It's hard to cancel your membership. I want to meet people. In two cities, most people were not really expats. Most were local and either trying to sell something like advertising, or insurance, or tr... See more
Company replied
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Review summary
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Reviews shaping this summary
Hit or miss and quite expensive for the little you get. I have been a member for years but the Albatross membership level (interesting hame and reflects the difficulty turning it off) cost has double... See more
Company replied
If there would be an option to leave zero stars, that's what they deserved! I tried to join their organization, was rejected twice without any reason nor any explanation. I sent them an email, no resp... See more
Company replied
Total scam - beware. Do not ever let them access any of your credit card information. They are using illegal and unethical practices and then threaten you of collection do get more money. DO NOT EVER... See more
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Company details
Written by the company
With more than 5.2 million members in 420 cities around the world, InterNations is the largest global network and information site for people who live and work abroad. InterNations offers global and local networking both online and face-to-face at more than 6,000 monthly events and activities. Online services include country and city guides created by a team of professional writers, guest contributions about life abroad, and forums to help members with topics such as local housing and searching for jobs. InterNations is primarily a community for expats, but also global minds. As a community of trust, membership is by application only.
Contact info
Karlsplatz 3, 80335, Munich, Germany
- internations.org
2.3
Poor
1K reviews
Replied to 69% of negative reviews
Typically replies within 2 weeks
How this company uses Trustpilot
See how their reviews and ratings are sourced, scored, and moderated.
Total disappointment
I used to be an Internations member in Bologna (Italy) a few years ago and it was very enjoyable. They organised many great events, I met interesting people and made long-lasting friendships. Fast forward, 10 years later in Bristol (UK), it's a total disappointment. One or 2 events for month? And also nothing interesting going on, just normal dinners at restaurants ( max 8 members allowed!! ) ?
It's also very hard to connect with other members, if you try to make friends out of the events. People just ignore your messages, or you find some other people treating you like you were on a dating website. No, it's not supposed to be a dating site!
I can't even unsubscribe straightaway, I have to wait until the end of the month to 'downgrade' to basic member and then being able to cancel my membership. They don't really make things easy for you if you want to just remove your data and your bank details! Awful website, never ever again!
2 June 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from InterNations
Thank you for sharing your feedback. I’m sorry to hear that your experience in Bristol hasn’t met your expectations compared to your previous time in Bologna. We strive to offer engaging events and meaningful connections in every location.
We appreciate your comments on the event frequency and the difficulty in connecting with other members. Your feedback is valuable as we work to improve our services and community experience.
Regarding the membership cancellation process, I understand your frustration. Please reach out to our support team directly for assistance with your cancellation and any issues you’ve encountered. They are there to help and ensure a smoother experience.
Thank you for your past participation, and we hope to address your concerns to better meet your needs.
Thanks for your prompt response .
Thanks for your prompt response .
All the best .
22 April 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from InterNations
You're welcome! All the best to you too!
I want everyone to know that whoever loves his job will master it
My love for my work made me live a unique experience
25 May 2023
Unprompted review
Reply from InterNations
That’s wonderful to hear! It’s amazing how passion for your work can create such unique and fulfilling experiences. If you'd like to share more about your experience or if there's anything else you'd like to discuss, I'm here to listen!
I've been rejected membership with no grounds whatsoever to do so till the point you said you would help and nothing has happened
If I been rejected membership continuously with no grounds whatsoever to do so. You reached out to me in order to fix and I'll I keep getting is messages declining my interview even though I followed the instructions thoroughly. What's going on? Please fix it. Not one date but many dates.
20 March 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from InterNations
I’m sorry to hear that your membership application was not approved. To maintain the integrity of our community, every registration undergoes a thorough review process. Our team evaluates each application to ensure the best fit for our international network.
We’d be happy to give you another opportunity to join. Please contact our support team by submitting a request, and we’ll send you an invitation to reapply.
We look forward to the possibility of welcoming you to our global community soon!
Great Site, great prices and brilliant events
The organisers of Internations and those taking care of it all are very kind, helpful, patient and understanding. I highly recommend the site.
11 May 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from InterNations
Thank you so much for your kind words! We're thrilled to hear that you had a positive experience with our team. Your recommendation means a lot to us. If you ever need anything or have any feedback, don’t hesitate to reach out. We're here to help!
Thanks for the quick reply and perfect solution
Thanks for the quick reply! Also the result was perfect.
7 May 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from InterNations
You're welcome! I'm glad to hear that the result was perfect. If you need any further assistance or have more questions, feel free to reach out. Have a great day!
