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    Classmates

Classmates

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Overview

Classmates has a rating of 1.4 stars from 165 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers complaining about Classmates most frequently mention credit card, customer service, and automatic renewal problems. Classmates ranks 613th among Social Network sites.

  • Service
    61
  • Value
    59

This company responds to reviews on average within 5 days

Positive reviews (last 12 months): 0%
Positive
0
Neutral
0
Negative
11
View ratings trends
8
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How would you rate Classmates?
Top Positive Review

“Ripoff, abusing people wanting to connect, they are a disease”

Mike P.
8/20/23

Oh friendly until they get your CC info then it's over. Obscure directions to cancel which leads you to a screen that they ask you to select auto renewal to cancel which you just selected auto renewal. These people are the low of the low. I have dealt with blatant thieves before, the only thing they are missing is a gun in your face. Please people avoid at all costs or join the herd trying to stop them from robbing you blind. As several others have stated in reviews now I go to bank and either stop payments at $35.00 per month or change account numbers to stop this nest of rodents Mike P Texas

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Top Critical Review

“Blowing Smoke Up My...”

Jim M.
11/10/24

I was OK with the site and have been a member for a few years, but things have changed. Why they have to continually change the format and add/remove features is beyond me - but maybe it simply justifies their overpriced fee. They changed things and I cannot post as I had in the past. Under "NOTES", it shows I have 5,000 characters available to post what's on my mind - typically life's update. The change only lets me type 200 characters and it stops. I have contacted the help people 4 times about this and I simply get a follow-up email each time from a different person stating they are working on it. I think it has been near 3 months and no resolve - just a generic response just like the ones I see here from Classmates. Sorry to disconnect from some class mates, but the subscription is too much for what I use it for and the IT department hasn't a clue on how to fix a program issue - one they surely made when "upgrading" the site to provide me with a better experience. Does anyone know what "less is more" or "keep it simple" means anymore?

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Reviews (165)

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Reviews that mention popular keywords

credit card (21) customer service (21)
Thumbnail of user tammieh83
South Dakota
2 reviews
0 helpful votes
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January 4th, 2023

I thought I was making a one time purchase to use the site, I was charged over 68.00 a month for MANY months via PayPal which is where I discovered the charges.

Seller info
Classmates
*******900
*******@classmates.com
Invoice ID
**************
Purchase details
Purchase amount
$63.90
Total$63.90

Thumbnail of user georger468
Pennsylvania
1 review
11 helpful votes
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May 22nd, 2020

They send you enticements to check your account and you find out it was all a con. I set the account to manual renewal and they charged my paypal account twice. So far, it's in$#*!ingpossible to close the account--they just keep billing. My only option may be to close my paypal account.

Thumbnail of user markg2599
North Dakota
1 review
0 helpful votes
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March 31st, 2022

I received a reproduction yearbook and the pages were all out of order, almost unusable. Classmates will not make it right or even respond to emails. Do not do business with these people.

Tip for consumers:
Idk

Products used:
Yearbook reproduction

Service
Value
Thumbnail of user priscillaf11
California
1 review
5 helpful votes
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December 30th, 2017

I did NOT willingly sign up for auto-renewal, yet there it is! I never got anything out of the original membership and was not interested in spending a dime on them ever again. BEWARE. They will automatically charge you WITHOUT PRIOR NOTICE. I closed my PayPal account so it can't happen again and took screen prints of Classmates site showing that my choice to auto bill is turned OFF so I can PROVE it this time.

Thumbnail of user terryc953
Alabama
2 reviews
2 helpful votes
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September 15th, 2022

90 day trial turned into another 90 but much more $$$$ then it can be a year. I called them 1 hour an hour later they gave me the run please stay away from classmates is a con and a rip off.

Tip for consumers:
stay away

Products used:
service

Service
Value
Thumbnail of user lizabethj2
California
1 review
16 helpful votes
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October 27th, 2020

1. I thought I signed up for a 1 year subscription to Classmates. Ah but no! Somewhere imbedded in the initial online contract it's an automatic yearly fee.
2. Try to contact Classmates about anything via email... you will get ghosted, forever. Try to get your money back, it ain't gonna happen.
3. The website Classmates is a mess. It's not written well at all, you can't ease or breeze thru it looking for former school chums, it takes you back and forth to different schools you didn't attend, you can't see pictures, they are dithered out, no lists under your school names. Furthermore you get notifications about your school from graduating classes 10 20 30 years after you graduated, like I would really know these people. It's just a ploy to get you to enter their site.

