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:04/07/2025

  Type:Service or Repair 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 cancelled my subscription in April 2024. I received an email stating that the account would be cancelled as of March 31, 2025. On March 31, 2025, I was charged again for the service. I have contacted them and have not received a reply.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 04/09/2025

  Hi *******,
  
  I hope you're doing well today. I'm so sorry you experienced unexpected charges through no fault of your own. We're actively investigating the issue and taking steps to ensure it doesnt happen again. Thank you for bringing this to our attention--your report helped us correct the issue for you and potentially prevent it for others. So far, it looks like only your account was affected, but were continuing to look into it.
  
  I'm happy to share that our billing leadership team initiated your refunds this morning. Depending on your financial institution, it may take 5-10 business days for the funds to appear on your original form of payment.
  
  If theres anything else we can do, just reply to our existing email thread and well pick up right where we left off.
  
  All the best,
  *****

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/09/2025

   
  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:04/06/2025

  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.

  I reached out to Bark Technology for a refund of monthly service costs on a defective device. Service was cancelled on the device due to a potentially hazardous defect. After five days of back and forth communication, with just as many service ***** I was informed that I cannot receive a refund on the monthly service due to the device being out of warranty. *************** representatives informed me not to restart the device because it is hazardous and have informed me that I cannot receive a replacement device OR a refund on the service month.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 04/08/2025

  Hi *******,

  Hope you are doing well today. I am so sorry that your child's Bark Phone overheated. As a precaution, our team wanted to learn more about the issue to determine if it was serious enough to warrant other steps, and we're glad to hear that wasn't the case based on your answers. However, I'm sorry that we left you feeling like there was a lack of direction, especially learning that the device was no longer under warranty a bit late into the conversation. I've already instituted a new process to improve these types of interactions in the future.

  We also processed your refund yesterday morning. Due to the timing of financial institutions, it may take 5-10 business days for the funds to reflect back on your original form of payment.

  If you have any additional questions or if there's anything else we can do to help, don't hesitate to hit 'reply' on that email thread and we'll pick up where we left off.

  Kind regards,

  ***** ******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/21/2025

  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.

  Have had problems since the beginning (August 24) with location. Could literally see the phone sitting on my counter and it would show he was at the neighbors. Called bark and told it was a service issue . No fix for it. Fine, Ill deal with it. Then it started disconnecting from VPN, which the whole point is continuous monitoring. Then got to where it wouldnt show location at all. Called and told he had to check in to get the location to update. No other fix. Now the phone is missing and location services and find my phone wont work because it disconnected from their VPN. Now theyre saying $200 for replacement. Supervisor ***** said notes dont support because they took poor notes.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 02/24/2025

  Hi *******,
  
  I hope you and your family are doing well today. Thank you for bringing your concerns to our attention, specifically about the location tracking issues and the replacement device fee for the Bark Phone.
  We are sorry for the frustration that caused. 
  
  After carefully reviewing your complaint, we have taken the following actions to resolve this matter:
  - We have personally reviewed your account history and support interactions.
  - We acknowledge that we could have provided better support for the location tracking issues you experienced.
  - We have processed a full refund of $199 for the replacement device fee, which should be reflected in your account within 5-10 business days.
  - As mentioned in our direct email communication, we are happy to assist with making sure everything is working optimally once your replacement device is delivered. If you'd like to take us up on that, please either respond to our existing email thread or call our support line by going to the Support menu in your Bark parent app. We value you as a customer and appreciate the opportunity to make this right for you and your family.
  
  In the meantime, I hope you have a wonderful day.
  
  Warm regards,
  
  *****

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/31/2025

  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.

  The Bark Technologies watch claims that it will only provide texts from authorized numbers so that it is suitable for children. My son received a text with a gun from an unknown number; which supports that their technology is not as it is advertised.Secondary, the device was very fragile. I recognize that I also provided to the company a compliant related to the fragility of the device with my return.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 02/10/2025

  Good afternoon, 
  We are incredibly sorry for what you've experienced and your disappointing experience with our software. As we discussed via email - we have refunded all your service fees. 
  Separately, the watch was itself (hardware) was returned to shattered. Due to the state of the watch we are unable to issue a full refund of the cost of your watch despite you being satisfied with the software. I will attach a picture again of the state of the watch when it was received by our team for your reference. 
  If there is anything else we can do for you please let us know. 
  
