There are quite a few complaints about Stansberry Research that it would be best to know beforehand, before you subscribe to any of their services.
Are their newsletters any good? Do they offer refunds? Why are people calling them a scam? You'll find the answers to these questions and more.
I've spent a lot of time scouring the web and filtering through all the negative reviews and complaints about this company, and in this article I'll be providing a list of 12 that you should definitely know about.
But first let's go over what exactly this company does and what they provide...
Who Is Stansberry Research?
Stansberry Research is a publishing company based in Baltimore, Maryland that was founded in 1999 by Porter Stansberry.
What they publish consists of investment newsletters focused on different areas of investing, as well as opinion pieces discussing controversial issues, similar to Casey Research, Money Map Press, and others.
Overall the company has a pretty bad reputation, and you'll have a better understanding of why after you read over these complaints...
12 Complaints You Should Know About
Disclosure: These reviews/complaints were found on the following review sites after hours of scouring the internet:
#12. Promotional Bombardment
If you do signup for any of the newsletter services that Stansberry Research offers, it seems that you should prepare yourself for the promotional bombardment that will likely come your way. You will be getting a lot more emails than just one ones you paid for, as one subscriber complains...
[Source: opportunitychecker.com]
Another subscriber claims to have purchased "one of their more expensive newsletters" and it turned out to be, more or less, "an advertising medium to buy more premium services" due to all the promotions the other newsletters they push on you. Not only that, but he claims to have had big trouble cancelling his subscription, which is another complaint I'll talk about more shortly...
[Source: opportunitychecker.com]
#11. Lack of Transparency
The lack of transparency is another major issue that people aren't too happy with.
They don't publish any clear track-record of wins/losses for their various advisory services, and according to some people you can't trust what they do tell you.
The complaint below states that they "sweep serious losses under the carpet", spotlighting the good recommendations made but conveniently leaving out the losers...
[Source: pissedconsumer.com]
#10. Spam & Problems Unsubscribing from Email List
Have you ever signed up to an email list and then had the trouble of not being able to unsubscribe? Ya, it's really annoying, but seems to be happening to people here.
There have been multiple complaints about this. In the review below someone states that they have "unsubscribed dozens and dozens of times... yet they refuse to remove me from their list"...
[Source: opportunitychecker.com]
And going along with this is the problem of email spam, which Stansberry Research seems to excel in sending out consistently...
[Source: opportunitychecker.com]
#9. Propaganda Outlet?
Some complaints I've come across accuse the company of being a "propaganda arm of big investors".
It doesn't matter what your political viewpoints are, it's pretty obvious they side with the republicans and bash the democrats. Now whether or not they are getting paid to do so is something I have no proof of.
[Source: opportunitychecker.com]
#8. Fear-Mongering Scare Tactics
The company is big on using scare tactics to lure in new subscribers. They often send out, as the comment below mentions, a "continual barrage of the sky is falling and you need this other more expensive newsletter" type of emails...
[Source: pissedconsumer.com]
#7. Sometimes There are No Refunds at All
The refund policy is something you should always look into before you subscribe to anything this company offers. It will vary. Sometimes there are refunds within 30 days or so, and sometimes there aren't.
And no, there aren't pro-rated refunds. So if there is a cancellation window and you miss it, you are out of luck...
[Source: pissedconsumer.com]
If you are looking to cancel you can do so by contacting them at:
- info@stansberrycustomerservice.com OR
- 888-261-2693
#6. Scam Complaints
As you might imagine, there are quite a few people calling this company a scam due to the unethical business practices they employ.
A "repulsive scam" that "should be investigated"? That's what this person thinks of them...
[Source: pissedconsumer.com]
#5. Losing Recommendations & Lost Money
Of course there are subscribers complaining about losing money. This should be expected and is understandable. After all, there is inherent risk when it comes to investing and losing money is never a happy outcome.
Some subscribers claim to have lost substantial amounts of money following this company's recommendations. The review below comes from a subscriber who "lost tens of thousands of dollars following their advice"...
[Source: pissedconsumer.com]
#4. Unauthorized Charges
You would probably be pretty upset if you got your credit card bill and found a bunch of unexpected and unauthorized charges on it. Ya... so was this person who claims to have cancelled their subscription years ago only to find a recent charge for it...
[Source: bbb.org]
Another customer claims to have been charged "$199 without authorization" after purchasing a book from them...
[Source: pissedconsumer.com]
#3. Sneaky and Unexpected Charges
The complaint shown above from the person who purchased a book and then had a "$199 charge without authorization" is actually mistaken.
With Stansberry Research you ALWAYS HAVE TO READ THE FINE PRINT. They are sneaky and get people to subscribe to their services without them even knowing... which is very unethical, yet legal.
