I recently purchased my 6th Wyze camera. When I signed up for the free 30 day Cam Plus trial, added to my cart like all 5 previous purchases, it initiated a very simple question on my part. Turns out the answer was neither simple nor consistent between customer service agents. My simple question was: Why was I given only a 7 day free trial, unlike what I was offered in my cart, and unlike all 5 previous purchases? The saga of trying to get that simple question answered is below:
Answer #0: On the day I activated the camera, and a 7 day trial started vs. the promised 30 days, I tried to submit a trouble ticket via the chat bot. Days passed and I never got any answer or even an acknowledgement that I had submitted a question via chat. After a few days of waiting it was clear my question was being ignored. (Hence starting the countdown with #0.)
Answer #1: So I called. The Tier 1 agent’s answer was: free trials are only given to new customers. When I pointed out that he was mistaken, and that I had previously purchased 5 cameras over 3 different orders, he said he could not help me and that it needed to be escalated to Tier 2, and he created a formal ticket.
Answer #2: The first Tier 2 agent’s answer was: “Free trials are only offered for subscriptions purchased via the Wyze app.” When I pointed out that he too was mistaken, that all of my previous purchases had been made on the web and had included a 30 day free trials, I got passed to a different agent.
Answer #3: The second Tier 2 agent’s answer was: “your Service subscription will automatically start from the date it was purchased on our website. The subscription does not wait to be activated in the Wyze App. You can learn more about this in our [Terms of Service - link]”. But that was a mistake too, for two reasons: 1) all previous 5 purchases had activated only when the cameras went live, excluding delays in shipping and/or installation, and 2) I carefully read the ToS. It does not say what she claimed. Instead it says “If no timing or due date for a given Service fee is specified, such fee will be due upon selection or sign up for the applicable Service.” So, like all 5 previous purchases, Cam Plus should have been aligned from when I signed up for the service, i.e. the date the camera was turned on and the free trial selected in the app.
Answer #4: The next answer then came back: “Our services, including subscriptions, are typically auto-applied upon purchase through our website. In your case, your type of free trial received came as a bonus with your device purchase, rather than as an auto-applied license from a device setup.” But that wasn’t typical in my experience. All 5 previous cams started the day they were turned on and added via my app. This time was very much atypical. Furthermore she added: “We understand your request for an extension of your subscription. In consideration of your request, we have already extended your trial period by 7 days, which is why the renewal date was reflected as March 10, 2024, instead of March 3, 2024.” But the timing is not consistent with her answer! March 10th was the renewal date the second I added it to the free trial. It absolutely was not “in consideration of [my] request”. That request only came days later, and absolutely nothing was changed as a result of that subsequent request.
I guess I’m done with this trouble ticket. Four different answers (five if you count the ignored chat question) tells me this isn’t going to ever give me a consistent answer from customer service, much less one that is consistent with how I actually made the order, or Wyze’s ToS, or my previous purchases, or the chronology of events.
I really do like Wyze. I have six cameras, multiple plugs, three router pros, etc. and until now have been happy with them all. Eventually I’ll probably buy a couple of more cameras, but now I’ll likely look elsewhere for some other home automation items I had originally planned to purchase.
But I also suggest It’s penny wise and pound foolish. Yes, I can afford the $2.29 prorated loss for the 23 missing days on the free trial. But I have other Wyze products in my growing ecosystem, and as stated planned to buy more. I’ve also recommended Wyze to several other friends. Can I really recommend Wyze to others if customer service can’t even answer a simple question with one and only one answer, and one that makes sense? I’m very tech savvy, but what if one of my friends has a real/serious/technical question? If Wyze can’t do the easy stuff, is this a company I want to recommend to my friends? And even with me, I have to admit seeing the company tie itself in knots to avoid a 23 day service extension worth just a couple of bucks leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
In closing: I know the customer is not always right. But all Wyze customer service has done, so far, is to give me contradictory answers, while quibbling over pocket change. Not a good look. They can do better. Sigh…