  Best, 
  Beka

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/14/2025

  Type:Service or Repair 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 ordered a bark home device in October of 2024 because the device seemed like it would work well for my family. I am very unhappy with how difficult it has been to set the device up, and use it. My router was no longer compatible with my internet service provider, so in order for my daughter to continue school I had to get one from my internet provider. The router now is not compatible with bark. I set up a phone call with them to help me remedy the issue. That was unsuccessful because my router was not compatible. I asked for a refund because of how complicated it was and an inconvenience. They refused because it has been more than 30 days. I am very busy, and I did not realize that. I would like a refund.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/15/2025

  Good afternoon, 

   

  We will process your refund and return today. I apologize for the back and forth and any inconvenience. If there is anything else we can do to assist you please don't hesitate to ask. 

   

  Warm regards, 

  Beka

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/17/2025

   
  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:01/10/2025

  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.

  Jan 09, 2025 - I was charged $199 after closing my account despite there being no contract and "no commitment." The phone had issues from the very beginning, and we were getting notifications to the point of harassment, several all through the night. It got so bad, I had to turn the notifications off. There were days on end that the phone would not work at all. All apps were greyed out. There were dead pixels. We finally gave up and sent it back. It was NOT damaged at all. They sent me an email saying they are charging me $199 due to the condition of the phone. The phone was in perfect condition. The only issue was some adhesive on the phone case because my son had a wallet attached to it. I am seeing several other reviews of people saying they did the same thing to them. The company claims "deep scratches" and cracks. NONE of those were on the phone when I sent it back. I sent it back because the company is absolutely terrible. Other reviewers online said Bark did the exact same thing to them -- either sent fake photos or damaged the phone themselves after receiving it. I can promise there was not one scratch or broken screen on that phone. There were dead pixels which had already been there when we got the phone. Bark is stealing money from people by claiming to have no contract and then taking another $199 out of their bank account AFTER they have closed their account.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/15/2025

  Good afternoon, 

  We are unable to refund the damaged phone fee, which is assessed if a phone is sent back within the first 90 days of purchase. This is indicated in our terms of service which are agreed upon during checkout by our customers. 

  When we received your phone we found the pixel damage was also related to internal damage to the phone which indicates it's been dropped or something has been dropped on it in some capacity. 
   
  We would have been willing to assess the possibility of it being damaged en route, but since you did not share it came broken, or with damaged pixels in our communications back in October our hands are tied regarding our ability to assess that the damage did in fact occur in route to you versus after the phone was received. 
   
  I'm sorry, we truly would have been willing to even submit it as a ***** claim but since we did not receive communications about the damage upon receipt or any photographic evidence (for example, customers typically send us a picture of the damaged ***** box) to help us identify when it was damaged, we are limited to the time frame that was communicated. 
   
  Best, 

  Beka
   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/08/2025

  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.

  We bought my daughter the Bark phone for Christmas and less than a month later, the phone updated overnight and would not work. It would not charge, would not come on - nothing. It then tells me that it had a damaged cable any time we tried charging it (we tried multiple chargers), and pops up a screen in a different language, and a screen with barcodes on it. After going back and forth with Bark for an entire week about this, they sent me a new charger which also did not work - because the issue was not the charger or charging port. I told them MULTIPLE times it was NOT damaged - it happened after THEIR UPDATE. They then requested I send the phone back. I sent it back, chargers and all, and they are insisting that the phone is damaged and are billing me $199 for AN UNDAMAGED PHONE.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/09/2025

  Good morning, 

  I hope you are doing well today. I am sorry to hear about how frustrating and upsetting this process has been for you. That is certainly not what we hope for with our customers. When a Bark phone is returned within the 90 day return window, it goes through a rigorous screening process to assess any potential damage that needs to be refurbished. When your returned phone went through that process it was assessed that the phone issues you had been experiencing were directly related to water damage in the *** port that was irreparable. 

  When a phone is returned in a state that is considered beyond repair this leads to a $199 replacement fee. This is agreed upon within the terms of service that you check marked when opening your account with Bark and is in effect for the first 90 days of the account life due to the phone hardware having no cost up front. 

  I hope this helps to explain where the fee originated from. I have also attached the photos that were sent in our email communications previously for your reference as they indicate the extent of the damage and are catalogued by the **** which is a unique identifier specific to the phone you ordered. 

  Given the state of the phone it does not qualify for a refund of the phone damage invoice. 

