with. 

I see you are too ashamed to put your name in this email. I don't have personal issues with you, but I feel sorry for you having to work for a company that can only survive via shady business practices. One that lures customers in with offers of fee trials and then with small print conditions and sneaky practices foists paid subscriptions on them. 

If you were genuine, why did you not offer me the option of a monthly subscription, when the free period ended? This is the only way you manage to sell your low-quality software?

You have stolen money from the wrong person. I am not going to get this go. I will highlight to the world the scam you are running and I will alert the Irish and European authorities about how you are defrauding its citizens. 

Again I demand the money you stole from me is returned. 

Sincerely 
Tom Keane. 

On Thu, 12 Jan 2023 at 00:59, fitbit-support(at)fitbit.com <fitbit-support(at)fitbit.com> wrote:
Hello Tom,

We've received your case and we're happy to continue helping you with your Premium subscription charges.

After checking the system, we can see that you subscribed for the 6-month trial on June 29, 2022, and the subscription renewed on December 29, 2022. Our terms of service explain a recurring charge will start at the end of a Premium trial unless canceled. For the complete Fitbit Premium terms of services, see fitbit.com/us/legal/terms-of-service

This subscription was purchased through the Google Play Store. Please note, Fitbit doesn’t provide subscription refunds; contact Google Play support or explore their refund options at: support.google.com/googleplay/answer/7018481

We apologize for any confusion and appreciate your understanding.

If you have any further questions or concerns about your Fitbit device or services, please don't hesitate to visit help.fitbit.com for assistance.

Sincerely,
Susan S. and the Fitbit Team

--

Moderator Edit: Personal info removed and word choice

[tomkeane]

Actually Susan you have been caught in a direct lie: "This subscription was purchased through the Google Play Store. Please note, Fitbit doesn’t provide subscription refunds; contact Google Play support or explore their refund options".

As you can see from the link (https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/2479637#apps&zippy=%2Capps-games-in-app-purchases-inclu...) you gave me the Google Play cannot refund me. Here are its conditions: 

-----------------------

Google doesn't give refunds for most Google Play purchases. However, there are exceptions detailed below. You can also contact the developer directly. The developer can help with purchase issues and can process refunds according to their policies and applicable laws.

Refund policy

1. Within 48 hours: You may be able to get a refund depending on the details of the purchase. Follow these instructions. 
2. After 48 hours: Contact the developer to troubleshoot and find out if you can get a refund. Developers have their own policies and legal requirements and may be able to give you a refund. 

----------------

So what's your excuse now? Maybe you outsourced you so-called "premium" subscription to a Russian developer? And I have to go to Moscow to get a refund? 

What a joke of company FitBit is....

[Linda.LSD]

Whatever, Tom. I understand your frustration but it’s not a “scam”. Lesson learned. It’s time to move on..

have a nice day. 

[tomkeane]

Really Linda?

Clearly, your ethical standards are down there with Fitbit. 

Here is why its a scam: 

1) They can only sell their so-called premium subscription by offering a six months trial.

2) They have credit card details from the initial Fitbit hardware purchase. 

3) They don't send out alerts when they switch from the free trial to a YEARLY paid subscription. Why not? Because they know thier customers would not renew if given the choice.

4) Thier choice of YEARLY rather than MONTHLY options is a key component of the scam. That maximises the amount of money they can steal from their victims. 

5) They get their support teams to delay and respond with misleading "solutions" to make sure they get past the 48-hour period when a refund could be got via the Google Play Store. In my case, the support team even emailed me and lied about the possibility of getting a refund, weeks after the 48-hour refund period had expired. They have no shame! (Susan, you know who you are).

6) The support team don't give their names to hide their shame in being forced to participate in this scam. 

This is how the FitBit Management team get their numbers and bonuses - by defrauding customers. 

Linda if you think this is not a scam, then it says a lot about your character and standards. 

Did your mother not tell you that stealing and lying is not ethical?

[Kgblack]

They did the same thing to me January 1, 2023. Everything you said has happened to me.

[Kgblack]

I have all my emails and notifications NOT ONE stating the subscription was going to be automatically charged on my credit card January 1. If I wanted another year I would have renewed, my choice!

[FehA]

Hi Tom I took out a Premium subscription last year.  Now in their defence it did state that if you hadn't cancelled before.ebx of free trial you would have to pay. For once I did keep an eye on dates. I wanted to get it as I love the meditation tapes & there are so many more to choose from with Premium. In fact there is more of workouts & anything else you need. When I was taking it for the year, I was offered payment all in one go yearly or per month. Naturally I took the monthly payment & if for any reason one doesn't need it anymore, as long as you cancel 7 days before payment due you can cancel.  I don't think they give a refund but if you took yearly subscription there isn't much point cancelling as you'll just lose out on your money. It's funny you weren't offered monthly as they definitely did it by month last year have you tried cancelling it through proper channels? They might relent.

