Cookies on BBB.org

We use cookies to give users the best content and online experience. By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to allow us to use all cookies. Visit our Privacy Policy to learn more.

Manage Cookies
Share
Business Profile

Web Design

Elegant Themes, Inc.

Complaints

Customer Complaints Summary

  • 8 total complaints in the last 3 years.
  • 4 complaints closed in the last 12 months.

If you've experienced an issue

Submit a Complaint

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.

Sort by

Complaint status

Complaint type

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:01/14/2025

    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.
    As a long time customer of ********************** I got up this morning (1-14-2025) to 4 unauthorized charges (total of $438) on my credit card by elegantthemes. I spent at least an hour trying to get someone to help me. Everything was "we will get back to you in one business day." Even their CHAT is a bot that only says "get back to you in one business day." Obviously they don't care that they (or their system) illegally charged my credit card. There is no way to speak with someone which I find unacceptable. Even smaller companies have phone support. Warning, if you buy their products your credit card is subject to abuse by them so there are better systems out there with better security to spend your hard earned money on. Now I have to go through the process of filing a fraudulent charge and probably have to get a new credit card and spend hours of my time (not that they care) going to all the companies I have auto charge set up and update to the new credit card. Just BEWARE, they don't care. It's just about your money.

    Business Response

    Date: 02/04/2025

    We have fully refunded ******* and responded to his initial request within 24 hours. His account password was hacked and used to make unauthorized purchases. 

    It can take 5-10 business days for them to appear on his end. It's possible he may not see the refunds until the end of the week. I can also provide a full list of additional refund details like the *** number if needed. 

    We have been in contact with ******* and explained the refund timeline. 

    If you need any other information please let us know. 

    Best, 

    ***** *******

    ******************************

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:05/09/2024

    Type:Order 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.
    Having been a long time grandfathered subscriber I was ensured that I would always receive security updates when vulnerabilities arise in the Divi Theme. In a recent interaction with their support representative - ****************** was refused to get the security update that our original contract entitled us to. The representative was dismissive and rude, and refused to get a supervisor.Additionally, despite multiple discussions with their billing team about simply upgrading my account to a Lifetime Membership with a substantial discount - as promised yearly to many of their "Day One" subscribers NOTHING has happened. Support is truly incompetent and unable to keep their stories straight.Divi from Elegant Themes is a blatant scam and the company shows ZERO loyalty to their oldest subscribers. **************** like this truly is atrocious and reading recent reviews shows me this company is nothing short of fraudulent and evil.

    Business Response

    Date: 05/10/2024

    We have responded to the customer via email and sent the latest patched version of our product to this customer.

    Customer Answer

    Date: 05/12/2024

     
    Complaint: 21691964

    I am rejecting this response because:  The poor communication and rude responses from Elegant Themes are simply unacceptable.  Given the amount of time that I have been a customer - and the fact that they keep systematically removing pieces of the grandfathered subscription - I feel a fair compromise would be for a gratis or heavily discounted lifetime subscription.  Despite paying for the subscription for 12 years, they never honored the yearly Black Friday / Cyber Monday deals to purchase a discounted lifetime subscription, and gave many blas excuses as to why that happened.  

    Customer service goes a long way, and my complaint is not the only one on public forums like the BBB and TrustPilot stating they are NOT holding up their end of the bargain.  I look forward to a response from the business showing that they're willing to step up to the plate and do the right thing for customers that have been with them since Day One.

    Sincerely,

    *******************

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:04/22/2024

    Type:Product 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.
    My company had purchased a theme with an automatic renewal on an annual basis. In the past year we had updated our website and were no longer using this theme. On March 16 our credit card was charged for an automatic renewal for this theme. However, we didn't receive any notification about the charge from the company either before the payment was charged or after the payment was charged to our credit card. We noticed the charge only when we began reviewing our monthly accounts. Once discovered, I immediately contacted Elegant themes (on April 18) via email and asked for a refund. *** emailed me back stating that my request was beyond their 30 day policy and so a refund would not be issued. Every other subscription service I have sends me an email before a charge is going to be made and most send an receipt afterward. Without receiving any communication that the credit card is going to be charged makes it unlikely that businesses are able to request a refund within the 30 day time frame.

    Business Response

    Date: 04/23/2024

    We have responded to **** and refunded him as a one-time exception to our 30 day refund policy. 

    Customer Answer

    Date: 04/24/2024

    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.

    Sincerely,

    ***************************
  • Initial Complaint

    Date:01/29/2024

    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 have a client that has a website that hasn't needed any revisions for about two years. When I go to use my elegant themes product, nothing works. I spent hours online with their so-called "chat support" to absolutely no avail. I have not been able to contact this company directly other than via their completely incompetent chat team. I had a website that was functioning when I began, but because of the interventions of the support staff, my website is completely gone. The only thing I can do is send an email and wait hours maybe days for a response. I got an email from someone claiming to be the support manager, but I doubt if she was any kind of a manager at all. I need to hear from somebody from this company by phone. It is frustrating when a company hides behind a little chat system and refuses to acknowledge its customers needs. If this company cannot reach out to me by phone I will have to demand a complete refund.

    Business Response

    Date: 02/05/2024

    Hi ****, 

    I'm glad to see our Support Manager ****** and the team were able to help you out. Unfortunately, we don't have phone support and response times can vary based on how busy we are and the complexity of the issue. Our team works hard to get back to everyone quickly, usually within a few hours.

