r/vpnreviews

So I had a $10/year r/Windscribe deal, for life, as they put it.

Problem is, it was linked to a Paypal account that I used when I was studying abroad. Now that I'm back, the paypal account is dead and does not accept my country's issued card.

So I went to their support, and asked them if they could change my payment method. I was told it can't be switched directly, instead, cancel and email us and we will issue you with a voucher to get you back on the same deal with your new payment method

So, innocent as I am, I did. Then emailed them. Ghost town.

Their chat bot 'Garry' refused to raise a ticket, telling me i'd be wasting my time trying to get them on it because that deal no longer exists.

I reached out to them as a last resort on Discord, where I got this reply:
'Unfortunately the support agent that responded to you at that time was incorrect. Sorry.'

They literally scammed me out of my deal because it was too good.

Their service is good, but word of advice, their support sucks donkey butt.
They shut down the email tickets, their discord is a mess, and their chatbot straight up tells you NO, i will not raise a ticket.

So despite the good service, if you ever face an issue, and you get a promise by their support, think twice. Their word means nothing.

Email support is gone, that's official, not guess work. So you're stuck with a chatbot.

Better options out there. Add an extra $5 or $10 a year and save yourself the drama in case you face an issuer/.

Been a Proton user for a while but I'm hitting a wall. I need to consistently appear as connecting from a specific countries [Egypt - Saudi Arabia - UAE] (not for anything shady freelance work + some regional services that geo-lock), and Proton's servers there seem to be virtual/software-defined rather than actual physical presence. Result: half the sites and platforms I connect to (including some enterprise stuff like Teams/AVD) are flagging the connection as anomalous or just not accepting it as being from that country at all, these services detect all proton servers as if they are from France.

Has anyone dealt with this? Specifically wondering are there VPNs with actual confirmed physical servers (not virtual locations) in the Gulf/MENA region that hold up to scrutiny?

Disabling auto-renew with ExpressVPN is often perceived as difficult due to a multi-step confirmation process designed to retain users, and the need to cancel through the specific platform used for purchase (website, Apple App Store, or Google Play). Many users report that simply clicking "turn off" once is insufficient, and they must navigate through multiple, sometimes ambiguous; confirmation prompts to successfully stop renewal.

Here is why the process can be difficult and how to handle it:

1. "Dark Pattern" Cancellation Process

Multiple Confirmation Steps: Users have reported needing to click "Turn Off Automatic Renewal" up to 3 or 4 times in a row, with intermediate messages designed to make it seem like it's already cancelled.

Ambiguous Messaging: The system often presents messages like "You are about to turn off automatic payments" followed by another that says "Be sure to make a payment before [Date] to keep your service," leading to confusion over whether the auto-renew was actually deactivated.

Finality of Confirmation: The process is only complete when the user receives a final, explicit confirmation screen stating that the subscription is cancelled and will not renew. 

2. Third-Party Billing Complications

App Store/Play Store: If you purchased via Apple or Google, ExpressVPN cannot cancel the renewal; you must do it through the respective App Store or Google Play subscription management area.

Website Direct: If purchased directly, you must use the ExpressVPN website's "My Account" section, not the app itself. 

3. How to Properly Disable Auto-Renew (Desktop/Website)

To ensure it is turned off, follow this specific sequence: 

1. Log in to your account on the ExpressVPN website.
2. Navigate to My Subscription.
3. Click Edit subscription settings.
4. Select Turn Off Automatic Renewal.
5. Important: Continue following all prompts and clicking confirmation buttons until you see the final message stating your subscription has been cancelled.

Verify: Check that the status has changed to “expires on [date]” and look

· Heavy Ad Spend: ExpressVPN is famous for its massive marketing presence, sponsoring high-profile YouTubers, podcasts, and digital tech sites.

· Affiliate Costs: The widespread theory that users "pay for advertising" stems from the company's aggressive acquisition strategy, where critics point out that significant revenue must go toward maintaining ROI on heavy ad campaigns and high affiliate commissions.

· Renewal Rate Aggravation: While upfront promotional pricing has dropped, long-term subscribers frequently complain about steep auto-renewal price hikes once initial promo periods expire. Users transitioning from old plans to standard renewals often face unexpected jumps in their yearly bills, giving the impression that prices are being "jacked up" to offset massive operating and marketing expenses

ExpressVPN user complaints centre heavily on premium pricing, slow and inconsistent streaming speeds, difficulties cancelling subscriptions, and a lack of innovative features compared to cheaper competitors. Many users feel the service relies on its older reputation rather than improving its value.

Common issues include:

Pricing & Billing: Users often point to "bait-and-switch" subscription models, where introductory prices spike upon renewal, and have reported frustrating refund processes.

Streaming & Performance: While previously a go-to choice for streaming, users frequently experience lagging, error codes on platforms like Hulu, or server IPs that are actively blocked by major streaming services.

Feature Stagnancy: Users note a lack of advanced features (like WireGuard support or SOCKS5 proxies) compared to other providers.

Customer Support: Recent feedback highlights sluggish chat response times and unhelpful bot-like troubleshooting.

The only thing I want to do using it is just watch moives, thing is i live under company wifi and they have a strict like no piracy rule, none of my previous piracy sites, the ones that do require connecting to a different network to actually stream the show or moive im trying to watch,

Ive been just juggling vpns, if theres any way to bypass this and not use vpns please educate me

I've tested their premium service on a free trial for a few days before concluding that there are better performing VPNs out there with better deals, therefore I made triple sure to cancel my subscription 3 days before renewal.

Lo and behold a few minutes ago I get a 79.99€ charge on my card for their subscription which I preemptively made sure to cancel. I log onto my dashboard and the subscription status went from cancelled to renewed for a whole another year.

I contacted their AI support which then prompted me to one of their actual human agents, I then had to sit there 15 minutes bickering back and forth because they just wouldn't take a "cancel my subscription and refund my money" as an answer. I must've said "cancel" and "refund" a dozen times each for them to finally cancel and refund my money.
Eventually managed to cancel and start the refund process but at this point my card will be out of 79.99€ for a few days because of this.

I googled if this has happened to anyone else and this sounds like a common occurence with Hotspot Shield.

Avoid their service at all costs, don't even try their "free trial" because you will STILL get charged after cancelling your subscription.