Meetup
Reviews and Complaints

The group, I was attending: https://www.meetup.com/Bergen-County-AcestoDeuces-Tennis-League/

I contacted MEETUP by emailed many times and requested to provide me with official response from group organizer Nitsa Mickell with official explanation of her decision. They have sent me few emails that she has a right to let any member to join and leave the group in her discretion and that was it. I have a proof and eyewitness, that her action towards me was of discriminatory nature.

I was in contact with a "woman" on Meetup.com, and I thought things were going well. I decided to try Meetup, because I thought it was different than other meeting/dating sites. I... WAS... WRONG! This person asked me for my social security number, where I bank, & where I live. I have had it with people. They think they can get away with taking advantage of innocent humans.

I signed up for a Meetup back in March 2021 for $90.

Invoice # US2021-234311.
Order #: DB6EA20-0002

I NEVER gave permission to have my credit card on file.

It is ILLEGAL to use a credit card without permission to keep it on file.

I barely used the account. I did not renew.

They automatically renewed me for $180.

They emailed me on September 27th with an invoice for $180. I immediately emailed them stating that I had not renewed the account and to refund me the $180.

Meetup Rep. stated that someone would contact me. They said that they would offer me 50% off, if I renewed. I stated that I did not want to renew.

I asked to speak to a representative and included my telephone number.

They sent a response, indicating that they do not have telephone service. How could they have a company and not have telephone service?

I received an email saying that they won't bill me again, but that they cannot refund my $180.

This must be illegal.

PLEASE help!

Sincerely,
Florence Lee
[protected]

Dear Meetup

Please see email below from Cat, and organizer of SNAP asia professional meetup. I have not attended this event for a long time, but yesterday signed up for a dim sum event which only has 5 attendees. This event will as per normal hold up to 20 attendees.

Last year, she asked me for an accountant to submit her limited company accountants (as she teaches cello for students privately). Her boyfriend has a limited company and an accountant, but she denied this and asked me for accountant's name. As an accountant, i believe she is looking for an accountant who may compile her accounts in a non-compliant way. I refused to help.

Yesterday, i signed up for an event, and Cat is the host.
She sent me an email saying that the group was setup for 20s-30s for small groups. I believe this is an excuse in case i tell others of her non-compliant request.
Below is the link for her website which states clearly group for 20s-40s, and i know there are members of the group which are in 40s, also there are 1603 members as per the meetup group website.
Also Cat's email to me clearing indicating that she is using age discrimination against me.
I thought you should know that this is against the law.
(as per Data protection, i request my email of complaint to you is not sent to her).

https://www.meetup.com/snaplondon/?_xtd=gatlbWFpbF9jbGlja9oAJDFiN2VkODAxLTdlNDEtNGNmNC04NmJmLTAxZmY2ZTFhZTRkNg&utm_campaign=event-announce&utm_medium=email&utm_source=promo

