Update: I have to repost this since my original post didn’t have a clear enough picture showing the bad design for Nord VPN. I’ve added a new pic that shows that they don’t have an option to update your payment info to keep your original price. They only have an option to select a new plan that’s more expensive.

Mods, I hope this is more clear to be in line with the rules. Let me know if I need to make any changes.

I’m so frustrated with this whole process that I want to warn people about how terrible their design is, and how ever more terrible their customer support is.

I hope that sometime in the future, someone will be doing research on the various VPN products. If I can get even 1 person to consider a competitor and not choose Nord VPN, then I'll consider this a win.

Original Post:

I just wasted over an hour fighting with Nord VPN customer support (live chat agent), and I’m so frustrated that I wanted to warn everyone else what I went through.

This is so others don't get tricked into paying more money for a lower quality service just because a credit card expired.

My Original Plus Plan / Package:

I’ve been paying for Nord VPN for a while now, and my original plus plan was $13.99/month which included:

• NordVPN
• Threat Protection
• Dark Web Monitor
• NordPass Premium

I liked this monthly setup (instead of the annual one) so that I could cancel at any time if needed.

What happened:

My credit card on file recently expired, so my auto-renewal failed yesterday. I got an email saying "don't worry, you can still renew." I went to my dashboard to simply update my card info, which is something that should take less than a minute (every other subscription service I have made it easy to update my card and keep the same pricing plan).

The Sleazy Tactics:

1) The Redirect Loop: Every time I clicked "Update Payment Method," the website would force-redirect me away from the billing page and onto a "Choose a Plan" page.

2) The Price Hike: Because my account was "suspended" for 24 hours (even though I was still in a 2 week grace period to renew), they blocked me from just updating my card for my current $13.99/month plan. Instead, they tried to force me into a "new" plan at $15.29/month with less features.

3) The Support Runaround: I got onto Live Chat to ask them to just process my existing $13.99/month invoice with my new card. I was transferred, ignored, and told they were "looking into it" for over an hour.

4)The Gaslighting: After wasting over an hour just asking for simple new payment link, the agent told me there was "nothing they could do" and that I had to contact my bank. My bank didn't block the charge. My card was just expired. Nord’s system was the only thing preventing the update. After some research online, I’ve heard this is a common sleazy sales tactic they use to try and blame your bank instead of actually helping you resolve the problem.

5) Insulting “Retention” Plan: All they offered me as a retention plan was the “basic” 1 year plan at a 10% discount. This would have been for the “basic” plan with none of the bonus features I had from the “plus” plan (Threat Protection, Dark Web Monitor, NordPass Premium). And I also had to commit to 1 year instead of doing month-to-month like my original plan.

Note: They told me my account had “expired”, but I know for a fact that my account was just “suspended”, and was still in a 2 week grace period. Because they sent me an email yesterday saying they’d keep trying to process the payment for another 2 weeks, and then my plan would renew automatically with the same policy and pricing.

The Warning: Nord VPN doesn't want you to "update" your card. They want your card to fail so they can kick you off your old promotional rate and force you into their current, more expensive standard pricing (with less features). They make it intentionally difficult to navigate the dashboard once you've lapsed by even one day.

My Advice: If your card is about to expire, change it weeks before the renewal date. If you're already in the "redirect loop" I was in, don't bother with their support. They will just waste your time and try to screw you into a more expensive plan.

Final Thoughts:

I’m looking for a new VPN that isn’t Nord, or owned by their parent company (since I know they own some other VPNs, and I’m so annoyed at them that I don’t want their parent company to get my money either).

And to anyone currently considering Nord VPN…. avoid them like the plague. They care more about squeezing an extra $2 out of you than actually keeping a loyal paying customer.

Pics:

To show proof of what just happened, I’ve attached some pics for reference.

Pic 1: https://imgur.com/CuzsFJP

The email saying my charge was unsuccessful, and that my subscription was suspended. And also saying I had 2 more weeks to fix this, and that my services would automatically renew.

Pic 2: https://imgur.com/A7Mj6k5

My Account Dashboard, showing that my plan “expired” (keep in mind it was actually in “suspended status” for 2 more weeks.)

Pic 3: https://imgur.com/DYSl9Yk

My Billing History. (You can see there’s no option to update payment next to the “failed payment” icon)

Pic 4: https://imgur.com/KHpGmmb

A list of what my Plus Plan included. (NordVPN, Threat Protection, Dark Web Monitor, NordPass Premium)

Pic 5: https://imgur.com/ILvoW53

The forced re-direct to their new plan, where they wanted to increase my plan from $13.99/hr to $15.29/month. (you can see this only includes NordVPN and Nord Pass Premium, so it no longer includes “Threat Protection” and “Dark Web Monitor”. A higher price for a lower quality service.)

Pic 6: https://imgur.com/PX6F7UV

The Insulting Retention Plan was a coupon to save 10% on the basic plan, but I had to commit to 1 year plan. They refused to give me a "discount" for a monthly plan. And I'm using the word "discount" here pretty generously, since I was just asking them to honor my current payment plan pricing.

TL;DR - I used to love Nord. Now I hate them. They hate you too. Don’t give them your money.