Got subscribed and still a basic member…
Got subscribed and still a basic member . Cost 49.99 . Nobody is answering -> police
4 May 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from InterNations
I'm sorry to hear about the trouble you've encountered. If you’ve been charged for a subscription but are still listed as a Basic Member, please reach out to our support team directly. They will be able to look into this issue and help resolve it for you.
Your satisfaction is important to us, and our support team is equipped to assist with any billing or membership concerns. Thank you for your patience.
I joined it 4 years ago and never…
I joined it 4 years ago and never received any information about events. Each year I have tried to cancel my membership but to no avail. My credit card expired and they say I still owe them money after going through the ridiculous cancelling requirements, but of course have never attended a single event.
2 May 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from InterNations
Thank you for sharing your experience, and we apologize for the issues you've encountered.
Did you know that besides our larger InterNations Official Events, we also offer smaller InterNations Groups with activities centered around specific interests or hobbies? These are perfect for our Albatross Members who enjoy connecting with other internationals in a more intimate setting.
To explore the active groups in your InterNations Community, simply log into InterNations and navigate to Groups. We hope you find a group that excites you. If not, you have the option to start your own group.
Additionally, our Guide and Forum sections are filled with valuable information. Here, you can learn about your destination, expat life, and exchange insights with fellow expats.
Great idea, poor implementation
The idea behind this community is quite brilliant, but the lack of support and a medieval app make everything quite complicated.
I was trying to ask clarification about membership (Albatross) renewal, but they were not able to follow-up. The high volume of requests is not surprinsing for such a weird membership & renewal policies. Funny enough, I was going to keep my subscription, but in the end I had to cancel without getting proper answers to my needs.
Finally, a tighter control on events created by local ambassadors would be fair, above all in Milano we have someone that promotes events with payments on the edge of IN policies, and nobody ever answered to my report.
1 May 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from InterNations
Thank you for your feedback. We’re glad to hear that you appreciate the idea behind our community, but we regret that your experience with support and the app has been frustrating.
At InterNations, we have two types of membership: free Basic Membership and paid Albatross Membership, which includes all our premium features.
As a Basic Member, you can:
Attend official events
Use our member search to connect with like-minded people
Send and receive unlimited private messages
Join some of our groups
Read articles in our expat magazine
Exchange valuable tips in local and global forums
As an Albatross Member, you can:
Enjoy free or reduced entrance to all official events
Join all groups and attend their activities
Organize and host activities in any group (except Global Group)
Read articles about your destination and expat life
Browse profiles anonymously and see your profile visitors
We apologize for the inconvenience you faced with your membership renewal inquiries. Our goal is to handle all requests promptly, and we're making efforts to manage the high volume more efficiently.
Regarding the events in Milano, we take your concerns seriously and will look into the matter. We strive for fair and consistent enforcement of our policies and appreciate your patience as we address this issue.
We value your membership and hope to improve your experience with InterNations. Your feedback is essential for us to make the necessary improvements.
It's a SCAM, don't sign up!
I subscribed on this site with a free trial. After my account was created, I tried to log in for the start process and their pages were giving me issues. I emailed them that I couldn't access much, and someone replied that my email address was not associated with this site. BIZARRE. I got pissed and wanted now to cancel everything. I logged the site on my phone which then allowed me to downgrade my membership to basic, but I also wanted to close my entire account. I filled the page and clicked to delete to which I got a technical error. I tried to log in again and I am getting a message saying that the site has banned me from access. Worst 15min experience of my life. Do your research and do not do it it's a SCAM and nothing of this sort is normal. I cancelled my credit card immediately so no one can use it because I will never know if they closed my account and reading horror stories of cards being charged without consent.
30 April 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from InterNations
I’m really sorry to hear about your experience. It sounds incredibly frustrating, and I understand your concerns.
Thank you for getting in touch. We’re currently dealing with a high volume of support requests and apologize for the late reply. Please contact our support team support@internations.org directly so they can investigate the issues with your account and ensure everything is resolved. They can help with account deletion and any other problems you've faced.
Your feedback is important, and we’ll use it to improve our processes. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.
Impossible to unsubscribe from
Impossible to unsubscribe from. Even tech support requests won't fix it.
3 April 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from InterNations
Dear Sir or Madam,
To change your email notification settings, please follow the steps below:
Log into InterNations and go to Email notifications.
To stop receiving certain notifications, click or tap on the desired notification and untick the checkbox next to it.
Don’t forget to save your changes.
If you no longer want to be an InterNations member, you can also delete your account.
if it is not working please reach out to our support with details or a screenshot of the error message to investigate it further!
