VistaPrint scam, which I got caught up in a while back and thought I’d warn you off them. VistaPrint, for anyone who hasn’t heard of them, offer a printing service, so business cards, leaflets all types of printing. Their prices are ridiculously cheap, and as with all things what you pay for is what you get. The business cards I ordered were badly printed (barely read some of the fonts), the colour was off even though designed with CMKY and the card was flimsy and just felt dead cheap.
A few months after ordering I had a look at my bank account, only to find £9.95 had been coming out of my account every month. Did some research and tracked it back to VistaPrint who had apparently signed me up to a ‘rewards’ scheme (must have been very subtle when I signed up for me not to see it). It was then a pain to cancel, as there was no email, I had to call some random number hidden on their website and eventually got it canceled but no refund or money back. They got around £40 out of me and that’s only because I check my accounts often. So BE WARNED about this VistaPrint scam . If you’re looking for good quality check out moo.com who are a much better company and remember you always get what you pay for! I’ve now written a post about moo.com here.
March 21st, 2011 at 11:14 pm
From New Zealand. I can’t get these rotten scammers to stop wasting our fax paper. Companies without a working phone numbers on their publicity are should be avoided. Thanks for the opportunity express my anger.
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March 23rd, 2011 at 10:24 pm
I have used vistaprint for 4 years now from business cards to car magnets and have no complaints with quality. My business cards always come out the way I design them and approve them, must have had at least 10,000 and never paid a penny for good quality clear and vibrant prints. As for my door magnets, I followed the care instructions and after 12 months they still look new.
My only gripe would be the sheer volume of email I receive but is easily dealt with by clicking the unsubscribe button in these emails. In any case a bit of marketing after getting good quality products for free, must be daft to have major problems with that!!!
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April 13th, 2011 at 6:08 pm
just recieved my delivery of vistaprint business cards, designed by myself online. i must say, b&w print quality is fine, design and text is exactly as it displayed before i ok`d it before purchase, and arrived within 10 days of order, even though i opted for the standard delivery time. the guy who said `you get what you pay for` is right. for £8 (with the paper upgrade and 2-sided) i did think you cant expect 100% perfect quality but got to say the overall quality is good. i would not hesitate in ordering another batch
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April 21st, 2011 at 12:38 am
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
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April 21st, 2011 at 7:23 am
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
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May 12th, 2011 at 8:51 am
Just recieved my 2nd delivery of vistaprint business cards, designed by myself online. They took money out of PayPal twice for the first order. A month later they took anotheR £9.95 thorough PayPay. I sent an email asking for money back “NO REPLY to date”. I have told “PAYPAL” to stop all Direct debit. “THE VISTA PRINT ARE SETTING UP DIRECT DEBIT WITOUT CUSTOMER KNOWLEDGE AND THE ONLY WAY TO STOP IS TO GET IN TOUCH WITH PAYPAL AND CANCEL D/D WITH VISTA PRINT. They are good and would use them again only if they stop this “UNAUTHORISED TRANSACTION”. They should not use underhand methods to get mor money out of customer.
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May 15th, 2011 at 2:19 pm
Ok people I only have one commit and that is why in the heck are y’all using an online service and using the small business’s or even med business (print shops) in you local area and supporting your own people from your town. I am sure they would appreciate your business and would even build that relationship with you to help you out in a bind one day. All designers get in a bind at one time or another. If you do your research and talk with the print company’s in our area I am sure you would find prices that are very comparable to online services. I have just been in the printing and design field for 20 years now and would never use an online service for printing my customers projects or even my own.
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May 19th, 2011 at 4:58 pm
I jumped up and down the first time that I used VP. the reason was that I ticked the box for cheaper shipping, it turns out that this means you have joined up to receive extra discounts but it does mean they will bill you every month for being in the ‘club’. so dont tick the box! great products though and use them regularly now.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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May 20th, 2011 at 5:27 pm
Does any one know how i can contact vista print either by phone or their website. my account has been debited for the past three (3) years for a web site trial i did not use.
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June 8th, 2011 at 12:22 am
I’ve been using Vistaprint for years. Navigating around their site for the best deal can take time but is worth it.
Can’t fault the quality of the printing. Great value for money.
I hand out around 50 business cards a week and would not order elsewhere.
Vistaprint is not a scam.
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June 9th, 2011 at 5:31 pm
I too have been a victim of the same scam. Having ordered one set of business cards I discovered money had been taken from my account every month since thje order was placed without my authorisation under the heading of email marketing which I had never used or requested. It took me a year and endless emails to get my money back and I had to threaten legal action before the company paid me back.I think the company does not target everyone but be warned as you could be their next victim!
