ComplaintsforPhilo, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  03/09/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  They keep charging my account twice for service. When I talk to them they say theyve only charged me once.

  Business response

  03/09/2022

  Good Afternoon,
  
  We are following up on the customer's request regarding the duplicate charges and would like to provide additional insight into what happened.
  
  It appears that the customer inadvertently created two separate Philo accounts using the email address for one and the mobile number for the second one. In addition, one was billed by Apple directly and the other by Philo.
  
  As a one-time courtesy, we've honored and issued two refunds which were issued on 3/9/22. 
  
  Please feel free to reach out to us if you need additional information.
  
  Sincerely,
  AR

• Initial Complaint

  02/17/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  we signed up for a free trial quite a while ago and then carry the service for a while, but had repeated problems that could not be resolved with shows being blacked out and programs not loading.customer service was unable to resolve it and so we canceled our service. shortly after that we were away from home for work. I am a traveling nurse as well as having Hospital and family hospitalized due to covid we were not home and didn't realize we were still being billed for the service.the company refused to refund it even though we had canceled and we notified the car company that we did not authorize those charges.again we were gone away from home and we're not there using the service and had canceled it due to problems they could not resolve we were not receiving the service that we had paid for we have given them some time to correct the problems and wanted to try the service again but now our phone number and all our devices are blocked and we're being told they will not be unblocked to be able to use for the service unless the charges are allowed to go through for the service that we canceled and did not receive!this is our last attempt to try to straighten this out.you cannot **** for service that is not being received.you cannot **** someone's credit card after they've canceled the service without permission.we are happy to try the service and give it one more chance and see if the problems with the Roku sticks have been corrected, however we are not going to be to pay for service that we did not receive and that we canceled.

  Business response

  03/02/2022

  Good afternoon,
  
  We are responding to and following up on the customer complaint received from ****************. Heres the customers information:
  
  S ******
  Po box 394
  *****, ** 54421
  Daytime Phone: **************
  E-mail: *******************
  
  
  Wed like to provide insight into what happened and why the customer could not access ********************. The first thing we identified was that the customer had created more than one account, using both the above mobile number and email address.
  
  
  The customer is correct that there was a free trial that was started and then transitioned into a paid subscription under the mobile number **************. However, for security reasons, this account was internally suspended by our system back in July 2021 after the card holder reported and disputed several payments. Heres a recap of the account activity:
  
  The first dispute was received on June 25, 2021 and the customer claimed they had cancelled the account but were still charged. There were two additional payment disputes received in July 2021 that the card holder reported as fraudulent, also stating they had already cancelled the account and were still charged.
  
  After a thorough investigation into our system for the above mentioned account, we found that the customer hadnt reached out to cancel the account until July 9, 2021 at which time they chatted in to our customer support. During this interaction, the customer was requesting a refund stating they had not been home and had cancelled in April but they were still charged. However, during this interaction, the customer then stated they had called back in March 2021 to cancel.
  
  Our agent let the customer know that we showed no record of their call into our support line and/or a previous request to cancel the account. Our agent was correct in letting the customer know that ******************** has a no refund policy and that we did show a recent dispute filed as mentioned above on June 25, 2021. The customer stated they would just file a fraud chargeback with their bank and the chat interaction was ended at this point.
  
  Just recently, on February 9, 2022, the customer started another trial under the email address ******************* and on February 16, 2022 a new payment method was updated and a successful payment was processed. At this point, our system detected that the customer was attempting to access ******************** on the same device that had previously been locked-out (as noted above) due to fraudulent activity being reported under the account with the mobile number.
  
  The customer chatted back in on February 16, 2022 stating they did not understand why their account was blocked as they did a trial ages ago but never had the service. Our agent reviewed the account details and informed the customer of the previous claim of fraudulent activity under the mobile number, the same device and if they wanted to continue the service, they would need to have the chargeback activity reversed and once that was done, we could un-block the device they wanted to use and resume services with Philo. The customer requested that the new account under the email address be cancelled and refunded. As a one-time courtesy, we did refund this charge.
  
  We understand the customer would like all the email and phone numbers associated with their devices cleared and we would love to have the customer resume services with ******************** but in order to do that, they would need to contact their financial institution and have the  charges reversed.
  
  If we can provide additional information, please let us know. 
  
  Sincerely,
  AR
  

  Customer response

  03/03/2022

   
  Complaint: 16777808
  
  I am rejecting this response because:   it isnt a resolution
  
  AS previously stated we cancelled  our service after several mos . We had done a free trial and then did paid service for many mos but had  streaming issues that Philo could not resolve and there were several blocked programs  that were also not resolved or disclosed.  We knew we were going to be away from home and opted to cancel the service and try it again later , giving them time to correct the issues.  
  
