Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/22/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Dear BBB,Several years ago, I took my computer to a local computer business that no longer exists. They set up a recurring charge for a back up service. I was not told this was an annual charge or that I needed a key to even access it. I was not given the key or password. I noticed every year that I'm charged $99 for "Backblaze **** services". In January I wrote another email to Backblaze **** telling them I did not authorize the charge, to stop charging me, that I did not have the password and/or key information they require me me to remove the service myself. I wrote that if they continued to ignore my requests, that I would contact the BBB. They responded by sending me a general email link that required a password to open. On March 15, 2025 they billed me $99 again.I have paid hundreds of dollars for a service I never could use and did not authorize. Please help me get a refund for March bill, and, or at the least, intervene for me with this unscrupulous company.Thank you.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 05/04/2025

  Good afternoon,  *****. My name is *******. Im one of the Support Managers, and Ill be happy to assist you moving forward.

  First, I do see a couple of tickets opened by you om our system, most recently this past Wednesday. I'll start by explaining what options are available and why we require them, and we can determine how best to proceed from there.

  --
  Backblaze  has a couple of means for users to cancel accounts. The easier is for users to log into their accounts and cencel them via our website. The reaosn this method is eaiser is that it presupposes the identify of the person accessing the account. If the issue is that you do not know/remember the account password, we can assist with that.
  
  However, we understand that this is not always a viable option, and thus we have a second methodology. We ask the user to provide the billing details for the most recent charge. This "authotizes" the person contacting us by providing two types of information:
  1. The email address used on the account;
  2. Knowledge of the specific billing info used for the account. 
  
  The billing informnation we are verify is the following (for privacy considerations, please DO NOT post ny of this info here. I'll provide steps below).
  1. Last 4 digits of the card that was used for the most recent Backblaze charge;
  2. The Expiration date of the card that was used for the most recent Backblaze charge;
  3. The zip code associated with the card that was used for the most recent Backblaze  charge;
  4. The amount of the most recent charge;
  5. The date of the most recent charge.

  --
  Now, I've replied to your most recent ticket with this same request for information. You can reply to that email and, assuming the info matches the account, we can absolutely cancel the billing for you.

  If this informaiotn isn't avialalbe, there is always the option of working with your credit card issuer to dispute the charge. However, we prefer to exhaust our other options if possible.
  
  You should receive the email via our ticketing system shortly. You can reach out with any questions you might have.
  
  In the meantime, I hope the beginningof the week treats you well.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/12/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Dear Better Business Bureau,I am writing to formally lodge a complaint against Backblaze, a company that provides cloud storage services, for unjustifyingly suspending our account and refusing to provide access to our data.We have integrated Backblazes S3 API into our SaaS product, allowing our customers to upload and store their files securely. Recently, however, Backblaze suspended our account without prior notification or detailed explanation, citing a violation of their Terms of Service (ToS).We acknowledge that some files uploaded through our SaaS by our customers might have violated their ToS. However, Backblaze did not inform us of any specific issues or allow us to address or rectify the situation. Instead, they abruptly suspended our account, severely disrupting our business operations.Furthermore, despite our repeated requests, Backblaze has refused to allow even private access to our account, making retrieving our data impossible. This refusal to unlock the account and enable us to take out our data is causing significant harm to our business and affecting our customers.We believe that ********************'s actions are unjustified and violate our rights as customers. We are seeking your assistance to resolve this matter promptly. Specifically, we request that Backblaze:- Provide a detailed explanation of the alleged ToS violation.- Restore private access to our account so we can retrieve our data.- Work with us to ensure compliance and prevent future issues.We hope the BBB can help mediate this situation and facilitate a fair resolution.Thank you for your attention to this matter. We look forward to your assistance.Sincerely,Rehmat

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/01/2024

  Good afternoon. My name is *******; Im one of the Support Managers.
  
  Compliance matters, including violations and /or suspected violations of our Terms of Service, are handled directly by our Compliance Team via email. It's my understanding that the Backblaze Compliance Team has communicated with you via multiple emails and that those emails outlines the issues referenced above.
  
  I've included a link to Backblaze's public-facing Terms of Service page. The Our Rights section indicates that "...If you stop paying for our service or violate any of our Terms or applicable policies, we reserve the right to suspect or terminate your account and may delete your data. Backblaze is not liable for any damages as a result of these actions..."
  
  --
  The process to further this disucssion would be to contact the Backblaze Compliance Team via the email address you have on file to ask for additional information; due to the potentially sensitive information handled by our Compliance Team, other teams (such as Support) do not have access to their internal documentation. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/02/2024

   
  Complaint: 21978736
  
  I am rejecting this response because: The business representative is saying that they have communicated multiple times. But that's not true. Without even a single warning, the account has been terminated suddenly. I need the business to share proofs with BBB if their statement holds merit. But I swear that they haven't communicated even a single time and they directly terminated the account.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/13/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I am a paid subscriber missing over 30TB of files that were stored to the Backblaze server. Have tried to contact Backblaze via contact forms. The phone number is a voicemail that will never call you back.They say they offered support but I am stuck with being charged $99 this morning again for a full year, and they still have not tried to help me with this issue all they do is email, and no matter how many times I explain in the email, they still do not provide support and just send useless links to help docs that dont pertain to the situation

  

  Business Response

  Date: 06/14/2024

  Good morning, *****. My name is *******, and Im one of the Support Managers at Backblaze. Im happy to address the contents of this complaint (ID ********* and serve as your point of contact for this matter.
  