Thank you
I would not recommend joining…
I would not recommend joining InterNations. Unlike most organisations which offer free trials, they don't send any kind of reminder that the free trial is ending and that you will be billed soon - I have found several companies that do this, and because of their integrity and courtesy, I've ended up continuing with their services. InterNations, on the other hand, isn't a great website to use - I went on it when I signed up and found it an overall terrible user experience, so I didn't use any of its services during the free trial; I didn't log back on and InterNations, if they have the ability, they will see that I've not interacted. I didn't get any value from it, and I'm very dissatisfied with the experience and the lack of service received. As I would have if this was a restaurant or a store, I contacted InterNations with my grievances and asked for a refund and immediate termination of my subscription, but I've not heard anything back other than a 'We'll get back to you' message. It's been 7 days. For a global company, this is an appalling service and unfair trading.
14 April 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from InterNations
Dear member,
Thank you for providing your feedback.
It saddens us to hear that you are dissatisfied with the automatic commencement of your paid Albatross Membership subscription after the conclusion of your free trial.
Please be aware that this information was prominently presented on the checkout page before initiating your free trial. Furthermore, it was reiterated in both your confirmation email and on your Membership page. In these communications, you were clearly informed of the following:
1. The free trial duration of 30 days.
2. Charges would apply only after the trial period ended.
3. You had the flexibility to cancel at any point during the free trial.
As you did not cancel your free trial within the 30-day period, you were subsequently billed for the selected subscription period.
We trust this provides clarification for any uncertainties you may have.
Should you have additional concerns, do not hesitate to reach out to our Support Team.
Best regards,
Your InterNations Team
How is it possible that these kind of…
How is it possible that these kind of company’s and customer support departments can still exists. It’s absolutely insane how they treat customers and it’s a big trap with their free trial. I already wrote this at other review company’s and keep on going. They charged me twice and it’s a mistake but they don’t have the decency to investigate and refund the money.
16 April 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from InterNations
Dear Danielle,
Thank you for sharing feedback.
We’re truly sorry for the current situation.
We know it’s frustrating, but please don’t send multiple messages about the same topic to customer support. Instead of responding to you faster, this simply increases the backlog even more. And then it takes longer for us to reply to everyone.
We know our current response time is not up to our standards, and we’re doing our best to improve the support we offer as quickly as possible.
I regret to learn that you are displeased with the automatic initiation of your paid Albatross Membership subscription following the conclusion of your free trial.
Please note that this information was prominently displayed on the checkout page before commencing your free trial. Additionally, it was reiterated in your confirmation email and on your Membership page. On these platforms, you were informed of the following:
Your free trial would extend for 30 days. You would only incur charges after the conclusion of the trial period. You possessed the flexibility to cancel at any time during the free trial. Since you did not cancel your free trial within the 30-day timeframe, you were billed for the selected subscription period.
Kind regards,
Your InterNations Team
Beware the Free Trial
I've been a member of this website for 15+ years and occasionally try out its paid Albatross membership when a free trial is on offer.
On this occasion I unfortunately wasn't able to cancel the free trial in time. Technically, on my timezone in the US, I still had a day before I needed to cancel but because the website is based in Europe it charged me as soon as it hit midnight CET.
I've reached out to customer service to ask them to cancel the paid membership and issue me a refund. It's been over 21 days but have heard nothing back despite following up a week ago.
I wouldn't mind if I actually got anything beneficial from the paid membership but it's very limited value add. The website is full of fake profiles which don't seem to get removed because the user/content moderation and customer support are a joke.
I used to be an advocate for this community but at this point I am pretty much done using it.
24 March 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from InterNations
Dear Member,
Thank you for your message and for being a long-standing member of our community. We understand your frustration and we apologize for any inconvenience caused.
We acknowledge that our service may not be perfect and we are continuously working to improve it. We take your feedback seriously and will strive to address the issues you’ve raised, particularly regarding the fake profiles and the effectiveness of our user/content moderation.
Regarding the Albatross membership, we understand that the timezone difference may have caused confusion about the cancellation deadline. We are looking into this matter and will ensure clearer communication about such details in the future.
It’s important to note that the revenue we generate from the Albatross membership is crucial for us to maintain and improve our services. We are committed to providing value to our members and we are constantly working to enhance the benefits of the Albatross membership.
As for your refund request, we apologize for the delay in response. Our customer service team is currently experiencing a high volume of inquiries, but rest assured, your request has been received and is being processed.
We value your membership and your contribution to our community over the years. We hope to resolve this issue to your satisfaction and would be sorry to see you leave.
Best regards,
Your InterNations Team
Worst Customer Support. Extremely Bad Experience
No wonder why you guys already have such a bad rating. You really try to scam people by ignoring their cancellation requests.