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June 11th, 2011 at 5:57 pm
I have had wonderful service from VistaPrint! All my business cards were printed by them. Great quality. My website was done via them, which I designed myself. When I chose to cancel my website, I just sent an e-mail and the very next day I received a reply to let me know that (a) the site was cancelled, and (b) the debit order would be stopped on a certain date, within 10 days of my mailing. I love VistaPrint and will definitely use them again.
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June 15th, 2011 at 6:14 pm
I’m with Tony (May 15th) – we should all be supporting local businesses who would give better service face to face and you can sort out all your problems if there are any – any no scams so it saves you money in the long run AND preserves choice and local independent businesses. What next, Tesco for business cards as well as everthing else???
Also, am I right in thinking this lot offer you free business cards but charge for postage? I was forever getting emails about this but never took them up on it when I saw how much it cost to have them sent and/or upgraded. My friend did order some for me (and paid for the postage) as a gift, but I never got them.
I’m sticking with local firms. I’m a small business and know how much we should support each other!
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June 15th, 2011 at 6:17 pm
I’m also wondering why it is that any comments criticising this firm get more “thumbs down” than “likes”. Given how many people are posting negative comments this should not be an accurate reflection of the repsonse if the people liking or disliking are the same ones posting the comments!
Are vistaprint monitoring the site and “disliking” anything critical???
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June 30th, 2011 at 8:17 pm
Vistaprint use their business cards to get your details then they keep taking out monthly amounts so read the small print. Also check your outgoings. They are money grabbing thieves and should not be allowed to trade.
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July 2nd, 2011 at 8:54 pm
My account was debited for 2 yrs for a web site i never had..Unable to contact them by phone at all.. My Credit card company got it cancelled in the end as vistaprint never even replied to them.. Would not touch this company again with a bargepole.
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July 17th, 2011 at 1:57 pm
Very misleading company. I took ‘advantage’ of an offer to obtain a free printed mug. The company was quite open about the fact that a ‘processing’ or ‘administration’ fee would be charged, but after all the hidden charges were included, the mug would have cost £25. I mailed them to ask how a ‘free’ printed mug could possible cost £25. I didn’t get a reply except for spam emails telling me what other ‘special’ offers they have.
The only mugs this company deals in are those that use their service: AVOID.
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August 3rd, 2011 at 6:18 pm
Very misleading. I wanted buisness cards through an offer of ’500 free and only pay for P+P.’ I did all the design, added my own logo and some how came out with a total of £14.48!
I rang them up and found out you have to pay to upload your own logo! and postage and packaging some how totals £10!! wtf! This seems like a load of rubbish, since the parcel would be small and I never put in what type of delivery I required.
If I can get a tv delivered for £20 how the hell do buisness cards cost £10??
SCAM
Going to look for somewhere local now! AVOID THIS COMPANY!
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August 18th, 2011 at 10:37 am
Hi……
I want to thank “cjinspired” for saving me a lot of money and heart ache.
I was within seconds of signing up for “£2″ business cards with VP, when I noticed your alert.
Nice one!
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August 18th, 2011 at 11:19 am
I’ve happy with the quality so far on the mugs, pens and rubber stamps I ordered. However you have to watch out for the shipping costs and the 20% VAT (UK)that is added so that the headline price of my goods on one order was £5.99, but with shipping costs and tax the total was £13.43! I have just placed an order for pen, photo desk calendar, 10 large calender magnets, keyring and mouse pad all with my uploaded company logo for £6.67 (total with shipping and tax £14.04) which I still think is pretty good. This seems to be one of the few companies who deal with small quantities, which is ideal for a very small home based business, and the ability to get many items “free” gives you to see the product before committing to buying more.
Be aware of additional costs if you upload your own photos or logo. I spend quite a while preparing a “free” brochure on a template which included space for eight images. They were going to charge me £3.49 for each uploaded image. However that was clear from the details in the cart so I have removed it and will look for an alternative template with fewer (or no) options to upload images.
Also be aware that larger orders are split and mailed separately which I suspect is more expensive than shipping everything in one parcel.
Yes, you do need to be aware of not joining the “club” (currently £3.99 a month) and on occassion they will assume you want something else (in my case return address labels) unless you positively say “no”.
For business stationery etc. try CardsMadeEasy. High quality, UK based and easy to contact. Great customer service.
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September 1st, 2011 at 9:25 pm
Hi, I came upon this website when searching for the Vista Print website. I have to date used them a few times for business cards and been happy, but have just checked my online bank account and find to my horror, that Vista Print have been taking £3.56 a month from my account since March 2011 for a website I’ve never knowingly signed up for ! So now I have to do battle and will start with letting my bank that this is an unauthorised payment, and then tackle Vista Print.
