Sequencing.comReviews of sequencing.com

Sequencing.com is the dark underbelly of the biotech corporatocracy we are currently living in. It is a scam and a huge disappointment. They analyze specimens at a snail's pace and frequently drop/lose specimens in the middle of processing. After looking at the experiences of many other customers, I'd say there is about a 50% chance your specimen will actually be analyzed. Even if you get a result, there is now way to verify the accuracy. I sent in a 30x full genome kit in October 2022. Mind you, this was a replacement for my original kit that "failed" in August 2022. DNA passed quality control and was sequenced successfully several weeks ago according to the status on website. "Sequencing to 30x" has been ongoing for a few weeks now. At one point, the status said "still sequencing and it is going well". I was just notified today that the kit had failed at the lab (AGAIN). Except this time it took nearly 4 months to figure that out. How is it possible for DNA that has already been sequenced to fail in the middle of sequencing to 30x? I have been waiting patiently since August 2022 after spending $400 on a kit, and getting a replacement and still have no result! This is the second time in a row I have been told that my kit has failed. What is the actual problem? Besides the high rate of kit failures, there is no legit reason why sequencing takes months. I have a Ph.D. in biomedical science and have been working in laboratory settings for over 6 years. Full genome 30x sequencing can be done in less than 24 hours using today's technology. Underpaid graduate students fresh out of college sequence genomes regularly, every single day. Either Sequencing.com is relying on labs using extremely outdated technology or just simply lie about your kit status. They misspelled my name as "Huntee" on the first kit, which was an immediate red flag. How can I trust a company to provide me with full genome sequencing, if they can't even spell my name correctly? They clearly post fake reviews to try and support themselves. The fact that they monitor these review websites so closely is highly suspicious. They must be expecting a flood of negative reviews. Apparently, the company is in shambles and they are scrambling to clean up the mess. They will not even tell you exactly why your specimen failed. Just a generic statement about not meeting "quality controls". Whether it fails soon after shipment or towards the end of the 30x sequencing process, doesn't seem to matter. One last point: they take negative reviews and experiences very personally and will try to justify their shortcomings. They have attempted to swipe my review from Trustpilot.com. Very unprofessional behavior from a company that people are trusting to handle genome sequencing for medical informatics (the most detailed information obtainable from a human being!). For anyone who has had a bad experience with Sequencing.com, I recommend reporting your experience to the BBB. I will try Nebula. Heard they are much better.

Just stealing money… I bought the kit online, and besides the receipt, I’ve never heard anything from the company. I tried email, phone, support request online, it’s just a ghost company. But payment is working and they stole $399…

After all the positive reviews, I decided to give Sequencing.com a try. I got the 30X Genome sequencing. I previously used its competitor, Nebula. I took a chance that Sequencing.com would be more timely. It's not. It is very deceptive. The website says 8-10 weeks to process. As soon as it has your money, it tells you 10-12 weeks, and could take as long as 16 weeks. As of this writing, I still don't have my data, and it has been over 17 weeks, and that is after it expedited the process when it was about halfway through the number of steps. What I really liked: * Detailed status to let you know where the process is at * Ultimate compatibility file, useful for genealogy sites * Sometimes the email support can be quick and friendly What I don't like: *Mind-numbingly slow at processing * Status means nothing. It's completely inaccurate. * Getting the data is like pulling teeth. I still don't have all of it and don't know if I will ever get it. * It changed genome plan to a much lesser plan that seems to have no value *Failed to provide report included in lesser plan * No call support to speak of * Email support is hit and miss * Quick to take your money After being weeks behind and only making it to the halfway mark, it agreed to expedite the process. Things moved quickly after that. It promised 5 days to complete it. It took a little longer before I got some of the data, but I don't complain. I still don't have the BAM files, nor the FASTQ files, even after repeated requests. It is always, we will send you a link in 3-5 days. Never happens. I tried to call. After waiting for a while, it forces you to leave a message. No one ever returns your call. It is so frustrating dealing with them. The status was always wrong. It would get stuck in a step and I would have to contact them. They would tell me that the step was actually completed and that they would update the progress. It said the overall process was completed before it was completed. One of the last steps was to implement the genome plan, but when it deemed everything complete, that step disappeared. I had to email to beg them for a plan. I got a plan, but it doesn't include what was promised. Currently, the website says it includes one month of the Silver genome plan when you order the full genome testing, next generation rare disease screening, Wellness report, and two applications of your choice. When I ordered, there were 3 plans: Silver, gold, and platinum. Even though it still indicates that these plans are available, if I try to upgrade, I see Plus, Premium, and Pro. They put me on the Plus plan, which supposedly includes a 1,200 rare disease scan, as opposed to a 10,000 rare disease scan. The plan they put me on, after the first month, you pay $129 annually, for a $10 a month discount on app purchases accumulating up to $100 max. Makes zero sense to buy the plan. I can tell you that I wasn't given a $10 credit to purchase anything. I don't remember for sure at the time I bought the plan that it included the rare disease report, but it did include two free apps, which I could have chosen the rare disease report. I did receive the Wellness report as promised, but not the two free apps. I feel that I was cheated. I am not going to spend $90 on a 1,200 rare disease report. I should either receive it with the Plus plan, via the two promised apps, or because the10,000 rare disease report was supposed to be included. One thing that bugs me is how quick Sequencing.com took my money. After entering the credit card information, I thought I would have a chance to review the order. But, no, it takes your money immediately, before it even has your information and knows whether it can deliver the package to you. It could be that if I select the rare disease report, it will tell me it is free and not $90, but I can't take that chance, knowing how quick it is to take your money. If you don't change your plan to the free plan, you will be billed for one year for the useless plan they put you on, so watch out for that. Supposedly, it doesn't keep your credit card information, but it tells you they will use the same credit card as you used to order the kit. Indeed, I looked, and it seems that it doesn't store it, but it must keep it elsewhere. Concerning the data, for the larger files, you can't download them directly. You have to beg them for a link. It supposedly takes 3 to 5 days to provide a link. I have yet to receive a link after repeated requests. Without the data, my purchase is useless. Sequencing.com is a disappointment, and it is frustrating dealing with them. I don't recommend using Sequencing.com based on my experience. Of the two that I have used, Sequencing.com and Nebula, I had a better experience with Nebula, although it didn't deliver everything that was promised. At least Nebula is much faster and with zero problems getting my data.

