“basically the same most of the review writers have written already. No meeting since 10 months. Sure they hide behind Covid, but this also mean they didn't honour their part of the promises they made.
Luckily my Credit Card expired and now they are threatening me for payment and asking for giving them my new credit card details.
Because of their many unfriendly mails , I was nearly about to give in , untilI read the reviews of other people who feel cheated by their organisation. Don't ever give them your credit card details or they will charge with whatever forever .”
“Do NOT sign up with InterNations! I have downgraded and cancelled the annual renewal services through the InterNation App, but I have still been charged for renewal without my knowledge, consent, against my will. I explained the situations repeatedly to their Customer Support team and request for refund as it is the issue with InterNation App and I do not wish to continue with the membership. InterNation App is bad and often crashes and do not record cancellation and downgrading correctly.
The Customer Support team wouldn’t listen to me, refused to refund and blamed me for not sending them the error messages about App issue earlier. Unpleasant, unhelpful and unreasonable customer services. Total waste of my time and effort. Would not recommend this to anyone.”
“I am very dissapointed and disgraced by the messages I received from some guys on internations. I thought this social network is to connect with expats, attend some quality events and all not to receive twinkles and hook up mesages. Just because of this reason I had to change my profile picture from formal to show that I am in a relationship. Then I realised when I send friend requests to people that sends me twinkles I receive messages from them like ' I only accept friends that I personally know them and met them. I hope I can add you one day' after I changed my profile picture. Internations has turned in dating site unfortunately. I will post all of them on instagram and not recommend this website to anyone as It does not provide anything quality but disgust. And seriously wtf with twinkles, what is it all about?”
“Paid for a subscription to this website while I was traveling, looking for some meetups and to meet some other travelers. Thought nothing of it. It was a relatively nice experience
In 2019, after my subscription ran out. I wasn't allowed to access the content again until I paid to renew my subscription. That seems fair. I still wanted to use the content so I paid.
I barely used the website since then and when they repeatedly told me my subscription was going to end, I didn't care, because I no longer wanted to use the product in 2020 with the pandemic. Anyway, without my permission, they extended my subscription and sent me a ridiculous email, trying to threaten me and saying I owed them money, even though I had no current credit card in their system. That's not how things work. You cut off someone's access to content when they don't pay. Seems they got extra sketchy during the Corona pandemic and just started trying to hustle people. Sounds like a criminal to me
Now they are basically trying to extort me for something I didn't want. The weak minded people that work for them aren't allowed to say anything non PC when you contact them, so the conversation got nowhere. They just kept trying to talk about the Terms and Conditions. I'm not paying thieves and they can shove their terms and conditions up their ***. I read several reviews and it seems I'm far from the only one they tried to steal from. Looking forward to this criminal enterprise going out of business”
“Hi,
Last year, I recently moved to Asia from the states and decided to join InterNations as an Albatross member (1-year subscription). Early on I attended a few events. They were pretty disorganized and pointless since no one greeted you as an InterNations representative. I would have had the same luck just going into any random venue and striking up a conversation with a stranger.
Based on these initial lackluster experiences I quickly forgot about InterNations and settled into my new life abroad. Right after COVID-19 became a global pandemic I received an email notification from InterNations stating how they couldn't charge my credit card (it had expired during the interim) for my auto-renewal. I sent them a quick e-mail telling them not to worry about it and that I don't want to renew. Well, as I found out, they don't take "no" for an answer.
Instead their policy, no doubt designed from their ex-McKinsey CEO, was to escalate the situation and threaten me with debt collectors over US$100. I was a bit shocked to be treated like a deadbeat and a criminal. After all, I was technically still a member. I never received an e-mail notification that a charge was imminent, which is standard for practically every business. I guess it's my fault for not devoting to memory their T&C. I mean, it's not like anything happened over the past year.
I asked them how could this be legal? It certainly wasn't where I lived. Their response:
"InterNations is a German company based in Munich. We are therefore governed by and operate according to German law, rather than the laws of your country of residence."
I admit...again it's my fault I didn't read up on German law before initially signing up for the Albatross membership. But fair enough, I did some reading and paid them back in their own coin (apologies for the length of the e-mail below, but worth the read):
"Thank you for clarifying that your company is governed by and operates according to German law.
According to the German Civil Code “Einführungsgesetz zum Bürgerlichen Gesetzbuche § 1 Moratorium”, a consumer has the right to refuse a claim related to a consumer contract until June 30 due to the spread of SARS-CoV-2 virus (COVID-19 pandemic). As it is Monday, June 29 in Germany, I am exercising my right to refuse your claim. Let this email serve as notice that I want my subscription canceled and my account deleted effective immediately.
According to your company’s mission statement, InterNations is “a place where international people like you meet, connect, and exchange information” and “network and find friends who will explore your new surroundings with you”. Do you reasonably expect people to “meet” and “explore” their surroundings during a global pandemic? According to German law, the answer is Nein.
