Garmin InReach money scam...

Joined
Jun 13, 2018
Messages
1
Location
Ohio
I have lots and lots of Garmin products and have been a repeat customer of theirs for as long as I can remember. I have never had a problem with any of their products or their technical support.

My most recent purchase was this top of the line GP66i with Inreach capability which I purchased to have InReach capability to text family for 1-2 week trips I take out West every few years.
I selected the "Freedom plan" which allows you to add monthly service for up to one year but they have it setup to automatically renew at the end of each month and do not give you an option to opt out of auto-renewal nor do they send you any notifications that your plan is about to renew. I have contacted them the day the plan was renewing within hours (not a day or days!) of renewal period and receiving an Invoice for a new month. They would not cancel/remove/modify any charges for the month forward that service was starting and charging me for. Their customer service rep was rudely talking over me when I tried sharing ideas for changes to better serve their customers such as allowing to de-select auto-renewal when placing the order manually or simply sending out a notice before the plan automatically renews. I requested to speak with a manager but was advised that a manager wasn’t available and I would have to put in a request for them to call me which could take a few days.
I went from loving my Garmin devices to loathing the company for being rude, unprofessional and unwilling to work with their me, someone who has purchased so many of their products and until now has been an advocate of their company. With the money this device is costing me to simply text I so regret not simply renting a satellite phone like I have done in the past to check in with family.
Absolutely do not buy any Garmin devices with InReach. They have it setup to scam people out of money with the automatic renewal and no leniency. We’ve all seen this from other companies but never have I ever heard or seen of issues when you call ion within hours of a renewal that a company wouldn’t gladly end a resubscription with a full refund.
 

realunlucky

Super Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jan 20, 2013
Messages
13,108
Location
Eastern Utah
I have lots and lots of Garmin products and have been a repeat customer of theirs for as long as I can remember. I have never had a problem with any of their products or their technical support.

My most recent purchase was this top of the line GP66i with Inreach capability which I purchased to have InReach capability to text family for 1-2 week trips I take out West every few years.
I selected the "Freedom plan" which allows you to add monthly service for up to one year but they have it setup to automatically renew at the end of each month and do not give you an option to opt out of auto-renewal nor do they send you any notifications that your plan is about to renew. I have contacted them the day the plan was renewing within hours (not a day or days!) of renewal period and receiving an Invoice for a new month. They would not cancel/remove/modify any charges for the month forward that service was starting and charging me for. Their customer service rep was rudely talking over me when I tried sharing ideas for changes to better serve their customers such as allowing to de-select auto-renewal when placing the order manually or simply sending out a notice before the plan automatically renews. I requested to speak with a manager but was advised that a manager wasn’t available and I would have to put in a request for them to call me which could take a few days.
I went from loving my Garmin devices to loathing the company for being rude, unprofessional and unwilling to work with their me, someone who has purchased so many of their products and until now has been an advocate of their company. With the money this device is costing me to simply text I so regret not simply renting a satellite phone like I have done in the past to check in with family.
Absolutely do not buy any Garmin devices with InReach. They have it setup to scam people out of money with the automatic renewal and no leniency. We’ve all seen this from other companies but never have I ever heard or seen of issues when you call ion within hours of a renewal that a company wouldn’t gladly end a resubscription with a full refund.
While i agree they could of chosen to work with you in the end YOU agreed to the service agreement.
Fault lies with only YOU and your failure to follow up and change your plan within the agreed upon timeline.
Thanks for reminder to read and understand what the agreement says before entering your credit card information.

Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk
 

Trr15

WKR
Joined
Feb 16, 2014
Messages
1,732
Location
Wyoming
While i agree they could of chosen to work with you in the end YOU agreed to the service agreement.
Fault lies with only YOU and your failure to follow up and change your plan within the agreed upon timeline.
Thanks for reminder to read and understand what the agreement says before entering your credit card information.

Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk
Agree with this. Also, telling the customer service rep who answered your call that you have suggestions on how the company should change their policy to better serve customers is a waste of time. That person has no influence over company policy/procedure and likely couldn't care less about your suggestion.
 

Trial153

WKR
Joined
Oct 28, 2014
Messages
8,225
Location
NY
Sorry, you agreed to the agreement. They provided the service. I dont see any scam here and it pretty disingenuous to imply one.
 

Felix40

WKR
Joined
Jul 27, 2015
Messages
1,933
Location
New Mexico
That’s a pretty common thing with all subscription based products. It’s irritating but it’s the norm.