  Best, 

  Beka

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/12/2025

   
  Complaint: 22784549
  
  I am rejecting this response because: the phone was not damaged. It was a software issue. Those photos are not even from the phone I purchased as the charging port did NOT have water damage. This is the same issue youve accused others of having when it is. NOT. True. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* ********

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/13/2025

  Good morning, 
  

  I hope you are doing well. I am sorry that our previous response was frustrating that is certainly not our intent. The photos that were previously attached are filed during an assessment process that includes documenting the unique IMEI of the phone you returned in order to attach them to the correct account. Phones are processed in isolation to ensure the removal of any potential for a phone to be assessed inaccurately or linked to the wrong account. 

  
  The IMEI in the picture from the back of your Bark Phone is also a unique identifier in your Bark account and cannot be replicated adding an additional layer of identification to protect consumers. 

  I believe we are discussing two separate issues, one being the lack of storage you were referencing - which was related directly to the content on the phone and our team provided solutions via email and then separately your request here for a refund of the phone damages fees which were unrelated to storage issues. 

  The fees that were assessed were a direct result of the port damage that was found during the phone assessment process when it was returned. Given the refund requested here is in reference to the assessed damages it would not qualify for a refund. 

  If there is any further clarification we can provide we would be happy to do so. 

  Warm regards, 

  Beka

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/31/2024

  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.

  I leased a phone from **** and had it roughly 1.5 months then returned it. The phone was always in a case and had no scratches when I sent it in. After they inspected it they charged my credit card without approval for $99 saying the phone was damaged and has scratches front and back. They showed pictures of a scratched phone but there were no scratches when I sent it out. I contacted them trying to resolve the issue but they arent willing to work with me.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/07/2025

  Good morning, 

  I hope you are doing well today. Upon inspection of the device there were deep groove scratches on the phone screen that will require refurbishment. Unfortunately, given the state of the phone we are unable to issue a full refund. The $99 charge for damages is listed within the terms of service as a potential cost of damaging the phone in the first 90 days and is agreed to by the customer when they acknowledge and accept our terms of service when signing up. 

   

  I apologize it caught you off guard, that is certainly not our intention. If there is anything else our team can do please don't hesitate to reach out via our most recent support communications. 

   

  Best, 

  Beka

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/09/2025

   
  Complaint: 22751452
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  When the phone was sent to you there were not any scratches on it, I should not pay the consequence of the phone being mishandled during transit and/or by Bark.

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

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/09/2025

  Good afternoon, 
  Without photographic evidence that the phone had no scratches prior to being packaged by the customer and sent to Bark we are unable to accept this as a valid request for a refund. 
  When a phone is received it is handled and processed professionally up to and including the individual wearing gloves while processing to ensure that we do not damage the device during processing. 
  If you believe the phone was damaged in transit then a report to ***** would be the most appropriate course of action. 
  We are unfortunately unable to process a refund in this instance. 
  
  
  Best, 
  Beka

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/13/2025

   
  Complaint: 22751452
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
    Bark has multiple claims on BBB of the same issue I'm having. There are many things that could have happened after i dropped off the package. Bark could file a claim for the package since they were the ones that received it and paid for it.
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** ******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/26/2024

  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.

  The nature of the companies Bark phone is to solely let parents have control over the bark app on the children's phone. Bark sends free phones with not enough memory to be able to update the phone to keep the phones working properly to align with Barks mission. My daughter has been receiving unwanted calls and text, she is able to make calls to unauthorized callers. I have called bark several times about this issue and was told to simply do a "factory reset" forcing my daughter to have to erase her whole phone simply because Bark will not provide the phones with adequate memory. I have been having these issues for the last 12 months in which Bark has noted when they saw the last update. I am paying for a service plan that is not adequately safe guarding the phone which is not fair. I can use a different plan that I can control on my own because Bark IS NOT doing their job.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/06/2025

  Good afternoon, 

  I am sorry to hear your experience with our team was less than satisfactory. During our communications the team shared that if you fill up the storage on the phone you would need to add an external memory card to ensure the phone can still accomplish critical functions like system and app updates. The phone's storage capacity is listed in the phone specs for transparency so that the customer can make a determination if the phone's design is suitable for their particular situation. 

  We are unable to increase the storage capacity of this particular model but adding the external card would in fact resolve the other issues you were experiencing. Alternatively, removing or shifting some of the devices memory to the cloud would free up space so that the apps are able to use the storage on the device to function properly. 

