John H.

I recently purchased a 3-month subscription to NordVPN in preparation for my trip to China, primarily attracted by their claim of being "Best for China" in their advertisements. However, the VPN did not work at all and neither did their website. Attempts to reach out to customer support proved to be futile as my subscription was tied to my G-mail account (blocked in China), and since no Invoice Number was issued (for reference), I was unable to make contact with a different e-mail account. Nonetheless, upon my return, I discovered an unexpected charge: my subscription had been set to auto-renew without clear indication or disclosure at the time of purchase. This effectively resulted in a double charge, extending my subscription to a total of 6 months. When I contacted their support, I encountered further disappointment.
Despite explaining the circumstances, they adamantly refused to provide a refund for the initial 3-month subscription, citing that the service's failure in China was due to governmental restrictions rather than any fault on their end. Additionally, their refusal to refund the second 3-month subscription, which was auto-renewed, was justified by stating that their 30-day money-back guarantee only applies to the initial purchase

In summary, I paid for a service that failed to function, resulting in double charges as I couldn't cancel it while abroad. Despite this, the company refuses to issue a refund, seemingly oblivious to my inability to cancel or contact support.

Avoid this company at all costs. There are far cheaper alternatives available that not only work but also honor refund requests.

Fun fact: my original subscription was set to expire on 2024-02-17, but they renewed my subscription on 2024-02-03.