I was disappointed with Garmin customer support too. I got a new credit card and canceled the one my membership was on. I forgot to update Garmin with the new card number. When the monthly charge was declined they just canceled my whole subscription then sent an email telling me. I called within the week to get things fixed and they wouldn’t let me just pick up where I left off. Had to pay a whole new activation fee and start a brand new subscription.
 

ODB

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Joined
Mar 24, 2016
Messages
4,008
Location
N.F.D.
What blows me away is how many people they are missing out on due to being inflexible.
 

PTArcher1

FNG
Joined
Feb 13, 2017
Messages
91
Location
Central PA
Recently got double charged on the yearly fee for the freedom plan. Called and customer service was helpful in making it right. Sorry your experience wasn't the same.
 
Joined
Jan 16, 2018
Messages
1,034
What blows me away is how many people they are missing out on due to being inflexible.

Being inflexible? They could simply force you to commit to an annual subscription like many services, but instead they offer several options for monthly plans, with the caveat that if you don't cancel you'll get billed another month. Yes they are firm on that option but who cares, either remember to cancel or pay for 2 months, OR get the most basic annual plan and pay like $13 bucks a month. . .
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2019
Messages
2,553
Location
Missouri
I wouldn't call it a scam, but I do wish that the monthly renewal were "opt-in" instead of "opt-out" (or at least send an email reminder a few days before the auto-renewal). I've paid for an extra month of service that I didn't need because I forgot to deactivate my subscription...mildly irritating but not uncommon for subscription services.
 
Joined
Jan 16, 2018
Messages
1,034
Recently got double charged on the yearly fee for the freedom plan. Called and customer service was helpful in making it right. Sorry your experience wasn't the same.

Yes I called also they had a glitch that double billed a portion of customers but they were very nice and handled it for me.
 

JPD350

WKR
Joined
Feb 25, 2012
Messages
782
Location
Abq NM
Garmin has been fantastic to me, recently they waived all the overage texts that I had on my in-reach, they sent me a replacement dog collar in a matter of days, I didn't even have to argue at all and I didn't pay any shipping. I lost a brand new Astro 430 handheld device in Kansas and called them to see if they could ping it and give me a coordinate but they couldn't, I talked to the lady for awhile and logged in a missing device in their system, this lady was super nice! By the time I got halfway back to NM I got a phone call saying they were going to send me a refurbished unit free of charge, it's a 400.00 unit!!
I have also turned my In Reach service off and on numerous times, I think I just needed to do it a month in advance.
So I am good with them.
 
Joined
May 13, 2015
Messages
3,930
I agree with many of the others, not understanding the contract you agreed to is not a scam. However, a couple years back, I called garmin to change plans on my inReach. The customer service rep was so over the top rude, talked over me, bla bla bla, and simply stated that changing plans was not possible. My experience was so bad that I canceled the service and have never renstated it.

From reading here at Rokslide, I can see most people get good customer service reps. However, there are enough similarities between the OP's experience with the customer service agent and the agent I dealt with, it makes me question if it was the same person.
 
Joined
Jun 2, 2020
Messages
46
I was charged double for the first month. It took me a minute to find a number for customer service. They straightened it out right away and were very apologetic. Sounds like you might have gotten a “bad egg”.....?


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jmez

WKR
Joined
Jun 12, 2012
Messages
7,549
Location
Piedmont, SD
It's not complicated to set up a reminder on your phone. I set mine for two days after I got home. I had no issues logging in and suspending my subscription.
Same here. I just put it in my calendar on phone when I activate the subscription.

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JRMiller

WKR
Joined
Apr 11, 2020
Messages
579
Location
Texas
Anything that uses an auto renewal i set a reminder in my phone for cancel date and i have a dedicated credit card for these. If they make it difficult
(or impossible i found out with a gym membership years ago) i simply cancel the credit card.
 

GotDraw?

WKR
Joined
Jul 4, 2015
Messages
1,316
Location
Maryland
I have an InReach mini and Garmin has provided STELLAR customer support. Extremely short wait time on hold and a Service Rep on the other end that knows his/her stuff.

Unfortunate you waited til the last minute to try change the contract you agreed to.

My InReach is totally worth the money.

JL
 

tdhanses

WKR
Joined
Sep 26, 2018
Messages
5,896
Funny, guess those of us that have been using the service for years have been getting scammed the entire time, dang! It’s pretty easy to follow how not to get charged more then you want but takes a hair but of effort but is super easy, unlike the scam of Sirius XM where you have to call even to cancel.
 
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