  I apologize but given the solution for this particular complaint the account is not eligible for a full refund of all cellular service funds. If you should need additional assistance identifying suitable memory cards our team would be more than happy to assist. 

  Best, 

  Beka

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/09/2025

   
  Complaint: 22733597
  
  I am rejecting this response because the phone was given to me with only amount of storage able to hold the applications for the phone. My daughter has never been able to save anything to the phone from the time it was sent by Bark Technologies. There is no way to shift anything around so ultimately the phone was given to us without any storage suitable to let my daughter save anything. I am paying $30.00 per month for this plan but being forced to spend extra just to add storage is not fair when the phone was given to us without any storage to save anything to the phone. It literally shows when we try to do the update on the phone that we need more storage, when I first did that it showed all the storage was used and it showed that all the memory was used for all the applications needed for the phone to run and nothing more.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Antionessa ******

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/09/2025

  Good morning, 

  I hope you are doing well today. Our support team would be happy to continue to troubleshoot storage issues with you; however, it will be difficult to do so here on a public forum. Specifically, there is a possibility that if you were to share with us a screenshot of the storage being used up directly from the phone that would be helpful as we could more accurately assess and assist with what might have been happening with your Bark Phone. 

  I did want to address your other concern specifically though, that the phone was sent with all of the available storage used up. The phone you originally ordered was a ******* A14 and came with 64GB of available storage which would have been listed on all pre-purchase screens as well as the specifications page about the phone. The Bark apps and Android operating system take up the following amounts of storage respectively: 

  Bark Guard Dog - 75MB

  Bark Kids App - 643MB

  Messaging App - 288MB

  Android OS - 8.7 GB 

   

  So it would not be possible for those system apps to be utilizing all 64GB of storage space. It is more likely that the photos or videos sent and received as well as stored on the device are what have led to the lack of storage over the course of the previous year. This would take us back to our original recommendation as a support team to delete and/or move files to a cloud location to free up space within the device, or to add an additional storage card for the phone. It is common to add additional storage to a phone over time when you have maxed out the available storage space, or to plug the phone into a computer and back the files up manually. 

  If you'd like to continue to troubleshoot please feel free to reach back out to our support team and we would be more than happy to assist you. 

  Our records indicate you first reached out about storage for your phone in October of 2024 and given the storage issues are not related to the service you received throughout your time with Bark your account is not eligible for an entire year of cellular service fees to be refunded. 

  If there is anything else we can assist with please don't hesitate to reach out via *******************

  Best, 

  Beka

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/10/2025

   
  Complaint: 22733597
  
  I have attached a screen shot of my daughter's storage. As you can see she has nothing saved to this phone and never have been able to either. The apps on the phone are all the apps that came preinstalled on the device. I was aware of the 64 mb of storage when I got the phone for my daughter but what I was not aware of is that the phone would be full with preinstalled apps and system storage that would take up the entire phone. I would be willing to compensate freon October to now because my daughter has not been able to operate her phone correctly and due to her not being able to update the phone due to not having any storage she keeps getting unwanted calls from spam calls that are not supposed to be allowed with this plan which is a total violation of the plan I bought and have been paying for the past year.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Antionessa ******

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/21/2025

  Good morning, 

   

  Due to the level of detail involved in this post we have responded directly and reached a full resolution with the customer. 

   

  Warm regards, 

  Beka

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/24/2024

  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.

  They sold us a watch with a known activation issue. They emailed us (after purchase) on Christmas Eve to let us know it may not work. It doesn't work, the support that they said would be available is automated an useless. Now we have a brick for the big present this year. Ruined our holiday. They also block comments on their ******* videos to avoid having consumers figure this out.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/07/2025

  Good morning, 

   

  I hope you are doing well today. I am sorry to hear about your experience. You are correct in that we emailed on Christmas eve to share a bug we became aware of that was impacting activation of the watch after your purchase. We take customer correspondence very seriously and emailed our customers as soon as we became aware of the issue in an effort to mitigate any stress on Christmas morning. Our human team was standing by and I do show record of your interaction with them via email on Christmas Eve. 

  It looks like we weren't able to run through all the troubleshooting steps with you prior to your request for a refund but we would be happy to refund the cost of the watch and allow you to return it as you are well within the 60 day guarantee period. 

  If you'd like to proceed with this please reach out in the last email thread we had open and request to return and be refunded for the watches. Again, I am sorry this was your first experience with our team and we would be happy to remedy it for you. 

  Best regards, 

  Beka