Ultimately I was burned for a $49 renewal that I didn't authorize, and according to PayPal, no refund.
There are crafty people out there trying to get your money any way they can, and Classmates is one of them.

PLEASE BEWARE OF CLASSMATES.

Thumbnail of user joec1734
Texas
1 review
0 helpful votes
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March 18th, 2022

Classmates.com have the habit of charging your card for 3 months services and then within three weeks to charge your card again I do not recommend this site

Products used:
Service my issue was about building

Service
Value
Thumbnail of user alfredn72
Texas
1 review
2 helpful votes
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October 16th, 2023

I am constantly getting emails from them telling that someone has added a new photo. It's a lie. The photos have never been updated by the people that they claim.

Service
Value
Thumbnail of user lynneg99
Lynne G. – Classmates Rep

We are sorry to hear you are not enjoying your experience with Classmates. Please reach out to our Member Care Team for further assistance with your concerns: https://help.classmates.com/hc/en-us/requests/new

Thumbnail of user peterc220
New York
1 review
9 helpful votes
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April 19th, 2018

They will deceitfully charge you payment method without warning and no possible refund based on hidden terms. They should be shut down, two bit thieves

Thumbnail of user corneliush29
Virginia
1 review
0 helpful votes
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February 16th, 2022

North Syracuse High School in NORTH Syracuse, New York - IS NOT the same high school as North High School in Syracuse, New York! Read this a couple of time before you discard it. Your site has mixed up the 2 schools. Its annoying and one of the reasons I haven't subscribed... Respectfully, Cornelius C. Hayes, Jr. North Syracuse High School class of 1957.

Thumbnail of user paull2382
Michigan
1 review
8 helpful votes
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May 31st, 2023

THE WORST TRASH SCAM COMPANY ON THE PLANET!

Do not even think about signing up for the trial membership - they will AUTO-RENEW you for 1 year / $60.00 / WITHOUT your consent

The whole site is a FRAUD

FAKE enrolled classmates that they say looked at your portfolio - the classmate is not even remotely involved with the site

TOTAL FRAUD SITE!

STAY AWAY!

Thumbnail of user robertg5044
North Carolina
1 review
0 helpful votes
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September 19th, 2023
Verified purchase

Ordered lifetime membership and site never changes from free access - can not get access to any of the benefits described in the site advertisement and there is NO CONTACT information to contact ANYONE

Thumbnail of user lynneg99
Lynne G. – Classmates Rep

We are sorry to hear you did not enjoy your experience with Classmates. Please reach out to our Member Care Team for further assistance with your concerns: https://help.classmates.com/hc/en-us/requests/new

Thumbnail of user gemrox18
California
1 review
3 helpful votes
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June 5th, 2023

I once browsed their website upon clicking on their ad, just to see if I knew anyone, but I hardly recognised anyone and definitely no one worthwhile. Needless to say, I wasn't impressed. But, boy, did I really regret ever checking out this site. I would have never signed up for any of their products or memberships! Why would I? However, they insist that I did, and I was charged a total of $158.70! Now that's a lot of money for a person on Disability, who never even was interested in their products or ever received any product. I can swear on my life that I never signed up for anything, (and I consider myself a spiritual person). Again, why would I? I figure this must be some kind of mistake or even fraud. The rep, Paula, was so rude; she cut me off while I was still speaking and hung up on me just because I politely asked her just for one month's refund. I never was impolite to her nor had I ever raised my voice to her. How unprofessional and greedy this company seems to be! In my humble opinion, this merchant isn't worth any of your time or money!

Tip for consumers:
I checked my account to see why I'm so short of money every mo. Sure enough, I found a total of $158.70 for "classmates"- something I swear I never belonged to or used. This really hits me hard financially, considering I can't work, and inflation is through the roof. You would think Paula would at least say, "Let me see what I can do for you" and not be so frigid and rude. I would've accepted that. Instead, I got off the phone not only upset about her answer but hurt by the way she spoke to me.

