I wanted to share what happened to our company with HubSpot’s sales process. Maybe other small businesses can learn from our experience.
When we signed up, HubSpot’s website showed monthly payment options everywhere. Their sales team talked about monthly plans during our calls. But after we agreed to move forward, we found out we were actually locked into a 12-month agreement. Nobody mentioned this during any of our conversations with their salespeople.
The signup process just had a generic link to click. There was no clear explanation about the contract length or terms. We thought we were getting a month-to-month service based on everything we saw and heard.
This feels like a misleading sales approach that targets smaller companies. When we tried to contact their support team about this issue, we did not get much help. We checked online and saw that HubSpot has a D- rating on the Better Business Bureau website, which shows we are not the only ones having problems.
We are now looking into filing complaints with consumer protection agencies and the BBB. Small businesses need honest communication from software companies, not hidden contract terms that trap customers.
Same thing happened to us with HubSpot. Their sales rep kept saying “no commitment” then suddenly we’re locked into an annual contract. Had to threaten legal action to get out early. Document everything like the other person said, and try hitting them up on social media - companies often respond faster when complaints go public on Twitter or LinkedIn.
This contract confusion with SaaS providers is happening way too often now. We got burned by another software company last year - their sales pitch was all about flexibility, but buried in the fine print were these brutal cancellation policies. What saved us was keeping records of everything. We documented every verbal promise and saved all the email chains from the sales process. If you’ve got call recordings or email threads where they mentioned monthly billing, that’s gold for filing complaints with consumer protection agencies. Also hit up your state’s attorney general’s office - they handle this stuff all the time. The key is showing how different their marketing was from what you actually signed up for. Once companies see you’ve got documented proof of their misleading sales tactics, they often back down pretty quick.
I’ve dealt with HubSpot’s billing department multiple times - their contract terms are deliberately confusing. Here’s what worked for us: skip their standard support and go straight to their executive customer success team on LinkedIn. They actually have power to make exceptions. Also, mention regulatory violations around misleading advertising. The FTC has guidelines about clear contract disclosure that HubSpot might be breaking. When we pointed this out in writing, they suddenly got cooperative fast. Don’t just do the BBB complaint - file with your state’s consumer protection division too since they can actually enforce stuff.