Wanted to inform the community about a concerning experience I had with Parallels, and suggest that users who need it buy it through the Mac App Store vs. the Parallels website.
TL;DR: Parallels billed me three times after I purchased their software, claiming "auto renew was reactivated" for previous subscriptions when I purchased a new one. Support declined refunds multiple times over a week (despite prominent "30-day Money Back Guarantee" language on the website), only offering to extend my term. I only received the refunds after going back and forth with them for over a week, and telling them I’d opened disputes for the two unauthorized charges with my credit-card company. If you buy Parallels, consider managing it where refunds are simpler (e.g., Mac App Store) and definitely double-check your auto-renew settings.
Full Story:
A few years back I used, and was a very happy customer of, Parallels to run some work-specific, Windows-only, software on my Mac. I left that client, and turned off auto-renew on my subscription and went on with my life. However, I recently returned to that client again (will only be with them for a short period of time) and so went back and re-subscribed as I'll be using the Windows-only software again. Imagine my surprise when I received three charges (all for different amounts) for Parallels. I check my account, and only see one active subscription, so clearly this is some sort of error.
Went through the support bot, and was told "According to our refund policy, we are only able to process refunds for new purchases. Subscription renewals are not eligible for a refund." I assume that clearly this situation is too complicated for the automated system, so I'll just reach out to a person. So I explain the situation in an email, and the next day receive a response was that "According to their records, auto-renew had been reactivated for my two previous subscriptions, and unfortunately their policy is not to provide refunds for renewals." Didn't matter that I hadn't authorized the auto-renew, or that I have no recollection of having two previous subscriptions (just one), or that (in my opinion, most importantly) my account only showed the one, recently purchased subscription as active, there was nothing they could do.
I assumed, "ok, I got a bad CSR" so I asked for it to be escalated, because they couldn't possibly be serious. The escalation came back the next day with "We won't refund you, but as a gesture of goodwill, we can extend your current subscription by an additional 3 months at no extra cost." Great. So now I'm getting 15 months of service after buying 12 months but getting charged for 36 months worth. Again, I still only see one active subscription on my account.
I said that was unacceptable and asked for one final escalation. The CSR did escalate it, and after three days I received a reply that "After careful consideration, we regret to inform you that we are unable to proceed with a refund in this instance" but as a gesture of good faith they would extend the end date of my current subscription (which doesn't help me, as I only need the software for a few months and am already paying for a year). So I called up my credit card company and disputed the two unauthorized charges.
After doing so, I replied to the CSR's last email, told them "thanks but no thanks", and that despite giving them the benefit of the doubt and trying to work with them, that given their unwillingness to engage reasonably I had disputed the two charges with my credit card company (I, of course, did not dispute the valid charge I had agreed to). Less than 45 minutes later I had refund emails in my mailbox.
I can only imagine if I hadn't checked my statement and noticed the extra charges what would have happened. If I had kept using the software longer than expected, would I have been charged almost $400 next year? I mean, even if I got three "your subscription is renewing" emails I would have assumed that was an error on their part, especially since, again, my account only ever showed the one active subscription.
Sorry for the rant, but think it's important for anyone using Parallels to double check their billing statements!
TL;DR: Parallels billed me three times after I purchased their software, claiming "auto renew was reactivated" for previous subscriptions when I purchased a new one. Support declined refunds multiple times over a week (despite prominent "30-day Money Back Guarantee" language on the website), only offering to extend my term. I only received the refunds after going back and forth with them for over a week, and telling them I’d opened disputes for the two unauthorized charges with my credit-card company. If you buy Parallels, consider managing it where refunds are simpler (e.g., Mac App Store) and definitely double-check your auto-renew settings.
Full Story:
A few years back I used, and was a very happy customer of, Parallels to run some work-specific, Windows-only, software on my Mac. I left that client, and turned off auto-renew on my subscription and went on with my life. However, I recently returned to that client again (will only be with them for a short period of time) and so went back and re-subscribed as I'll be using the Windows-only software again. Imagine my surprise when I received three charges (all for different amounts) for Parallels. I check my account, and only see one active subscription, so clearly this is some sort of error.
Went through the support bot, and was told "According to our refund policy, we are only able to process refunds for new purchases. Subscription renewals are not eligible for a refund." I assume that clearly this situation is too complicated for the automated system, so I'll just reach out to a person. So I explain the situation in an email, and the next day receive a response was that "According to their records, auto-renew had been reactivated for my two previous subscriptions, and unfortunately their policy is not to provide refunds for renewals." Didn't matter that I hadn't authorized the auto-renew, or that I have no recollection of having two previous subscriptions (just one), or that (in my opinion, most importantly) my account only showed the one, recently purchased subscription as active, there was nothing they could do.
I assumed, "ok, I got a bad CSR" so I asked for it to be escalated, because they couldn't possibly be serious. The escalation came back the next day with "We won't refund you, but as a gesture of goodwill, we can extend your current subscription by an additional 3 months at no extra cost." Great. So now I'm getting 15 months of service after buying 12 months but getting charged for 36 months worth. Again, I still only see one active subscription on my account.
I said that was unacceptable and asked for one final escalation. The CSR did escalate it, and after three days I received a reply that "After careful consideration, we regret to inform you that we are unable to proceed with a refund in this instance" but as a gesture of good faith they would extend the end date of my current subscription (which doesn't help me, as I only need the software for a few months and am already paying for a year). So I called up my credit card company and disputed the two unauthorized charges.
After doing so, I replied to the CSR's last email, told them "thanks but no thanks", and that despite giving them the benefit of the doubt and trying to work with them, that given their unwillingness to engage reasonably I had disputed the two charges with my credit card company (I, of course, did not dispute the valid charge I had agreed to). Less than 45 minutes later I had refund emails in my mailbox.
I can only imagine if I hadn't checked my statement and noticed the extra charges what would have happened. If I had kept using the software longer than expected, would I have been charged almost $400 next year? I mean, even if I got three "your subscription is renewing" emails I would have assumed that was an error on their part, especially since, again, my account only ever showed the one active subscription.
Sorry for the rant, but think it's important for anyone using Parallels to double check their billing statements!
