written by luviousrachel on 22/12/2020
On this board, I have read all the comments and was concerned with a recent $39.00 fee for an automatic renewal at Classmates. I took this number (**) from another "Sarasota" poster, however, and they had no issue with withdrawing the fee, but it was prorated. And they say they have to wait up to thirty days, but that seems legitimate. To everyone, good luck. By the way, we all need to be careful that the one-time discount balances out with the recurring income from people who skip the fee when using cards for multiple transactions.
written by IrmaNorman on 31/07/2020
When it started in 1995, it seemed like a good place to find friends from schools. That ended in 2015, when it was acquired by PeopleConnect, which uses Classmates.com to generate subscriptions for its other company Intelius. Here's the user experience: You enter your schools, and they will display the classmates from your years there. The problem is that Classmates does not have your classmates in their database unless those classmates have registered on classmates.com. I listed 5 of the schools I attended and less than 2% of my classmates were in the database. You can do an extended search for unlisted classmates, and it returns "0" results, with prominent CLICKBAIT to "find them using the Intelius service". You will wait at least 5 minutes while watching progress bars telling you that the service has found them, and compiling their criminal record, family members, residences, financial history, social media. AFTER 5 MINUTES OF WAITING, you get a screen to sign up for Intelius subscription service. THAT IS THE REASON CLASSMATES IS STILL ONLINE, TO SERVE AS AS CLICKBAIT FOR INTELUS. CLASSMATES.COM IS USELESS, and is FULL OF OTHER 3RD PARTY CLICKBAIT under every button, and on all sidebars, and pop-ups. . If they ever get your email, they will bait you weekly with "one of your classmates says hi"
written by saraburnett1129 on 13/03/2019
This service is a joke! Not only was there limited access to records, they put in very fine print that the payment is set up to automatically renew from your account and the payment is nonrefundable so by the time you find out that you have paid for yet another month of unwanted services, you are stuck paying $30+ for absolutely nothing. I'm honestly surprised they are even still in business. I highly recommend to AVOID using their services at all costs.
written by ClassMate1963nolonger on 06/07/2016
After noticing a billing from Classmates on my AmEx statement, I contact AmEx to dispute the charge because I had cancelled my membership in June 2016. AmEx did credit my account temporarily for the amount in dispute. However, AmEx suggested that I contact Classmates to cancell this billing and all future automatic billing and get a cancellation reference number because my credit for the amount in depute maybe rebilled. I called Classmates and they said that they would cancell my membership immediately but would not refund my $35.00 fee because they don't refund billed fees. If Classmates has you on automatic renewal (billing) BEWARE.....If you plan to cancell your membership, do so before your membership renewal. How many other members have been billed and not given a refund. BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE but good for corprate bottom line $$$$$$$$$! I will contact AmEx regarding Classmates business practice and my displeasure with the results.
written by NasirThomson454 on 28/08/2015
I joined several years ago and then let it go. Just joined again and now I see why I quit. Difficult to follow. No current photos. NOT user friendly. Darla Joyce
written by on 09/08/2015
DO NOT sign up for a paid classmates.com membership!!! Regardless of what initial deal they offer, they automatically enroll you to renew, and once billed there are no refunds. As soon as I saw the renewal charge, I went to log into my classmates account, but my password had "mysteriously" changed. I clicked on the link to receive a password reset email, waited 15 minutes like they said (even though the rest of their emails get to my inbox in less than a minute), but it never arrived. Chatted online with a customer service rep (chat.classmates.com) who supposedly changed my account back to manual renewal so that I would not be billed in the future, and said he sent the password reset email to me from his side - still never got it. Finally got a phone number from him for customer service (206-301-5900). The first rep I talked to spent approximately 15 seconds with me, told me to add the password email address to my contacts because it was probably hung up in spam ( it wasn't ). The next rep I talked with was more helpful, actually spent about 10 minutes with me trying to resolve the issue, but the password reset email still did not come through. Finally at my suggestion she checked with her IT people and found out the outgoing emails for password resets were hung up on their end; she asked me to call back if I had not received the email by the afternoon. Got back from lunch and the emails finally came through. I went and checked my account to confirm it was set to manual renewal. ***IMPORTANT!*** I took another step to ensure they cannot bill me again - I went to my paypal account, clicked on Profile, then on the bottom right under Payment Settings -> Preapproved Payments. Then click on Classmates, Inc., and click Cancel to revoke their pre-approved status.
written by hvNolan263 on 01/07/2015
Do NOT sign up for Classmates services unless you want to be charged for unwanted services for the rest of your life. Calling them to cancel does no long term good. The services are fine - their business practices are deplorable.
written by izLindsay61 on 15/11/2014
Foolishly, I ordered a reprint of an old highschool yearbook for $75,00...I NEVER received it!
written by Jamirc354 on 19/09/2014
Be prepared if you sign up for Classmates. They keep billing your credit card forever. It is impossible to find a phone number on their website and very difficult to cancel your subscription!!!
written by Minimao on 25/08/2014
I thought I'd test it out, so I signed up for a free trial using a fake name and picked a high school at random that I never attended. The fake name was such a name that nobody could possibly have. The next day, I got a message from Classmates.com saying that someone from my high school wants to contact me. BUT, before they would reveal who, they want money for a membership. If you went to a doctor and they told you that you had a disease that you did not and offered to treat you for it, that would be fraud. If you went to a car dealer and they told you that the car had a problem that it did not and tried to charge you to fix it, that would be fraud. Now why is this company not being prosecuted for fraud?