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September 1st, 2011 at 9:50 pm
I have been using Vistaprint for about 6 months, never had a problem with them. The quality of the printing is very good and my website looks fab, despite me being a computer idiot. I trialled lots of free products (advertised on their “spam emails” that so many people seem to complain about – well, I like a freebie…) and yes I have to pay for postage, but for small trial runs of printing it’s still ridiculously cheap. Yes, you have to read the small print, and if you sign up to their privilege club or whatever is called there is a charge, if you don’t cancel your free trials there is a charge, etc, but shouldn’t you read the small print anyway?
The only prob I had was with starting a free website trial and then not doing anything with it, and having contacted them (via customer support on their website) they cancelled it and restarted it for me, so I could still get a free month.
Yes, using local companies would be great, but unfortunately I could not order 400 free glossy postcards with a £6 order for calendars as I’ve just done, all coming to £14 inc postage, which I think is pretty darn good.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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September 2nd, 2011 at 1:17 pm
Hi, I posted yesterday about discovering that Vista Print had been deducting money from my account on a monthly basis. I am happy to report that I received a very quick, no quibble response with an assurance that my money would be returned to my bank account. The number to contact is 08004960350. They did try to suggest that they would credit me with the amount to my vista account, but there was no problem when I said I wanted it returned to my bank account. Perhaps the kind of experiences reported on this website have made them change their attitude. Lets hope so.
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September 9th, 2011 at 6:36 pm
I would like to thank all of you who have been scammed by VISTAPRINT!!!
I was just about to go on their website and make an order, then I saw a VISTAPRINT SCAM link, I clicked on it and low and behold, I have been spared the anger and demonic rage that people like these cause honorable human beings to feel. I say thank you again you proud people of decency!!!!!!
I also agree with the commenters who suggest that we should support our local printers!!!
Where there are no cloak and dagger stuff FROM FACELESS PARASITES!!
THANK YOU AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN!!
Wayne
Hot debate. What do you think?
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September 9th, 2011 at 11:31 pm
I have used VP for the past 4 years to print personal calendars of my kids for christmas presents. I have always found the quality excellent, prices good and delivery fast. I have only ever had one issue with a sub standard print, but that was sorted quickly after an email. So far I can’t fault Vista Print but I have never tried to get any of their ‘freebie’ offers. I have and continue to recommend VP to others.
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September 13th, 2011 at 3:04 pm
ANYONE WHO HAS FALLEN FOR THIS SCAM PLEASE CONTACT BBC WATCHDOG USING THE FOLLOWING LINK:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog/gotastory/
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September 19th, 2011 at 4:37 pm
Looks like you didn’t read the Vistaprint website properly. You signed up for the rewards programme (easily done, you just tick the box I think). OK, this is rather sneaky by Vistaprint, however, their general service is very good and their prices can be excellent if you use the deals from their relentless daily emails.
Your suggestion to use Moo looks really poor value in comparison, with limited range at a very high cost. Are you just trying to get commission from click throughs?
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September 19th, 2011 at 5:04 pm
@Honda90 – as mentioned in the post (written 2 years ago) I did sign up to the VP rewards scheme, which at the time was a hidden check-box so didn’t have a choice, I have not used them since so am not aware of how obvious they have now made the checkbox. Even so I thought it worth warning people off such a sneaky company. If they have the lack of ethics to try that, who’s to say they aren’t selling your details to the highest paying bidder?
I’ve added the Moo affiliate ads because a) having tried their products I know they are quality and b) because they don’t try and sign their customers up to some scammy rewards scheme. No matter how well hidden it is, what sort of company sets up a ‘rewards’ scheme that is designed purely to rip off customers? Once you compare the two cards I’m sure you’ll agree Moo as actually pretty good value compared to the horrific flimsy VP cards that get sent out.
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September 21st, 2011 at 9:13 am
I have used VistaPrint for over 2 years. Yes, I failed to read the SMALL PRINT about the £9.95 coming out of my bank account. However, once I telephoned them, on their FREEPhone number, the whole 6 months of debits was credited to my account.
As for designs etc. YOU, the customer has to check and approve anything you do. Simply click on the VIEW LARGER wording to see what you have done clearer and follow the ‘print within the box’ borders.
You do get credits to use against future orders for using VistaPrint. If you are not sure then click on ‘My Account’ and then down the page to the box ‘My Other Features’ where you will see My Credits. Access your credits and gift certificates. Some of you guys using VistaPrint for years may be pleasantly surprised.
If you want to use the Credit then at the Check Out page where all your Credit Card details / PayPal etc is listed you will see just below the Billing Address you will see ‘Would you like to apply a credit to your order? It shows how much credit you have and can Apply. I agree it is in the SMALL PRINT. Human nature is to click straight on the credit card or PayPal….but it is clearly written how to use VistaPrint.