Products used:
None

Thumbnail of user nelsonh123
Massachusetts
2 reviews
8 helpful votes
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May 31st, 2023

I bought a three-year membership for $48 and realized after just a few minutes that I made a horrible mistake. I wanted to plan a reunion. They offered ABSOLUTELY no help whatsoever in getting in touch with my classmates, which is bad enough, but then they FLOODED me with emails from people who graduated either from my high school but not in my class, or from other schools entirely (in other words, people of no interest to me). They are laser-focused on making money and not on helping you get in touch with your classmates. BEYOND WORTHLESS! Sorry there wasn't a No Star review I could have given. They don't deserve the time I spent writing this review except that I felt it important to warn others of their uselessness.

Thumbnail of user marcv130
Oregon
0 reviews
1 helpful vote
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June 27th, 2022

I enjoy being able to look at old yearbooks. My one complaint is that there is not nearly enough yearbooks on the site and they do not seem to be adding many.

Service
Thumbnail of user linze119
Pennsylvania
1 review
2 helpful votes
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July 31st, 2023

Purchased a yearbook and was sent the wrong year. No where in the ordering process was I asked what year. I was sent the wrong year and they would not return the book. Customer service is HORRIBLE. QUALITY IS HORRIBLE. Book is made from pictures of pictures.

Products used:
NONE

Service
Value
Thumbnail of user davidd4085
Illinois
1 review
0 helpful votes
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June 9th, 2022

JOINED CLASSMATE.COM MAY 2021 FEE OF 24.00. WAS CHARGED $60.00 TO CREDIT CARD MAY 2022 NOT AUTHORIZED! SENT E MAIL TO CLASSMATES ASKING FOR CREDIT TO MY CARD. NO RESPONSE. CALLED PHONE NUMBER SPOKE TO A REP EXPLAINED THE PROBLEM. ASKED WHO REVIEWS EMAILS SO A CREDIT COULD BE SENT TO MY CREDIT CARD. REP SAID ALL SHE DOES IS AWNSERS & COULD NOT HELP AND HUG UP.

Thumbnail of user jonathanb1585
New York
1 review
3 helpful votes
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July 13th, 2023
Verified purchase

The list of 166 former classmates, supposedly yreaching out to me, included mostly duplicates of people I have never known. 3 only were actual former classmates.

Thumbnail of user kathys128
North Carolina
4 reviews
2 helpful votes
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July 24th, 2019

2 years ago I joined the site and used PayPal for payment. At the time I took a 2 year membership. Within a few weeks of joining I signed in to my account and marked it to NOT auto renew as I didn't feel the service provided any value to me.

The other morning I received a notice from my credit card company that they had charged my account for $72. I immediately contacted classmates.com to let them know of the error and requested a refund. I received an automated response on how to cancel an account, no mention of a refund.

I wrote them back addressing the issue of the refund and reiterated that I had set my account to NOT auto renew almost 2 years prior and did NOT receive an email warning of the charge. Their response was the program is non-refundable without addressing my specific complaints.

I filed a dispute with PayPal. PayPal sided with the merchant. PayPal did not even respond to my assertion that it is hard for me to prove I set the account to NOT auto renew (because the merchant does not acknowledge the setting change with a response) and that I did NOT get an email (by having the merchant PROVE they sent an email).

I believe this merchant routinely uses unfair/unethical/bad business practices in order to increase their revenue.

Thumbnail of user geraldineh26
Pennsylvania
4 reviews
25 helpful votes
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December 10th, 2022

I selected a three month trial costing $7 each month and was charged 9, then 18, then another 18 after 3 months and found that the charge was being autaomatically debited. When I contacted them for a refund, a frighteningly shady man wrote back that I my paid period would end in sometime in 2023 and after change back to free statusa. He stated that I agreed to Terms of Service when signing but when I scrolled down very long Terms of Service cuold not find information about being automatic debits and no refund policy. In addition, whicah I wrote him, these importants facts should be visible with the plan selections. Thae level of shadiness is surprising, scary, depressing, and enraging. Please beware!