Lastly, I never received a notice of re-enrollment from InterNations and therefore had no reasonable expectation that you would be charging my credit card for anything over the agreed upon one-year period. It appears that InterNations cares more about its short-term profitability than it does about its subscribers’ economic and physical wellbeing. I am confident others will share this sentiment once I forward this and your previous emails to my colleagues in the media."
This e-mail elicited their standard response that ends with their company motto: "We reserve the right to escalate this matter further to a debt collection agency, which may result in additional costs for you."
So did InterNations break a German law that was meant to protect consumers during COVID-19? Seems that way to me, but I don't have a German law degree.
To end this review, please avoid InterNations, they are the worst.
Stay safe everyone :)”
“GREEDY AND UNETHICAL SCAM COMPANY THAT GETS AGGRESSIVE IF THEIR USERS DO NOT WANT TO REMAIN ALBATROSS MEMBERS
I had an Albatross membership that was auto-renewed about 2 months ago - during a world pandemic and lock-down when there were no real-life events organized at all.
They could not charge my credit card and therefore started to harass me for the membership subscription fee. I contacted them right after receiving the first email about the failed transaction for auto-renewal (otherwise I would probably have not noticed immediately that my money has gone to their pockets). The communication with their Support Team clearly showed how much consideration and empathy they have for their users (hint: 0).
The membership that I was able to use since the coronavirus has been spreading corresponded only to Basic membership, therefore as they failed to provide any services that match the Albatross membership, they could've simply admitted it and could have downgraded me to Basic membership - like I requested their Support Team multiple times to do so, in a friendly way. They cannot sell any value with Albatross membership during a world pandemic as their offer was not designed for the online world. Charging users for Albatross membership was completely unwanted and inappropriate.
Instead of understanding and accepting my request, they insisted on me paying the outstanding balance so that I become able to downgrade. Yes, I could buy a downgrade option for many EURs - for a 1-year subscription fee! What an impertinence!
Their sneaking idea is to hide the "downgrade" button as well as the "profile deletion" function from the user menu in order to put pressure on the user to settle the balance. They lied that they cannot downgrade me and cannot cancel or revert the renewal of my membership. If that's true, be especially careful when giving your sensitive data for a company that does not have a competent User Administrator in charge and make sure to request the deletion of your data from their database!
They blocked access to my profile and messages after a couple of payment reminders and started to threaten me and told me that they reserve the right to escalate this matter further to a debt collection agency, which may result in additional costs for me. What a ridiculous and shameless move it was from them! And they kept repeating that I should have seen the auto-renewal date on their web page and on my older invoices and in their Terms and Conditions. Seriously, who on earth visits web pages in 2020 regularly just to read old invoices and Terms and Conditions?!
They are able to spam you with a lot of newsletters, but they don't bother sending a single notification email before the auto-renewal is due. If they succeed with charging your credit card, they don't inform you in email either. This is pure meanness.
I learned after some googling that they have been applying this practice to hundreds and thousands of their users for years without any consequences. It's outrageous to see how many people they stole from or threatened already.
If you start to complain about their unethical practice on their social media accounts, be prepared that they will be quick to suppress your voice and block you.
DO NOT PAY them, or do request a refund from your bank if they already charged you. Spread the word about this scam and discourage your friends from signing up there.
ADVICE:
Do not sign up! Downgrade if you have Albatross membership and don't want it to auto-renew! Delete your account!”
“It's THIEF site!!! DO NOT USE! Don't fall in the trap!
They were masking the automaticaly activated autorenewal option and later, they autorenew and charge for the whole year, without sending you informational e-mail before they renew your subscription. When politely asked to cancel the renewal, just a day or two after the renewed subscription, they were acting rude and unpolite, puting themself on the first place, hiding behind some german laws, like pu*sies. The customer is placed always on the last place.”
“Devious Billing Practice
Just like others, I signed up for their 1 month free Albatros membership. Without any warning, this free membership got auto renewed to a year.
If InterNations wants, they can very easily send an automated email reminder about renewal to all its consumers. But InterNations will not send ANY reminder. Their response is:
1- "information is available in Terms & Conditions"
2- YOU agreed to the Terms & Conditions
3- So it is your responsibility and because you failed to remember, you have to pay up now!
Frankly for me, this is a very MEDIEVAL and DEVIOUS billing practice. InterNation's business model is to trick and abuse innocent & busy consumers.
Today, consumers are used to trusting "ethical websites". Other ethical websites that work on subscription, send reminders about membership renewal and also freely offer refunds incase their is any confusion! For such ethical websites, CONSUMER IS KING.
But InterNations just wants to trick and abuse innocent consumers with "legal arguments". FOR InterNations, CONSUMER IS AN ILLITERATE WHO SHOULD BE ROBBED.
