Consumer Reports Reviews 116

Disappointing that THIS company of all companies auto renews people without notice or providing a receipt. And they auto renew you after you've already cancelled your service!!!

I cancelled again and they withheld $10 even though I hadn't used the service in a very long time, cancelled it a year ago, and had no clue they were going to auto renew me.

Not a good sign when a company resorts to doing this to people..

Very poor customer service. Membership renewal is almost scam like – they make it almost impossible to cancel auto-renew. Tried deleting my credit card online (could not), tried canceling online (could not figure it out), called (closed or long wait), they even used an old cancelled card to charge me. Chatted online (long wait), called and spoke with a supervisor (30+ minutes without success). Would recommend avoiding them all together.

Not even a one.
I called last year to cancel my
Membership and change my email. I was told no refund and a refund would be prorated. I kept the membership from last year but please change my email so I will not be charged again. My email was not changed so what happens today is I get charged again. I said why was I not notified and was explained the renewal was sent to the old email.
Not happy at all. Their system says I never called. So I tried to cancel my
Membership last year and subjected again with a charge of 45.00.
When speaking with the rep he says I never called, but I did and could refund me at the prorated amount. The rep was very attuned to coming up with many different answers which tells me the problem with their system is much bigger than just me.
So sad a company that is supposed to be consumer conscience does not work with their people
Word to the wise for future consumers wanting consumer reports.

Consumer Reports withdrew $45 from PayPal without authorization. Emails to them only received a response that after a 1 year in May 2027, they will not renew my subscription I never ordered or wanted. That is not acceptable. Michael Chancellor

I have to agree with all the other one star reviews that their membership tactics are a scam. Auto-renewal without permission, emails every six months that say your subscription needs to be renewed, even though you are not due.

Cancel my subscription after one day. It wasn't written right and I had to call back again because I didn't get my refund. I was told that I still have to pay $10 even though I cancel it the day after. Not very happy with consumer report. Never use them again.

Today I received a bill for $45 for an annual renewal. I never received notice that a bill was coming, although CR said it was sent. When I asked to cancel membership, I was told CR would extend my membership for 30 days for $10, thus allowing only a $35 refund as per their policy. The reason for cancellation was lack of reviews for products the average consumer would buy at big box stores. Instead, they review items I've never hear of, typically high-end items I would never consider purchasing.

The irony is unfortunate. Consumer Reports, an advocate for consumers, actually has the worst consumer experience of any magazine I've ever subscribed to. For starters, I subscribed a few years ago to a one-year subscription, but the "one-year" subscription ended after 10 months. Then trying to cancel after the 10-months was up was complicated and confusing and the language through the process was manipulative and misleading. I tried to contact marketing or editorial staff of the magazine to let them know how unfriendly Consumer Reports is to the consumer but every attempt I tried to reach someone beyond a customer service agent I was told it wasn't possible.
Today, I thought I'd try Consumer Reports online resource and wanted to see what the policy would be if I wanted to cancel at some point, just in case the experience isn't a good one. The Consumer Reports site says "cancel anytime" for a one-year membership, which costs $3.25 per month. But, I found elsewhere on the site that, while someone may cancel anytime, if the cancellation is within the first 30 days of joining, there is a $10 charge and after the first 30 days of joining, there will be no refund. So, a person technically may cancel anytime, but their money is gone.

I've subscribed to Consumer reports for years and have always enjoyed their reviews. Unfortunately it's a bad time to pay for the auto renewal and I was notified the day it charged. So I contacted them to please cancel my membership and refund my auto-payment, yet they will only refund part of it and are unresponsive to my communications. Why do they deserve to keep $10 of my money when i asked for a refund same day? What a great way to kill my loyalty of literally 20 years.

I recently visited Consumer Reports while looking for bank recommendations, and my experience was frustrating and disappointing.

The article I found listed First Republic Bank as the number one recommendation—even though that bank failed three years ago. As I continued reading, I noticed several other banks on the list that have either merged or are no longer operating. This made it clear that the information is outdated.

What’s even more concerning is that there were no visible publication or update dates on the article. Without that context, it’s impossible to know how current—or outdated—the information really is. It raises a bigger question: how much of the content on the site is no longer accurate?

I’ve trusted and enjoyed Consumer Reports in the past, but this experience has made me question whether they are still actively updating their research or simply charging users for outdated information. I hope they address this issue, because accuracy and timeliness are critical for a resource people rely on for informed decisions.

I signed up to their newsletter once a few years ago and since then, I keep receiving their newsletter emails after I have contacted them to cancel my subscription. Thankfully, I did not pay any cent to them but after my 5th time of unsubscribing myself, I reported them as spam and blocked them so they just keep emailing my spam folder...

STAY FAR AWAY. They have a very deceptive, actually a scam, auto-renewal process. They will charge you $10 if you cancel. I had no idea it would auto-renew, until I was charged. I notified them that day, but only received rudeness. No matter what I said, their response was "it is our policy."

Since they are unethical with their renewal process, one can assume their reviews are suspect and not legitimate.

Once you subscribe to the report they keep charging you year after year. Just caught another charge for 2026 on my credit card. Didn't know I still was subscribed ... have not received any CR mailing or logged onto platform. WATCH THEM!

So i canceled their subscription last year. Yesterday i notice they hit my credit card yesterday for another year! I called them and will refund 50% as its the company policy So let me get this straight You kept my card information after i canceled your service. I even too off my credit card info But you committed fraud by unauthorised credit card use. Then you admit it and say they will return 50% as its their company policy???? WOW they justify criminal behavior? I called the credit card company and did a charge off. Crooked crooked Consumer Reports Looking at all the bad reviews I can see their crooked behavior has caught up to them.

Purchased 3 appliances in the past 3 years 2 in the past 6 months based on their posted stats. All three had issues 1 was exchanged for a different brand 2 were LG. A phone attendent for LG admitted the brand is a presidental sponsor.

I canceled my membership right after joining because I knew I only wanted the service for a month. Well I woke up this morning and saw a $10 charge on my account. Requested a refund but they wouldn't give me one. If you do sign up and then cancel, take screenshots of everything!

I have looked at CR as a reputable review source until I entered their 2024 Car Sweepstakes. There is no list of winners available, and the contest site still shows "2024 Car Sweepstakes Winners to come!" I only have the option of chatting with one of the AI Representatives, which we all know will eventually kill us, and it is stupider than any human I've spoken to. Is this contest legit? I believe it isn't. If you can't trust their contest, you can't trust anything they provide.

Consumer Reports is now a typical predatory entity that hides Auto-renewal in a convoluted mess. Auto-renewal is checked without your approval, and then hides the ability to cancel it in a convoluted website. They prey on senior citizens (myself) and steal their money.
I was a subscriber to the magazine for decades years ago, when it was legitimate. Now it's a typical money theft scheme with useless information on products. It's obviously bias, they sold-out for greed.
They steal part of your payment when you cancel, Customer service reads a script about their "fine print" and refuses a full refund.

I cancelled my subscription but they said it would take a month to refund my payment. They said they'd keep a $10 "administrative" fee. Junk fees are illegal CR. Also your CEO makes $800,000 a year so why the hell are you asking me to make a donation and cover credit card fees? A scammy company living off its once stellar reputation. Do not give them a penny!!

I often consult Consumer Reports about large purchases, especially cars and appliances. I have found reviewing mattresses less helpful because mattress companies sell the same mattress under so many different names. It is almost impossible to find out if the mattress reviewed by consumer reports matches the one in the store. That said, Consumer Reports is my first step in purchasing a car or appliance.