I received an email last week from Stamps.com stating that they tried to run my credit card through for $15.99 and it was declined. I thought it was phishing, because my plan is not that high, and my cc should still have gone through. So I forwarded the email to stamps.com to ask if this was legit. They replied a day later asking me to call them to resolve my account.
While I'm on hold waiting for a rep, I'm also visiting their website and see that their fee really is $15.99. I had been on their simple plan for three years, at $4.49 per month. I was barely using the site, and was considering cancelling. I found I did not need the service as much as I thought I would.
The rep gets on the phone and says that they took my plan away, and now everyone is on the $15.99/month plan. They allegedly emailed everyone two billing cycles ago about this change. I received no notice.
I told them that this fee was unacceptable, and rather silly. I can do everything they do, for free through the USPS. I told them to cancel me right there. They said they could do nothing about the monthly fee, and that I owed $15.99. I could not get a refund on my unused postage until this was paid. I told them if they billed my cc again, I'd get the charges reversed.
I received a final statement in email a day later, for $31.98. Apparently, they bill at the end of the month, instead of the beginning, and that when they tried the $15.99 charge it was at the end of the billing cycle, and when I called in and cancelled, it was one day into the next billing cycle. They bill the full month fee even for only one day of "service"! A service I barely use, and hadn't touched in months.
I replied back stating yet again this was unacceptable. They replied stating that raising their rates without notice and billing full month is in their Terms of Service when you sign up. So, if you sign up, you apparently agree to bend over and get charged nearly quadruple what you expected to pay, you get to have them dissolve your plan, and they don't even offer a positive customer service resolution or negotiation. They don't think they have to.
One more thing their TOS says. If you continually access the stamps.com website, you are therefore exposed to all promotion and fee changes, and by continuing to use the service, you agree to the changes. Here's a point I continually brought to their attention: I hadn't been using their services in months - long before this fee change. How am I bound by information they don't make sure I see? Hello, if you can afford to jack the rates nearly quadruple, you can afford to send postcards or other mailings to be sure we see and understand this change has occurred.
My first notice should be for a cc bounced that was actually miraculous, since I was not at my limit.
They have since charged the card $31.98, and I am hoping that my cc company will help to reverse the charges.
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