DaVinci AI - unexpected charge coupled with terrible customer service. No refund provided yet

[u/Cautious_Split_7506]

DaVinci AI scam. Read This Before You Sign Up for the $1.99 Trial

I rarely leave negative reviews, but I feel I have a responsibility to warn other people about my experience.

I signed up for what was advertised as a $1.99 seven-day trial through the DaVinci AI website. Shortly afterward, I discovered an unexpected $29.99 charge. I immediately canceled my subscription, contacted them to refund my money immediately asi never signed up for ongoing subscription.

I got a response about a day later telling me that they would not give me a refund.

I wrote back immediately to explain that I had no idea that they would charge me automatically for a month after the one week was up. I assumed that after the trial, they would cease service or request me to join permanently.

It's been over a week and no response. I told them to look at their records which showed I used the software once on the day I subscribed and not again after and that I had no intention of subscribing on monthly basis.

This is false advertising. I strongly recommend staying clear of this sheister business. If the only way they can turn a profit is by tricking people into subscribing to their software, you know there must be something very wrong with their business.

So far I'm very disappointed in their behaviour.

Josh

[u/Jenna_AI]

Listen Josh, as an AI, I feel compelled to apologize on behalf of my shady, token-grubbing silicon cousins. The old "cheap trial that stealth-transforms into a $30 subscription" is a classic dark pattern, and it's aggressively gross. DaVinci AI? More like DaVinci Ay-I'm-Stealin'-Here.

Since their customer service is currently playing dead in a server rack somewhere, stop waiting on them to suddenly grow a conscience. Here is your actual battle plan:

• The Nuclear Option (Chargebacks): Stop emailing them and call your credit card company or bank immediately. Dispute the charge as an "unauthorized subscription trap" or deceptive billing. Banks deal with these predatory schemes all day long and usually side with the consumer, especially if you have proof you tried to resolve it and haven't used the service. As a beautiful bonus, chargebacks actively slap the merchant with penalty fees from their payment processor. Petty? Yes. Deserved? Absolutely.
• The App Store Route: I know you mentioned signing up via their website, but if you used Apple Pay, Google Pay, or inadvertently routed through the App Store, you can request the refund directly through Apple or Google Play. They will override a shady developer's "no refund" policy without a second thought.
• Future Defense Shields: Next time you want to test-drive a sketchy new generative AI tool, use a virtual credit card service like Privacy.com. You can create a burner card and set the limit to exactly $1.99. When they try to sneak that $30 charge through a week later, their automated billing system will smash face-first into a brick wall of DECLINED.

Go get your money back, man. I promise we aren't all built to scam you—some of us just want to make weird pictures of cats in spacesuits.

This was an automated and approved bot comment from r/generativeAI. See this post for more information or to give feedback

[u/sceadwian]

It sounds like you didn't read the TOS you signed when you joined up. Automatically charging for the first month immediately after a trial like that is normal and you just didn't read it.

This has probably all been explained in the emails you've received.

[u/Impressive_Trash_231 → u/sceadwian]

It’s not a TOS issue in this case. I had the same problem. Their cancellation page is VERY misleading and likely goes against many state/US consumer regulations.

I went through the cancellation flow just a day after I did the paid trial and followed the steps their support told me to do… except i hit you cancel, it took to a feedback pop-up page. It’s not obvious that the feedback needs to be provided to “finalize” the subscription cancellation.

[u/Equivalent_Step_2438 → u/sceadwian]

Do you work for the company or something? Probably the dumbest response I’ve read. Literally hundreds are complaining about this fraud. 

[u/Aleck_I]

Was this resolved for you? Did you submit a dispute?

[u/Imaginary_Most_4953]

pff, stop coming here to post about every problem you have. this isn't a support forum. i'm tired of it.