  
  To start, Id like to discuss our Support Methodology. Backblaze Support has never had a telephone support line. We choose email and live web-based chat for communications with our clients for a variety of reasons, including:
  The written formats allow for an accurate and complete transcript of the exchange
  The written formats allow for the exchange of web links and screenshots
  
  Here is the link to our website detailing how to contact Backblaze, including call-outs for Support. Additionally, please note the message below our phone number on the webpage that indicates the phone number is not for Support. Ive included two (2) screenshots below: the first shows our contact page with the Support option being listed first, while the second focuses on the phone number at the bottom of the page, along with the note about Support.
  
  Image 1: Screenshot showing **************************************************** (attachment #1)
  
  Image 2: Screenshot with Phone Number information (attachment #2)
  
  Additionally, the Backblaze.com front page contains a link to our Support Page at the top:
  Image #3: Screenshot Showing Backblaze.com
  
  
  Lastly on this topic, Id like to point out our response times. Our Support Page indicates our chat hours and our response time for email tickets:
  
  Image 4: Screenshot of ***************************************** Showing Chat Hours and ************** (attachment #4)
  
  I bring this up because of the users claims that ...When I run into an issue I have to email you back then wait anywhere from 2 hours to 18 hours for a response.  this is not support These reply times are 100% in-line with our listed service.
  
  I have a list of every submission from the user in this thread, along with the time of every response:
  
  
  Table #1: List of Submissions, **************, and Elapsed Times
  
  Users Submission      Support Response Time         Elapsed Time
  Jun 3, 2024 4:19PM     June 4, 2024 9:26AM            ~****** hours,   ~1 hour business time 
  June 4, 2024 9:30AM   June 4, 2024 11:34AM          ~2.7 hours
  June 4, 2024 12:08PM June 4, 2024 2:30PM            ~2.37 hours (including .87 hour over lunch)
  June 4, 2024 2:47PM  June 4, 2024 3:40PM             ~0.88 hours
  June 4, 2024 7:17PM  none       User indicated the solution we provided worked, therefore no response required
  
  
  June 10, 2024 2:53PM   June 10, 2024 3:31PM    ~.63 hours
  June 12, 2024 8:43AM   June 12, 2024 4:19PM    ~7.6 hours (including 1 hour over lunch)
  June 12, 2024 6:16PM.  Answered with the below response
  June 12, 2024 6:59 PM  June 13, 2024 10:36AM  ~13.6 hours, ~1.6 business hours
  June 13, 2024 10:40AM June 13, 2024 4:02PM    ~ 5.37 hours ***** 1 hour over lunch)
  Jun 13, 2024 4:33PM     June 13, 2024 4:52PM    ~.32 hours
  Jun3 13, 2024 5:17PM  June 14, 2024 11:14AM   ~18 hours, ~2.25 business hours
  
  This means the user is average less than 2.25 business hours per response.
  
  
  Now, given the circumstances (and despite our standard support options), we reached out to the user with the option of participating in a shared Zoom Call to try to walk the user through the process; the user complained about the requirements we had in place and indicated they could not understand what we were asking of them.
  
  Excerpt #1: Ticket Reply to the User Indicating We Were Willing to Assist (this is the June 13, 2024 4:02PM item in the table above)
  ====
  My name is *****, and I am a lead support technician here at Backblaze. Your request has been escalated to me.
  
  We are happy to set up a Zoom remote session. To do this, you will need to sign, print and date the consent and Waiver form that is attached to this email and send it back to us. 
  
  After we have the signed form, we can set up a meeting that works for you Monday through Friday during our work hours, which are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific time. 
  
  During the meeting, we will roll back time on the restore to attempt to locate the drive mentioned. We will also collect the bzdone files from the backup software. We will then pass these files on to our engineers, who will be able to further investigate what has been backed up and when.
  ===
  Additionally, we provided a comprehensive, detailed, and exacting description of the issue the user described and how to address that. Ive included the text of the response here. Please note that the user replied within 4 minutes indicating that the comprehensive answer did not address their issues
  Excerpt #2: Ticket Reply to the User Detailing the SItuation and How to Procees (this is the June 13, 2024 10:36AM item in the table above)
  ===
  Hi *******,
  
  Rhollen is unavailable today, but I can assist you further! 
  
  I do apologize for the difficulties you have been having, and I am hopeful we can work together to resolve those difficulties, and I am hopeful that I can provide the information you need to back up your data in the manner you wish. 
  
  Below I will discuss information regarding our support methods (including how to create a chat with us), how to view files from drives that are not connected to the computer, how to move files from the *********************** to B2 Cloud Storage, as well as other ways to upload data to B2 that I think *** work better for you. 
  
  I have provided a few links to support articles below, as I do think they will help with different processes you *** want to use. If you have any questions about anything in those articles, or any of the information below, please let me know. 
  
  
  Regarding our methods of providing support, we do not provide support over video call or Zoom, but we are happy to assist you via email (7 days a week) or our chat feature, available Mon- Fri, 9am-12pm and 1pm-5pm Pacific time.
  