  They kept charging us  despite the service being cancelled.  When we reached out to them they would not correct this.  I finally told them we would file a complaint with our credit card company.  We did this.  Services were not received as described or ordered and we were charged.
  
  We were not home at the time and that is easily proven .   Numerous chats were done ahead of cancelling  to try to correct the issues.   
  
  We will not pay for services we did not order or receive. Period.  IF our goal was to trick Philo into  new service we could easily do that by buying a new device and using new information to set up a new account.  Our goal was to resolve the original issue and try the service again.
  
  Philo's goal seems to be to strong arm us into paying for service that didnt meet what was described and  service that wasnt received instead of  being concerned for the issues that have happened.   That tells us all we need to know.
  
  We reject this response because its not a resolution and doesnt even come close to what was requested.
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  S ******

  Business response

  03/09/2022

  Good Morning, 
  
  We understand our customer rejected our initial response and feels it was not the desired outcome.
  
  In order to move forward, the customer needs to contact their bank and reverse the fraud claims. When a card holder reports a claim as fraudulent, it is our responsibility to ensure that any claim of fraud is taken seriously. Wed like to mention that out of the three charges disputed by the card holder, only one was disputed stating they had cancelled the account and the other two were claimed as fraud.
  
  With regards to the issues the customer mentioned about not being able to watch a couple of shows because they were blocked content, our agent during a chat conversation on October 20, 2020 did explain that every once in a while, a programmer has the rights to air a show on television but not to stream it on Philo due to restrictions from the content producer. We understand this can be frustrating, but we have no control over this. Again, we would like to mention that we did not find the request for cancellation as mentioned by the customer and have done our best to locate it.
  
  After a bit more research, we agree that there were some issues the customer chatted in about with streaming quality and connectivity issues. The case was escalated to our escalation team and during this time, we provided a free month coupon for the inconvenience.
  
  However, we could have done a better job working with the customer from a troubleshooting perspective and would be more than happy to try again once the fraud claims have been taken care of.
  
  We appreciate the opportunity to provide some additional insight and if you need anything else or further clarification, please let us know.
  
  Sincerely,
  AR

  Customer response

  03/09/2022

   
  Complaint: 16777808
  
  I am rejecting this response because:  It provides no resolution.    Offering a free month service of service that isnt working properly isnt really compensation now it is it?  The account was cancelled ,  you continued to charge and without  permission to do so.  It was up to the credit card company to decide what they wanted to list that as and they must have chosen to list that as fraud.  generally when you charge an account  without permission that is fraud.  But we understood how the error happened and tried to  work    with Philo on it first but  got nowhere so we called the credit card company to see what we could do  on their end to recover those funds.
  
  We were willing to give Philo another chance and see if the services had improved.  We currently use another service.   But given this communication and lack of action,  that makes our choice easy and permanent.   Best wishes, we will not be reversing any charges as they were not authorized and were for a service that was cancelled.  Which it would seem means we will also not be using Philo in the future.
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  S ******

• Initial Complaint

  02/07/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I ordered a tv subscription from Philo in July of 2021. Apparently, I ordered 2 subscriptions, and have been billed for 2 for 7 months. I was not aware that you could use more than one of the same subscriptions at the same time, same customer, same household. I called today to get this resolved thinking that this would clearly be credited back as it is not ethical to charge a customer for 2 subscriptions, error or not. After speaking to leadership they would only credit me back 3 of 7 months. This company owes me for 4 more months, and I am sure that this issue is happening to other customers who are not aware.

  Business response

  02/14/2022

  Good afternoon, 
  
  We are following up on the complaint and request for a refund from our customer *********************. We have thoroughly reviewed the charges in question and wed like to provide some insight into what happened. 
  
  Customer Information:
  *********************
  7121 *****************
  Liberty Twp, OH 45044
  Daytime Phone: **************
  E-mail: ***************************
  
  The customer mentioned that they were double-charged for seven months and they were not aware that you could have more than one subscription.  We can confirm the customer had created two separate accounts as noted here:
  
  The first account was created under the customers email address with Philo direct billing.
  
  The second account under the customers mobile number was also activated but was Roku billed.
  
  
  To provide additional clarity, we had no way of identifying that the customer had inadvertently created more than one account using different credentials to sign up for our service, one being billed by Roku and the other being billed directly by us.
  
  
  When the customer reached out to us regarding the charges, our support team was correct that we have a no refund policy, however, they did indeed issue 3 one-time courtesy refunds on 2/7/2022.
  
  On 2/8/2022, our recovery team reached out to the customer and issued   an additional 3 refunds (2 of the 3 were via Roku) along with a free month of service. This totals 7 months of service.
  
