Gary O.
The "free" account probably isn't free.
I was about to sign up for a "free" account and was tempted to upgrade to their pro plan - but then it wanted my credit card details, even for the "free" account. So I checked Trustpilot, only to find out that many people had been charged without permission, even after being assured that no charge would be taken and many couldn't get their money back because it was beyond the "14-day" guarantee period. And that some people had had their subscription prices increased without notification and after being assured when they signed up that there would be no increase. I wanted to check out the basic ("free") service for a while first to see if my site would benefit from it in some way. But then I noticed the offer prices kept changing. At first it was $100p.a. (and before I could check whether this was $100p.a. in perpetuity or just $100 for the first year and then $250 thereafter). And then I looked at the pricing part of the website and saw that the annual price was $120 (well, "only" $10/month, but only if "billed annually"). I decided just to quit while I'm ahead - I don't want to be monitoring my bank account continuously in case they decide to charge me or increase the costs sometime down the line, next month or next year or in two years' time! I just uninstalled the app and am looking elsewhere. Oh, and I noticed that OptinMonster also has WPForms, OptinInsights, AIOSEO, TrustPulse (ironic, that!) and various other plugins. I don't think I've been asked for credit card details for any of these yet, but it might be safer to uninstall them also. Prove me wrong! Update. Reply to OptinMonster: Just because you provide a 14-day window isn't enough. You AUTOMATICALLY take the payment without any active intervention by the customer. So if your notification isn't received or not noticed or ends up in spam then what written guarantees do you provide that a customer can get a refund a month or two LATER if they notice that they've been inadvertently charged for the service? If you really are a legitimate service (i.e. not intending to scam customers by playing a numbers game) then you will require the customer to actively subscribe to the service if they wish to continue after the trial period has ended, else automatically revert to the free/non-pro plan. Just because "other companies" practice this same scammy tactic doesn't make it a legitimate way to do business. I didn't subscribe to Mail Chimp or Constant Contact for the same reason; I chose Moosend, a far more ethical, upfront email campaign service - who required no credit card to sign up for the free 30-day trial!)
Response from OptinMonsterJul 22, 2024
Hello Gary, Thanks for writing in and sharing your feedback. You’re right, all our plans including the free tier require an account and credit card to start and have specific pageview limits and features available to them. It’s common for premium software providers to require some level of personal and payment information to facilitate the subscription or purchase process. Kind of like how you might be billed for an email marketing provider like Mailchimp or Constant Contact. This helps ensure that the software is properly licensed, allows for a seamless billing process, and helps maintain security measures for both the provider and the customer. We understand this can cause some concern, and we want to assure you that you have complete control over when or if we use the card on file. You can manage these settings within your account preferences, which can be found here: https://optinmonster.com/docs/pageview-and-upgrade-preferences/. Additionally, we offer a 14-day unconditional money-back guarantee, so if for any reason you’re not completely satisfied with OptinMonster, you can cancel your account and receive a hassle-free refund. We also send a notification when the renewal happens so you do not need to keep an eye out on your card statement as we proactively inform you via email. We hope these options will give you and other users more confidence in using OptinMonster, and we appreciate you taking the time to try our platform. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any further questions or concerns.