  
  As you mentioned looking for quicker support, you *** want to create a chat with us. If you would ever like to create a chat with us, you can do so from our help page found here: *****************************************
  
  This article can also help you with creating a chat with us: **********************************************************************************
  
  
  Regarding rolling back to see data on a drive that is no longer connected to the computer, you will want to choose a date in the 'to' date section that corresponds to the date that the drive's data was last backed up. 
  
  
  Each day your computer uploads files to Backblaze, a new version of your backup will be created. Any files not found on your computer (or an external drive) on a specific day will not be included in that day's version of the backup. By default, only the most recent version of your backup will be shown on the 'View/Restore Files' page of your account. 
  
  So in order to locate the files on a drive that is no longer connected to the computer, you will need to locate a previous version of your backup, on a date when those files were last backed up on your computer or the external drive(s). 
  
  The 'Select Hard Drives to Backup' section of the Backblaze application will tell you when each drive last uploaded files. You can use that date to help you choose which version of your backup to look at. You *** need to look through a few different versions of your backup to locate all of the drives' data.
  
  In summary, when you back up a drive on a specific date, you will need to look at that date's version of your backup in order to locate that drive's data. 
  
  ---
  
  You *** need to do a bit of 'hopscotching', as you put it, depending on when each of the files on your computer/drives were able to be backed up. However, to avoid that hopscotching, you can save the data to B2 (as you mentioned previously). With B2, any data uploaded to B2 will remain there indefinitely unless otherwise specified, and you won't need to roll back to different dates. More information on using B2 is below. 
  
  
  Regarding moving your data from your backup to B2, like the data on your drives, you can save that data directly to B2 as a B2 snapshot. This will prevent you from needing to re-upload that data to a B2 bucket, and this article can assist you with that process: ********************************************************************************************************
  
  
  That being said, in order to recover any single files from a B2 snapshot, the entire snapshot must be downloaded/restored. So if a snapshot is 5 TB in size, and you only want to restore a 1 GB file, you would need to restore the entire 5 TB of data, which *** not be ideal for you. This is where uploading your data directly to a B2 bucket would be useful for you, and the below information will help you do that more efficiently. Though, you are of course welcome to save your data to B2 in B2 snapshots, if you prefer.
  
  ---
  
  You mentioned uploading files to B2 one at a time using the Backblaze website, but it would take a long time to upload over 900K+ files. Instead of using the Backblaze website to upload your files, I would recommend making use of one of our partnered integration services, which can be used to upload and download files to B2 buckets. 
  
  Cyberduck is a free and popular integration service that many of our users, including myself, use. With Cyberduck, you can upload multiple files at once, and multiple folders at once. So I think Cyberduck will be useful for you to upload your files to B2. This article can help you use Cyberduck: ****************************************************************************************************************
  
  Now, uploading multiple TBs at once can still be troublesome when using Cyberduck (or really any method of upload). I have personally had success with uploading 500 GB of data at once using Cyberduck, and many users have uploaded multiple TBs at once using Cyberduck, but that all depends on your connection to our servers. You *** want to start with uploading 500 GB or ~1 TB at once to test how well that works for you, and potentially decreasing or increasing the amount of data you upload at once, depending on the success of the initial download. 
  
  Additionally, you can make adjustments to your upload settings within Cyberduck, and the "Edit Preferences" section of the article above can help you with that. 
  
  So if you would not like to save all of your data in B2 as B2 snapshots, I would definitely recommend using Cyberduck to upload your files to a B2 bucket, or multiple B2 buckets. 
  
  ---
  
  You can also make use of other partnered integration services besides Cyberduck. While I do use Cyberduck myself, there are many integrations you can use, and they *** offer other features you are looking for. So you *** want to review our other partners, which are listed here: ***************************************************************
  
  
  I believe all of the above information answers all of the questions and concerns you have mentioned, but please let me know if I have missed anything! Please also let us know if you have any other questions or concerns. 
  
  
  If you have any questions about any steps in the articles I provided, please let me know which step, so that I can better assist you with that step. If you see any error messages, please provide screen shots of those messages. 
  
  Otherwise, please let me know if there is anything else I can help you with. 
  Cheers,
  Kyran
  Senior Support Technician
  The Backblaze Team
  This ticket will close automatically 36 hours after our agent responds.
  You can reply to this ticket after it closes to re-open it or create a follow-up ticket.
  
  ===
  I believe under the circumstances, Backblaze has provided support with the parameters we provide on our Website and has attempted to work with this user to the best of our ability. We are still willing to provide Zoom Support (which is well beyond the Support we advertise or provide normally).
  Aspen, please let me know if you have any questions.
  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/14/2024

   
  Complaint: 21845042
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I must address the incorrect and false statements made in their initial communication.
  Contrary to what was mentioned, they do not offer web-based chat support. The so-called "web-based chat support" is merely a virtual assistant chatbot that redirects users to fill out a support ticket. The listed submission response times should not be contingent on when the support staff decides to take breaks; as a single individual seeking assistance from a company-wide support system, consistent support should be a given.
  
