ComplaintsforNational Basketball Association

• Initial Complaint

  03/17/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Dear Better Business Bureau,I am writing to formally file a complaint against NBA League Pass, a subscription-based streaming service that allows users to watch live NBA games. Despite paying $40 per month for this service, I have experienced ongoing technical issues for the past four years, specifically when attempting to use Chromecast. These issues have made it virtually impossible to enjoy the service that I pay for.On May 3, 2022, I contacted NBA League Pass customer support for assistance with this problem. I explained that I have the fastest internet speed available in my area, but the service still cannot cast a game for more than five seconds without pausing and not starting again. I also mentioned that I have tried different devices and browsers, but the problem persists one year later.The support representative, provided generic troubleshooting advice such as clearing my browser cache and trying an alternate web browser. I informed him that I had already tried these solutions, and they were ineffective. I also requested that my concerns be passed on to the appropriate team, as I know several others who experience similar issues.Unfortunately, NBA Support provided little assistance beyond the initial suggestions and did not seem to acknowledge the severity of the issue. I am frustrated with the lack of responsibility taken by NBA League Pass customer support and their unwillingness to address this ongoing problem.In light of these circumstances, I would like to request the following:A thorough investigation into the issues with Chromecast streaming on NBA League Pass.An update to the service's software to improve the user experience and eliminate these issues.I appreciate the Better Business Bureau's assistance in addressing this matter and look forward to a resolution. Please feel free to contact me at [phone number] or [email address] if you require any additional information.

  Business response

  03/27/2023

  Our customer support team has been working with the customer to troubleshoot the issues they are experiencing, as our technical team continues to investigate the reported issue. In the meantime, we have provided the customer with a full refund for their League Pass purchase. We appreciate the customers feedback and continue to work on ensuring the best experience for fans.  

• Initial Complaint

  02/17/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Billed for NBA League pass in the on Jan 22, 2023 and again on Feb 3 2023, both for $79.99. I never signed up for this. Can't sign in to nba to cancel because I never had an account to begin with.

  Customer response

  02/17/2023

  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 and the matter has been resolved.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************
  
  
  
   
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  02/08/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  NBA experiences lies to their customers. For the upcoming rising stars portion of the all star game, they tell potential customers that they must reserve a presale spot by paying $250 for the privilege of buying a ticket later. They make it sound like they are the only official ticket seller for the event and charges huge fees (turns out there are multiple official ticket sellers including ticketmaster). They have a strict no refund policy on presale spots (even before any tickets are purchased) because I am sure they know customers will figure out the scam. This is a deeply unethical business practice and the NBA should clearly terminate their relationship with this scam company.

  Business response

  02/21/2023

  NBA Experiences offers a wide range of customized and immersive fan experience packages. These premium packages include access to NBA events,and may include unique off-the-court programming that is not available through other retailers.  In this case, the customer purchased a Rising Stars package through NBA Experiences which included tickets to both the Rising Stars event and the NBA Crossover event during All-Star Weekend. On February 8, the customer reached out to ********************** Experiences to request a refund and submitted their BBB complaint the same day. NBA Experiences processed the customers requested refund the next day and communicated this to the customer. We therefore consider this matter closed.

  Customer response

  02/21/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

  The business did provide a refund, that part is resolved. Their response that will be posted on the BBB website is a blatant lie. I reached out to NBA experiences at least 6 times over the course of a couple months prior to filing the BBB complaint and they offered no refund. They only offered a refund because of the public nature of the BBB complaint.

   

   

   

   

  In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

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

• Initial Complaint

  01/19/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Got a free trial of 3 months from scamduel and 1 month in I cancelled the subscription that would end after the 3 months was over. Well they took my money and won't respond to.emails

  Business response

  01/20/2023

  The user reached out to our customer service team on the morning of January 19th to request a refund. Our customer service team responded to the user that same morning and informed them that their subscription, per their request, had been canceled and refunded. At the time we reviewed the users complaint, we had already initiated their requested refund; we therefore consider this matter closed.

• Initial Complaint

  12/21/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On November 8, 2022, I paid $AUD209.99 for a premium season long subscription to NBA League Pass. This subscriptions allows live streaming and delayed playback of all NBA games for the regular and post season.Since subscribing, I have experienced consistent issues with the vast majority of games that I have attempted to watch, both live and delayed. I have attempted to watch games on multiple devices in attempt to circumvent issues, including Xbox series X, iOS (ipad, iphone), and via a web browser.I have contacted customer support for assistance with these issues on a weekly basis, sometimes multiple times per week, in order to make them aware of these issues, and for assistance with troubleshooting. I can provide transcripts of these conversations if required, though I imagine that the business should also have access to them on file.I was offered a 10% refund on December 15, 2022, but I consider that to be insufficient given the sheer number of issues that I have experienced with the service, on top of the amount of time that I have spent attempting to troubleshoot issues as they arise. I have experienced issues with more than half of the games that I have attempted to watch, whether it be media playback errors, poor stream quality, asynchronous audio, and in one case, the link to the full game stream only contained the game highlights summary. Therefore I would consider at least a 50% refund to be fair compensation for the issues occurring. I would also appreciate an acknowledgment from the business regarding the number of issues that have occurred this season, along with a concrete commitment to improving the service for the remainder of the season.

