I am extremely disappointed with the response of the Legal Zoom Support Escalation Department. I have used LegalZoom during the past couple of months to register both my LLC and to serve as my registered agent. On January 1st I requested that they obtain my EIN number for the LLC. I was charged 88 dollars for this service. Almost immediately, I called legalzoom to cancel my order. Since it was New Years Day their offices were closed. Understandable. I decided to send an email requesting the cancellation since I could not contact by phone. After doing so, I received an automated response around 5 P.M. On Jan 1. The email stated that someone would get back to me within one business day.
I followed up the next morning around 11 A.M. (Jan 2) with a phone call. I was informed that the EIN had been obtained at 7:30 am PST (I'm on East Coast) and that they could not cancel the order. I explained as calmly as possible that the order page said that there would be a 5-6 day turnover time including shipping when I ordered. I also explained that I'd called and emailed prior to the processing to cancel and that no one had responded. The associate, who was in training said she needed to escalate the call and that I would receive a call back within 24 hours.
Today, January 3, after realizing that no one was going to call me back, I called again. I eventually reached the escalation department and was told that the order had "already been shipped" and that they had already "paid UPS". I explained to the woman that this was horrible customer service. I found it incredibly sneaky that they shipped the order after I had already filed a cancellation request and was waiting for a call back from the escalation department. She explained that it had not been a full business day. I then asked why they did not put a hold on the order after I made the complaint. No reasonable answer.
At this point, I said that I understand that business is business. I agreed to waive a refund of the $9 shipping cost, and that the balance would be acceptable. The representative then explained to me that the EIN process happens almost instantaneously and that they had already paid the necessary fees. I then interjected and broke out the "big guns" that I had been holding back. I know, for a fact, that IRS. Gov allows people to process their EIN request free of charge with instant online delivery. Since this is the case, I know that LegalZoom is charging an unnecessary shipping cost for an instantaneously-delivered service and that they are misleading customers into paying an exorbitant price for something that is free and extremely quick. I don't have a problem with conducting business as you see fit, but in my personal case, I know that I did my due diligence to try to cancel the order before it was processed.
The representative ultimately told me that a $40 (of $88) refund was the best that they could do. I explained to them that I had referred multiple friends and business associates to their company and had, until this point, been satisfied with their services. I informed her that I was willing to pay for the shipping that they had "already paid for". I explained that I believed that I was in the right and that their 30 days customer service guarantee wasn't worth the html and css it was written in. They refused to acknowledge their customer service/product delivery shortcomings and lack of inter-departmental communication. I told her that they would lose me as a customer for life, and that I would tell all of my previous referrals about their misgivings.
Legalzoom... Was it really worth $40 to lose a loyal customer?
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