  The temporary solution provided on June 4th only alleviated the issue briefly, leading to my subsequent contact six days later. The detailed summary they claim to have sent was beyond my comprehension, underscoring the need for clearer and more effective support. Following the provided support documentation yielded no results. Had the support agent, *******, consulted with *****, the lead support agent, they would have realized that my access to help articles was restored only after my password was manually reset on 6-13.
  
  Though Backblaze may consider its support efforts satisfactory within specific parameters, a lasting solution has yet to be reached. It is disheartening that I have had to escalate the matter through social media channels due to unfruitful support options presented to me. Furthermore, it is essential to note that while the support agent responds from the ***, all support interactions I encounter are from overseas IPs via Zendesk. This discrepancy raises concerns about the actual care and efficacy of the support provided by Backblaze given the false misrepresentations in the opening statement.
  
  I urge Backblaze to reevaluate its support practices and uphold the standards it claims to provide. Misrepresentations regarding available support channels only exacerbate customers' frustrations in seeking genuine assistance and compound issues like this.

  Until a resolution is found to address the persistent issues I am facing, which have significantly disrupted my work and the proper handling of my files, I cannot consider the support provided satisfactory. The recent improvement in support ticket response times is a direct result of my escalation efforts, including reaching out to executives via LinkedIn and expressing my concerns on social media platforms.
  
  Sincerely,
  *************************

  

  Business Response

  Date: 06/26/2024

  Good morning, and thank you for your follow-up.
  
  First, Ill address the incorrect and possibly intentionally misleading commentary about Backblazes Live Chat service.
  
  Backblaze offers Live Chat from 9 AM - 12 PM & 1 PM - 5 PM (all times Pacific) Monday through Friday. When you click on the Chat with Team button, there is a pop-up for the Backblaze Support Bot. The purpose of this bot is to identify easily self-resolved issues. After the initial response, the bot displays a button to allow you to connect with Live Chat. Ive attached alink to a screen recording walking through this process:
  ****************************************************************************************************************************************
  
  
  Second, the detailed reply that ***** sent included a simple step-by-step process that walked the user through each needed action, one such step at a time. You first indicated that we claimed to have sent you this detailed reply, which suggests we did not. We have evidence showing the email was sent on June 13th at 10:36 AM (PST)
  
  You then immediately say it was beyond your comprehension. For that to be the case, we must have sent the summary as we indicated. Further, your reply to our detailed process has a time stamp of 10:40 AM. This indicates that you read the message, decided it was beyond your comprehension (although your reply does not state that - it states that it doesnt address your issue), and formulated and sent a response in ~ 4 minutes.
  
  Im confounded about how you can simultaneously claim that the instructions are far too complicated for you to understand while reading and understand them sufficiently to know they do not apply to your situation (as well as write and send a reply) in 4 minutes.
  
  
  Additionally, ****** (one of our Lead Agents) has reached out to you several times offering 1-1 live support, and you have not responded to his requests. Given that we do not provide this 1-1 remote connection service, but are willing to do so in an attempt to assist you, should demonstrate our desire to help you resolve this issue. 
  
  ***** offer of live assistance still stands. You can reply to his email to arrange a time for his assistance. 
  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/26/2024

   
  Complaint: 21845042
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  Once again the support agent states false information.

  Let me say clearer this time: YOU DO NOT OFFER LIVE CHAT LIKE YOU SAY

  Those hours ARE NOT HONORED because those are the EXACT business hours I have an I ONLY work during THOSE HOURS! ALL YOU OFFER IS A CHAT BOT THAT DOES NOTHING BUT LEAD YOU TO THE SUPPORT PAGE TO FILL OUT A TICKET!  HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY THIS????????

  I have not recieved anything from ***** other than a form I asked for him to explain, and his response was "you only sign the first page"

  This makes it impossible to sign because he STILL HAS NOT EXPLAINED THE ***** as I asked.  I have followed up with him twice now and Backblaze is ignoring me.  You STILL HAVE NOT RECTIFIED THE SITUATION!
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/14/2024

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I was a customer of ******************** for 5 years. I used their service to backup my photos. I chose this service because it was a mirror backup and if your drive was to fail they would send you a new one and you would not have to spend hours downloading all of your data. On the dashboard you could see what was selected for backup and see if you had anything in the queue waiting to be backed up or if it was all backed up. In August of 2023, my hard drive failed. I was not even worried because I knew that EVERYTHING was backed up. upon contacting Backblaze I quickly learned that their customer support was horrible. I also learned that due to an issue that still remains unknown my files were not backed up. I asked several times for a phone call for support but was only given chat support. My photos were gone. I ended up having to spend over $1300 out of pocket to get them back. I tried to talk to Backblaze about this and it was only when I contacted the BBB the first time did they give me back the amount I had paid monthly for their service. They have still never acknowledged my out-of-pocket expense. They ignore it all together. I was a loyal customer for YEARS and I don't think it is right they can take my money for a service, their service fails and I am just left to deal with it. They have admitted several times they have no idea why the backup was not there. in my first complaint to the BBB they gave me back my monthly amounts totaling about $490, and never acknowledged my request for the out-of-pocket expense. I don't think it is right for companies to just ignore customers. I think they should pay for it since their service failed.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 03/26/2024