For a social network site that depends on consumers to survive, InterNations is destroying their consumer trust. Why are they doing this? Who knows! It is disgusting and gives other online websites a bad name. I hope someone makes an example of this devious company.
STAY AWAY!!!”
“Devious Billing Practice
Just like others, I signed up for their 1 month free Albatros membership. Without any warning, this free membership got auto renewed to a year.
If InterNations wants, they can very easily send an automated email reminder about renewal to all its consumers. But InterNations will not send ANY reminder. Their response is:
1- "information is available in Terms & Conditions"
2- YOU agreed to the Terms & Conditions
3- So it is your responsibility and because you failed to remember, you have to pay up now!
Frankly for me, this is a very MEDIEVAL and DEVIOUS billing practice. InterNation's business model is to trick and abuse innocent & busy consumers.
Today, consumers are used to trusting "ethical websites". Other ethical websites that work on subscription, send reminders about membership renewal and also freely offer refunds incase their is any confusion! For such ethical websites, CONSUMER IS KING.
But InterNations just wants to trick and abuse innocent consumers with "legal arguments". FOR InterNations, CONSUMER IS AN ILLITERATE WHO SHOULD BE ROBBED.
For a social network site that depends on consumers to survive, InterNations is destroying their consumer trust. Why are they doing this? Who knows! It is disgusting and gives other online websites a bad name. I hope someone makes an example of this devious company.
STAY AWAY!!!”
“Do NOT sign up with InterNations! I have downgraded and cancelled the annual renewal services through the InterNation App, but I have still been charged for renewal without my knowledge, consent, against my will. I explained the situations repeatedly to their Customer Support team and request for refund as it is the issue with InterNation App and I do not wish to continue with the membership. InterNation App is bad and often crashes and do not record cancellation and downgrading correctly.
The Customer Support team wouldn’t listen to me and blame me for not sending them the error messages about App issue earlier. Unpleasant, unhelpful and unreasonable customer services. Total waste of my time and effort. Would not recommend this to anyone.”
“Thank you for rejecting my request... Submitted a membership request and was declined (really?). I am in the process of preparing to set up a business in Vietnam until the pandemic prevented foreigners to travel there. While I am waiting for everything to reopen I decided to research other professional like minded individuals who may have share some of their knowledge or experience and came across the InterNations website which looked both professional and inviting. So glad the reviews here saved me time and money and I'll do it the old fashioned way and build my own connections. Thank you all for your contributions :)”
“#Internations #UAE #Internations.org #LegalizedFraud #Beware #DubaiExpatsBeware #UAEExpatsBeware
This is a very unethical and dishonest organization that feeds off unsuspecting professionals who have experienced their sleazy operations and dont want to continue any longer. This is legalized fraud. They automatically without consent renew the membership and then throw the rulebook. They just charged me AED 468 which is like Euros 125 without my consent. I wrote to them within an hour but they refuse to refund the charges. If someone knows of a fair-practice organization or watch-dog body in Germany or the EU, please let me know. I want everyone in Dubai to know that these guys are cheats and we must stay as far away as possible. They are getting away with this dishonest practice and hope some governmental organization clamps down on them.”
“Anyone from the victims who is a lawyer? we need to join hands to stop this company from existing and take it to justice!!!!!! anyone from Germany who knows where is the government authority to report this unethnic business?? every victim suffered about usd 50-60, not much money, but it's about the fair principle that we hold for the business community. all victims here are witnesses. please support.”
“WASTE OF $$ - WATCH OUT - POOR Customer Service
There is a hook to get you interested and leads one to believe that you need the paid subscription (NOT worth what you pay for it). THEN there is an automatic renewal WITHOUT NOTIFICATION and they are worthless enough that they wont refund it even when you try to address the fact that there was NO NOTIFICATION of a pending renewal. So they have got my $ and I dont even visit the site anymore and it never was worth it even when I did.”
“Internations is not loyal to their members and has unethical policy regarding their fees which is a real rubbery for their members. My subscription was scheduled for 3 months only which I have used only once and never again visited my online account. After 3 months period they renewed subscription automatically and charged my account. No requests helped to get a refund back for this prepayment which is ridiculous. I would never recommend this organization to anyone if they treat their members like that.”
“I didn't get much out of my paid membership. They automatically renewed my membership without alerting me. I hadn't attended any events and didn't wish to renew. They claim that there is some kind of albatross image by your name on your profile page--and this is supposed to mean something about autorenewal??? Still not sure how you could cancel without paying them for the favor. Absolute scam and fraud of a business. Whether it's legal or not (it probably varies by location), it is definitely not fair or the ways of a legit, modern company. No reason to join this organization. There are other options.”
“DO NOT USE
Customer Support is disgracefully bad.
There is no email reminder for upgrading to a paid membership. No refunds.
If you are a woman, expect to have a lot of connections looking for romantic "catch-ups".
DISGRACE.”
