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SPOT alert! - Bad business practices

T

terrykohler

Well Known Member
Yesterday I received my credit card statement, which indicated an annual renewal fee for my spot messenger. I called this morning to cancel service (haven't used the unit in at least 8 months) and was told that my new service cycle began 8/1 and was billed on my credit card on 9/1. As SPOT does not allow cancellation/refund 30 days after the cycle date, I was SOL (even if I looked at my statement on a daily basis, I probably wouldn't have caught it in time). I told the service guy this was not reasonable as no alert had been sent to me. His response - Too late for a refund. Read the contract. Just a warning to anyone using this product.
Terry, CFI
RV-9A N323TP
 
Then I'd have cancelled eight months ago. We use our SPOT on a weekly basis and appreciate what it's capable of. It's a device we really WANT!\

P.S. ----- And like I said two weeks ago...............SPOT followed through on their end of the contract, when my wife accidently set her headphones on the 911 button after landing. The unit was still on, and the response from SPOT's emergency assistance was within two minutes.


L.Adamson ---- RV6A
 
Last edited:
RV8R999 said:
what is a SPOT??
Click to expand...

A small satellite tracking device. It will overlay a footprint on a Google map. Sends a coordinate every 10 minutes. Was designed with hiking in mind, but works excellent in airplanes. It also has a 911 & I'm okay buttoon to alert friends or assistance. We use ours on every cross country.

L.Adamson --- RV6A
 
Sell it!

Terry -

If you don't use it, sell it and the account. There'll be some way to change the settings and make it work 2nd hand.
 
easy fix

terrykohler said:
Yesterday I received my credit card statement, which indicated an annual renewal fee for my spot messenger. I called this morning to cancel service (haven't used the unit in at least 8 months) and was told that my new service cycle began 8/1 and was billed on my credit card on 9/1. As SPOT does not allow cancellation/refund 30 days after the cycle date, I was SOL (even if I looked at my statement on a daily basis, I probably wouldn't have caught it in time). I told the service guy this was not reasonable as no alert had been sent to me. His response - Too late for a refund. Read the contract. Just a warning to anyone using this product.
Terry, CFI
RV-9A N323TP
Click to expand...

Hey Terry:

Call your credit card company and get the charge removed. They will not argue, and the SPOT folks (or any CC vendor for that matter) will have to make it right with you (quickly) as their card machine account will remain closed till they do. Believe me, with their income shut off, they will be motivated to make you happy!

Good luck!
Mark
 
Hey Terry, I feel your pain - I hate finding out that I've paid for something I didn't intend to....and I have my own questions about SPOT as a tracker (an RV goes a long way in ten minutes!), but do you really think it's fair to slam them when YOU didn't read the fine print on the contract that you signed? There are TONS of companies that use automatic resubscription billing - newspapers, for instance. Of course, you can usually opt out of automatic billing, which is what I do on just about everything, having had nasty surprises in the past.

I'm not slamming you, we all get frustrated with this kind of stuff - just pointing out that if you hadn't been using it for 8 months, you had plenty of time to call them and retract your automatic renewal....
 
Hi Terry:

Sounds like you have three options:

1. Dispute it through the credit card company
2. Sell the unit (and prorated service) to someone else
3. Use your Spot

Having coordinated search and rescue efforts for years, I can tell you without reservation having a valid "Last Known Position" is an absolute key to a quick and successful outcome. Without it, a search is largely based on luck. Even a LKP that's ten minutes old is better than none at all. Compared to older ELTs, a 406 ELT are a great step forward in that way, but it's still a passive device and you have to crash to get it to do it job, assuming it survives the crash. Since the Spot is an active system, there's always a breadcrumb left behind, even if the crash consumes everything. I'm still convinced the search for Steve Fossett would have ended much sooner if he had access to a Spot. My wife has actually gotten into the habit of watching me on my longer trips and it gives her a sense of security when she can sees that I've reached my destination.

Personally, I'd recommend you go with option 3. It's really cheap insurance.

Brad
 
re: how much

I've never looked into Spot. I don't really go anywhere to speak of, but how much is the annual subscription?

Marshall Alexander
 
The basic service plan is...

...$99 per year. If you want to add the tracking feature so your friends and family can track you, I recall the whole shebang is then $147.00.

Regards,
 
I had a similar experience when I canceled my SPOT account. They said it would take 3-4 weeks to get my Visa card refunded. 4 weeks went by with no refund. Called SPOT again and they said it would be another few weeks. Called my credit card company and got an immediate credit.

I really liked using the SPOT service but their deceptive billing process really left a bad taste in my mouth. Would probably not buy another unit unless they clean up their customer service issues.
 
terrykohler said:
I told the service guy this was not reasonable as no alert had been sent to me. His response - Too late for a refund. Read the contract. Just a warning to anyone using this product.
Click to expand...

Terry -

Dispute the charge with your CC issuer. Merchants hardly ever win these disputes, especially on recurring charges or 'card not present' purchases.

Now...

If you do dispute it SPOT might make your device unusable on their system (making it worthless for you to sell).
 
re: thanks

pierre smith said:
...$99 per year. If you want to add the tracking feature so your friends and family can track you, I recall the whole shebang is then $147.00.

Regards,
Click to expand...

Pierre:
Thanks. When I retire and start cruising the country, I'll propably subscribe.:) I'll use it while on the Goldwing too.:D
Marshall
 
refund on my debit card went through right away

I have not been able to fly much this summer due to work issues.
I signed up and purchased my spot at Osh last year. So I used it once this summer on my flight to Osh and back. I forgot as well about the renewal and checking on line one day, I saw the charge hit my debit card account.
It was likely 2-3 weeks after the charge.
I called them and they did refund the charge as I do not plan on using it again this year.
They said about 5 days to see the refund and it was about right on.
So I did get my refund and they did remind me when I set up my account again, it will be an auto renew.
So, my mistake but they made good. Maybe I called within the 30 days.
Doug
 
Spot can be used hiking, traveling, boating, etc. I go a lot of places where the cell phone has no coverage.

My 406 MHz PLB does. While the PLB does not have the tracking capabilities of a Spot, if I need it, I have no doubt that it will work.

You just have to compare capabilities versus cost. Either one of these may save your life.
 
Use it for Hiking.... No, didn't work their. week in Costa Rica sending out beacons every 10 minutes the entire time. Only 7 made it through.

Use it driving .... No not really. About a 50% success rate on the ground.

Slow to update. Takes about a half hour for beacons to make it to the web site.

Useless in my opinion.
 
BrentHumphreys said:
Use it for Hiking.... No, didn't work their. week in Costa Rica sending out beacons every 10 minutes the entire time. Only 7 made it through.

Use it driving .... No not really. About a 50% success rate on the ground.

Slow to update. Takes about a half hour for beacons to make it to the web site.

Useless in my opinion.
Click to expand...



Then put it in an airplane with a clear view of the sky (an RV glare sheild for example). Doesn't seem to miss a beat, and can be a real life saver!

It updates immediately if you log on to your or someone else's website with password. It's only the "share" page that takes a half hour. This has been previously discussed.

Mine will be on for a four day cross country beginning this morning. New batteries just in case, and wouldn't think of going without it. Family members track our progress, and we already know that the 911 button works! Based on looking up previous flights, I seriously doubt that it will miss even one ten minute beacon.

L.Adamson ---- RV6A
 
Donate it?

If you are not planning to use the spot for a year, and you've already paid for it, why not donate it to a local flying club? :)
 
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