  Hi ********************, yes we do have an update and we certainly appreciate your patience while we complete our internal review and related processing of this matter.   
  We understand you and our support team had several communications in August of 2023 concerning the issue you were experiencing with the back-up of your files.  Upon further review of your account and the available information, it appears that the issue may have been due to certain configuration of the back-up setting, which may have contributed to the restore issue you were experiencing at the time.  
  While we do not believe the issue you have reported was related to or caused by any system error on our part, we certainly understand the frustration and are sorry to hear that you have had a frustrating experience.  As a company we try to do our best to provide a positive experience to our customers, and as such, we have processed a full refund in the amount of $408.95 back to the credit card you used for your account. There have been 59 separate charges covering the fees you have paid to Backblaze, and therefore you will see 59 separate transactions for the refund.  It can take up to three business days for these refunds to appear in your account.  Please note that our refund offer is not a waiver of any rights or admission of liability on our part.  
  In addition, we have also issued twelve 1-month credits to your account, which means that the next twelve monthly-renewals will be covered by these credits. 
  

  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/27/2024

   
  Complaint: 21432144
  
  I am rejecting this response because: As I stated in my complaint, you have never acknowledged the out of pocket expense that I had to pay to restore my files.  When I first contacted you in August of last year your support was non existent.  Again, like I said in my complaint, it was not until I filled a complaint with the BBB that you even cared to address this as an issue.  Yes, you did give me back my subscription fee. Yes, it was almost $500.  But that still does not take away from the fact that I paid for a service, and I paid for that service for almost 5 years.  You never failed to take my monthly fee.  I was paying for a service.  A service that your company has boasted "easy and simple to use". I followed the instructions that were given on your dash board. My control panel said that everything in my selected drives was backup fully.  I did everything that was required of me to use this service and then when it comes time for Backblaze to hold up their part of the agreement, they can't and they still can not offer any kind of reason except it must be my fault. Its something on my end. But that is the only explanation.  How can you take money from people for a service and not provide that service and also not offer a reason why that service is not fulfilled?  I have read so many problems just like mine on Reddit.  Backblaze unable to offer a backup, unable to offer a reason, and also unable to provide any kind of support except through a chat portal.  I do not think it is ok for you to offer a service you can not guarantee.  My husband is a business owner.  He can not take money from people and not provide a service.  So why do you get to?  Your failure cost me $1300 that I did not have.  But what is my option? Lose all of my childs photos?  *********** I used to restore my drive said they talk to a lot of people that use backblaze only to find out that they can not restore their data.  Why do you offer something you can not do?  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/26/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I'm a current Backblaze.com customer. My subscription is paid through February 7, ****. Yesterday, I discovered Backblaze kept my credit card info in their account payments database. This credit card was reported lost/stolen recently, and is of no business value. It's my desire for Backblaze to delete credit card and associated personal info since I plan to cancel subscription at end of current term.On October 24, I contacted Backblaze **************** (CS) through their website and requested my credit card info be deleted since my subscription was paid in full for the next 15 months, and there was no other reason to keep that info on their servers. Over several email conversations with CS I was told Backblaze would not delete credit card info because the account automatically renews in ****, unless of course I deleted the account and stopped the service prior to expiration of current term.At end of conversation, I advised CS I didn't want to renew after ****, reiterating that since there was no reason to continue maintaining credit info they were required by law to delete it. CS, however, insisted they were right in their stance. I also advised that my credit card number was compromised recently requiring issuance of a different number, and that the number they had on file was useless for business purposes.Because account is paid through ****, and because I have advised CS I will not renew after that date, Backblaze has no legitimate business reason for keeping my credit card info. And although canceling my account early is an option, it is a drastic step to incur this unnecessary hardship in order to assert a consumer right.By denying request to delete credit card info, Backblaze is in violation of California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, Sections 1798.105(a) and 1798.105(c)(1). Additionally, Backblaze is in violation of ************************ guidelines regarding customer/personal banking info. I request ******************** delete credit card info without delay.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/28/2023

  Backblaze accounts are created to acdomodate a number of features; these include:
  
  1. Automatic license reneal - this allows users to avoid unintentional data deletion
  2. Purchasing of additional licenses - this accomodates multiple computers for a user for a variety of situations
  3. Upgrade of services - this includes adding Forever Version History and our B2 Cloud Storage
  
  All three of these features rely on the account having a payment method active. Becasue these features are ubiquitous and used hundread of times a day, the account was build around them. This means there is not a mechanism to remove a payment method from an active account. It's not a matter of willingness, it's a matter of function.
  
  --
  There are two ways to proceed.
  
  Immediate Cancellation
  To delete the payment infomration now, you can delete your backup, license, and account. If you let us know once these steps are completed, we'll be happy to issue a pro-rated refund for the time left on your license.
  
  Cancellation at the End of the Current License
  To delete the payment information at the time of renewal, you can delete your backup, license, and account. If you let us know once these steps are completed, we'll be happy to issue a pro-rated refund for the time left on your license. Please note that ******************** understands that renewal dates can be missed. If you find that the license renews before you have cancelled the acocunt, you can proceed with the deletion process above and let us know. We provide full licens refunds for one-year and two-year licenses withing 30 days of the renwal date.
  
