Domestika.org

Non-refund $300 charge after a forgotten trial cancellation

Unexpected $300 charge after a forgotten trial cancellation I forgot to cancel my Domestika trial and was charged $300 for a subscription I did not intend to continue. This is a substantial amount for me, and the charge has caused serious financial stress. I understand that I missed the cancellation deadline, but this experience has been extremely disappointing. I have requested a full refund and hope Domestika will consider my circumstances.

Gorgeous classes, fair price

Registration took a minute, then I was in a gorgeous course player with crisp video and downloads. Navigation was easy, subtitles synced fine. The project prompts nudged me to actually make something, which felt great on a weeknight.

Creative, but pricing tricky

Coursework quality is high, with clean filming and tight chapters. Bought during a sale, then saw different pricing a week later which confused me. Support replied the next day and clarified terms. Subtitles worked well, and posting my project was a fun finish.

That aha brush stroke

Subtitles on, I tried the instructor’s tiny wrist flick and saw my line smooth out instantly. Small move, big confidence. I paused, rewound, then practiced it five more times.

Great videos, tricky renewals

Loved the production quality and the teacher vibe, but my Plus billing rolled at a higher number than I expected. Support responded, just slowly. I’ll keep buying a la carte and watch my auto renew like a hawk.

Polished classes, fun projects

Courses loaded fast, and signing up was painless. I loved the short, visual lessons and the gallery where people post their projects. I skimmed the subtitles when audio wasn’t in English. Navigation is clean, so I jumped right into making without a steep learning curve.

polished classes, useful files

I felt motivated during the course and satisfied afterward because the teacher’s demos were crisp and the resources practical. Subtitles and pacing made it easy to follow.

learning that sticks

I joined a lettering course on Domestika.org and the onboarding was smooth. The preview made it easy to commit. Clear lessons, downloadable files, and the community feedback kept me practicing daily.

posting my first project

I hit publish and saw kind comments roll in. Short notes, real tips. It made me want to try again with bolder color.

support for a stuck upload

My project file wouldn’t upload. They replied fast, walked me through a fix, and it posted. Kind tone, clear steps, issue gone.

Scam

They scam you into subscriptions with huge fees. The courses are often outdated and their marketing isn't clear. The platform not professional. Avoid at all costs.

Predatory and Scammy pricing policies

I would leave zero stars if I could. I signed up in 2023 for their yearly program. At $40, it seemed reasonable for unlimited access. I didn’t end up using the platform, and meant to cancel, but they send absolutely no billing or subscription emails, so after awhile I thought I must’ve already cancelled, or maybe never really signed up at all. Last year when it renewed, with no email notifications, the charge for $84 actually slipped right past me. This year, the $329 charge jumped out at me on my bank account! I didn’t even know what it was for - I had to go figure it out in my PayPal account. So to review, $39.99 first year (“discounted”), $84 second year (I assume “regular price”), then $329 third year????? They literally QUADRUPLED the price!!! All without ever once sending a billing email. Not a notification it was about to renew, nor a notification afterwards that it had renewed. Even on their website in my profile, they don’t post the invoice till AFTER they’ve sent it for payment, so you get NO NOTIFICATION, and have no way to cancel before they charge you! Oh, and of course they offer NO REFUNDS for the annual membership. Please Google Domestika reviews. You’ll see I’m not the only one this has happened to. It is happening to people with disturbing regularity. Do yourself a favor and find another platform with better courses and clear pricing!!! This is unbelievable that a company can get away with stuff like this in this day and age!!!

Got one course while trying the free trial

Got one course while trying the free trial, then without any warning I was charged for a full year subscription costing 548 AUD. I never agreed to that, no email was sent to me, I want a refund! Such a ripoff company

Misleading marketing

Misleading marketing, they lure you in with a free trial and then charge you a lot of money without warning, one of those common bad online scams you should avoid, be careful and don’t fall for it!

Trash trash trash, this company is a ripoff

Trash trash trash, this company is a ripoff and they'll steal your money. They won’t talk to you at all. Stay far away.

avoid this company. it feels like a scam.

avoid this company. it feels like a scam. i have reported Domeskica to Action Fraud right away for what looks like a fake subscription. if you had the same problem, and judging by the 1.7 rating you probably did, please report them too. i’m also going to notify National Trading Standards, they deal with online scams, fake websites, and tricky subscriptions.

Απατεώνες

Δυστυχώς είμαι άλλος ένας άνθρωπος που εξαπάτησε η domestika!!! Με το γνωστό κόλπο (όπως κατάλαβα εκ των υστέρων) της ετήσιας συνδρομής για το plus...

Awful!!! No stars for Domestika!!!

I bought a short course and later realized I was charged for a Domestika Plus subscription (311.24EUR), which I never signed up for. Too much advertising and important details buried in tiny print at the bottom of the page.

I signed up for the free trial with a free course

I signed up for the free trial with a free course, but when I went to pay, it switched to 0,99, which seemed a bit odd, but I went along with it. After checking everything looked good, I clicked to proceed to the next page and suddenly it jumped to 5,99€, which caught me off guard, but I clicked pay anyway since the 0,99 had seemed correct. This is highly suspicious and should be illegal where I live! I contacted them for a refund right away. When I tried to cancel my subscription in the app, it just showed "loading," but my phone and their servers were working fine. It seemed like they purposely messed with this part to make it hard to cancel unless you log into your computer. This feels wrong and unfair. They are not only taking advantage of users but also ruining platforms for artists.

