IMHO Bigfish Games very sneaky...

I ordered a game in February and I had no idea I was being signed-up to their club. I've been charged $7.61 three TIMES in the past 45 days as fees! I would've never agreed to this. I 'm pretty wary about these things. Has anyone had the same experience.
I feel the sneakiest is that when you go to your purchase history it only shows your game purchased not the fee. This could've gone on forever except I noticed it on my bank statement.
I've emailed and will keep you posted on the results.
caz

Each month Big Fish charges you and provides you with a credit for a game.
If you've been charged 3 times, you now have credits for 3 games from Big Fish.
Each credit can be redeemed for a game.

Hi, I moved your post over to the Casual Games forum since Big Fish is a casual game website.

When you purchase a game from the Big Fish website for the first time, there is a box you can check or uncheck stating whether or not you wish to become a Game Club member. If that box remains checked, you will be charged $6.99 per month (and any applicable taxes according to the state you reside in) and in return will be issued a game credit good for one standard game; you will continue to be charged once a month, receiving one game credit per month, until you cancel your membership. Apparently you bought a game and did not uncheck that box before placing your order; by unchecking that box, you would have opted out of joining the Game Club.

I am sure that Big Fish Customer Support will make things right for you if you have explained that you did not wish to join the Game Club; they are the best.

I hope.

Does it say right where you check the box you will be charged? I wouldn't have checked it.
Also never received a monthly statement. Well let's see what happens.
caz

I believe that the box to join the Game Club is checked by default and you have to uncheck the box if you do not wish to join the Game Club. I'm not exactly sure what it says when you are buying a game for the first time; I've been a member since 2009 and don't remember now.

I'd be surprised if they refunded your money.
More likely they'll just give you a 4th credit for a game.

There are instructions for quitting the game club here
http://bigfishgames.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/922/

You might as well redeem your credits before quitting though.

Yes I quit as soon as I found out. Let's see what happens. Quite a difference of opinions.
caz

What's very telling is that 1 of the 5 options when you contact them is: I didn't know I was getting charged."

PS- Why was this post moved? I DL'd Sherlock Holmes and Jack the Ripper from them. Casual?

I moved your post because although Big Fish does sell some full-length adventure games, it is considered a casual game website (which is what is under discussion, the website rather than your adventure game itself), thus the Casual Games forum.

I do not feel that BigFish is sneaky and my opinion is that you should never download or purchase anything without checking the whole page for checked boxes. If you download blindly, you will end up with all kind of toolbars, unwanted programs and invasive software. Even your regular updates of flash and other fairly necessary updates come with boxes that require unchecking. BF is a very reputable website and most people do indeed enroll into the game club to save on games. You would not have paid only 6.99 plus applicable taxes if you did not enroll. Clearly you paid member prices, that should have been a tip off as well.

Had I seen the post first I too would have moved it to casual since this is where 99.9% of their games are about.

Even if they do not credit your account, you have extra game credits to purchase at a reduced rate.

Ana

They have 299 complaints against them with the BBB about the same complaint. Apparently they do refund. And if they had said right there that checking the box will cost you $6.99 a month that would be different. Also the fact that the fee only appeared on my checking statement (that's the only way I found out about it) and not in my BF account is suspect.
It might not be illegal but it seems intentionally misleading.
caz

That is a misleading statement Cazziejoe, BigFish has an A+ rating on BBB. 299 complaints is not even a drop in the bucket of the amount of people that use the website. They pride themselves on their customer service and they have every right to do so. They have the best prices, the best selection and the best customer service.

I never said anything about their rating. I just feel that the 299 complaints suggests maybe they need to re-think the way they do business. It's obvious what they're doing and it's not any different with thousands of other companies.
caz

I have purchased many games from Big Fish games I am not a member but
I am always careful to uncheck the little box
If you don't uncheck it then it just wont let you purchase
I think the reason is that you have to signup for a membership first.
Love big fish games. dianne

I agree with Ana. When you purchase a game, the default is that the box is checked to join. If you have missed that checkmark, you will be signed up for a free game credit every month and charged for it. Big Fish doesn't try to hide it or be sneaky. It's right there.

As dianne says, you have to carefully UNcheck it each time. No sneakiness is involved. If 299 people have simply not noticed or checked, I'm finding it hard to understand why this is a problem. I fix WAY too many computers because people don't carefully check download pages for checkmarks for "extra" junk that turns out to be malware. But then on the other side of the coin, maybe they need to have a more prominent notice in big letters and bright colors that says unless you uncheck the option, you are signing up.

Draclvr,

IMO, you're right and you're wrong.
Yes, the check mark is there by default and we should always look to see what we're getting when we download something.

On the other hand, haven't we complained loud, long and often about this sort of thing?
The default should always be "No, I don't want it", IMO.
In a perfect world, it would be.