  --
  Please let us know if you have any additional questions.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/28/2023

   
  Complaint: 20785428
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  Kyran, the ******** Service agent I had been corresponding with, had already suggested the option of cancelling my account then contacting Backblaze for a prorated refund. ***** insisted that the refund could only be processed in the form of a charge back to the credit card on file. When I advised ***** that my credit card was reported Lost/Stolen a couple of months ago, her response was that Backblaze could still charge back to that card. She added that maybe I would receive the funds, and maybe I wouldn't, but in the event I didn't, I could try to hash it out with my bank. I thought the idea was ludicrous at the time, so I contacted my bank and asked. My bank told me because the card is reported Lost/Stolen there is absolutely no way the charge back could occur, and there is no way Backblaze could get funds to me or even to the bank using that credit card number.

  If Backblaze wanted to refund me, they could just as easily issue a paper check and send it via "snail mail."

  Sincerely,
  
  *********************

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/04/2023

  Thanks much for reaching back out to us regarding this situation. 
  
  First, I'm pleased that we've reached an agreement regarding the need to retain the credit card information on file for the duration of youir account. The information you and ***** discussed on October 24th is correct; the deletion of the account will result in the deletion of the credit card information.
  
  Second, let's discuss the refund of the balance of your license to faciliate the deletion of the account. All refunds for transactions with Backblaze are made to the original payment methods. Please keep in mind that with a credit card transaction, Backblaze are paid by the credit card issuer, who then adds the charge to the monthly statement for the customer. This is one of several reasons that credit card refunds are issued initially to the original payment method. This practice is standard for a significant number of credit card transactions, both in person and online. Large retailers, such as Amazon and Target, follow this policy. Other backup companies, including Amazon and Carbonite, also follow this policy.
  
  Per our Credit Card processor, if a user has cancelled a credit card and has a new or replacement card, the refund will be redirected to this new or replacement card by the card issuer. If the user does not have a new card, the refund can almost always be send to a standard bank account. **** and Mastercard refunds automatically generate an Acquirer Reference Numbver (***) that can be used by banks and card issues to track refunds. Once we process a refund, we'll be happy to provide the *** (for a Mastercard or **** charge). This information is publicly available at *******************************
  
  --
  Please let us know if you have any additional questions. I hope the upcoming week treats you well.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/06/2023

   
  Complaint: 20785428
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I believe you misunderstood me. I am not in agreement with Backblaze about anything, especially about how you say the account must be deleted when the credit card info is deleted. But that is a matter for the ************************ to consider, and I will defer to their response.

  As for the charge back, my credit card processor disagrees with your credit card processor. Therefore, it would be an unwise move for me to disregard their sound advice. I will restate it here: Since the card was reported stolen, no funds can be returned to my credit card account or even to the bank via the stolen credit card number. I trust that my credit card processor knows what it is talking about with regard to my credit account.

  So, as you can see we disagree across the board.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/03/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I opened 3 tickets with backblaze, starting with #****** in 2019 to close my account under ********************** as the account was active and showing arrears of $10. Backblaze had advised to "abandon the account" because it wouldn't be kept and the arrears were irrelevant but after logging in today in 2023, the arrears are showing upwards of $1500+ from a $10 fee which they said to ignore.I do not feel comfortable that this account is active under my email address, please close this account, I will pay the original 10$ but I am not paying $1500 when I Was told to ignore the account. Close this account immediately or I will seek a lawsuit under the Digital criminal act of ******.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/14/2023

  ***** reached out to us on October 3rd, 2023 ( Backblaze ticket ******) to ask for assistance with a few issues. The last remaining issue was the closing of the account associated with the **********************.
  
  One of our Senior Support Agents helped resolve all of the other issues, and then addressed the account closure issue on October 5th. At that time, our Senior Agent indicated that she was working with Manager to determine how best to proceed. As the Support Manager working on this case, I provided an update on October 8th that indicated we were working internally to determine how to apply a credit to the account so that the account could be closed.
  
  I followed up again on October 13th indicated that a credit was applied, and provided the steps for deleting an account to *****. I also indicated that should he encounter any challenges with the deletion process, he should reply to that ticket and that I would be happy to assist further.
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/14/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. I found this support was extremely well prepared and they did an excellent job of helping me previously did not have the same experience 4 years ago, glad this was resolved.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/01/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  ID ******** initial claim at BBB ******************************* ******* is sales person helping and above is his email, and #****** is the back blaze ticket number Told me would get 70 credit, then backblaze did not respond to the credit card company and the conditional credit was reversed on 2/2/23 so still need credit. As we had filed a dispute for fraud as they charged a family members credit card that I have never had the number of the card.I thinking about 2019 mgmt or ownership changed, there used to be a call/email and get h*** And walk thru or answer you step-by-step instructions. Then customer service number was gone and they just send unhelpful articles to read. I dont do IT for a living thats why I pay for your support. Something went wrong with the system. All my files were deleted and sent me an offer for a seven day trial and that was all I could do and I requested that the service be canceled because the articles were not helpful and I even had an IT professional friend help me, and it could not be fix. I asked for my account to be canceled. It was charged shut down the card the following year it was charged shut down the card the following year my mom tells me a card was charged, and I assumed it was our joint card. No it was a family members card that is not associated with the account or was never given permission to be used, when I canceled the service three years ago because the cancellation process didnt work Im not an IT expert and they dont have a phone # to have someone walk thru it. If a customer wants to cancel because they cant do , Business function is to cancel the account if requested or not working the account was canceled because theres no sharing. Theres zero files in it or anything. But an unauthorized family members credit card was charged for a service. I havent used in two or three years. When I reached out to **************** after a couple back-and-forth of them, not answering my question they wanted me to give last four of account number billing, zip date and amount, this was information I did not have because Im not the card holder. I was given minimal info. Then **************** kind of mocked me after I told the card had to be canceled for the second time in two years, they causes this. And they told me they work with ****** who has the authority to charge a line of credit on a subscription. I think this is the reason why weve had so much fraud.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 03/15/2023

  Good morning.
  