From: [protected]@meetup.com On Behalf Of Meetup Messages
Sent: 15 September 2021 07:08
To: [protected]@hotmail.co.uk
Subject: New messages from Cat

~~~ Respond by replying directly to this email ~~~

Cat
Hi Kate, hope you are doing really well !
The organisers and I have decided to keep SNAP for working professionals in their 20-30's which was the original intention when this group was created. We are unable to accommodate big number of people and would like to be able to continue organising smaller events and also manage smaller number of people.
I can recommend groups such as BCS or other similar groups for you to be part of.
September 15, 2021 7:06 AM
Sorry, I couldn't be of much help!
September 15, 2021 7:06 AM

Reply directly to this email or respond on Meetup.com

Tom Warren promises a refund if you cancel . I canceled an event that he rescheduled due to a Hurricane.
I requested a refund of $5.00 two times and have heard nothing back.
This is not the first time.
And it makes meetup look bad. I am considering not using meet-up or forming my own meet-up group if I can not get help.
And Tom is not returning my emails.
Help!

Hi I am a new minnesota resident and was so excited to join a museum group on "meet up" the woman interviewer denied me from joining, stating hat I was not smart enough for their group. Honestly, I almost fell off my chair. I am originally from sao paulo brazil and have lived legally in the usa for 7 years now. I have a portuguese accent, but speak beautiful fluent english and I am trilingual.
I am so saddened, but far from surprised. I am a hardworking taxpaying 52 year old mother of two. Shame on this group... So sad.

My experience was written on a review of the meeting place of the Meetup event I attended:

"This is the most racist moment I've ever experienced in America. After the waiter failed to examine the group of old while people's vaccine status and when I entered the restaurant they suddenly "remembered", and as someone who was not informed that I should have the vaccine proof picture ready in my phone, I told them since I am an international student I should have it anyway- they failed to understand that and still asked me to leave.

Wow!

On the table of this event, when I talked to one Iranian lady (we were having a good conversation), this person in the video continuously interrupted us and making inappropriate comments, such as "you are angry, you are rude and you are angry. You have an attitude problem" etc etc. I just continued talking but she kept making those comments. I said ok that's your opinion, then she asked the waiter to tell me to leave. I was simply, telling my story to the Iranian lady beside me.

She failed to understand that I was angry because I was sexually harassed and cyber-stalked for 2.5 years and advocated for that and even chose my major in social justice area- her comment was: that was a bad cause for choosing your major. I politely replied and continued talking to the other Iranian lady, she kept saying I was rude and she kept interrupting by saying I was angry, and kept coming up with adjectives to insult me.

Now when I made the video, she apparently still hasn't realised she was the person who was rude all the time and she asked the waiter to ask me to leave- the waiter that failed his job at checking vaccine status.
And they were partial to the group I don't know if it's because they pay the constant visits or they like to be racist with them together. "
— My review to City Winery Boston upon the first visit there to an event on Meetup.

At first I didn't know it was an old people group meeting and was majorly white. But I saw that the waiter and the group themselves were apparently unfriendly to the only Asian female who accidentally joined. Actually if the event didn't work for me I planned to go to the nearest bar. But talking to the person in the video made my evening the worse.

Later, when I messaged the relevant people on Meetup to talk about what I experienced, Meetup banned my account which announced their support to this racism.

I simply want to change the meetup "what we are about" portion on the group page and because these stupid [censored]ing [censored] will not respond THREE TIMES to my complaints, after I've paid money for, I am complaining here. This ridiculous little problem has become a lager one ALL BECAUSE THE [censored] AT MEETUP refuse to 1. fix their site or 2. acknowledge my inquiry!

Over several months, I had a problem receiving emails through my account. Eventually, Meetup admitted they had found a technical fault that caused this. I asked them to offer a refund of some kind on my fees - which they had continued to take. They flatly refused, and were almost rude in their language, saying they were "not obligated to explain, and would not be pursuing the matter further."

I find this reprehensible. I have tried e-mailing their directors, but I don't know if I have the correct addresses, as I've received no reply. Surely the US has some kind of consumer protection laws?

Peter Benson

The Church of Scientology is hosting meetups on the site. They are collecting information, manipulating people into joining the organization and not telling them until after the fact.

Castro Valley Secret of Happiness Group.

Good afternoon (or Good morning) depending of the place where you reside for a moment. :-) I need to file a big complaint: I am Croatian citizen living in Vancouver, and need to say that MeetUp organizers and hosts (Greg Lang - Enhance and Empower group, Walter Dyson - I complained to him about some people from Iran and their unsocial behaviour, then Pourian and Tim Vipond in regard to entrepreneurial events-all from Vancouver Metro Area) in Vancouver are everything but beyond reproach. I hold a master degree in the field of Microeconomics, precisely in Entrepreneurial Management and when I spotted there are groups on MeetUp that deal with the same or similar topics/occupational field I contacted the hosts right away-but never got the answer. I was cut dead. No matter I have all credentials positively evaluated at ICES, BCIT, Vancouver and my studies are won the award for the best entrepreneurial studies in the 2021... Furthermore, I also complained about a few people who tried to interfere in my private life from the moment I came (Sunny Lui from Vancouver). For some reason that person (Lui) came to my first MeetUp meeting starting posing question about the my plans on