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September 22nd, 2011 at 2:58 am
I ordered few items from Vista and found out that after a while they are charging my credit card a certain amount every month which I don’t know why or what for. Can’t find any contact details…be WARNED…it’s a scam!
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September 27th, 2011 at 7:02 pm
Vistaprint are disgusting. I had a leaflet to order a calendar for 99p. Once online I managed to download the photos for each month and with postage the calendar came to £7.43. I decided this was O.K. as I wanted it for my 85 year old Dad for christmas – thought it would be a nice present for him to look every day at pictures of his family. Anyway, I downloaded all the photos and when I went to order something kept popping up on screen from Vistaprint so I thought that the order had not gone through. Eventually it went as it should and logged into Pay Pal to pay. Shortly after I read my e-mails and realised that 3 had been ordered. I e-mailed their customer service department straight away asking them to please cancel 2 of the calendars. I e-mailed several times over the next couple of days and heard nothing. I did have an automated e-mail saying that my complaint would be dealt with within 48 hours but it never was and I never heard anything. I have therefore paid £22.29 for what started out as a 99p calendar. I shall tell everyone I know never to order from Vistaprint and I think you should do the same. They are conmen out only for your money and care nothing about the grief they cause. I am in the process of moving and really would not have spend over £22 on a calendar. There is still the question as to what to do with the other 2. Be very careful!!
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September 29th, 2011 at 2:13 am
Wow. I thought people were smarter than this. The subscription you got caught up in is at the end of your ordering process. I’ve ordered several times off vistaprint.com with everything from my business cards to my own wedding invitations. When you go to check out they try and sell you all the matching stuff like notepads and magnets etc. At one point though, they offer a MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTION! It’s already marked as a “yes send me this” you have to physically click “NO THANK YOU”! I have to on all my orders and I have no subcription. It ain’t no scam you people just can’t read.
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September 30th, 2011 at 12:03 pm
I haven’t had any of these problems with VistaPrint – have been back to them 3 times now – quality of cards is excellent. Maybe with a lot of online businesses there are sometimes glitches and if this happens to you first time of use it might colour your thinking about it. It’s not good to set up DDs without your knoweledge though and a bit concerning, but it hasn’t happened to me. I have also used them to set up my website and although there might be cheaper options I am quite happy with it
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October 2nd, 2011 at 12:33 am
Vistaprint are really bad!! they have totally scammed me. I signed up to a standard website for my business and because I was also printing a lot of marketing material I thought it would be worth signing up to the vistaprint plus service. However a few weeks later they took £22 out of my account that I did not authorise and were unable to account for why they took it, but also refused to refund the money. Also the free 7 day postage that is supposed to be a perk of vistaprint plus was not attributed to my account. Unhappy with the service I decided I will not be ordering anything else from them so a month ago I asked them to cancel my Vistaprint Plus subscription, cance the blog on my site (which I found out later they had been charging me £2.99 a month for) and put my site back to a standard £5.99 service (as they had somewhere along the line upgraded it to a £9.99 a month service without my authorisation). Anyway 6 email and 2 weeks later they finally replied and said that they could do this if I like … but they didnt, So I emailed again another 4 times with no response, and no resolution to the problem I phoned (I only have a mobile so this cost me a few quid) and some woman with rubbish customer service skills said she had sorted it all out. However I checked and actually nothing has been done and they are showing on my account that they will debit me for the services I have been trying to contact for a month…. I reccomend that all people thinking about buying something from Vistaprint should rethink as this company is a real scam!, they advetise free stuff, but it is never free as you always have to pay for uploading images, colour, postage, VAT etc… I know it is tempting, but really its not worth it the company is corrupt!!
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October 10th, 2011 at 3:57 pm
The fake comments made by vistaprint employees here are pretty funny – after getting stung by their vouchers scheme I will never EVER use this joke of a company again.
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October 11th, 2011 at 4:50 am
Hey doe`s anybody has that number so i can ring them they getting $ 7.69 out of my account monthly. please heeeeeelp.
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October 13th, 2011 at 6:58 pm
I was suspicious at first and stupidly cancelled my website because I thought it was not set up but i was imputting incorrect address. They duly cancelled promptly and also reinstated quicky onced i realised my error and requested my domain be unsuspended. My cards are great – I regularly get good comments and feedback about them as well as a range of ther products that I have ordered in the little time I have been a customer of VP (1 MONTH) I have ordered banners (which i got free and of excellent quality- 500 business cards, postcards, stickers, canvas bags, tshirts, pens all with my logo/design.
I will bear in mind the comments about the extra ILLEGAL transactions as I DO HAVE A DISCREPANCY WITH A WEBSITE CHARGE which was £16 in total after i reinstated it but it should only be £5.99 for the month as i was still within my months free trial.
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