  Business response

  12/23/2022

  Since receiving *** ********* complaint on December 21st,we have been working with him on troubleshooting the issues he has been experiencing, and are continuing to do so.  In the meantime, we have processed *** ********* requested refund. We therefore consider this matter closed.

  Customer response

  12/25/2022

  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 and the matter has been resolved.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************
  
  
  
   
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  11/07/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased NBA 2K23 "Championship Edition" on Playstation 5 for $161.98 on July 7, 2022. This was a more expensive version of the game, which gave the purchaser one free year of NBA League Pass. I checked the supported devices for this, and saw that Playstation 5 was supported, which is what I would watch NBA games on. When the season started, I was getting an error code whenever I tried to watch, stating "Media_Err_Decode." I reached out to NBA League Pass Support on ******* and email. For 19 days, all they are stating is, "we're working on it" or "try watching on another device." I purchased this in order to watch NBA Games on my TV through PS5. I relied on the NBA stating that PS5 is a supported device (it is still listed as a supported device). I have sent many emails and ******* messages hoping to resolve this amicably. I even tracked down a phone number for NBA League Pass support, which they do not share, which only states that it is closed, at all hours of the day.I do not have time to keep waiting, while I have already missed upwards of 150 NBA Games because of this.

  Business response

  11/11/2022

  As ************** purchased his NBA League Pass subscription through a third party, we do not have any authority or control over third-party billing or refund policies and therefore are unable to issue ************** a refund.  However, on November 8th,the day after we received **************** complaint, we released a new version of the NBA App for PlayStation that addresses the issue ************** was experiencing. We therefore consider this matter closed.

• Initial Complaint

  10/31/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Signed up for their NBA League Pass and the video of the games.are delayed. Ive tried talking to their people 4 times they put me on hold various times over 10 minutes and they never get back to me and once i asked for supervisor and they told there wasnt one available. *** had tried the troubleshooting ive been told to do and didnt work. Either they dont care or dont want to help

  Business response

  11/11/2022

  After receiving ******** ********** we investigated the playback issues that he stated he was experiencing.  Because ************ was currently enrolled in a free trial, we could not provide him with a refund.  However, we reached out to ************ via email on the following day to offer to provide him with a refund for his first month of NBA League Pass upon the conclusion of his free trial when he would first be charged.  However, ************ did not complete his free trial and so was never charged.  We therefore consider this matter closed.

  Customer response

  11/14/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because 

   

  I DID FINISH THE ***** BECAUSE ON THE *** THE FREE ***** ENDED WHEN I TRIED TO SEE A GAME OR A REPLAY IT SAID THAT IM NOT SUBSCRIBED

   

   

   

   

  In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

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

  Business response

  11/22/2022

  In response to *** ***** follow-up, we have confirmed that his free trial concluded and that ************ was not charged at the conclusion of the free trial.  However, we reached out to ************ via email on the same day to again offer him a promo code to get one month of NBA League Pass for free, which he has since applied to his account.  We therefore consider this matter closed.

• Initial Complaint

  10/21/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  NBA League Pass is a subscription program that allows you to watch NBA games through the NBA App or a TV provider. I purchased an annual membership from NBA.com which allows me to watch games on the NBA App. Each year the subscription auto-renews over the summer or in early fall. I paid $99.99 on 9/29/22. The two platforms I have to use the App are Playstation 4 and Xbox One. Starting with the 2022-2023 season the NBA App is no longer supported on the Playstation 4 which leaves Xbox One. Unfortunately, the App is not functioning on the Xbox one. Either video freezes after a short period of time or it's very laggy so I can not watch a full game.New subscribers are able to cancel their membership during their free trial period, but those who renew their subscriptions do not have this option to cancel or for a refund after the season starts. There is also no visibility on the NBA website for open issues with the app, and during the renewal period there was not visibility on changes to which apps are supported. It is a misleading practice to have customers auto-renew their subscriptions if the Apps that are advertised as compatible do not work. Playstation 4 is no longer listed as a compatible App, but Xbox One is. My most recent case with the NBA League Pass Support to try to resolve this is *******. If I'm able to get a refund, at least I can try the other option of purchasing League Pass through a TV provider, which may have better results.

  Customer response

  10/24/2022

  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 and the matter has been resolved.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************
  
  
  
   
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  10/03/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Thursday, September 29, 2022 I was charged $105.99 by the NBA league pass. This was not authorized by me and every time I try to call their customer service they disconnect me and will not resolve my issue I also have emailed the company and they have not responded.

  Business response

  10/14/2022

  In response to ****************** complaint on October 3rd, we contacted **************** via email on the same day to let her know that we were unable to locate her account based on the email address she provided.  We have been in touch with **************** for additional information in order to locate the account in question.  Once we are able to locate the account we will issue the applicable refund.

• Initial Complaint

  12/03/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On 10.14.21 purchased NBA league pass for $214.99 Live streaming services for NBA games and replay streaming services for NBA games **** services do not work on my roku device most of the time Company is playing games and does not know how to resolve the problem Company is intentionally harassing me by fixing the issue for a very short time about 30 minutes to an hour and then changing settings to disable the service that I have paid for Tech support is not helpful and they refuse to issue me a credit for the services that they failed to deliver Company does not have sufficient resources to provide a services they promise customers

  Business response

  12/17/2021

  In response to *************** complaint, we contacted ************** via email on December 7 and issued him a billing adjustment on the same day, as he requested.  We consider this matter closed.

*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. ↩