  We believe we have made a good faith effort to do our best to help resolve this customers issue and provide a resolution.
  
  Please reach out if you need any additional information and wed be happy to help.
  
  Sincerely,
  AR

• Initial Complaint

  01/30/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I started subscription to Philo in 2020 and service charge was $20. Philo increased price to $25 in 2021 but not if already a customer , would be grandfathered in at $20 rate. January of 2022 i attempted to watch my service but wouldnt let me. It said i needed to subscribe at $25 rate claiming my card was denied payment because it had expired. The card on file had expiration date of 8/21 ( I had received a new card with same account number with new expiration date). ******************** had continued to receive payment from Aug 2021 through January ************************************************* Aug 2021 when they suddenly decided to cancel it in Jan 2022. i was given no notice of cancellation. **************** representatives refused to restore service at $20 rate . In fact.. 2 of them actually hung up on me. Honestly its not about the $5 a month its how long time customers are treated

  Business response

  02/08/2022

  Good afternoon,
  
  We are following up on the complaint regarding a service issue from our customer ******************* and would like to provide a response and resolution.
  
  The customer mentions that they started a subscription with Philo back in 2020 with our $20 plan. We can confirm this is correct. We can also confirm that Philo did have a price increase to $25 last year but did allow all active subscribers to remain on the $20 plan as long as the account remained active.
  
  After researching the account, we did find that the bank declined our payment request for the January charge of $20 and because there was no email on file for our customer, only a mobile number, a declined payment notice could not be sent. However, all customers have access to their account information, including payment history online.
  
  The customer mentions that the card they had on file had an expiration date of 8/21 and it was just updated on January 30th when they lost access to their account, at which time they did reach out to our support team requesting additional information on why the account had cancelled. We listened to the two incoming calls and see one agent noted a system issue but we agree that one interaction should have been handled better and has been addressed.
  
  With regards to why the bank allowed processing of the card on file with the expired expiration date, that it is at the financial institutions discretion.
  
  We tried to reach out to the customer by phone, but had to leave a voicemail. As a one-time courtesy, we have honored to request to remain on the $20 Legacy plan under the circumstances and hope to hear back from our customer regarding his account.
  
  If you need any additional information or clarification, please let us know.
  
  Sincerely,
  AR 
  

• Initial Complaint

  01/25/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I started a free trial for 7 days. Two days later I could not access my account, the site was asking me to enter my credit card again. I immediately contacted customer service, the person I spoke with said that they needed my credit card to proceed with the trial period. I explained that I had already given my card info when I created the account, but the person said that I had no credit card on file with them. I immediately requested to cancel my free trial to avoid any other misunderstanding, he said that they account would terminate by itself and they would not charge my credit card since I no card on file. Two days ago the company charged me $27.84 cents for a monthly subscription. I called them again, spoke with a rep, she said that I had two accounts, one with my cell phone and the other one with my email, and there was nothing she could do to give me a refund because the trial period had expired. How could they charge my credit card if they said they did not have it on file? Why did they lie to me to let my trial period expire and then charge me??? I like to get my money back. The invoice I received via email said INVOICE Invoice # ***************** Invoice Date Jan 24, 2022 Invoice Amount $27.84

  Business response

  02/04/2022

  Good afternoon,
  
  We are following up on the complaint and request for a refund from our customer *******************. We have thoroughly reviewed the charge in question and appreciate the opportunity to provide some insight into what happened.
  
  It appears the customer did indeed create two separate accounts. One under a mobile number, which had no credit card information updated, and one under the email address, which we show did have a payment method updated and transitioned into a paid account.
  
  We found our agent our was correct in letting the customer know on January 19, 2022 that a free trial, which was started under the mobile number, without payment information will expire on its own and become inactive and there would be no charges. The customer wanted to make sure this account was cancelled because of our channel lineup.
  
  On January 23rd, when the customer reached out to our support team, our agent found the second account the customer created under the email address, which did transitioned into a paid account. Our agent was correct that we have a no refund policy.
  
  We understand this can be confusing, so under the circumstances even though we have a no refund policy, we have honored a one-time courtesy refund of $27.84.
  
  We hope this helps and have sent a follow-up email to the customer as well. Please let us know if there is anything else we can provide.
  
  Sincerely,
  AR
  

• Initial Complaint

  01/16/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Ive been charged to my credit card once a month since July 13th (13th of each month since) for a Philo account that I do not own. Its a card I lost many months ago and had locked for everything except automatic payments. Id like my card to be taken off this unknown account and be refunded.

  Business response

  02/04/2022

  Good afternoon,
  
  We are following up on the refund request from ************************* and the mention of a lost credit card.
  
