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I used care.com in august 2011 and subscribed for a 1-month membership for $29.75. After finding a babysitter for my son in two weeks I cancelled the membership. I read the "small print" of the subscription agreement, but was not "smart enough" to check my credit card statement for re-occurring charges. Only today (March 2012) I discovered that my request was dishonored and care.com have been charging me for subscription. Total of $245.00! It is outrageous! The account that I have is "basis" - and free no credit card information or billing information was stored on the account. It seems that I am not the only unhappy customer that had similar experience with care.com. It seems now more like a credit card fraud rather that just putting the subscription terms and conditions in "small print". I am requesting a full refund of $245.00 for all unauthorized charges. In general it is not acceptable to renew a 1 month membership. If someone signs up for just 1 month it means that he/she does not need the service any longer. Renewing that type of membership is absurd.
Care.com charged me $77.00 per quarter from 10/[protected]/11/21 totaling $1, 167. I signed up for a 3 mos premium membership only. The description on the charges in my Care.com account support it was only for 3 months. There was no email notification of any of the charges for the past 4 years which is incredibly deceiving and I believe unlawful due to a settlement Care.com reached in CA (see link to that case below)
I contacted the company demanding a refund several times and was told they can only refund me charges less than 30 days old. they said the renewal information is stated in their terms of service and is clear for members to see, which is a lie.
The customer service phone number on their website is a recording only. You can't reach a live person. I contacted my credit card company for help and to dispute. They informed me this is a known issue and gave me a customer service number that is not public, but Credit Card companies has. My credit card company gave me tips on what to say in my dispute with Care.com
On 9/1/21 I called the number given for Care.com's secret customer service line. I reached rep Jofie. I explained that I had not knowingly continued the subscription past the trial period. I had not used their service after that point. The customer service representative stated that there was nothing they would do as there is a statement on the website allowing them to engage in ongoing charges until the customer cancels the subscription. I asked for a supervisor (as my credit card rep suggested). Jofie hung up on me. I called right back and received Claudia. I went through everything again and asked to speak with a manager. She stated that the Manager Brenda will only correspond via email, she will not talk on the phone. I left that conversation very flustered. I then went to their online portal and emailed my complaint asking for a manager to contact me via phone. I received a call 20 min later from Claudia (not a manager). I emailed again requesting a manager. Brenda finally responded to me via email stating they will not pursue my complaint.
I have since been in touch with a law office given the number of complaints I see when searching "deceitful auto renewals for Care.com". If anyone has been a victim to this deceit, please respond.
Link to settlement in California:
"Care.com failed to: sufficiently disclose that memberships were being sold on an auto-renewal basis; obtain their customers’ affirmative consent to auto-renewal terms; and provide a simple mechanism for customers to stop the recurring charges.”
https://www.pymnts.com/legal/2020/care-com-pays-1m-settlement-over-auto-renewal-background-check-allegations/
care.com is unethical at best and steals money. I SIGNED UP AND USED A MAID FROM THEM in 2019 and never accessed their site again. Without my knowledge, they auto-renewed my subscription saying it was set to auto-renew by default without any notification they would renew. When I contacted them they refused to credit back the money when it was clear I was no longer using anything related to their service in over a year. They send unreadable printouts as some kind of proof to my credit card company. Nothing they sent justified the theft of the 108.00. I have reached out to Tim Allen the CEO with no response There are dozens of complaints about this shady company https://www.complaintsboard.com/carecom-b115437.
Hello, I was about to sign up for this website but decided to check out some reviews first. I only typed in my name, birthdate, and address. I did NOT enter any of my credit card information. After I read these reviews I went back to Care.com to try to erase the information that I had typed but it would not let me because I hadn't completed my profile. I am just wondering if I will be charged for anything regardless of not entering my credit card information or cancellation of anything. I also never chose any monthly or annual subscriptions either. Just my name address and phone number. thank you!
Hi DWS2007, I am a Member care representative from Care.com. When signing up with Care.com, you can sign up as a free basic member to evaluate the site. This allows you to post a job ad detailing what you’re looking for. Providers on the site are able to apply to the position, and this allows you to see if there are any quality providers in your area that you’re interested in through the site. If you do not think the service is for you, you do not have to upgrade to contact. If you do decide to upgrade, you are made aware of automatic renewal both on the payment page and on the confirmation page. You also get the opportunity to set a reminder on the confirmation page, and that sends an email notification seven days before the renewal date. You can cancel the subscription at any time either on your ‘Profile and Settings’ page, or by calling/emailing us to cancel.
I was about to sign up with Care.com, but their subscription policy seems like a complete scam.
It is. This company should be fined and the company officers indicted. Crooked as a dog's hind leg. If you can't make a company successful without intentionally duping your customers, you are doing it wrong on many levels. My advice, if they cheat and deceive in the 'membership' part, you can bet they'll cheat elsewhere. Stay away.
Hi, this is Kristen from Care.com. It seems like you took the right steps to downgrade your account so I'd like to review it and get this resolved for you. Please send me an email at kschlemmer[at]care.com with your information and I will contact you ASAP. I apologize for any inconvenience.