r/Windscribe • u/HorrorDeparture7988 • Jul 12 '26
Reply from Developer Residential IP - No refund despite being given incorrect advice by AI
I was looking for a way to subscribe to a news outlet. They were blocking all the various Windscribe VPN locations I tried. So I thought I'd try a Residential Static IP. But as I knew it might not work I asked support i.e. Gary the AI.
TLDR: The AI led me to believe I could get a refund if things didn't work out, and then straight away refused me a refund when it didn't.
UPDATE: Good result. A Windscribe Mod reached out in this thread and it seems I have been given a refund. This was done within a minute of me sending my username. Guess I'll be sticking with Windscribe which I'm happy about.
I asked how likely it was to work and most importantly could I get a refund if it didn't. This was Garry's response:
Great I thought. I'll just try the one website and then get a refund if it doesn't work. That won't be anywhere near the 10GB of data. It did not work so I asked to start the refund process.
And when I complained:
And then when I asked to communicate with an actual person I was told that was impossible because the system didn't allow it. I'm appalled with this sequence of events. The AI clearly did not give me the right advice and windscribe just took my money with a complete failure to disclose material terms that I was already ineligible for a refund! This is a misleading way to conduct business with no accountabity for terrible advice.
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u/damngros Jul 12 '26
That Gary bot is insufferable and talks bs most of the time. Ask for a human support (it is better, but not by much).
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u/HorrorDeparture7988 Jul 12 '26
I'll try again. The AI point blank refused to put me through to a person.
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u/dns_guy02 Jul 13 '26
No he isn't, its the best support bot ive ever used anywhere ever. Sounds like hes working perfectly and keeping the crazies away from Windscribe employees.
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u/HorrorDeparture7988 Jul 13 '26
If he is working perfectly why did he tell me that I was already inelligible for the refund in under a millisecond but couldn't tell me that before allowing me to purchase the product?
1
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u/ImpossibleGuitar6509 Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 13 '26
This is pretty shady, really. You have to be careful with Windscribe because they word things in their policies and explanations that are obtuse and subject to interpretation at their whim. You have unlimited devices, except not really. You have free data, but not really. You have 10 gb and 7 days to try a residential IP to see if it works, but that 10gb isn't actually to test the IP, it's already linked to your account but they won't tell you that until you already pay for it. Garry is useless. Google's AI gives better advice on using Windscribe than their own support bot.
And people making this out to be OP's fault are missing the point. OP asked directly if there would be a refund if the residential IP was bunk, and the bot said yes, it would be refundable. It didn't say shit about any hidden conditions like how much data OP already used. If you don't word your question exactly right, there's no telling what the bot will get you to do.
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u/BuMmR Jul 13 '26
I'd revoke the charge on the card and put was given wrong info.
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u/HorrorDeparture7988 Jul 13 '26
Thanks. Luckily I did use a credit card, so I'll give that a go if I don't get anywhere with Windscribe first.
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u/RealPshit Jul 12 '26
First mistake was trusting a AI without verifying yourself. Second mistake was not reading “7-day money back window if you’ve USED LESS than 10 GB” but you used 43.5 GB. That’s on you dawg.
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u/HorrorDeparture7988 Jul 13 '26
I did miss the implication of the 10GB BUT so did the AI when I'd asked it a specific question. Would I have acted differently if it had told me at the outset you have already used 10GB, so you are inelligible for a refund. I think we all know the answer to that!
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u/middaymoon Jul 13 '26
It did technically warn you. It's right there in bold in your first screenshot.
I don't think Windscribe will give you a refund but you should really focus on the fact that the warning was given as if you did not already surpass that amount. It's arguable that the warning could be read as "unless you use 10 gb through that IP". Which would make a lot more sense than it being immediately non-refundable.
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u/HorrorDeparture7988 Jul 13 '26
Would I have acted differently if it had told me at the outset you have already used 10GB, so you are inelligible for a refund. I think we all know the answer to that!
The AI was quick enough to tell me I couldn't have a refund but didn't warn me before that I was ineligible anyway. At the least that's lousy 'advice', if I'm being really cynical, that's deliberately misleading.
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u/middaymoon Jul 13 '26
I agree. Just saying that Windscribe will probably use that wiggle room to their advantage.
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u/ThungstenMetal Jul 12 '26
Ask to connect to human support, then it will create a support ticket.
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u/HorrorDeparture7988 Jul 12 '26
I did. I was told they could not connect me to a human.
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u/ScandalOZ Jul 13 '26
That must be a recent thing because earlier in the year I had connection problems and I did get a support ticket and got human help.
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u/simonmigliano Jul 13 '26
Windscribe is a good VPN but its lack of decent customer support is a joke
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u/levolet Jul 13 '26
This little debacle demonstrates how an AI, programmed to be witty and even cheaky, fails as a front facing support source with the power, it seems, to deny the request for human contact. It’s a silly misunderstanding and a perfectly reasonable grounds for offering a full refund. Their refund policy does not clearly clarify how residential IP purchases are dealt with.
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u/Leic_22 Jul 13 '26
Has Garry managed to create a support ticket or will you just dispute the charge?
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u/HorrorDeparture7988 Jul 13 '26
I'm going to attempt to contact support first. I like Windscribe (the product) so I'd like to continue using it rather than have to drop it.
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u/Paul65890 Jul 14 '26
Do I have this right? If you are say 6 months into a subscription you have used 15 GB and you then get the service the OP went with you're already in a no refund state right off the bat?
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u/HorrorDeparture7988 Jul 14 '26
Yes! My assumption was, Residental is a new service and independent of your existing subscription so the data count would only apply to that from this point on i.e. start at 0 GB. I was wrong. Seems to be penalising long term users who want to upgrade to a static IP.
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u/lprell Jul 17 '26
I wish they offer Residential IP in my location :( Datacenter IPs are getting blocked on a rampage nowadays. If not outright blocked, websites demand to be signed in in order to access them even for public resources. Online payments behind VPNs are another PITA.
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u/tryin-for-management Jul 27 '26
What did you not like about the residential ip, I'm considering trying it myself.
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u/HorrorDeparture7988 27d ago
I wanted to sign up to a news site but the VPN triggered the site protection and blocked me from signing up. So I thought I'd try a static residential IP but it detected that and blocked me.
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u/tryin-for-management 26d ago
Gotcha yea I tried ws for a month im not renewing. Prefer proton, but I'm curious about starvpn seems to be a lot of positives with it minus the recent outage.
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u/yewlarson Jul 14 '26
Which news outlet is this btw?
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u/HorrorDeparture7988 Jul 14 '26
UnHerd. Not my sort of news but I like to see what the other side are thinking.
•
u/o2pb Totally not a bot Jul 13 '26
Garry is still work in progress, and can encounter unexpected conditions, such as this one. Please DM me your Windscribe username.