  We were able to locate an account under the mobile number the customer provided ************** and found that the customer created a trial on 11/18/2020 and successfully transitioned to a paid subscription. We show this account was billed directly by Roku and that it was cancelled on 3/26/2021 and remains inactive. In addition, the only way the account could have been created was confirming the security link we send directly to the mobile device. 
  
  We continued to search our system using the email address provided in an attempt to locate the charges in question and were not able to locate any account under the email address. However, during our search, we did find another account that was created with a mobile number that was very similar to the one the customer provided with the exception of the last 2 digits and they used the same IP address and the same device the other mobile number used.
  
  Please note that our systems show no record that the customer attempted to contact our customer support regarding the above charges.  
  
  We did try and reach out to the customer directly, but had to leave a voicemail. Wed really like to help resolve this but more concerning is that the customer claims they did not create the account with Philo. If that is the case, the customer would need to file a dispute with the financial institution. Or, the customer can let us know if they recognize that a family member may have started another account using the same device and payment method and failed to cancel the account. Please note, that we did find this account had active viewing sessions through September.
  
  We look forward to hearing back from you and hopefully we can assist the customer further.
  
  Sincerely,
  AR
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  01/06/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased Philo to watch a show called ****, but the episodes are not saving. I havent been able to watch anything past episode two. I was told I would have to wait for the network to re-air the episodes again and they are unsure when that will be. This is not the service that was advertised. **************** says ******************** doesnt offer refunds. They said I logged into my account several times so why would they, of course I logged into my account several times, I was trying to watch the show I was paying $25 a month for. Then the customer service representative just left the conversation via chat. Bottom line is that Philo cannot provide the service they advertise. I was able to watch one episode of the show I purchased Philo to watch and that episode cost me $50. Philos response was to watch something else. I have canceled my subscription and I believe Im entitled to a refund. Ill just purchase the Paramount Network app so I can actually watch the show.

  Business response

  01/11/2022

  Good Morning,
  
  We are following up on the complaint and refund request from *******************************. Here's the customer's information: 
  

  Customer Information:
  *******************************
  **************************************
  Daytime Phone: **************
  E-mail: ************************

  After a thorough review of the customer's interaction with our support team, we found that the customer was having issues watching a show called **** and wasnt able to get past episode 2. 
  
  Wed like to provide additional insights into what happened. The show **** is exclusive to Paramount+, which Philo does not offer. However, we do offer the Paramount Network in our lineup and when the show officially debuted last month, they debuted the show on both the Paramount+ and the Paramount Network which can be confusing, especially on how to watch new episodes. Our agent could have done a better job with the explanation of how and where to watch the show moving forward. 
  
  Wed also like to clear up the mention that our support team response to the customers issues was to watch something else. Our management team has reviewed the chat transcript in detail and can assure you that was not our response to the customer, nor did we intentionally leave the conversation. 
   
  Our support agent was correct in our no refund policy but under the circumstances, weve honored a full refund for both the November and December charges and the customer can expect the refund within **** days or sooner, depending on their financial institution.
  
  Lastly, we did attempt to reach out to the customer by phone but had to leave a voicemail. We also sent a follow-up email as well to let the customer know we've honored the refund request. 
  
  We hope this information helps and if anything else is needed, please let us know. 
  
  Sincerely, 
  AR
  

• Initial Complaint

  11/18/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Was trying service out for 7 days and then canceled because it wasnt what I thought it would be .. and then it wasnt to my bank for debit anyway twice first attempt didnt go through but the second attempt did and Im not happy about it .. I cancelled in enough time

  Business response

  11/19/2021

  Good afternoon,
  
  We are responding to the complaint submitted by *************************** and their request for a refund, stating they had cancelled the trial but were charged. 
  
  Customer Information:
  ***************************
  *************************************************************************************************************
  Daytime Phone: **************
  E-mail: ********************
  
  We've reviewed our records and can confirm that a 7-day trial was started on 11/5/2021 by the customer and on 11/7/2021 the customer updated a payment method to unlock the remaining free days. On 11/12/2021, because there was no cancellation on record, the account transitioned to a paid subscription. At this time, we did attempt to charge the card on file, as per our Terms of Service, on 11/12/201 and on 11/13/2021 which both failed. However, on 11/15/2021 a successful payment was processed.
  
  After some additional research in our systems, we'd like to share that we have no record of the customer contacting our support team with a request to cancel the trial before the expiration date and in addition to that, there have been active viewing sessions up until we manually deactivated the subscription today on our end. 
  
  We have tried to call the customer but were unable to reach them by phone but did send a follow-up email letting them know that as a one-time courtesy, we have honored the request and have processed a refund in the amount of $27.06. 
  
  We hope this helps provide insight to what happened and please let us know if you need anything else. 
  
  Sincerely, 
  AR

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