async.comReviews of async.com

I've been with podcastle a few years and they used to be great. The editing is so easy, which is what I use it for. The AI tools don't work for me at all, but I didn't really need them anyway. My biggest issue is the dishonesty. The prices have kept jumping up significantly, while they are putting more and more limits on what we can use. They had a big sale in July so I hesitantly paid for a year's subscription to try and manage the rising costs, however only three months in and there have been so many bugs and glitches that customer service doesn't seem to care too much about. They've also changed the storage limit from 30GB+ (I don't know how much, but I had used 30GB with no issue) to 5 GB. I emailed, saying that I had paid for the year expecting the limits to stay the same, and I was told they'd changed the limits because they'd added in more AI tools (Which don't work). I was given a small discount code to subscribe to the higher tier. There is also no easy way to delete files. I asked for help as it was going to take hours to go through and delete every individual recording, and they said there was nothing they could do. Seems like a way to get people to spend more to save time when they could easily pop in a "select" tool to easier delete recordings. I'm so angry that I gave podcastle so much money, but as soon as my year is up, I will be going elsewhere.

Atrocious service, very buggy, full of AI tools that don't work. Worst is, when it comes to exporting your file, the service will just freeze and never full render it. Despite trying on multiple different devices and browsers was unable to export the project I'd spent hours in time for a deadline. Avoid at all costs

The service did what I needed it to. However, they gave me a free subscription for one week and then charged me for an entire year. I couldn't cancel my subscription because I didn't have access to my computer and it won't let me login from my phone. I tried to talk to a human about this, but all I got were bots. Very scammy.

I signed up for a 7-day free trial with Podcastle on Sept 30, 2025, expecting to test their Pro tools before deciding whether to subscribe. There was no clear disclosure that the trial was tied to a yearly plan or that I’d be billed $287.90. None of their emails or reminders mentioned any plan type, renewal date, or amount — only that “your Pro plan will activate automatically.” I canceled by email on Oct 7, before the Oct 8 billing date, yet they charged me anyway. Their support lead, Sara, later admitted users are auto-enrolled in annual plans by default, which means no valid consent was obtained. When I asked for proof, she sent a generic 2024 example screenshot that wasn’t from my account and admitted they don’t keep signup logs. This is a textbook example of dark-pattern billing — hidden terms, default annual subscriptions, and refusal to honor timely cancellations. I filed a bank dispute and reported Podcastle to the FTC and State Attorney General for unauthorized and deceptive billing. After I posted my review, Podcastle replied publicly claiming they wanted to solve the issue, but their follow-up simply repeated the same excuses without offering a refund or legitimate proof of my consent. Many other users have reported the same experience — hidden annual renewals, denied refunds, and vague responses. If so many customers are reporting identical problems, why is this company still allowed to operate? ⚠️ Avoid Podcastle. Their billing practices are deceptive, their customer service dismissive, and their business model unethical.

I was mischarged for a yearly subscription yesterday (10/7/25) after activating a free trial on 9/30/25. After reaching the data limit on the free trial, I was prompted to buy a monthly subscription, which I did. I finished the project I had been working it (FYI my manager did not like it due to the low quality AI), and deactivated it on 10/2/25. Aside from the low quality product, this "free subscription" seems more like a business strategy rather than a way to show off the features to unsuspecting customers. I don't buy that "their system" automatically charges the yearly subscription and in conjuction with their "refund policies," this seems like a clear a tactic to clutch on to any revenue they receive within the struggling AI sector. After taking at a look at Pitchbook (investor data website) to see who their investors are (all venture capital firms), I found that they are in an late venture growth stage currently. This company is clearly operating on a predatory business model, I'd recommend to stay far far away and avoid giving them your credit card information. ------------- EDIT: 10/9/25 I’d like to clarify a few important points, as your public statement misrepresents my actual experience. First, I did not intentionally create two workspaces. I only signed up for a personal account. When I selected “work” as the purpose of use, your system automatically created a secondary “team” workspace without making it clear that this would trigger a separate, billable subscription. This confusing setup has clearly affected many users, as reflected in numerous reviews describing similar experiences. Second, your claim that your support team “offered a partial refund” is false. No such "partial refund" offer was ever mentioned in any private correspondence. In fact, Lisa mentioned that your management team would make an exception for this case and process a refund, never mentioning the word "partial". It’s concerning that this was stated publicly when it was never communicated directly. If another customer is frustrated enough to consider reporting a ROSCA violation, that alone should speak volumes about how unclear and misleading this subscription process has become. Customers should never have to feel tricked or misled just to use a service. I stand by my request for a full refund of the unauthorized annual Team subscription. I hope the Podcastle team and their investors take this feedback seriously and addresses the recurring confusion and lack of transparency in its billing process. This experience has unfortunately tainted my view of the Podcastle management team and ruined what could have been a valuable business service.

Accidentally let the trial run over into a subscription and was charged nearly £300. They completely refuse to refund that. If the customer makes a mistake and has not used the product - a decent company should offer to refund it as a gesture of goodwill - rather than charging for a full year of a product that won't be used. Take the money from people that use your service, not from people that accidentally signed up.. Just nasty business practice. If this happens to you - check your local laws eg. The 14 day cooling off period. You may have some protection.

Your scam merchants simple. You take what you xall subscriptions way to easily even when you have faults with the app. You do nit explain subscriptions start 7 days in or that payment is immediate. Your refusal to give refunds is criminal which verifies your corrupt system. You are thieving scum. You dont care as long as you take money added to faulty app which you know has issues. I truly hope pay back is justified as it will happen sooner the better

Hostile and predatory business practices. Disrespectful customer services I think it might be a shell of some kind. Mixed/low results compared to competitors too. Adobe Podcast is free and better!