Credit Card charged $29.99 at start of free trial

• Jan 24, 2020 - 16:03

I signed up for the 30-day free trial on Jan 17, 2020. Yet a fee of $29.99 was taken out of my account. I need to canceled my subscription and receive a refund. MusicScore has insufficient data for my needs.

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MusicScore Charge Jan 17.jpeg 14.96 KB

Comments

• Jul 5, 2021 - 16:22

Rules for 21st century internet users:
1. Beware of big green buttons.
2. Beware of pre-checked option boxes.
3. When submitting credit card data, double check everything before hitting 'send'.
--- 3a. Be sure to cancel a "free" trial before renewal date. (If credit card was submitted.)
4. Send complaints to the relevant party.

While we may offer sympathy for your alarm at the "social engineering" practices of modern business, no one here can produce the results you seek.

On the other hand, regarding the MuseScore scorewriting app, see:
https://musescore.org/en/handbook/3/voices

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• Mar 18, 2023 - 16:28

JoJo, your input here is completely useless and toxic. I also very carefully read the fine print on this, and realized I'd be paying $29 for the free trial. No problem. I was charged $69 instead, and the company is dead silent about it. They're ripping people off and getting away with it. Not a good look on you to be just say "well you get what you deserve!! lol"

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• Nov 19, 2020 - 21:46

To bad the OP got removed here. This was my reply to his statement that he was tricked by musescore and we weren't able to follow so called "base logic".

I agree though that there isn't "fine print" to read. After all, this here is what is shown to me when I tried to subscribe just now:
20201119-options.png

The left mentions free trail, the right option doesn't; logic can't get much more basic than that.

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20201119-options.png 26.81 KB

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• Nov 19, 2020 - 21:54

hey jeetee. my card was also wrongfully charged. i find it difficult to understand how you dont understand that a company cant charge someone when they offer a free trial. that is basic (base, as you put it) logic. also, banning posts for using indigenous language? sounds like colonizer behavior to me. fix your business model

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• Nov 19, 2020 - 21:56

Read the fine print. A free trial is over at a certain point after which you have to pay. And if you're going for the cheaper option there is no free trial at all.

AND FINALLY GET THAT THIS HERE IS MUSESCORE.ORG, THE SITE WHERE YOU HAVE THE PRO ACCOUNT IS MUSESCORE.COM

And no, it isn't jeetee's or my business model, we're just mere mortal users trying to help other users.

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• Nov 19, 2020 - 21:59

Sorry.. but if you deliberately clicked to get the right "special offer" choice, where it mentions how much you'll be charged and not mentioned any kind of free trail, then why do you somehow assume that you're entitled to a free trial?

I'm not the one that banned the post by the way, as you can read from my reply I was actually responding to it instead..

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• Dec 8, 2020 - 15:02

Hi ther, OP raises a very good point. When trying to download some music, it says "create a free account", then tells you that you can "opt in" for a free 30 day trial. This then follows with the PRO button, and then after that, a page discussing the $29.99 commitment plan. This is misleading as up until the credit card page, the term "30 day trial" is used to coax the user into the $29.99 plan. Please adjust this as this is dangerous marketing and will result in many unhappy customers.

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• Dec 8, 2020 - 15:07

Sorry to Clarify, I have found the issue!!!

You are brought to the first page (With the special offer box ticked) meaning you're subscribing to the $29.99 plan. This box should not be ticked before the user has reached the page as they are APPLYING FOR THE 30 DAY TRIAL. This is sneaky and comes under malpractice, not advertisement for a "better" plan. This is also signposted very poorly, so it's not obvious how to change this screen to the 30 day trial.

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Mus1.png 1.46 MB
Mus2.png 1.47 MB

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• Jan 2, 2022 - 00:18

Saying that it is the wrong forum because of the domain seems like rather incorrect, as the domains seems to be synonymous (typing anything in the search-box here, automatically redirects to the .com domain).

I have been trying to figure out how to get the musicxml off the site (the .com one) without an account... failed (I did manage to see how you download the mp3, but that's the wrong format :p). So I made an account to try without getting the pro... failed. So I tried clicking free trial... failed (it asks for credit card despite it being free, which anyone who has ever been on the internet, knows is a scam and not in fact free).
I am not going to enter any billing or non-anonymous information on such a shady website, so currently googling for how to dl without buying pro (which led me here and lots of other posts on .org - again, a clear indication that the two domains are synonymous, even to google)...

edit: huh, the account I made on the .com domain seems to have been automatically used here. So the .org domain must have stolen my session-token from the .com domain - a third and final clear indication that the domains are in fact synonymous, and that this forum would likely be for both domains.

edit2: and for posterity, in case someone ever has the same issue, sans the need for a specific format, I guess I can write down how you download the .mp3 without an account:
Press play at the top left (to ensure the browser fetches the asset)
f12 (chrome dev tools) -> "network" tab-> "media" tag -> right click the found entry -> copy link address
Paste it into url bar & finish the download.

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• Jan 2, 2022 - 01:19

Quite the contrary, Google knows full well that .com and .org are two different sites. There are two different listings on Google. Suggest you look up the meaning of synonymous. Read what the search box says. Isn't it "Search for Sheet Music"? There is no sheet music on .org. Of course it takes you to .com.

