Hey MLB.com - Eat a Dick

Apparently MLB.com Hired The Bobs As Market Researchers For MLB.com's "Customer Service"

Wow, just wow.

While I was on vacation, I received word from my bank that my checking account went negative because a charge came in from MLB.com stating that I had been charged for a monthly subscription to MLB.tv for the end of the regular season and then again they graciously charged me for MLB.tv’s post-season coverage as well.

The charge only amounted to about $30, but since I was on vacation and couldn’t take care of it, my bank charged me a $25- overdraft fee.

I also have EZ-Pass which we were using to cover tolls to and from Florida. EZ-Pass is set up to hit my account whenever there is less than $10- to cover tolls on my EZ-Pass account. Care to guess what happened? That’s right. EZ-Pass dinged me for another $25- which then gave me yet another $25- overdraft fee from my bank (who at least was kind enough to give EZ-Pass the money so I wouldn’t be arrested for tollbooth hopping).

Here’s where I admit to my fault: I purchased MLB.tv back in June so I could watch my beloved Nationals every night and I could watch them in HD since my computer has an HD monitor for viewing television broadcasts online. Well, about 30 seconds into my first game, I realized that my internet connection wasn’t conducive to receiving live broadcasts in HD so that feature was rendered pointless.

Add to that the fact that the Nationals really sucked this year and I saw no reason to continue paying for the service. Knowing that I had checked the little checkbox that said, “Please do not renew my subscription when the current subscription expires” I just let it go dormant. Well, the “good” folks at MLB.tv didn’t see it that way. On July 27th they hit me for $19.95. They did so again on August 27th. And then again on September 27th (while I was in Florida) and added to it the post-season subscription (that I didn’t ask for). So that’s $70-. Not a big deal, but they did add another $50- in overdraft fees bringing the grand total to $120-. Usually no big deal, but we were on vacation and came back from Florida with no expendable cash.

Again, my fault for not checking my account thoroughly enough during July and August and noting that MLB.tv had charged me despite my not using the service.

Let's go Back in time a bit...

Last year when I signed up for Gameday Audio through MLB.com, I was enrolled in a subscription for Sports Illustrated despite the fact I asked them to not give me the free three months trial subscription. I got it anyway and cancelled the subscription after receiving my first magazine (I hate Sports Illustrated). The “good” folks at S.I. told me that they cancelled my subscription but that I’d continue to receive the magazine for the three free months. I said, “fine.” I have friends who have birds and they could use the magazines as cage liners.

Well, when the three free months ended, I was hit with a one-year subscription charge from S.I. for about $90-. It hit the same day that my XM radio renewal hit for $85 which, of course, threw my account negative and incurred another $50 in overdraft fees.

The process of recouping my costs was as excruciating as a non-anesthetized root canal. I spoke with countless “customer service” representatives at S.I. who all told me that I could not contact any managers or anyone in their finance department via phone – the only way they could receive a message from me directly was BY FAX! At least six different times I had to have a friend of mine who works at my bank send the finance department faxes of the transactions which caused my account to go negative as well as a letter on official bank letterhead explaining how to refund the money. SIX TIMES. I called Sports Illustrated EVERY SINGLE DAY trying to get this rectified – and while I was going through this fiasco which took close to three weeks to resolve, EZ-Pass hit me again and I got hit with another $25- overdraft.

The whole situation became comical. My brother suggested that after my fourth fax which they claimed the never received I should send one fax every hour which states, “If you feel you’ve received this fax in error – then give me my fucking money.” My friend at the bank theorized that the finance department was actually run by a group of people who all worshipped a worker droid that collected faxes off the fax machine and deposited them into the shredder.

Anyway, after about three weeks, Sports Illustrated finally gave me my money back as well as gave me $50- of the $75- they were responsible for in overdraft fees.

Needless to say, I recommend that everyone out there NOT subscribe to Sports Illustrated.

Fast forward to last week. I found the phone number for “customer service” at MLB.com and contacted them about my problem this year (in which they charged me four months worth of fees for one month worth of service). I spoke with a nice young man who went over the account with me and saw my login history and noticed that I stopped using the service when my one month subscription ran out and helped me put in the request for a refund. I also asked for the pie in the sky in the form of my $50- in overdraft fees which this transaction caused but I thought it was a stretch. He said he’d make a note about it, but frequently when the finance department of MLB.com issues refunds they do not refund overdraft fees. I said that I understood that but it would be nice to have that note in there.

We ended the conversation with him saying that I’ll get my $70 but that I’d have to wait and see what the finance department says about the $50-. I’ll receive an e-mail within 7-10 days regarding the refund.