possible finding girls on MeetUp groups that was preposterous and told me that I should be fine and satisfied cause I don't need a girlfriend (Teena Lee from Port Coquitlam was my ex and I was in the faze of splitting with her). I reported the same thing and got no answer. He also told that (for some unknown reason) he knows (some) the doctor.. I put a complaint on him and got no answer, too. TTV is another host of many events, he approached me in one of the groups and we became friends.. after I while he used to call me up on phone and posed contextual questions on topics I was browsing on internet at that moment, meaning he was hacking and stalking on me... for some unknown reason he have been organizing for the whole year events that coincided with a time and place (meaning he made an event as a host at the same time and that occurred in the same place), and other hosts were outraged and complained many times in vain. Organizers and hosts are being: ignorant, disrespectful and horrible. I hope You'll consider this complaint, I am going to undertake further steps if You are going to ignore it, too. Have a good day Relja Koprolcec, MSc.

Here's what Meetup has posted:
Subscription renewals
Meetup will issue refunds for renewal payments if requested within 30 days of the subscription's auto-renewal. This does not apply to monthly subscriptions.

I requested a refund, since I did not want to renew my subscription and was given no warning before they made the charge. They did not respond and they posted my request as "solved" when they didn't do anything about it.

When I sent emails to the address they posted, I got replies that they were no longer monitoring that address. There is NO WAY to contact customer service or anyone who can help with this. It's a total rip off!

Subject Id Created Last activity▼ Status
PLEASE Send REFUND for my CANCELLED SUBSCRIPTION!
#962872 2 days ago 2 days ago solved

Refund the Charge you just made immediately!
#959261 8 days ago 5 days ago solved

Re: Meetup Invoice US2021-87935
#959264 8 days ago 5 days ago solved

NO, none of these requests have been solved!

In Lafayette Louisiana I am trying to join some of the meetup groups and there is not a button to press and the general number is out of order

Meetup sent me an invoice for a renewal three days after they already charged my card. There was no other prior notification of pending renewal before this.

Invoice #: US2021-70741

Billing cycle: Mar 21, 2021 - Sep 21, 2021
Order date: Mar 18, 2021

I tried to send an email to their help desk, but the email was returned "resolved" within 1 minute of sending of the email and in their written response states their customer support address is not monitored. The link to the address I used was from their site under billing support.

i have been charged full subscription for my meetup group but my meetup group can not operate because of covid rules... ian christie... Dublin cycle touring group.
i cannot operate the group as we are a road cycling group and our government restrictions do not permit gatherings

Hello,
I just created a meetup group and an event, but I notice that it never appears in the researches with any keyword that I use and with any similar event. I could remark that only most popular events are Shawn, and I find very unfair: how can my group become popular in these conditions? Please come back to me with solutions. Thanks, Romaric (group: rando montagne et fun à Annecy)
Mail adress: Romaric.[protected]@gmail.com

I've exhausted myself trying to connect with people at Meetups. I have loads of interests, I am outgoing and always make an effort to look my best and genuinely engage with people. I've been trying for 3 years, and haven't made a single friend... Nope, not even one person I can call and chat with as a friend, or even as a basic acquaintance.

It's very discouraging. Several over 40s/50s groups who advertised their events turned out to be for 'members only', and membership was at a cost, and on their terms, i.e. I couldn't even try going to a 'sample' event first before deciding if I wanted to commit. When I tried to address this issue by messaging the organizers, their responses were rude and hurtful.

I also was surprised that most events I went to were attended by very young people, almost to the exclusion of older people. I am over 50, although am told I look considerably younger, and feel that way too, but really couldn't connect with so many attendees who were a generation younger than me. I went alone, and left, alone, every single time. It's really depressing to invest so much hope in expanding your circle of mates and getting nowhere. Nada. Zip.

" Your account has been disabled for spam or inappropriate behavior. "

Meetup, have it all wrong. There is no member who had reported my account I recently created it!

I have no idea, how far does the Meetup want to go about this!

AND THERE'S ISN'T ANOTHER EVENT. THE NEED IS A MATTER. I HAD RECENTLY BEEN TRYING REACH OUT. I EVEN COMPLAINT THROUGH BBB. BUT BBB REFUSE ME.

WHY IN THE HECK HATE ME

*SCREAMS CRYING JUMPING UP AND DOWN*

This group was all about science fiction movies, books, congresses and getting science fiction fans together. As it was taken over by James Cohen, he continuously runs some kind of vurtual speed dating for singles and charges 25$ for that . it is nothing illegal I guess but I would like him to go away and establish his dating market elsewhere, and advertise not under meetup- it gives meetup and sci fi fans rather bad rep.
Maria Winterman

For over a year I've been trying to get Meetup to stop charging my credit card. I've closed the group I was responsible for. I've tried and tried to find a phone number or email to lodge my complaint with no luck.

I've been charged $59.94 twice in the past year and that's after I've closed down everything. Before I closed my account I couldn't get into the payment option to change my card information.

While I'm trying to get this mess straighted out, I have gotten late charges on my card for $25 twice. It's $119.88 plus $50 = $169.88 out of my pocket because they can't conduct their business professionally.

It seems to me that it borders on criminal behavior to not have accurate contact information or a way to lodge a complaint without having to pay even more.

I'm really pissed...And I doubt that anyone will really bother to read this anyway. I'll keep getting charged and Meetup sure doesn't give a damn.