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BlueMountain.com review: Billed for free trial offer 26

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3:33 pm EDT
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I agree wholeheartedly with the last writer regarding Blue Mountain. Same things happened to me. I signed up for a free trial and then received a bill from BillMeLater. I called them told them it was a free trial. They said I did not cancel in time. Tried to contact Blue Mountain, but they don't answer on the phone and there is no contact information via the internet. I have sent all to BBB's in all states involved. BillMeLater is a real scam outfit and I think Blue Mountain needs to cease doing business with them but you can't contact them to tell them so. No such thing as a free lunch and no such thing as a free trial e-cards from Blue Mountain.

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26 comments
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WildcatTech
Noblesville, US
Sep 13, 2022 4:40 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Blue Mountain Arts is my favorite greeting card company and their eCards are awesome; it's a legitimate, well-run business, and I don't understand why people are suggesting it's a scam or fraud.

People who are saying they "didn't know" they signed up for a free trial or didn't approve of or agree to an ongoing subscription are either confused or not reading or paying attention to what they're doing!

- You cannot send an e-Card without signing up for their free trial. In fact, you have to choose which level of subscription you want and at what cost (week, month, or annual) before you proceed, so it's impossible not to know you will be charged or not to know the amount or agree to it (after all, you chose it and you agreed to it in order to send your first e-Card).

- They make it VERY clear on the page info you're looking at, in their notifications about it, and in follow-up how long your free trial is for and that if you don't cancel the trial before it ends, you will be billed the annual subscription cost, and (unlike many companies) they tell you exactly WHEN that renewal date and time cutoff is.

- They DO give renewal reminders every year to let you know that your account is going to renew in about 2 weeks and at what rate, giving ample time to change the subscription level or cancel if you don't want to continue (I just received mine, again). Perhaps they didn't do that a long time ago, but they are one of the FEW companies that do this, and I appreciate them for it.

They are not difficult to find or reach, either It's EASY to find them online and reach their FAQs and Customer Service (and there is a link to their site in EVERY email, reminder, and action acknowledgment they send). Their phone number is literally the FIRST hit that comes up on a Google search: https://letmegooglethat.com/?q=Blue+Mountain+e-Cards+contact+info

And right there on their "Contact Us" page they provide a link to their Help Center, a link to Cancel memberships, a phone number, and a link to submit a question/concern/issue.

See screenshot pics for examples of all of this. It's some of the clearest and most straightforward communication (not just fine print disclosures) in the online marketplace.

I'm sure a lot of people are just wanting to send a free eCard and not paying attention to the details, and there are many online greeting card providers who take advantage of that vulnerability. But NOT Blue Mountain! They don't bury that info in fine print; they make it clear and difficult to miss.

Their openness, transparency, and clarity of communication is one of the reasons why I like and prefer their eCards and use them even when I don't trust many of the others (some of which ARE scams and/or use sketchy business practices).

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WildcatTech
Noblesville, US
Sep 13, 2022 4:40 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Blue Mountain Arts is my favorite greeting card company and their eCards are awesome; it's a legitimate, well-run business, and I don't understand why people are suggesting it's a scam or fraud.

People who are saying they "didn't know" they signed up for a free trial or didn't approve of or agree to an ongoing subscription are either confused or not reading or paying attention to what they're doing!

- You cannot send an e-Card without signing up for their free trial. In fact, you have to choose which level of subscription you want and at what cost (week, month, or annual) before you proceed, so it's impossible not to know you will be charged or not to know the amount or agree to it (after all, you chose it and you agreed to it in order to send your first e-Card).

- They make it VERY clear on the page info you're looking at, in their notifications about it, and in follow-up how long your free trial is for and that if you don't cancel the trial before it ends, you will be billed the annual subscription cost, and (unlike many companies) they tell you exactly WHEN that renewal date and time cutoff is.

- They DO give renewal reminders every year to let you know that your account is going to renew in about 2 weeks and at what rate, giving ample time to change the subscription level or cancel if you don't want to continue (I just received mine, again). Perhaps they didn't do that a long time ago, but they are one of the FEW companies that do this, and I appreciate them for it.