    If the lack of phone support is a deal-breaker for you, it might be better to look into other options. We do have a 30-day refund policy if things aren't working out. We'd love to keep you around, but we get it if you decide to go for a refund.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:08/20/2023

    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.
    Hello,I hope this message finds you well.I recently observed an unauthorized charge of AED ****** on my account, dated August 20, 2023. I would like to bring to your attention that I do not have an active account subscription with your website, and therefore, this charge is clearly a mistake.I've already reached out to your customer service team at ********************** regarding this matter, but unfortunately, I have not received a positive response as of yet.I kindly request your immediate attention to this issue. It would be greatly appreciated if you could provide a prompt refund to my account for the unauthorized charge.Thank you for your understanding and swift action in resolving this matter.

    Business Response

    Date: 08/31/2023

    Hi there, 

    We are not able to locate your account with your given name or email address. Can you please share your Elegant Themes Username or first/last name of the account holder we have on file? Or maybe the email address you used to contact our support team? We can then investigate this further. 

     

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:05/08/2023

    Type:Product 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 purchased a theme for my website jesusofnazarethministries.com on elegantthemes.com. Before that I purchased another theme on themeforest.net which was defective and requested to dispute the transaction with Barclays credit card company I made the purchase with because the merchant didn't respond to my request. Barclays mistakenly disputed the elegant themes transaction. I called Barclays and they re-billed the amount back to elegant themes on Feb. 23 which is reflected on my statement. The elegant theme claims that they don't have the re-billed back money even though it's been more than 2 months and Barclays said it's between you and the merchant because we did our part and can't help you anymore. I email to elegant themes my credit card statement which proves that it was re-billed back to elegant themes and they should have the funds back. The merchant elegant themes blocked my account so I'm not able to use their product anymore.Please help!P.S. I've attached the email conversation with the elegant themes and a credit card statement.Thank you in advance.Best regards,************

    Business Response

    Date: 05/31/2023

    Hi ******, 

    We have resolved the issue with the customer. They were able to recover their funds. I will ask the customer to close this dispute. 

    Let me know if you need anything else from me. 


    Best, 
    *************************
    www.ElegantThemes.com

    Customer Answer

    Date: 06/01/2023

    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.

    Sincerely,

    Dzmitry Loktseu
  • Initial Complaint

    Date:09/06/2022

    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 purchased a Lifetime License for over $200 for one of this companies products based on recommendations and online reviews about how it was the best and had all of these great features. It came with a 30 day money back guarantee, so I decided to try it. I tried for about 3 weeks - read all the documentation, videos, and support provided. ************ is extremely misleading as to gain access to many of the features they advertise, you need to download additional material from the Marketplace which is also expensive. I've spent over $500 with this company and they have their products broke my first website, the second one was shut down for "malware" that was found after I installed one of the add-ons, the third attempt I made, the product would not even install. I contacted the company several times and they provided refunds for some of the additional packs from the marketplace but refused to refund the initial product of over $200 because it was 5 days past the 30 day policy. After all of the problems I encountered, and tried explaining to them, I simply received no response back. I cannot use this product at all and have had to look into alternatives that will cost more money and time to get my website up and running. Bottom line: ************ claims they are so great and the product is amazing but the second you run into an issue all they do is give excuses and stop replying to you. A full refund is completely warranted given the amount of time, money, and resources I spent trying to get my website running with this product - but the only response I got was "Sorry, your 5 days past the limit, nothing we can do for you" and when I replied and insisted and listed all of the issues they have caused? Nothing - no reply, no acknowledgement. Absolutely a complete waste of time and resources. I'm back to square one and out the money. I uninstalled and deleted all the files, but they don't care - they have the my money so they can just ignore the problems now.

    Business Response

    Date: 09/16/2022

    Our ******************************************************************** our terms of service. We are unable to refund any transactions outside of 30 days. 

    Customer Answer

    Date: 09/21/2022

     
    Complaint: 17921687

    I am rejecting this response because:

    The product is faulty, crashed my website with malware, and forced me to spend money on another system while stalling my business - an exception could be made, they are choosing not to make one because they know the product is faulty. I will be seeking legal action on this matter as it has cost my business hundreds of dollars in lost profit and additional expenses. Ive gone with another product and uninstalled and deleted all files. To not refund over all the trouble this has caused us simply not acceptable to me after everything I have gone through. I will get my money back one way or another after all of the money and time this has cost me. 

    Sincerely,

    *************************

    Business Response

    Date: 09/23/2022

    After investigating further, we have made a one-time exception and refunded all purchases. The customer has been fully refunded and should receive their funds in **** business days. 

BBB Business Profiles may not be reproduced for sales or promotional purposes.

BBB Business Profiles are provided solely to assist you in exercising your own best judgment. BBB asks third parties who publish complaints, reviews and/or responses on this website to affirm that the information provided is accurate. However, BBB does not verify the accuracy of information provided by third parties, and does not guarantee the accuracy of any information in Business Profiles.

When considering complaint information, please take into account the company's size and volume of transactions, and understand that the nature of complaints and a firm's responses to them are often more important than the number of complaints.

BBB Business Profiles generally cover a three-year reporting period. BBB Business Profiles are subject to change at any time. If you choose to do business with this business, please let the business know that you contacted BBB for a BBB Business Profile.

As a matter of policy, BBB does not endorse any product, service or business. Businesses are under no obligation to seek BBB accreditation, and some businesses are not accredited because they have not sought BBB accreditation. BBB charges a fee for BBB Accreditation. This fee supports BBB's efforts to fulfill its mission of advancing marketplace trust.