  ******* has been in contact with Backblaze Support since this email was submitted to the BBB. On March 1st, ******* send us a follow-up email indicating they had not received the refund on their credit card. We provided in the Acquierer Reference Number (***) that serves as the unique transaction identified. This transaction was posted on 22-Jan.
  
  On March 2nd, ******* followed-up with Backblaze and indicated that her family member was able to use the *** we provided and confirm with the credit card company that the refund WAS processed as indicated on 22-Jan-2023. I've included transcripts from both emails below.

  Based on this information, I feel that *******'s claim has been resolved and that this case can be closed. Please let me know if you have any additional questions.
  
  ===
  ****************** 02 18:23
   
  
  Forest,
  
  
  ***With the information provided my family member was able to take that number and confirm with the credit card company. The family member mustve missed it.***
  
  
  Asking for about the 20th time, how did a credit card get in the Backblaze system that I never turned in never had the number of its in a family members name that does not live with me or have any addresses associated with me????????
  I cancled back in 2019.  That family member didnt even have a line of credit that was charged back when I was authorizing charges. So I never put it in the system, I cannot put a credit card in a system if I never had the credit card number.
  
  
  HOW did back blaze obtain A credit card number of a family member that I never had the number of?????
  
  
  Yes, thank you for explaining the line of credit, but I already understand this as was in marketing for a financial company for 10 years, prior to being disabled. it does not apply to the situation as this card is not part of the line of credit of the card that I used through Backblaze in 2019.  again, it is a family members credit card that I have no association with address or anything. That family member is super ******, but of course they know I never had it.
  
  
  So just answer the question that I keep asking for the 20th time not telling me BS thats already been told to me and doesnt apply to this situation. I made it out. ****** reporting it to the Better Business Bureau and Ill do reviews wherever I can so heres your chance to say your piece.
  
  Sent from my iPhone
  
  
  ---
  Good afternoon, *******, and thanks for the update. 
   
  I'd like to take a moment to expand on a couple of items.
  
  1. The card we have on file was provided to our payment processor by the card issuer. This is a common practice when a card expires. 
  
  2. Our payment processor completed the refund as requested by the card issuer. This refund can be identified and located using the ***; Here is that transaction # again for your records: 24492163021000022546374
   
  3. ALL refunds are processed against the charged card; that's a requirement. Our payment processor does not have the ability to process a refund against a different payment method. 
   
  --
  Please let us know if you have any additional questions. I hope the rest of the week treats you well.
  
  Best regards.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/15/2023

   
  Complaint: 19522219
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/16/2023

   
  Complaint: 19522219
  
  I am rejecting this response because:  I havent done business with this company since 2019, we have had to change our credit card twice that was given to them. In this instance, this was a credit card of a family member that I never had the card number for nor ever input into the system. A rude customer service agent told me stripe keeps them on file. So Ive had no communication as to why they used a credit card that I never gave them. This is identity theft, and this is fraud. I never knew the credit card number, so of course the family member is ****** but they know that they never gave me that number. *** asked 20 times for them to tell me how they got this number.  Ive asked them to remove the number from their system, Ive asked them to remove from the third-party system they used called stripe. Theyve sent me the companies website. However, you have to be a customer to contact them like you know theyre a vendor to Backblaze. I think this is a larger issue of identity, theft, and fraud. There are lots of bad reviews on this companies unethical, and illegal business practices.  Also falls under identity theft and fraud.  I think they are using information that I had backed up on my computer to find this out. But that family members address was not on any information that was given to them, and probably not on my back up drive info as back up stopped working in 2019/2020.  And the family member moved after that time to a different address. I think theyre doing something quite illegal, prior to being disabled I was in finance. Prior to my mom retiring she was in finance. Both of those find this problematic and do not find the matter resolved when no one will answer how it got in the system, will they remove it from their system, and will they have stripe remove it from their system. Stripes relationship is with Backblaze. I cannot request them to do something because I am not there, backblaze is.  And I need proof.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

  

  Business Response

  Date: 03/17/2023

  Good afternoon, *******. Your recent reply contains inaccuracies that Backblaze has addressed several times; I feel that your continued use of these inaccuracies represents an intentional attempt to deceive both Backblaze and the BBB. I will again address the three points you made in your recent response. Please note that these responses are the same that we have been providing since February 2023. Please note that your not liking these responses is not the same as the answers being either inadequate or inaccurate.
  