This is one of the greatest courses I've ever seen.

This is one of the greatest courses I've ever seen. The explanations are simple, easy to understand, and the demonstrations are helpful. I would highly reccomend it.

If I could rate them less than 1 star, I definitely would.

If I could rate them less than 1 star, I definitely would. They use sneaky methods to trap users into paying for yearly plans. I paid just £1 for a course during their holiday deal, but it quickly became obvious that they trick people into signing up for yearly subscriptions. They probably made a fortune off this, and it’s dishonest. They should be investigated.

Domestika is running a scam

Be very careful with the company Domestika! They use false advertising. I signed up for a spoon carving course taught by @a.ndrea_cortes for $1.99 USD, only to find they charged me an extra $108.86 USD without my permission. For this amount of money I could have done an in person spoon carving course. This company does not respond to you except with bots. They are however able to limit disgruntled customers sharing their experiences on social media (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter/X), to prevent them warning prospective customers about their deceitful practices. I have been unsuccessful in getting my money back from my bank and PayPal. I don’t believe Domestika is abiding by Australian Consumer Laws & has taken the funds illegally. I have reported this matter to Australian Federal Police and SCAMWatch (who share information with the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission). The spoon carving community is very small and I will be sharing my experience about this company on every internet platform that I can (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, LinkedIn, Google review etc), because I do believe this company has used fraudulent tactics to advertise their courses. Tens of thousands of customers been scammed by Domestika Inc. Please do your due diligence and never deal with them (give your bank details), otherwise you will be scammed too! If you have been scammed please sign the Change Org petition called ‘Domestika Estafadores’ (with 12+ K signatures and counting), to help get a class action off the ground. Sorry I can't post the email address here!

They have destroyed a community that

They have destroyed a community that used to offer a clear way to buy classes for about £7.99 each, and now it's a deceptive marketing trick, making you pay £90 per year and £1 per class that you no longer actually own. The people who create the video content are taken advantage of, and they use the same unfair methods as Spotify to take advantage of the creators. I really dislike what Domestika has turned into.

CONVICTORS!

CONVICTORS! They quietly enroll you in an anual subscription. Once you purchase a course, you’re automatically signed up for a trial, which then gets renewed without you knowing. Sneaky!

SCAM

DO NOT purchase from this company. They use a classic negative option billing scam to trap customers. Here's how it works: they lure you in with a discounted price for a single class but then automatically enroll you in an annual subscription without clearly disclosing this upfront. Contacting customer support is virtually impossible. If you manage to get through, you’ll receive an automated response citing their strict no-refund policy. This issue is so widespread that their email begins with, “Regarding your request, if you are writing to us because you have received a charge that you do not recognize...” After that, you will not receive any further communication from customer support—ever. This is a predatory practice that preys on unsuspecting customers. Avoid this company at all costs. If I could rate it 0 stars, I would.

Domestika has pressured and intimidated the admins

Domestika has pressured and intimidated the admins of the Facebook scam group. They hired powerful lawyers and used harsh tactics to shut the group down. This happened even though over 3.6k dissatisfied victims were supporting each other there. It would be better if this company spent more time improving their services, instead of trying to silence unhappy customers. Recently, they’ve claimed that there are over 1000 courses available in the plus membership, but they provide no proof. On their website, there are fewer than 100 courses listed in the membership, making their ads misleading. Not a great company at all.

Very disappointed!

Very disappointed! I bought a course at a 'special' price, but their strategy seems to always have discounts on courses. They secretly added a trial to their PLUS service without telling me, and after 30 days, they charged me €100. They refused to refund it and only send generic responses. Even if you paid with PayPal, it doesn't change anything. The whole process feels like a nightmare, and their AI system is no help! Avoid this website at all costs – they even control comments on social media!

Terrible customer service.

Terrible customer service. Honestly, it's hard to get any help when you need it, and it's impossible to reach an actual person. You are just directed to their FAQs and a chatbot option. If you ask for a real person, they give you a contact form, and their answers are always useless auto-replies that just lead you back to the FAQs. You’ll never speak to a real person or get proper support - I’ve tried twice and got nowhere both times. It's disappointing because some of the courses here are really good.

Deceptive company practices and lacking

Deceptive company practices and lacking customer support. They billed my card for an annual package without proper consent even though I canceled the "plus" trial, and it was confirmed as canceled. Still, I was charged later. Their support only sends generic replies, offering no real help. Feels like a skam.

DISHONEST SCAMMERS

NO it is not to be trusted! I'm sadly among the many scammed by them. You buy a course, they subscribe you for free to the Plus service, they do not tell you, they do not tell you before the automatic renewal and there! you have a yearly subscription that you did not authorise or wanted. DiSHONEST SCAMMERS in need of money: which I understand everybody working hard does it for money to support himself or family. That does not condone this behaviour! Especially with those who have already purchased courses and trusted them