If you read you will see that this is indeed the wrong forum.

The fact that you are trying to circumvent the .com site reflects more poorly on you rather than MuseScore.

I have a free account and was never asked for credit card information. So you must have signed up for a trial Pro account. That's why you were asked for credit card info. If you bother to read the terms of service you will see why they do that. They then enter that data with your bank to see if you are a real person. The bank is not supposed to charge you. Yet sometimes they do. Not the fault of MuseScore. Muse score can't do anything about it. You have to contact your bank to get the charge reversed. It's all in the terms of service.

If you bothered to look, there is a place on the .com site to contact them with problems, or questions, or other information.

Sure, the two sites share the same sign in. I see that as a way to quickly move from one site to the other. Not some shady plan to scam anyone.

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• Jan 2, 2022 - 04:55

The two websites are run by the same company, that is why the same login works on both. Nothing unusual about a company running different websites for different purposes. See for instance how the "Meta" company has both facebook.com and instagram.com, or the "Alphabet" company has google.com, youtube.com, gmail.com, etc.

Anyhow, it's perfectly possible to create a free account, not a trial, just a plain free account. Just click the "log in" ink followed by "create an account". Then you can download any royalty-free music you like, legally.

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• Mar 2, 2022 - 07:37

Well, then, change the top of this (".org") website so it makes things clear. Currently it is deliberately confuses the website regarding the open-source software with some Russian operation involving making money, and I do not think now is the time to be giving any money to Russian operations.
I am heartily sick of hearing your dishonest whining about this, so would you kindly shut up, permanently.

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• Mar 2, 2022 - 07:47

I am heartily sick of hearing your dishonest whining about this, so would you kindly shut up, permanently.

Yes, we here at musescore.org are all sick of that dishonest whining of people "all of a sudden getting charged", either out of stupidity (i.e. not having red the fine print, entering their credit card data without thinking) or out of pure and plain greed ("hey, it is free, lets grab it, even if I don't really need it and would never want to pay for it")

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• Mar 2, 2022 - 15:05

None of the volunteers here who work to help develop and support MuseScore have been dishonest about anything whatsoever, and I challenge you to point out a single quote you believe to untrue, and then back that claim up with facts.

Because indeed, we're all pretty sick of the whining from people who choose to make false accusations.

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• Jun 20, 2021 - 13:05

The same thing has just happened to me. I signed up for a free 30-day trial less than an hour ago and got an email thanking me for my payment. I have asked for an immediate refund from PayPal as I feel this is a trick to force people into payment by offering something that is simply not true. I expect a full and immediate refund.
Bob Tinker

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• Jan 3, 2022 - 20:32

I didn’t quite word that right.
I agree, and I did have to wade through the semantics to understand your intended meaning.

And here also:
It’s just remarkable how little information you give them actually gets through.
vs.
It’s just remarkable how little of the information you give them actually gets through.

I make a comparison here only for the sake of clarity, because Jojo's laconic answers have sometimes been regarded as providing "little information".
Never by me, of course... ;-)
...and I don't mean "lasconic"
Muse_smile30.png

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• Feb 28, 2022 - 10:03

No matter how many people try to defend this, the issue still stands. I also clicked on ‘sign up for free trial’ and dutifully put in bank details as directed, genuinely considering the offer. Then I was instantly charged. This is not a mistake, it is similar tactics to online scams. I’m not saying this is a scam company, just that this specific issue makes it look that way. It has certainly put me off doing any further business with them.

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• Feb 28, 2022 - 10:52

Please have a look at https://musescore.org/en/faq#faq-20657 to understand you're writing this in a place that can do nothing about this.

If you're instantly charged, then somewhere in the process you changed from the "free trial + full price" package to a different option. And yes, even those here "defending this" have argued and advocated time and again that the page is not clear as it should be in that respect.

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• Feb 28, 2022 - 11:55

You wrote:
No matter how many people try to defend this, the issue still stands.

The part of the issue that still stands is the fact that this forum at musescore.org is still the wrong place. Go to musescore.com.
https://musescore.com/contact

As far as defending this, my personal opinion of any "free trial" (not just musescore.com) that puts the onus on the subscriber to cancel before a deadline, is intentionally monetizing the social fact that some people will miss the deadline (forgetfulness, sickness, death).
Furthermore - in this "internet age" - when doing business anywhere, if presented with multiple purchasing options, perform due diligence before clicking that final "OK" button. Bait-and-switch tactics along with obfuscation (whether intentional or not) are often lurking somewhere.

So... go to dotcom because the only thing available here is sympathy:
.org3_.png

Regards

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• Mar 2, 2022 - 07:47

If you paid through PayPal, file a dispute on the charge, explaining that you were misled. The enemy then has to file a counterobjection, and since it's unlikely the Russians can find anyone more persuasive than Jo-jo Schmitz, you will win. Also note the "recurring": if you don't bother you may find they charge you again next year. Нет воине.

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• Jun 19, 2022 - 02:49

If you "sign up for the free trial" they do instantly charge you for a year. The same comment may apply here yadda yadda, but they clearly are misrepresenting what they're offering, and it's a disgrace.

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