Customer ReviewsforShortform Inc.

Well, here is my experience of Shortforms one of a kind billing practices. I paid in full my annual fee of $197, advertised as a value of $16 a month versus the month to month rate of $24 per month. My account indicated that I would have access through March ****. Not wanting to be billed for another year after March ****, I switched to a monthly subscription. I believed that by switching to a monthly plan I would be billed at $24 a month starting in ****. I did not realize that when I switched they retroactively billed me at $24 a month and would continue until I switched back to an annual plan. Meaning that although I thought I paid $197 for a year, since I switched to monthly billing the $197 now only covered 8 months because $24 was deducted from the $197 credit on my account instead of $16. When I tried to switch back to the annual plan, I was told I would have to pay $1.48 for the proration. Why was there a prorated amount when I was switch from a plan that cost more to a plan that cost less per month, I do not know. Out of concern that I was going to owe more and more money, I cancelled my subscription at the cost of losing $197because, of course, when you cancel your membership you dont have access for the year that you paid up front and in full, at Shortform it terminates at the end of the month. Because of this seemingly unique practice that sharply detracts from user experience, I give them a 1 star.

Do NOT engage with Shortform, Inc. They are shameless in their predatory billing tactics and will not refund any money they are able to squeeze out of you. My wife signed up for a trial in 2019 and failed to cancel within the trial period so they charged us $114 for a FULL year subscription. We somehow overlooked this and now a year later they renewed her subscription and charged ANOTHER $114. We have never used their service in this time and when i told them this was user error and to prorate a refund for this renewal, they simply shoved the fineprint in my face and effectively said "deal with it." From a cursory look at other online reviews this seems to be a common theme with Shortform "customers", and many have been duped into paying for a full year of subscription (or more) without any effort on Shortform's part to rectify the situation. This is extremely shady business practice and you are much better off avoiding this company altogether, lest you too get taken advantage of.

The customer's wife signed up for the ***** free trial of our Annual plan on Nov 6, 2019 to access a specific book guide (we will not share the data for privacy reasons). The free trial ended without any cancellation on Nov 11, 2019, at which point we charged the cost of the annual subscription. Our subscriptions continue until the customer cancels the subscription. In this case, the customer contacted us on Dec 8, 2021 for a refund of the 2021 subscription that renewed on Nov 11, 2021. We're not able to refund subscription payments after they're charged, out of fairness to all our other paying supporters, but we assisted the customer in canceling their subscription so they wouldnt be charged again.Both the free trial and subscription continuation work like most other subscription services do. The many Shortform users who cancel during the free trial are never charged, and the many customers who cancel during their subscription are never charged again.We try to make all this information clear to the customer before and after purchasing to avoid confusion. Before any customer can start a subscription, on the billing confirmation page we show the date the subscription will begin and the amount, and we state that subscriptions continue until canceled. Immediately afterward, we show a confirmation of the date when the free trial ends and the amount to be charged. The customer has information to decide whether to keep the subscription or not.Were sorry this customer and we welcome feedback on how to present the above information more clearly to avoid confusion.