They are not difficult to find or reach, either It's EASY to find them online and reach their FAQs and Customer Service (and there is a link to their site in EVERY email, reminder, and action acknowledgment they send). Their phone number is literally the FIRST hit that comes up on a Google search: https://letmegooglethat.com/?q=Blue+Mountain+e-Cards+contact+info

And right there on their "Contact Us" page they provide a link to their Help Center, a link to Cancel memberships, a phone number, and a link to submit a question/concern/issue.

See screenshot pics for examples of all of this. It's some of the clearest and most straightforward communication (not just fine print disclosures) in the online marketplace.

I'm sure a lot of people are just wanting to send a free eCard and not paying attention to the details, and there are many online greeting card providers who take advantage of that vulnerability. But NOT Blue Mountain! They don't bury that info in fine print; they make it clear and hard to miss.

Their openness, transparency, and clarity of communication is one of the reasons why I like and prefer their eCards and use them even when I don't trust many of the others (some of which ARE scams and/or use sketchy business practices).

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S Roberson
San Francisco, US
Nov 25, 2009 1:31 pm EST

I signed up for a free trial, and cancelled during the trial period. I was subsequently billed for the free trial period, and the account was not cancelled as requested. I was billed for a second month of service.

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RandyGraham
Panama City Beach, US
Apr 28, 2015 2:25 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

This company is criminal and a smart attorney could easily file a class action lawsuit against them. They've been billing my card for 3 years and will NOT cancel my membership. I had to go to my bank to get the charges stopped after multiple attempts to stop the charges through them. There is absolutely zero chance you can reach a live person via phone or even email. They are thieves that should, and I hope will, serve prison time. Although the amount is small each month, they are stealing it from thousands of people illegally. Criminals.

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P.Mazur
West Hills, US
Jun 09, 2009 4:18 pm EDT

Beware doing any business with Blue Mountain ecards. They will bill you without authorization for a year membership @ 15.99. When you call the number listed it is 100% automated and you cannot talk to a real person. You can cancel future billing but cannot get a reversal for current membership. This is as fraudulant as it gets.

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PatRW
Fredericksburg, US
May 02, 2013 11:41 pm EDT

On 4/1012 I paid the $ 19.99 to be a member. I never really used the service and completely forgot about it until I got another charge on my account. I called their "help" line and it is literally impossible to speak to a Live person. You get a recording that Makes it very clear that if you want to cancel, you can, but NO REUNDS! No pro-rating. So if you cancel you have to keep the service for another year. They do not send emails prior to renewing your membership and have nothing on the website to contact them. I cancelled my membership and got an email stating it was cancelled as of... 4/10/14. Oh, and don't respond to the email, because they won't get the response and answer. It actually states that on the email. So I took the dispute to my bank. I printed out the email and wrote an explanation of what had happened and they refunded my money. Today I got a letter stating the refund will stand and they are not getting their money. Do not bother trying to get a refund from them. It's a waste of time. They are a total scam. Just to though your bank or charge card company. If it were possible to give negative stars, I would have.

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kwhitestar
Santa Ana, US
Jan 28, 2013 2:57 am EST

I NEVER signed up for a Trial membership, and I got billed for membership! I don't know how this even happened. How did they get my credit card information? I haven't been to the Blue Mountain website in at least a couple of years, but the bill shows up on my bank statement! I looked thru my browser history for the date of my supposed trial sign-up and there is nothing even showing that I went there. This is very strange to say the least.

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RuthieMB
Mt Pleasant, US
Sep 28, 2010 12:40 pm EDT

They purposely try to be as difficult to get in touch with as possible in order to attempt to continue billing customers' credit cards.