Their support IGNORES you completely. They make it almost impossible to cancel. It's like they are trying to sell something which customer never wants.
Ignoring my multiple emails for months. Such a ridiculous behavior.
12 March 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from InterNations
Hi Ashraf,
We completely agree that our current response time is far too long and understand how frustrating that must be. Our team is currently handling an increase in support requests.
We’re working hard to prioritize and respond to each one. Thank you for your understanding and patience as we take steps to improve the situation.
Kind regards,
Your InterNations Team
Ridiculous
The registration form doesn't work properly, the anonymous staff rejects the application with o explanation. Following the very same link they provide for assistance, they are unable to connect the personal data you provide with the registered mail and you enter a loop of ignorance. Wasted time, no transparency. I haven't met such a ridiculous service in years.
29 March 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from InterNations
Hi, I am sorry to hear that your membership application was declined. To ensure that InterNations remains a community of trust, each registration goes through an approval process. Our team carefully examines each application in order to make the right decision about who should become a member of our international community. Please contact our Community Support team for further assistance.
You will never see a worse site in your life…
Absolutely without question the single worst website/social network in existence. I’m a 42 year old married man, and WE were looking to network as we moved from the US TO France. The level of ignorance by ownership, the lack of effort by the organization, and the overall horrifically ran company is the worst this (me) software developer and (my wife) also a software developer has seen or will ever see. With our experience, we know a few hours in 1 afternoon would change it all, but ownership VERY clearly and VERY blatantly do not understand basic human interaction and they have zero self awareness. DO NOT JOIN UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE*
29 March 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from InterNations
Dear Brett,
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts about our website. We appreciate all feedback, whether positive or negative, as it helps us improve and provide a better experience for our users.
We apologize if our website fell short of your expectations. As a team of software developers, we understand the importance of efficient communication, user-friendly interfaces, and responsiveness.
Ignorance by Ownership: We apologize if it seemed that way. Our goal is to continuously learn and adapt to meet our users’ needs.
Lack of Effort by the Organization: We take this seriously. We’re actively working to enhance our efforts in maintaining and improving our platform.
Horrifically Run Company: We’re sorry to hear that you feel this way. We’re dedicated to refining our processes and ensuring a smoother experience.
Basic Human Interaction and Self-Awareness: We value self-awareness and empathy. Your feedback will help us better understand our users and their expectations.
We respect your opinion. If you have specific suggestions for improvement, please share them with us.
Once again, thank you for your feedback. If you’d like to discuss this further or have additional insights, feel free to reach out to our customer support team.
Best regards,
Your InterNations Team
Not great.
I had high hopes for meeting new like minded people on here however after less than 48 hours I've deleted my account as I was approached by many men directly which made me feel uncomfortable. It felt like a bad dating website, really slimey messages coming through.
I was also concerned that members aren't verified in any way. No idea who these men are it didn't feel safe at all. They were very direct.
I'm very glad I didn't sign up for Albatross based on all the negative reviews on here.
9 March 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from InterNations
Hi, we regret to hear of your negative experience. We take the safety of our community members very seriously and have several measures and features in place where members can alert us to any potential offenses and/or block contacts. Please contact our Community Support team for further assistance.
No heads up !
no notification about the 119 euro they charged me. I got the notifcation 03am in the morning. Wrote directly an email.
The app is unorganised to find clearly when your memberships end, and when you get charged ! Thos should be noticing very vlear in the app.
Also a lot of scammers on the app, a lotnof robots, your guided buddy is nothing but a robot. You can hardly ask questions.
You should have some service and reply to people who are unsatisfied with the app and the buisness, but its is hidden in the app where you first have to find the downgrading and than can delete your account ?
NO, You should received a notification, or a big button with unsubcripe.
And like the others, no refund will be made.
Do not download or give in your card number. Very very high fraud.
1 March 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from InterNations
Dear Ingrid,
Thank you for sharing feedback.
I regret to learn that you are displeased with the automatic initiation of your paid Albatross Membership subscription following the conclusion of your free trial.
Please note that this information was prominently displayed on the checkout page before commencing your free trial. Additionally, it was reiterated in your confirmation email and on your Membership page. On these platforms, you were informed of the following:
- Your free trial would extend for a duration of 30 days.
- You would only incur charges after the conclusion of the trial period.
- You possessed the flexibility to cancel at any time during the free trial.
Since you did not cancel your free trial within the 30-day timeframe, you were billed for the selected subscription period.
We hope it clarifies your doubts.
Kind regards,
Your InterNations Team
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