Doing the monthly round of checking old email addresses to see if I'm not missing anything important—as usual, I am—I find an email from Classmates.com. I signed up for the site ages ago, and checked it out once every couple of months to see who from high school had added their profile. Since it's coming up on 10 years since graduating, a notice of a 7-day free trial for the 'gold' accounts looked inticing. What a great way to read the profiles of people who wrote them, when before they were behind the pay wall. The email containing the free offer looked like the one to the right—it's cropped, but the important information is there.
So far so good. So I click on all the links and they all go to a page asking me to select between 3 options: 2 years at $2.46 a month; 12 months at $3.25 a month; or 3 months at $5 a month. The last option is reasonable: five bucks is probably something I'd be willing to pay for using it a couple of times a month to connect with old friends, but no! I specifically requested the 7-days free option. Strike 1.
I stumbled around and found a link inside Classmates.com for the free account as one of the options. It repaces the 3 month option at $5 a month with the 7-day free trial. Yes, that's the one I want!
Then this, the bold in the original: “If the 7 Day Free Trial for the Gold Membership is free, why do we need your credit card? ¶ Once your trial period has ended, your membership will automatically be renewed and charged to your credit card. ¶ If you decide to cancel, just do so on the My Account page during your trial period and your credit card will not be charged.” Can you think of any type of site that, in return for your credit card info, gives you a free trial access to the site? The fact I know this no doubt reveals a little more than you wanted to know, but that's right friends, this is porn website tactic. That's strike 2 and strike 3 yer out. I know that screens out looky-loos, but it also screens out people who, like myself, are confident they will completely forget about canceling the membership until they see the charge on their credit card bill.
I'm still a potential customer of theirs. $5 is a reasonable monthly price for their lowest—or rather, shortest—offering. But Classmates.com at least missed an opportunity to let me in and give them the new feedback on their actual service, and not their crappy wall that prevents me from honestly experiencing it for a real free trial.
Comments
I have a question. How DO you cancel your free trial offer? I really do not want to pay because I dont have the money and my 12 year old did it fooling around on the computer at her friend's house. Please help, I'm desperate!
I'm a could be potential customer of classmates.com but I still think they want too much for their service... I would pay 2 bucks a month for a whole year, no more... I too was lured in by the not so free trial, but no catch! this time.
I signed up for the 7 day free trial, giving my credit card number per their request. I paid particular attention as to where to go to enable me to cancel my membership on the 6th day, if I chose to. After checking out the site and contacting a few old classmates, I cancelled my free trial. I pulled it off without a hitch. I was not charged and I am not a member. Not much action in spite of the 1500 or so registered members there and there are waaaaaaaaaay too many adverts! "That was then, this is now."
Peace,
OHD
To keep in touch with old classmates go to www.myreunion.com, not only is it FREE, but you can add/view profiles and email anytime you want for FREE!
If all that are having problems with classmates.com would call thier credit card company and protest the charges then something might get done about this obvious scam.
Good luck getting a GOLD membership cancelled! They'll keep renewing it each year for $39.00 USD and when you protest the charge, they say they'll cancel it for next year, but no refunds. Then they don't do it. I've been going through this for 3 years with them. I'm going to have to cancel my credit card to stop them.
I cancelled my 7 day free trial the next day after i signed up for Classmates .com and never received a refund. They took my money as soon as i signed up, they didn't even wait until the 7 day trial period ended. Needless to say I got ripped off.
classmates.com is sure NOT FREE. I feel taken advantage of! Thanks, but no thanks.
Yes Classmates has it's appeal.. The guestbook so that you can see who visited your profile and the ability to read messages. I think if they took the time to see the success of myspace (and other free sites) that they would be the MAIN source of all of the different reunion sites... The budget they spend on advertising on other sites (obscene amount) could be made up for by charging for ads on their site which would get more traffic (by being free). Word of mouth and emailing all of the members that are not "gold". This site would BLOW UP!
In other news, I have found most of my old HS friends on myspace, just add your schools to your profile and search. Even my 60 yr old mother has a myspace page. Classmates needs to let go of the greed and restructure their concept! Thanks for letting me vent... ;>
They're advertising on Facebook, so they (FB) don't seem to mind taking Classmate.com's money. I don't use MySpace at all, only to listen to music. Facebook is where it's at these days, though there are betting pools on when the real backlash will happen.
Classmates SUCK! They tease you by allowing folks to sign your guest book, but you will not know who signed it unless you upgrade your membership.
Someone needs to make a free site that does not play tricks with you to get a buck.
I just want everyone to know that if you sign up with classmates.com not only will they continue to charge your credit or debit card but they also sell your info to a related company that charges $20.00 dollars a month to belongs to a rewards program. I never joined this rewards program knowingly and to date I have been ripped off in the amount of $240.00. Thanks to my bank being able to get me the phone numbers of these so called rewards programs I called and cancelled my membership with both of them and they are crediting my bank account $240.00. I'm sorry to say that Classmates.com would only reverse $15.00 of the $75.00 that they fraudulently charged me. Make sure if you have ever given your credit card info to Classmates.com that you look over your credit/bank statement thoroughly. If you see two $10.00 charges on the same day saying it's a rewards program then you too have been defrauded. The phone #'s for the rewards programs are (800)889-8776 and
(800)732-7031. You can reach Classmates.com at (425)873-1342. Good luck and be careful!
STAY AWAY from Classmates.com!!