[FehA]

Tom I'm not taking Fitbits side at all as I have some unanswered questions
of things I should have because of paying Premium.
My main complaint is that it comes up on the daily page or whatever you'd
like to call it, the reason under the activity being. Sorry.there is no
result for that trend. To get results for that you need to wear your device
for 14 hours consecutively for so many weeks to get a reading on this. I
wear my Fitbit watch all the time day & night & it's only off my hand to
charge maybe twice or 3 times a week. I've been told switch off phone &
switch back on again which I've done several times. Uninstall Fitbit App &
install, done that too. Put latest update.for Fitbit on my phone, gone
through &:says your Versa 2 is updated. Then as a final resort I'm told
.I'm working on old update, go into Google play store & new update is
miraculously there. Install it with stern warning to make sure to wear it
for 14 hours etc etc & still get no reading.
I don't understand how they foisted the Premium on you as I worked away
without it for a long time & actually looked to get it myself as I already
stated I wanted the extra workouts & in particular the different & varied
meditations which I love. .That was only last year 2022 as only got a gift
of Fitbit watch for Christmas 2021 eventhough they have me down as joined
since 2016. Only for the meditation videos for my breathing which you'll
want shortly if you don't calm down lol but I need sP02 readout every
morning & none of those were available without having Premium & I couldn't
put watch face which shows sP02 % either without Premium. You possibly have
a much more up to date Fitbit
& still cannot understand why you have to pay full year, that's ridiculous.
I did get an option in that. Have you got any satisfaction from them yet.?
Are you Irish like me Tom.?. Ireland never reared a fool. Best of luck with
your quest but take it easy or you'll do yourself harm.
Sincerely
Ann.

[Kgblack]

I have not either. All involved companies have dropped the ball in the doing the right thing. Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone

[haeman]

This just happened to me! My credit card alerted me of a charge, and I was like that wasn't me. So I went to investigate.

Talked to my credit card and they can't do anything until it posts, but they seem very willing to help me dispute.

But turns out, when I bought my new Luxe, it came with free Fitbit premium, which was automatically added to my account. I got on chat with a "support" person and they canceled future charges but "couldn't" (wouldn't) give me a refund for the one they fraudulently charged me for. Even though it was literally the day they charged me, and I haven't used Fitbit premium features in forever.

Apparently they sent me an email a week ago, but it ended up buried in my junk mail (not my fault!) And I'm only seeing it now. Maybe an in app reminder would be better suited.

For me, there wasn't any small box to checked that said that I would be charged, despite what the guy on support said. They just went ahead and charged me 

Luckily my credit card seems willing to work with me to help dispute this charge once it posts. I'm hoping that works.

Fitbit needs to change it's crooked practices and do better. I'm so disappointed in them since I've been using their trackers for many years now.

[Heather-S]

@haeman It's pretty common now that when you sign up for a free trial for anything, you're required to enter your CC info (or it links with your phone's app store) and YOU are responsible for canceling before the free trial is over. I have to do this with so many free trial subscriptions now. I'm sure it's buried in some user agreement somewhere that none of us read. But this is standard practice. If you sign up for a free trial, be aware YOU will have to cancel it before it's up to avoid the charge, not the other way around. 

[Kgblack]

I had the service for 1 year, I did not  Authorize or Approve the Renewal of the service, no prior notification that the charge would be made on January 1, which is Bank Holiday. So, I'm out 80.00 for a service I no longer use or need. Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone

[t.parker]

Don't you people use "upcoming charges" notifications in Play Store? 😮

I cancelled my Premium before trial ended and after receiving notification about a week before being charged (notification comes more than one time). Not sure whether such thing exists in Apple world but on Android make sure you have those notifications on and don't ignore them.

[LizzyFitbit · Accepted solution]

Hi everyone, and welcome to our new members.

Thanks for the detailed information, and the time taken while contacting our Support team. I'm sorry for the inconvenience that you've experienced. As you may know Fitbit Premium subscriptions are non-refundable and it's recommended to cancel your subscription before the end of your free trial period. To learn more about this, I'd recommend reviewing our Fitbit Terms for Paid Services.

To keep threads on topic, I'm going to close this thread from further comments. If you have another question, I'd encourage you to visit our help site or start a new thread in the Help Forums to receive help from the Community.