No Premium Free Trial because of overlapped subscription

[fierysprite7]

Just want to warn all of you- I saw posts about how, if you currently have a premium subscription when you buy a new device with 6 months of premium free, you just have to wait for the current subscription to expire and the free trial would then kick in. This is FALSE.

I bought a new Charge 6 on Feb. 14. My recent premium subscription expired on Feb. 19. I got the Charge 6 on the 18th and, based on other posts I saw on here, my premium subscription would kick in within 3 days. On the 4th day I contacted Fitbit help and asked about it. They checked into it and eventually said I would not be getting the 6 months of free premium with my purchase because I’d already had premium on my own at the time of purchase. And that was it.

To be clear, the person I talked with was very kind and helpful. It took a little while to get there, but she was lovely. Here’s the end of the chat. 

The next day in my email I got this: 

If that’s the rule then there’s nothing to be done about it. But they should make it much more explicitly clear on the website, in the purchase process, or at least here in the Help section so I didn’t have to scan through a hundred posts looking for some tidbit of advice that ended up being wrong. 

Hope I’ve saved you all some time and annoyance.

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject and updated label

[MakMak]

Hi, @fierysprite7! Thanks for sharing your experience. This has always been the case, even before Fitbit was acquired by Google. You can only use a free trial once.

[fierysprite7]

I wasn't arguing that it was available before Google. I'm saying it's not clearly listed anywhere that you can't get 6 months free when you buy a new device if your current subscription is about to expire. I've been using Fitbit for a while and haven't seen that anywhere. Hence why I posted my info in the hopes that it makes it clearer for someone else expecting the same thing or wondering about it.

[Shadow2005]

The concept of "you can only use a free trial once" does not address the issue that is being presented. Fitbit says you get a free 6-month premium free trial if you buy this device (Charge 6). That is either true or it is not.

What Fitbit is saying now is that, under certain circumstances, it is NOT true. At the very least, that is deceptive advertising. If Fitbit claims that a free Premium trial is available with the device, then it is, or it isn't. If there are circumstances under which the trial is NOT available (which is Fitbit's position), THEN that particular point should be made clear up front. It is completely irrelevant whether Google bought Fitbit or not. It's an issue of being honest and transparent regarding the policy. And if that is the policy, it's OK. Fitbit can set whatever policy it wants. But it needs to be clear and straightforward with any potential purchasers of its products and not use "catch" statements to increase its sales.

[fierysprite7]

Precisely! Thank you for putting it into better words, Shadow2005.

[LizzyFitbit · Accepted solution]

Hi there, @fierysprite7. @MakMak and @Shadow2005 Thanks for joining this thread and sharing your insights.

@fierysprite7 Thanks for the detailed information, the screenshots and your efforts while working on this matter prior to posting. As you know, if you have an active Premium subscription, you need to cancel and wait until it expires in order to receive the free trial offer for your new Fitbit device. I understand this wasn't your case and I apologize for the frustration this has caused.

Because you have an open case, I've forwarded your information so our Support team can take another look into this. They'll get in touch with you via email, so please keep an open communication with them.

[Weeeckie]

What a scam! You're quite right it should be made clear when you purchase a new device that if you already have a Premium subscription you can whistle for the free 6 months!

No wonder Google has such profits!

[Rich_Laue]

@Weeeckie if you all ready have premium, and have not had a trial premium, you want to cancel premium, wait for your current subscription to end. Then activate your trial period 

[LizzyFitbit]

Hi there, @Weeeckie. @Rich_Laue Thanks for your help.

@Weeeckie Thanks for joining this thread and sharing your thoughts. As previously mentioned, you can activate any free trial included with a device purchase on your account as long as you don't have an active subscription. Otherwise, you can cancel your subscription before starting your trial. You can find more information about this here.

I understand your concern and appreciate your honest feedback. If by any chance you encounter issues with your trial or subscription, my best advice is to get in touch with our Support team. They have specialized tools that will allow them to investigate, as well as provide you with assistance.

[BetterThanNothi]

I was almost certain this would happen to me as I bought a Charge 6 in January 2024 to replace my failed Inspire 3 which I still had a premium membership until the 3/30/24. I got a notice that premium was cancelled as expected on 3/30 and confirmed that it was indeed no longer active in the app. I decided, after reading your post to wait until the third day and to my surprise I was able to re-active my subscription for 6 free months (note that it was not automatic) and I still need to cancel 6 months from now or I will be charged for the remainder of the subscription period.

I am happy, yet have no idea why this worked for me and not you, but it's probably worth mentioning this to them since maybe there's some bug with how the trial/paid membership activations notifications work.

[LizzyFitbit]

Welcome to the forums, @BetterThanNothi.

Thanks for letting us know your experience while subscribing to Premium. While I'm glad you sorted this out, I understand your concern and appreciate you bringing this to the community's attention. Your post will definitely be helpful to other members.

In regards to your other question, I'd recommend this help article which explains how to cancel an active subscription. If you ever encounter issues with your subscription, please don't hesitate to let us know or get in touch with our Support team to receive assistance.