I was scammed by Talkspace. After I signed up, I was never able to actually talk to anyone. I paid almost $500, and every time I would go into book a time to ta

I was scammed by Talkspace. After I signed up, I was never able to actually talk to anyone. I paid almost $500, and every time I would go into book a time to talk to my therapist, their calendar would be unavailable. I would then contact the therapist via the messaging feature and be told to try earlier in the week next week. I tried this for several weeks before switching therapists. I did this several times with the same result each time. Every time I would be able to easily message the therapist and get a response, but when it came to actually booking a video appointment, they were conveniently unavailable. I finally grew frustrated and cancelled my account, and requested a refund. A few days later I received a confirmation with no refund. I sent a support message and received a link to an FAQ page that said I “wasn’t eligible for a refund”. How can it be that a company feels comfortable taking almost $500 and literally providing no service at all? Finally after several weeks and starting a charge back process with my bank, I received a refund. Looking back, the “messages” I received from the “therapists” and “match agents” had a distinct bot feeling to them. I wouldn’t be shocked if they were fully or partially automated. It’s unconscionable to pray upon people trying to get therapy, but something tells me that’s exactly what many of these companies are doing: they just expect you to forget about it and once the 90 day dispute window is up, you’re out of luck. I will never again use one of these online services (likely VC-backed and tech heavy). They are taking advantage of people with depression and mental illness for profit. Judging by other experiences I’ve found online, I’m not the only one.