PaulM
Business responded on 10/10/2016
Hello V.A.,
Thank you for your inquiry. We appreciate and consider your feedback and take our customers’ concerns very seriously. As confirmed by our manager Fredy B. on 10/4/16, we have refunded you in full for $383.76 to your credit card. The confirmation number is: 161004-003906.
We apologize for any confusion regarding our fees. We do not advertise or offer a free or pay-as-you-go service, and as disclosed and explained during registration and in our Terms (www.stamps.com/conditions), we do charge a $15.99 monthly fee after the 4-Week Trial Period, which ended on your account on 9/24/14.
The fee we charge gives you access to services of the Post Office and the license to print official U.S. postage. It’s a flat fee that is not determined by how much postage you print. Stamps.com is a vendor licensed by the USPS, and all paid postage goes directly to the Post Office. In order to offer our standard service, we do charge a monthly subscription fee.
We never charge people without their full agreement during our online registration process.
To best serve our customers, we provide the terms for Stamps.com accounts during the registration process. Stamps.com accounts cannot be created without customers indicating that they’ve read the terms and conditions. We believe in full disclosure, which is why we provide our terms (www.stamps.com/conditions) on a single webpage during the registration process.
During registration for a Stamps.com account, we explain that your credit card will not be charged unless you continue past the four-week trial or buy additional postage and Online Store products.
In addition, immediately after sign-up, new customers are sent a Welcome Email with the same terms outlined, along with information about the monthly flat rate fee if you choose to continue past the trial month. Customers always have the option of reviewing their Account Fees in the Reports section of their software, which is available at all times under the Expenses tab. Customers may also contact us if they want emailed statements. We do not send paper bills. Our charges are also listed on credit card statements with the descriptor of "Stamps.com". The descriptor also includes our Support Number so that customers may contact us immediately if they have any questions or concerns regarding any fees that were billed by Stamps.com.
We believe in full disclosure, and information about our fees is available on our website, interface, Terms, and FAQs.
On our main page at www.stamps.com, we explain under "Here's how it works..." the following: "We’ll give you 4 weeks to see if Stamps.com is right for you. We’re so confident you’ll like Stamps.com, we’ll also throw in $5 free postage to use during those 4 weeks. Don’t pay unless you stay Call 1-855-608-2677 to cancel your account within the 4-week trial period and pay no service fee. The Stamps.com monthly service fee is just $15.99, including the first month. Your service will continue uninterrupted as long as you do not cancel."
During the registration process we do make sure that our customers are aware of the monthly service fee in that we have it detailed on the webpage titled “Why do you need my credit card information?” it states: “Your credit card is needed to purchase postage and to pay Stamps.com service fees if you stay past the 4-week trial period. If you decide to stay past the trial, Stamps.com service fees are only $15.99 per month, including the first month. For your convenience, your Stamps.com service will continue uninterrupted unless you decide to cancel. No service fees will be charged if you cancel within the trial period.”
We do this so that customers can see the price before they complete the registration process. We also have the billing policy detailed in our Terms and Conditions (www.stamps.com/conditions) which customers are required to review and agree to prior to completing registration.
In addition, potential customers can review and compare our pricing plans, as well as other important information, to determine which plan best meets their mailing needs via the Learn More section (http://www.stamps.com/postage-online/plans-comparison/), which is accessible from the Stamps.com home page. We offer FAQs that answer questions about pricing, plans, and specific and general benefits of using Stamps.com.
Our page here (http://www.stamps.com/postage-online/) explains the following: “With Stamps.com, you get all the services of the Post Office and more for only $15.99 per month plus the cost of postage.”
Our FAQs (http://www.stamps.com/postage-online/faqs/) state: “How much does it cost? $15.99/month - no hidden costs, cancel anytime.”
This information was also reiterated in the Welcome Email, sent on the day of registration (8/26/14) to your email address: "If you like Stamps.com and wish to continue the service, you do not need to do anything. If you decide to continue past the 4-Week Trial Period, your service will continue uninterrupted and fees of $15.99 per month, including the first cycle of service, will apply. If you decide that Stamps.com is not right for you, cancel your account before your 4-Week Trial ends and you will not be charged any service fees. If you have additional questions or need to cancel, please contact Customer Support at 1-888-434-0055 M-F 6am-6pm PT."
Our service fee is not based on usage or activity. The monthly subscription service fee that Stamps.com charges is for access of the Stamps.com software, which allows customers to print postage from the comfort of their home or small office using just a PC and a printer. Our service is a monthly subscription service so it’s not based on usage of the software, but rather on having access to using it. Normally a customer is responsible for all service fees, but we have issued a refund for $383.76 for you.
We hope this resolves this inquiry in a satisfactory manner. Howev