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Brenda Thomas
Phoenix, US
Apr 02, 2010 6:41 pm EDT

I unforfunately did not learn of this problem in time. I signed up for a 14 day trail on March 16, 2010. On March 27 I was notified that 75% of the cards I had sent out were not picked up. I mmediately canceled my subscription. I got an email saying it was cancled as of 2011! I wrote and explained I wanted nothing to do with the service and had attempted to cancel within the 14 days. I get a another 2 notices titled updating service with the same date of 2011! I call and I call over the next two days. Finally I reach a rep and she assures meof my cancelation and no charges on March 30. On March 31, 2010 they charge my debit card $29.99. I have written their customer service again, because I can not reach a person on their phone lines anymore. I am ready to start a class action suit against these liars for unfair charges.

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Kellogg
Old Town, US
Mar 04, 2010 8:08 am EST

Within the trial period I cancelled my membership on line. I was still charged the yearly fee and my account is still in effect. I did not want to continue the membership. I have tried the 1-888 number but there is no way to reach a human being. I only received information about my account and that I was billed in January. My account history online states that my membership expires in Jan. 2011. On the BlueMountain contact page there is no email address or other phone number to reach someone directly and efficiently. Inexcusable in today's expected easy electronic communication. However, I just spoke with a very pleasant customer service representative at American Greeting [protected] (thanks to info on another complaint message) and she checked my history that showed I had not completed the cancellation process fully. Nothing told me on the website that I would be receiving a confirmation of cancellation by email and if not to redo the process.
I am receiving a refund after consultation with a supervisor, and I made the recommendation of including their phone number & an email address on the contact page on the BlueMountain website and also adding a note about receiving a cancellation confirmation by email to ensure that a charge would not be made for the trial period.
Hopefully they'll make these changes and protect their image and creative product. I just spent an hour retrieving my $15.99. I thank the patient customer service rep at American Greetings.

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WildcatTech
Noblesville, US
Sep 13, 2022 4:50 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more
Replying to comment of Kellogg

Blue Mountain Arts and American Greetings are two completely different companies which offer competing services for e-Cards. You complain about one billing you but then describe cancelling through the other.

People often sign up for both when they're looking for e-cards. It sounds like you only cancelled one of them?

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micrazy
, US
Dec 31, 2009 11:08 am EST

This has happened to me now TWICE! I NEVER asked for the "Create and send" membership, yet I have been billed TWICE for it! After I was billed for this account last year, I emailed ANd called, and nothing. I cancelled that membership, and just decided "Oh well, at least it won't happen again, but it did! I too have tried to call, but no one actually answers the phone OR Emails. This is SUCH a bogus situation! Has ANYONE had any success getting in touch with Blue Mountain cards? Is there anyone that we can contact? I cannot afford this!

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Another Frustrated Customer
Elmira, US
Nov 30, 2009 9:57 am EST

I have also been ripped off by Blue Mountain. I may have some good news for others out there though. I found out that the overhead company is American Greetings, phone number [protected]. If you call them they may try to give you a number like [protected] - don't call it. Tell them that you can not get a person and want to be connected. They will connect you to Blue Mountain. You may have to wait on hold for a while, but it is where you can talk to a real person.

Hope this helps.

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Dri
Chicago, US
Oct 19, 2009 10:17 am EDT

I Love BLueMoutain and that if you dont realize it is an automatic renewal as stated in the terms of sale, you should read the terms of sale before you sign up for anything. Dont blame them because you misready your contract. I have a Bluemoutain account and every year i get a renewal notice saying my accoutn is coming up for renewal and it does state that if they do not hear from me it will automatically renew. You ppl just need to read what the hell yall sign up for.!

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stoutco
Derry, US
Oct 17, 2009 8:27 am EDT

I fell for the blue mountain scam. I signened up via creditcard and now I can't send any cards because it keeps saying my security is setup wrong even though I do what they ask. I can't find any phone number to cancel. I can't cancel on line because of security. I'm going to let my credit card know of this scam and refuse to pay the account. I will also notify my political leaders and the BBB of this.

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Dr. SJ Sutton
Hounds tooth , US
Sep 30, 2009 5:20 pm EDT

I have had charges for renewal that I did not authorize and am not getting my money back even though I have gone completely through my Capital One dispute process . Just imagine this, say Blue Mountain charges $15.99 to 10, 000 people, that is $159, 000 frudgent dollars in whatever time period and they can get by with it. We must stop this company and file charges as a group. Anyone interested?