written by frands on 16/07/2014
I had forgotten signing up for this subscription. When it came through as a renewal on my credit credit card, I immediately called to cancel. They refused to credit the renewal. Classmates did not contact me that they were charging my card. I would not recommend this website there is no traffic on it.
written by GiovannaDickinson on 24/03/2014
I am disputing a charge of $15.00 on Classmates.com. I will not pay this charge as it was not authorized by me. AND I WILL NEVER JOIN THIS AGAIN FOR THIS REASON. YOU PEOPLE MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE TO REACH BY COMPUTER OR PHONE. NOW I KNOW WHY!!! I WILL EVEN CHECK THE LEGALITY OF YOUR WEBSITE, AS I HAVE DOUBTS IF IT IS OPERATING LEGALLY. THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NO WORTH RECEIVED BY THE WEBSITE. IT IS INMPOSSIBLE TO USE AND TO CANCEL!
written by on 12/02/2014
Just filed a complaint/dispute with my credit card company
written by tootsietootoo on 04/02/2014
I subscribed on February 1, 2014. TRIED to unsubscribe on February 3, 2014. The site would not let me. Called a number I had to SEARCH for on the internet. No email address or number on their website. No answer on the number where I was told to hold. I went to multiple high schools and Classmates will not recognize factors like that or the changed names of grade schools no longer in existence. All my old classmates are either dead or too lazy to use a computer so Classmates is worthless to me. Fine Classmates....don't want to talk to me? Don't want to give me my money back? THINK you are going to take reoccurring payments from me? NO WAY! NO HOW!! Disputed with my CC Company, they handled and got my $$ back. Go take a flying leap Classmates. Sure would like to have known that they are too chickenshit to face their customers and instead hide behind their website so no one can reach them. I thought they had improved over the years. LOL. Almost as bad as Facebook.
written by CPort on 08/01/2014
Ripoff from the beginning. The reprint yearbook had a name on the front cover and the pages were totally marked up with green marker. Do not waste your money. This must be the only copy they had to reproduce and they will continue to make money on it. Merced High, 1977, worthless copy. Don't fall for it, RUN!!
written by CassiLynne2005 on 24/10/2013
Memory Lane, Inc. to Pay Up to $9.5 Million to Settle Suit over Phantom Friends - Jun 24, 2012 Memory Lane, Inc. has agreed to pay up to $9.5 million to its users to settle a lawsuit that accused the social network of sending emails that made people believe their old friends from high school were reaching out to connect only to discover, after paying for a membership, that their long-lost buddies were nowhere to be found. The proposed settlement, filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle, would designate $3 in cash for every company member (dating back to Jan. 1, 2007) who upgraded to a 'gold' membership on the site after receiving an email suggesting that they pay for premium access to see who had signed their online guest books. Documents filed in the case estimate that as many as 3.16 million people in the United States would be eligible for the payout. Under terms of the proposed settlement, the company members who upgraded to premium memberships after receiving one of the 'guestbook' emails will be able to choose either a $3 cash payout or a $2 credit toward the future purchase or renewal of the company membership. Depending on how many people take the cash credit, the total payout by the company under that provision could be measurably less than the maximum $9.5 million established by the agreement.
written by jonsanrc on 05/04/2013
I was one of the earliest users and subscribers of Classmates. It was great then but no longer. It does have just one good feature now and that is the reproduction of some of the class yearbooks (not all) that you would want. The price is reasonable for the books and the quality is good. I'm only a member now because they gave me some sort of "special" (reasonable) rate for a two year renewal. In the beginning it was easy to make photo albums but they have messed those up now, also. It has been sold and resold over the years and has become more of a ripoff. As far as your membership fee, go to your account and delete the automatic renewal feature and delete any credit cards that you have on file. If you have already been "taken", contact your credit card company and they will reverse the charges on your account. (I never did know whether the credit card companies then ding Classmates or whether the credit card companies just take the loss and get on with things). The site used to have military sites and employment sites (with photo albums) that were great but they completely eliminated them along with all your work. The site is only "good" for schools now. The photo albums used to be great but they messed those up also. Now if someone posts something on one of your photos, the posts are "upside down". That is, the latest is first but you can't make a lot of sense of the latest without starting at the first which means scrolling down to the beginning and then reading "up" rather than starting at the top (the beginning of posts) and reading down chronologically. Worse yet, if someone, including you, posts a comment, they move that photo to the beginning of your album thereby wrecking the logic and organization of your photo album that you have created to "unfold" in a logical and chronological manner. What dopes. And nobody seems to respond to any suggestions or complaints that you have. On memberships or renewals, don't pay their ridiculous prices. Just wait and they will finally offer you some sort of fairly reasonable two year membership.
written by on 12/03/2012
Classmates.com has seemed to added a bunch of yearbooks to their site. I found mine that I had lost and purchased a yearbook reprint. I received as promised and my kids got a kick out of seeing me in my old yearbook. I then went back and found my Mom's 1959 Yearbook which she hadn't seen in years. I know a lot of people knock Classmates, but I really like their yearbook offering. I thought it was easy to find the yearbooks I was interested in. Thanks.
written by on 04/05/2011
Stay away from classmates.com.
They trap you into a one year membership and refuse to refund when you protest. They should be investigated by the Attorney General. They count on no one willing to make a stink over $30. What a sleaze outfit.
written by on 28/12/2010
This site is a rip off. Very hard to navigate. I was charged a fee without notice. The only thing they would do is tell me to go in and change status to manual, then next year at this time they won't charge another fee. Terrible customer service. I would give them a 0 rating!
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Minimao's Response to CassiLynne2005's Review
Written on: 25/08/2014
What? They paid a settlement but are still continuing (as of August 2014) to repeat the same thing?!