    - -
  1. I havent done business with this company since 2019
  
  This is factually incorrect. As we pointed out, the data from your backup was stored on our servers per our agreement until you deleted it on 18-Jan-2023. Reviewing your account, we see that your last email to us prior to this most recent exchange was dated 12-Aug-2022. In that email exchange, you asked us for the Private Key Login. There was no request to cancel the account or delete the backup.
  
  **Therefore, you were continuing to use our service by retaining the data your stored in your online backup and thus properly incurred the annual license renewal fee.**
  
  
  - -
  2. We did not receive a refund.
  
  On March 1st, you e-mailed us indicating that Backblaze had not provided the refund we committed to. We replied with the Acquirer Reference Number (ARC) for the refund provided on 11-Jan-2023 and again indicated that we processed the refund. You then replied that the refund had not been provided and that your family member would reach out to their bank to follow up. It was only after I replied again, reiterating that we had processed the refund, did you confirm on 2-Mar-2023 that the refund was present as we indicated and that your family member mustve missed it.
  
  **Please acknowledge that the refund was provided by Backblaze in January, as we indicated.**
  
  
  - -
  3. Backblaze fraudulently acquired and used card information
  
  Like other major online payment processors such as Paypal & Squarespace, Stripe works with card networks and automatically attempts to update saved card details whenever a customer receives a new card (for example, replacing an expired card or one that was reported lost or stolen).
  
  This automatic card update requires card issuers to participate with the network and provide updated information. This process is widely supported in the US, allowing Stripe to automatically update most *********************** Mastercard, and Discover cards. Here is a document provided by Visa.com discussing their Account Updater for Merchants program.
  
  
  **This is a standard operating procedure for a variety of payment processors, not just Stripe.**

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/17/2023

   
  Complaint: 19522219
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

   

  1.  I didnt choose to do business as had requested cancelation as system was not working correctly for me to cancle so call it what you want.SO Ive gotten a refund in 2019, 2020 and 2022, and again in 2023 from Backblaze.  This caused me to have to change my credit card number many times, very inconvenient.

  2. I was not trying to provide inaccurate information I was providing the information my family member told me, once we got the transaction ID the family member could go over it with the credit card company. I cant give information on a **** thats not in my name that I dont have access to.

  3. 23 request to remove my Family members credit card from Backblaze and stripe. Again I never had this credit card number in my family member knows that so I never input it into Stripe.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/09/2023

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Backblaze refuses to modernize their recovery process. This means when you need to use their service, you are forced to go through their insane hard drive purchasing process.This process forces users to PURCHASE used hard drives (which are not described as used by Backblaze) at a markup, then pay shipping, then pay duty on these used hard drives (because even though they recommend you send them back for a refund, they are technically selling them to you, not loaning them to you.)This means you end up paying shipping and duty on a used drive which you then send back if you choose to do so.Backblaze collects the profit of selling used hard drives at a markup over and over.This is all instead of providing customers with a modern streamlined download interface to recover their data. The only way to download data is in small zipped segments - unusable for large data sets. Backblaze collects profits by employing a dishonest and unclear hard drive reselling scheme, instead of providing customers with a modern solution equivalent to their competitors'.I am asking to have a call with a rep of any significance from backblaze wherein I request an explanation of why this process is in place.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 02/22/2023

  Backblaze offers users two different data restoration methods for domestic and international users.
  The first method allows users to create and download zip files of the desired data. This process is completely free and can be completed by the user at their convenience. The only limitation to this process is that each zip file has a maximum size of 500 GB; users can create any number of restores to download as required. In our experience, many users have challenges downloading single files of larger size, which is why the 500GB limit is in place.
  The second method allows users to select files, have those files written to a hard drive, and receive that drive at a location of their choice. These drive can store up to 8TB of data.
  Please note that these restore methods are described on our customer-facing website: ************************************************************************************************************************************;
  - - 
  Regarding the specifics of the hard drive process:
  As Backblaze cant mandate users return the hard drives containing the restore process, we classify the restore process as a sale. We do so with the understanding that an overwhelming majority of our users will return the drives in alignment with our Restore Return Refund program (the details of which can be found here: ********************************************************************************************************************************************) 
  Backblaze does not assess any taxes, duties, customs, or fees for international destinations; the destination country assesses all such charges.
  Any taxes, duties, customs, or fees are clearly identified as being the customers responsibility. However, the Restore Return Refund program documentation contains a link to the ****** ********************** website describing how to apply for a refund of duty and taxes.
  - - 
  Now, regarding the restore process options in general, there are only two real-word options: physical delivery of the data via media and electronic delivery of the data. We provide both types of restore options. Backblaze is working on an enhanced electronic restore process, which should be available to our users sometime during the 2nd half of 2023.
  - - 
  Next, regarding the hard drives themselves. As an overwhelming number of our users return the drives for a refund, the accusation that  ... Backblaze collects the profits of selling used hard drives at a markup over and over is inaccurate.
  - -
  As we repeatedly repeated during our email and chat exchanges, the Backblaze Support Team does not utilize telephone support. We rely on the written forms of communuication both to ensure we have opportunities to share screenshots, web links, and documents and to ensure that there is a complete and accurate record of the totality of the exchange.
  - -
  Please let us know if you have any additional questions. I hope the rest of this week and the upcoming weekend treat you well.
  
  Tell us why here...