I have been with sequencing.com for several years now mainly to use the genome Explorer app conducting my own research of several diseases. During this time my experience was that it worked 50% of the time for a paid app. Eventually I discontinued the service out of pure frustration- why continue to pay for a service that i was never sure if it would ever work? A few months later I recieved an email to try their Beta version of the app. So I signed back up. Then came the site upgrade which resulted in many weeks of not being able to access my data or use the G.E. app. Many many messages sent to support and no one could help. I eventually figured out a work-around using a different browser. I went to use the app and there was a link to resubscribe for the month but it went to a paid subscription now of twice as much money with less features. I went on today to find my data files I used are now all gone (vcf). I loved the G.E. app, but ya know, after years of service and how I feel I've been treated throughout is far from stellar.

I had a premium account which I used to upload DNA files from other companies, but wanted to downgrade to a free account, as I no longer wished to pay any money towards the service. However, when confirming that I wish to downgrade my account, I was actually charged $129! But the website stated I would keep my benefits until January and that no new charges would take place until January as well, so why was I IMMEDIATELY charged so much money? To, again, switch to a FREE account plan? My account information is wrong as well, saying that I currently have a Premium plan, but am downgrading to a Premium plan in January...how does that make ANY sense? It doesn't. Not to mention...I am now unable to access ANY Premium content on the website now, despite 1. already being a premium member 2. I was literally charged $129 to CANCEL my premuium account, so at least let me keep the benefits if you're going to take my money anyway? I emailed Sequencing.com twice for a refund and never heard anything back from them. I've been trying to get my money back now for a month and a half and I am beyond frustrated. It seems like they only reply to favorable reviews so I'm not even expecting any response at all at this point. I'm taking it up with the BBB because it is literally theft to take my money without providing any services and Sequencing.com has provided me with no choice as they chose radio silence. Money is tight for most Americans right now and that $129 would have gone a long way for me this holiday season, but Sequencing.com stole it from me without any rhyme or reason, and refuses to give it back all while stripping me of any premium access to their services at the same exact time. AVOID THIS SITE AT ALL COSTS. They are thieves and the website is beyond broken.

Sequencing was fine until this year when the company upgraded the site and decided to switch the memberships around (which are less value but more expensive than the old ones). I didn't want the new 'Plus' membership and tried to downgrade but the site wouldn't let me and I had to constantly email to get it done internally. After that and for over 2 months, I have been unable to access my account, data or report results (some of which don't have the results attached to them anymore, despite paying for them). The constant reply particularly from Logan in Support is that the engineers are working on a bug in the new site with seemingly no end or resolution in sight. Meanwhile I have no access to my account OR DNA raw data and this has raised huge red flags for ownership of that and my privacy. Sequencing will not send me separately my DNA and reports either and as I don't have access I can't remove my DNA from their site despite claims that a member has complete control over their own data. That's only if they give you access to your account where the DNA data is. It would seem that this has been triggered by my refusal to continue another year at a more expensive rate for less value in return. Once this is resolved I will not trust Sequencing with my data again and will move to a firm with integrity given the highly sensitive data Sequencing process and which they are effectively holding to ransom.

Despite their website being “upgraded” and services becoming more expensive, they now have a paywall to see data that was visible previously with the free membership. Even after paying for the Premium plan, and rerunning my genome explorer, I continuously receive messages that say I’m unauthorized to view the page with my report, or my data is still located behind a paywall AFTER paying $400 to upgrade just to see my health data again. The website is also very “glitchy” now and about 1/2 the time says I have no reports, despite other times showing them. Customer service has not been responsive despite multiple emails. When calling, you get a message that no one is available to talk to you, and to leave a message. Then the line hangs up before you can actually leave a message. When this website works, it’s helpful, and I really enjoyed it, but the customer service is terrible. BOTTOM LINE: I paid $399 for a year long upgraded membership and cannot even access my genome information, and customer service is now non-existent.

I ordered 3 kits in March 2022. First, they bungled the shipping (even though I paid extra for expedited international). Some programming error in their setup meant I couldn't activate the kits and send them back until April. Then, they lost one kit (they were all in one package, how do you manage that). They refunded it, but said I couldn't get a new one. One, they said had insufficient quality (perhaps because the used spit kit was sitting on my desk for ages?). Now, suddenly doing a new one was an option? I told them I'd wait until they complete the last kit. The last kit is supposedly complete, but hasn't been imported (stuck on the last step since July). They're 'investigating' this bug, i.e. nothing is happening, support is unresponsive. Btw. this is all perfectly normal service under their T&C. They give you expected timelines, but make no apologies when they utterly fail to stick to them.