Totally ticked off I am, enough is enough.

Contact your Better Business Group, Your States Attorney and list your complaint over and over again on the internet. This is the only way we will get this company to restuition.

You can not reach a person anywhere on line of phoning, just a rude robot that cuts you off as soon as you say "Cancel", until you dispute the charges and then the credit card companies recharge the fee.

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Janet Campbell
Baileyville, US
Sep 22, 2009 11:26 am EDT

Blue Mountain is a total rip offf...I have had my account charged without my permission ...I can't get in touch with anyone help if any one can find a number where I can reach them email me please golfinglady47@yahoo.com and use a code word so I will open it as cucumbers

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Sho
, US
Sep 09, 2009 10:50 am EDT

Blue Mountain E-Cards uses unethical, underhanded, dishonest business practices to steal your money. NO notification when the trial is coming to an end, they just bill you. Every other program I have used that includes a trial period sends emails when the 30-days are coming to a close. Blue Mountain's customer service is shoddy at best, downright incompetent usually. I called their customer service number several times, only to contend with recorded messages...UNTIL I chose the option of "New Membership". THEN an actual person was on the phone RIGHT AWAY. Seems like they value your input only when it will make them money. Blue Mountain E-Cards should be reported and out out of business.

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sally davis
Sydney Metro Area, AU
Jul 11, 2009 3:49 am EDT

I have no memory of having subscribed to Ecard. I will not pay for annual fee and would like to know what to do with the cards that I have apparantly paid for S. Davis Sallandme@hotmail.com

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RoxyPep
Gastonia, US
Jun 21, 2009 1:19 am EDT

I agree with everyone else here BlueMountain.com SUX!

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Trekkiemaiden
, PT
Jun 20, 2009 6:33 am EDT

Yes, I had paid for a years subscription but had forgotten it was apparently automated annually. the then billed me through Paypal without any reminder or warning my subscription was due, sending my Paypal balance into the negative and I can't get a refund! I have asked Paypal to investigate but as yet haven't heard back!

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Kathy Peterson
Juneau, US
Jun 11, 2009 2:14 pm EDT

How did you find a phone number to call? I cannot find one on the website and the customer service email option never goes through once you type you complaint in.

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russjohnson
Santa Ana, US
May 16, 2009 12:13 am EDT

Absolutely agree! We used Blue Mountain's `Create and Print` A LOT! At least at first, but THEN the occasional glitches became permanent and it is useless now - cannot print ANYTHING! Have you tried composing a card and then it crashes? I do not how many times MS stops us in the middle of a card setup having to close and restart. Blue Mountain Tech support? A joke! An exercise in futility! Email tech questions and you get back a direction to go the on-line FAQs. FAQs? Please, nothing useful there. Call the only telephone number listed and you just get shifted from one useless auto-response to another. Have NEVER EVER talked to a live person and believe me we've tried. On top of all this we have been unable to successfully cancel the service, never mind getting a refund.

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Mildred Lisiak
Wexford, US
May 13, 2009 10:40 am EDT

I never used Blue Mountain cards & I am billed without my approval. When I checked my account I saw in the past year I did not use the service. I never used it.

I DO NOT WANT THE SERVICE... I WANT A REFUND FOR BILLING ME WITHOUT ASKING ME.

I am notifying my credit card company to block anything from Blue Mountain & their asssociates from charging my credit card.

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Vicki Brasington
Winmalee, AU
Apr 16, 2009 7:52 pm EDT

My credit card has a debit for an e-card on 15 April 2009, which I have not sent. Please rectify this error immediately.

Vicki Brasington
rob.vic@bigpond.com

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Helene B. Thomas
, US
Apr 10, 2009 4:02 pm EDT

BLUE MOUNTAIN ECARDS. I PAID ELECTRONICALLY
FOR MY MEMBERSHIP AND NOW YOU ARE NOT
ALLOWING ME TO SEND CARDS. PLEASE CONTACT
ASAP.

Helene B. Thomas
Ciglia@aol.com

PS. This is very annoying to me.

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