One trick they use is getting people to purchase books from them and auto-enrolling them in a subscription, which a lot of people are totally unaware of, as the complaints below prove...
[Source: bbb.org]
[Source: bbb.org]
They tell you this in the fine print, but of course many people don't read it or don't even notice it.
#2. Trouble Getting Refunds & Cancelling Subscriptions
We've already seen a few times, in the complaints shown above, where people have had trouble canceling subscriptions, but this seems to be such a common complaint that I think it's worth listing on its own.
People really have trouble getting out of subscriptions. Much more than is necessary. It can get pretty ridiculous.
The subscriber below claims to have "cancelled [their] email subscription multiple times and have been in a circle of idiocy and still get emails". And this is just one of many similar complaints...
[Source: bbb.org]
#1. Poor Customer Service
This goes along with several complaints above.
Why is it so difficult to get refunds from this company? It seems the customer service team always has some lame excuse as to why a refund didn't go through, why an "unauthorized" charge happened, why they don't reply to complaints, and so on.
Come on Stansberry Research... get some better staff members. This could help eliminate a lot of the complaints here... but it seems unlikely that it will happen.
*TIP: If you are having trouble contacting customer service or getting a refund, we recommend that you file a complaint with the BBB. This seems to increase your chances of them taking you seriously 🙂
Overall Ratings
With every 3rd-party review site I've come across Stansberry Research has very low ratings.
For example, the overall rating with the BBB given by consumers is barely over 1 out of 5 stars. And with Pissed Consumer it's less than 2 out of 5 stars.
However, one thing you have to keep in mind is that people are more likely to complain on these types of 3rd-party review sites than to leave positive reviews. What types of reviews can you really expect from a place called Pissed Consumer..?
And yes, there are even some positive reviews out there.
So, although this post focuses on the complaints this company has, it might not paint a very clear picture.
The Takeaway Here
Stansberry Research has loads of complaints, with people upset about everything from the scare-tactics the company uses to lure in subscribers to unauthorized credit card charges.
It's true what I just said above... that there are positive reviews too and that this article only focuses on the negatives... but it's also true that Stansberry Research has a pretty bad overall reputation and there are far better options out there if you are looking for investment advisory services.
For example, Motley Fool's Stock Advisor is a newsletter service that I highly recommend. It is run by a trustworthy company, has a proven track-record, and is good for beginner and veteran investors alike.
I hope you enjoyed this article and found it helpful. Please share it if you did.
Spent $1500 on subscription & wanted to cancel 3 weeks later & was told that the money paid was non-refundable.
Jack L Gross Sr
Hi Jack. You might want to try filing a complaint with the BBB. It’s worth a try.
I was a little naive on online investment advisors, and fell for the promotional video of Stansberry and the BS of what is offered. I paid over $2000 for what I thought was investment advisory services. What I got was access to a bunch of publications which were for the most part out dated, plus unlimited emails seeking to sell me more of the useless services. They never end. My warning should have been the statement, ‘NO RIGHT TO REFUND!”. Just put sucker across my forehead.
I have called many times trying to cancel stanberry research but have not been able to stop this service.
Cannot cancel by phone, very hard to follow instructions on computer, I think that is on purpose to make it hard to cancel your service. What’s up ? Just another Scam!
I never received any useful information from the standard subscription.
Every day I did receive MANY promotional videos/messages which were a waste of time
and my money. They were only promoting other services for about $1000 a pop for many.
Oh yes, NO REFUND. You only receive a credit for their service.
Porter Stansberry has been around for over 20 years. I believe he was legit and helpful when he started. Now he and his organization have become internet whores. I had no contact from those who wanted you to go to their stock market websites and take their “advice” as to which stocks you HAD to buy. That is until I subscribed to a Stansberry newsletter in November, 2020. Not much came to my email everyday except Stansberry’s daily, non-stop emails plus a few from his associates. Then I started getting quite a few daily emails in my junk file from unknown people. I “unsubscribed” from them all. That’s when all hell broke loose. As of today, I am receiving emails from 60 stock market sharks, ALL unsolicited. Seems that the more you unsubscribe, the more the sharks descend on you. I tried blocking them, but only got more. When I called Stansberry to complain about them selling my email address to everyone, they said “Oh, We don’t do that.” Yeh, right! That’s why I call them internet whores.
All of the above is true. They give refunds-( but in the fine print they are credits only for their services)
They are the ones making money. They make recommendations to new people that are 2 years old and make it seem like a good recommendation now!
I’m a fool for following their b.s. a number of times.
Don’t get sucked in- walk away. Seriously