Brad S.

What is even the point of this site? They send your project out to all these "pros" and none of them reply. So, then you modify your request and try again - and maybe someone will reply once but never again. Try changing your name from a male to female sounding name and then you'll get a bunch more replies (gross but true - I heard this in another article & tried it - it IS true) - however even that still leaves you with unreliable people who do not come through. Why are there commercials for this crappy site on TV nonstop? It is literally the WORST possible recommendation site - just use Yelp!

I've written some very negative reviews of other sites, and I wanted to balance it out with who I think is possibly the best (but mildly under the radar) online retailer for glasses. The people are so helpful to deal with & will help you get all the discounts online and with your cool cash (that you may have forgotten about). My glasses always come super fast. The prescriptions are accurate. I really really love this company. The savings are insane too. You pay about 40% off Lens Crafters and it's the same exact thing. Actually, it's better. Lens Crafters doesn't offer Crizal in single-vision... but Cool Frames does.

They claim that they make it obvious that you are signing up for a trial membership, so how are SO many people missing it? There are a few reasons.
1. "30 day FREE TRIAL MEMBERSHIP" is in bold and large text. Then only below it do they put in non-bold and small text "After your trial, you'll be charged." (And this may be worse on some browsers and some screens - which I doubt they tested) 2. The site repeatedly displays this on every page: "Today Only: Save an Extra 20% Off Your First 3 Orders Shop Now" - but they fail to display the membership details on any page. Also, the above text is a lie. The discount is not "today only" - it is every day. But anyway, that is the deal that catches everyone's attention. Further, I doubt they have tested this on every browser, screen resolution, and every mobile device, and the disparity between their big bold discounts and fine print of being charged after the trial is even worse on some screens.

I certainly did not see anything about this trial or I would've cancelled it immediately that day. I've dealt with this before on apps and websites & always cancel the same day or put it on my calendar to cancel it. I do this because other sites make the fee CLEAR. Thrive deliberately does not. How do I know it is deliberate? Well, for one thing - they haven't changed a thing about their website despite hundreds of complaints. But there is more.

By not making their fees conspicuous (clearly visible - like their promotions are), it is a violation most states' consumer fraud and deceptive business practices laws. So, you'd think I could just take them to court for this and also get punitive damages for this behavior, right? Nope! They thought of that already, and this is where it gets interesting. Their TOS has an arbitration clause, making it impossible to sue them out in an actual court of law. You have to arbitrate, and you can only arbitrate in California, per the TOS. Arbitration rarely (if ever) awards punitive damages, so you'd spend quite a lot of time and money traveling to CA for $60 - which nobody would do. They obviously know this.

Now, to Thrive Market employees who read / respond to comments here, why does a simple healthy organic online grocery store need a lengthy & tightly bound arbitration clause in its terms of service? Hmm? It is because you know the little scam you have going on with membership fees would eventually be challenged in another state's court system, at a tremendous cost to you in legal & travel fees to attend court out of state? That's the only reason I can think of, and I am sure that's the real reason, because what customer would fly to Marina Del Rey to arbitrate over a $60 membership fee? I was going to sue you here under our consumer protection laws just because you seem like horrible people, but I can't due to that clause (which may not hold up due to fraud - i. E. not conspicuously labeling membership fees... laws were passed about this after gyms defrauded consumers). Also, can you answer me this: After reading months of complaints about this issue, why have you refused to make ANY alterations in your website to make the fee more obvious? Do you think anyone signs up for Amazon Prime without knowing about it? Now ask yourselves what you are doing different from Amazon and why. Feel free to post it as a response (I see you ignored my post, but you responded to everyone else.)

Oh, in the fine print, Thrive does allow you to opt out of arbitration for the first 30 days after your purchase - only in a very small block of text in their massive TOS. But if you opt out, they still claim (though I don't see how this is enforceable) that all disputes are settled in CA under CA law... and not where the damaged party is (which is where jurisdiction should be). Consumer fraud lawsuits are brought where the consumer was defrauded 99% of the time, NOT where the company is based - like they are trying to enforce.

It is amazing how they keep pretending they just innocently charged you a yearly membership fee on here - and you're the one at fault for missing it (and you "agreed to" it - supposedly -- amazing how many hundreds of people missed it though isn't it?). However, when you read the TOS & see their refusal to modify the website, this reveals their true nature. It's all deliberate - obviously. Truly nasty, vile people are behind this site.

The BBB and endless online complaints will not shut this company down. It will not put the CEOs in jail (though they are being sued by an Illinois company in civil court). What they are doing is criminal and considered consumer fraud. Reporting them takes 5 minutes. It's so easy to do, but the Atty General will not do much with 1 or 2 complaints. They need many more. The form is below:

http://myfloridalegal.com/Contact.nsf/Contact?OpenForm&Section=Consumer_Protection_Division

This is the office of Reservations.com you need to enter on the form:

390 N Orange Ave STE 1515
Orlando, FL *******-1645
*******439
Reservations.com
Orange County

I was ripped off too, and my story is the exact same as everyone else - so after you report this, dispute it with your credit card. They will not fight the dispute and you'll win - BUT - it was my BANK who pays the $14.99 back because it is under the threshold where they spend time disputing it. So, Reservations.com has the PERFECT scam!

You need to reiterate this in your report to the attorney general: "Prices must be clearly and unambiguously displayed for any sale - in real life or online." This was not the case here.

When everyone tells their credit card companies & opens a dispute, they will lose their ability to continue to do this since no credit card company will allow this deceptive practice to continue.

The company is run by two Indian immigrants: Mahesh Chaddah and Yatin Patel who will also be deported for this criminal behavior but they HAVE to be reported first!

You can also go to their LinkedIn page and leave comments below their posts. https://www.linkedin.com/company/reservations.com/