Gil.

It really isn't hidden and there are multiple signs that point to it.

If you look at the attached screen here you can see that the price is clearly reduced to a game club price. The Game Club info is directly below it and the details are clearly marked. It is not hidden in any way, shape or form. I've had others where it's tucked in a bottom corner or you have to scroll down to see it, but they put it right in the purchase box.

I take offense to you calling them sneaky when they are one of the best companies around to get great games at great prices. It's not at all a fair statement.

Thank you for that screen attachment, Ana; that's very helpful.

I agree Ana. They are the best game company around and they have the best Customer Service and are second to none. I really was offended as well when I saw the statement that BFG is sneaky...they are not and it's really sad that someone made an honest mistake and automatically it's the company's fault. It took me quite awhile to start unchecking and reading everything because believe me I was one of those folks that didn't pay attention and went way too fast and ended up with malware or websites I wanted nothing to do with. After a few of those mistakes I read everything and look at every box. If I don't....it's my fault. That of course is my opinion. There are a lot of companies that can be called a lot of things, sneaky being one of the more mild ones, but BFG is NOT one of them.

Barbara

In my world, that would absolutely be the default, Gil! And displayed prominently too. However, that's not how it works in the world of marketing.

Sly One, I wish I could have said it like you did!

Big Fish makes every attempt to keep the customer happy, even if the dissatisfaction is the result of an oversight on the part of the customer; that is a rare attitude indeed.

Nice to see you, Barbara.

I'm not saying anybody is sneaky and I'm not saying anything bad about Big Fish. I also did not see the membership thing the first time I ordered, however, they sent me an email that clearly told me I had become a member and that I had 30 days to cancel.

Unfortunately, every time I purchase I have trouble with the downloading. Always get an error.

Thanks Marion and thank you too Draclvr, although I think you said it quite nicely and I agree with you.

Barbara

Thanks Barbara and Drac!

This issue is not one of BFG not being a very good site from which to purchase games, because it is. But rather a marketing ploy which isn't followed in the Real World(RW). No where in the RW, in any of the stores I shop at, am I given merchandise which I must re-shelve or be charged for when I reach the check out stand. No where at any of the stores I shop at does anyone try and put something into my cart, which I don't want, in the hopes I'll miss the item and have to pay for it when I check out.

When I shop online, and see boxes already checked, offering things I don't want, and I have to uncheck these boxes, it makes me wonder if that site is desperate to get people to buy that particular item or service. As with RW stores, it should be up to me, and me alone, to chose the products and/or services I wish to buy. No one on any site has the right to make that decision for me or hope I'll miss seeing that particular something that has been added to my order. If any site has a particular product or service they wish me to buy/try, then they should make sure they advertise it while I'm on that site. Otherwise, let me be the decision maker when it comes to my purchases.

Thank you Homer6.
Well said.
Maybe I expressed myself incorrectly (or maybe I'm just a crusty old _____!)
caz

Hey, that's my title!

Gil.

Perhaps it was the use of the word "sneaky" because I do not find a very colorful notice saying "Game Club Trial" in a bright yellow logo with the terms spelled out and a checkmark already in the box "sneaky."

We can argue about whether the default should have the box checked or not, but anyone who downloads software anywhere should be aware that 99.99999% of the time their marketing is going to have the box checked.

I posted a couple of links in the Glitches forum to articles about previously reputable download websites which have gone to the darkside of marketing with all kinds of stuff EVER so conveniently checkmarked for you.

Absolutely Draclvr....agreed!

Barbara

Exactly Draclvr! Well said! And thanks for the headsup in Glitches.

Big Fish is a fabulous company. Best customer service I've experienced.

I am a Game Club member and recently purchased several games with a
code that reduced the club price from $6.99 to $3.99. One of the games
did not apply the code and as a result I was charged the full $6.99

I submitted my issue via the Big Fish help page, requesting a $3.00
credit. Within 24 hours I received a response that Big Fish had
refunded the full $6.99 and gave me a free game code.

Clearly, this is a company that went above and beyond my expectations.

I do not work for nor am I affiliated with Big Fish in any way other
than being a Game Club member. I don't think they are sneaky but LOL
they sure know how to keep reeling me back in with great offers.

You've said it all, Mignonne.

This company has grasped the point that it is actually SMART to be hyper ethical and to treat a customer as a precious treasure. It's "good" business in every sense of that word.

I'm sorry to see a subject title suggesting BFG is unethical. Even when an error is a misunderstanding on the part of the customer, BFG will make things right. I've made mistakes in ordering on a couple of occasions and BFG quickly refunded my payment. I would have waited until I received a response from BFG before making an accusation about how they do business. JMO

Thank you very much for all the opinions including the original poster's new view about the situation.
I will close this thread.