Tip for consumers:
Free status only recommended

Products used:
3 month Trial of $7 per month

Service
Value
Thumbnail of user shawnc552
Washington
1 review
0 helpful votes
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May 12th, 2022

I have been trying to unsubscribe for a while now but I keep getting the emails. They say that it takes up to 10 days once you click the unsubscribe button for the emails to stop it's been over a month now and the emails keep coming. I can't get a hold of anybody either to verbally tell them to cancel my subscription. They say you can always tell when someone is lying, their lips are moving. I am at the point now that I am going to have to talk with an attorney and file a lawsuit against them for harassment as well as falsifying their word on the ability to cancel as well as punitive damages. I am also going to find a way to get the government to permanently close this business down and force the owners of this business to never be able to open up a customer service type business since they are so corrupt. This is for the entire nation who is thinking of openning up an account with them, don't do it. You will regret it. If they are the last company on the planet that helps you reconnect with old friends, I would rather use smoke signals than go with them. To them employees, senior leaders and owner/s of this company, you should be ashamed of yourselves for misleading people on you websites just to take their money and run. How do you all sleep at night?

Thumbnail of user jamesl3875
North Carolina
1 review
2 helpful votes
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January 9th, 2023

It's a nice idea that you could get in touch with your high school buddies or find someone you haven't seen in decades. Classmates offers to get you in touch with your school chums, and maybe it happens to some people, but the reviews are more than 90% negative for a reason. I received an email that said someone from my class was looking for me. So I joined Classmates to get access to the emails. The emails were being sent to my address by Classmates not from my buddies from high school. Also on the list of people supposedly in my class, there were people who were never in my school or my class and several people who had died years ago.
I checked the reviews of the site. It is common for any business to get a few bad reviews, but Classmates had greater than 90% bad reviews and allegations of fraud and abuse. I wanted to cancel the service, and Classmates wanted to charge me for the initial period. I disputed the charge on my credit card. Better to use Facebook to find your long lost friends.

Tip for consumers:
Avoid them.

Products used:
None

Service
Value
Thumbnail of user gened116
Arizona
1 review
0 helpful votes
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September 9th, 2022

Signed up. When opening the site it was a mishmash of intelligible indiscernible images appearing like a puzzle.The images would not respond to clicking on. Its a joke.

Thumbnail of user ab937
California
1 review
0 helpful votes
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March 30th, 2022

They try to suck you in by holding hostage comments about you. But the comments are pretty much cajoled and fabricated by them. Awful people, awful site.

Thumbnail of user glenkyle68
Canada
2 reviews
2 helpful votes
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July 21st, 2023

1. Some members are falsely carrying 2 and 3 profiles.
2. Some members are listing, buying, and selling multiple real estate properties and using classmates as a free advertising forum at the expense of the other paying members. 3. They are still listing the names of those fellow students who passed away 15+ years ago. In fact one deceased friend has two profiles!
4. They have informed me on a number of occasions that I have had a visit from someone, and then when I go to check, no such visit was ever made. That's happened a dozen times.
5.They will tell me that someone has posted a new picture on their profile. So; you go to check it out and discover that it's the same photo that they submitted 15 years ago!
6. They will allow people from other schools to register in your graduating year.
7. They will not inform you as to when your membership is soon expring. No notice has been given.
8. If you have an issue or concern of some type - Good Luck! There are no managers or supervisors. Just wanna be drones that are happy to say goodbye to you and falsely tell you that a manager will be in touch with you when indeed that will never happen. It's largely run by young kids who in my view, could really care less. It's just a job to them, and your issues belong to you and need to stay there in their minds. Maturity then is lacking - big time in my view!
9. Nothing much has ever been done or created to expand the website to encourage other former members to return, or to reach out to those that aren't aware of the website.

Service
Value
Thumbnail of user lynneg99
Lynne G. – Classmates Rep

We are sorry to hear you did not enjoy your experience with Classmates. Please reach out to our Member Care Team for further assistance with your concerns: https://help.classmates.com/hc/en-us/requests/new

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Join Classmates.com for Free! Reconnect with high school friends, browse the biggest database of online yearbooks and/or plan high school reunions.

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Thumbnail of user lynneg99
Lynne G.
Typically responds within 5 days

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