Well, late last night – while I was watching the Phillies/Dodgers game - I got the e-mail which stated:

Dear Valued Subscriber:Your request for a refund in connection with your 2009
MLB.TV Premium Monthly Subscription subscription has been denied in accordance
with the terms of your purchase Should you wish to discuss your subscription
further, please contact Customer Support toll-free at
1-866-800-1275. Sincerely,MLB.com

So not only were they not going to give me my $50- in overdraft charges, they weren’t going to give me my $70- either.

I was a bit miffed.

I waited until they opened this morning and spoke with another “customer service” representative. I expressed my displeasure at the decision and she explained away by stating: “the box you checked was for automatic renewal of a YEARLY subscription and not the monthly subscription. The monthly subscription automatically renews and said so in the disclosure. You need to read it more carefully.” I then asked why they would even give me the option to check the box for non-renewal if I wasn’t signing up for the yearly subscription (when you sign up, you are asked on the front page which service you want, the monthly or yearly; after that you are taken to another page to process payment at which point you are offered the checkbox – so I again ask, why offer the option of non-renewal on the monthly page if your intent is not to offer it no matter what choice you make?). Her response? “I’m not sure, but I don’t work in billing.”

At this point I ask to speak to the person who made the decision not to refund my money. She says that those people don’t have phones or e-mail accessible to the general public. SOUNDS A LOT LIKE THE FAX-EATING DROIDS AT SPORTS ILLUSTRATED.

Exasperated, I asked “well, where do I go from here.” She informed me that she will make a separate request for a refund of my $120- and that I should receive an e-mail within 7-10 days. After that I asked what my options are when this second request is inevitably declined and she told me that I can call back and ask to speak with a manager. I asked if I could do that right now and she said none are available.

In the meantime, my account still sits negative. Luckily this is my travel account that I use for my play money so it’s not affecting mortgage payments or food or heat but it’s still pissing me off.

Sufficed to say, if there are any baseball fans out there who use MLB.com’s services and pay for them – I hope nothing ever goes wrong for you because getting through to anyone who can actually help you is darn near impossible.

MLB is a multi-billion dollar industry. For years there have been questions on whether or not the sport has lost touch with its bread-and-butter fan base.

I’d say these examples answer that question.

Big Week In D.C.

He's Our Man

Despite getting swept by the Rockies this week, the Nationals as an organization are finally starting to look like a real baseball franchise.

The final block of the old MLB-run regime was finally replaced when earlier this week the Nationals named Mike Rizzo the permanent GM of the club. Rizzo has done an admirable job of turning chicken-s**t into chicken salad. Shortly after Jim Bowden’s firing, Rizzo went right to work patching up the bullpen by signing a couple of veterans (okay, so it wasn’t great, but they were literally all that was left after Bowden failed to address the issue) Joe Beimel and Julian Tavarez. He attempted to bolster the ‘pen by adding Logan Kensing from the Marlins – hey, as I said already, he really didn’t have a lot to work with.

He traded away JoeLOL Hanrahandout and troubled prospect Lastings Milledge for the Nationals new spark-plug, lead-off hitter and resident pimptastic “Tony Plush” errr….I mean, … Nyjer Morgan and a very solid bullpen addition of Sean Burnett.

Rizzo then drafted and signed Drew Storen with the #10 overall pick. Not only did he get Storen signed, he got it done quickly and Storen skyrocketed through the system already surpassing short-season and long-season A-ball and is now pitching in AA Harrisburg.

Rizzo’s best accomplishment to date (and probably the move that solidified his job) was staring down the barrel of a gun held by super-agent Scott Boras and getting the #1 overall pick Stephen Strasburg signed. Yes, it was a record-setting contract, but far from bending over for Boras’ initial demands of upwards of FIFTY MILLION DOLLARS.

Rizzo did what Bowden couldn’t do with last year’s first round pick Aaron Crow – and the rumor has it that as the deadline neared, Rizzo went into the conference room, alone, with nobody to watch over him and got the deal done. That’s trust in the man’s ability to do his job. As a result, the Nationals held a press conference yesterday to announce the “interim” tag would be removed from Rizzo’s title.

So now we have real owners, a real front office and now a hand-picked real GM. After a dismal start to 2009, perhaps things will turn around here and we can start playing some better baseball.

And speaking of press conferences, Rizzo’s top prize is slated for a presser of his own today when the Nationals announce to the world that Stephen Strasburg is officially a National.

But before then, Strasburg will be hosting a chat session on mlb.com where fans can submit questions for Strasburg to answer. My guess is, Mike Rizzo will be standing over Strasburg’s shoulder telling him what to and what not to write – call me cynical.

After all of this though, it’s difficult to be cynical because this really has been a great week to be a Nats fan because you can see the building blocks form the foundation.

Now it’s time to get to work and start winning some ball games. Milwaukee? You’re next.