Anyone else had trouble donating thru Act Blue?

[Smarmie Doofus]

IMO... the website is needlessly confusing. Especially around the subject of "recurring contribution".

I'm pretty sure ( I COULD be wrong) the vast majority of users make individual ... in many cases "one time only" ..... contributions.

However one has to be meticulous in dealing with this: the default setting is "monthly recurring contribution" and one has to take particular care to find and click that link in order to limit the donation to "one time only."

OK... I wasn't so careful, didn't click the opt-out button, and the donation was registered as "monthly recurring".

Which of course, I cannot afford.

I've sent them several emails asking them to correct my error and confirm with me that the contribution is a "one time only".

So far they haven't responded.

I just emailed them ... using a form found on one of their MANY, MANY links..... as follows:

"My contribution of 25 dollars , made thru Act Blue, applied to the candidacy of Alan Grayson for US Senate, was intended as a ONE TIME ONLY contribution and NOT as a "recurring contribution".

Will you please send me an email confirming that you understand this to be the case?

Sincerely,
Smarmie Doofus

I included a "reference #" that they (Act Blue) insist on. ( Which is a huge pain in the neck because at that point you have to leave the page you are using to petition them to change the status and thereby risking losing the info you've already spent X-amount of time and energy supplying.)

I've used Act Blue to make individual contributions to Sanders and others in the past. Mainly because I was routed TO Act Blue by the emailed solicitation from the campaigns. From now on though... I'm going to go "direct". ( i.e. Directly to the campaign.)

If I can't go direct.... I'll keep the $$$. I'll need it in the coming Republican economy.

[NBachers]

1. I sent ActBlue a very emphatic letter yesterday about their horrible new website design.

It used to be simple at ActBlue- type the candidate or group you wanted to donate to in the little window, go there, and contribute.

Now, the little window is gone, and it's hard to get to whatever candidate.

On the front page are three choices: Bernie, Democracy for America, and DCCC. In other words, instead of me deciding who to donate to, they are steering me into the choices they've made for me.

Whoever they got to design this new corporate and confusing site is not doing ActBlue, the candidates, or their members any favors. They're throwing ten pounds of shit at me when all I want to do is go there, donate, and leave.

My language and explanations were a bit stronger in the complaint I sent to them. I sent a similar complaint a few months back; nobody ever answered. They are bound and determined now to be big, difficult to negotiate, and frustrating.

I agree with you. ActBlue has pretty much gone off my radar. They're not user friendly any more. Some big-time web design firm has sold them a hard-to-deal with bill of goods.

I'm finished with ActBlue.

Please, Smarmie Doofus, consider sending them an insistent and explicit demand to resurrect their user-friendly format.

PS- I also got caught up in the Grayson recurring contribution black hole. As well as many others. I just cancelled all my recurring contributions yesterday (although their form is unclear as to whether this will really happen.) I won't be going back.

[Smarmie Doofus]

4. Thanks. Sorry for your trouble but glad it's not just me.

I'll send them another email but I think it's important.... and probably more effective ....to complain to the client campaigns directly.

If Bernie's people are serious about remaining competitive w. the super-pac candidates they will see to it that Act Blue fixes this NOW.

[NBachers]

5. I was always proud of the 10% tip I included for ActBlue with all my donations.

Now I regret that they've used my generosity to expand into unwieldy bloatware.

I liked them better when they were lean and efficient.

I like your idea of letting candidates know that ActBlue has become a user-unfriendly quagmire with questionable intentions toward their contributors. The campaigns are paying ActBlue for their inflated bureaucracy, too.

[happynewyear]

2. yes

Last night.

Would not recommend it either.

It stores your credit card info. btw.

I couldn't get through so I went directly to berniesanders.com and donated via his website. At least I know that his campaign will get it and I donated via paypal one time only as that is all I can afford.

To hell with Act Blue or whatever it is!

[NBachers]

3. Kicked again to help get this in front of others who are having problems.

It used to be like a friendly, simple little app. Now it's too much time, trouble and self-trumpeting bombast.

I don't really care about my "Dashboard," and the last thing I need is another boondoggle "tutorial."

[Smarmie Doofus]

6. And kicked again. For.....

.... precisely the same reason.

And yeah. Just what I'm looking for when I decide to part with some of my hard earned cash to serve a worthy cause:

a friggin' *tutorial* video.

Grrrrrr......

Still waiting on that email reply from Act Blue, btw. It's Saturday, Jan 2. 930 am est.

[demwing]

7. It's easy - use this link:

https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/duforbernie

Takes you directly to the DU for Bernie account, asks you if you have an Act Blue Express account, does NOT save your credit card info unless you have that Express account, does NOT default to the "Make it Monthly" option (but offers it for those who are looking!), and is really very easy and user friendly.

https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/duforbernie

Bookmark it.

BTW - go to https://berniesanders.com/ and try to donate "directly" to Bernie. It takes you to an Act Blue page...I guess that's what Bernie wants, so if you support him, help him out!

[Smarmie Doofus]

8. Ok Thanks. But I'm not talking about a contribution to Sanders I made thru Act Blue.

According to ACT BLUE I've made three individual contributions to Sanders in the last year. Without a problem. Individual, one time only contributions. As opposed to "monthly automatic deductions".

But I'm talking about a contribution I made to Alan Grayson. This was made two weeks ago... apparently AFTER Act Blue redesigned their website. ( According to another poster in this thread.) One now has to "opt out" of the monthly contribution setting. In other words , it is the default setting. I... and apparently others.... didn't notice the change and inadvertently "opted IN" to monthly automatic contributions. Which we cannot afford.

The worst of it is that there is no response from Act Blue when one emails them asking them to change the setting. ( i.e. to individual, one-time-only) ... as opposed to "automatic monthly contribution&quot . They simply ignore the emails and near as I can tell I will be docked monthly for the Grayson campaign.

I have limited funds.

Therefore I have to try and contact my debit card company today and see if I can get them to deny any further payments to Act Blue. In any form.

I hope they can do that... otherwise I'll have to get a new debit card and spend the next three weeks calling a bunch of companies and agencies who do keep the # on file for automatic deduction, etc. EZ Pass, etc.


If I were the Sanders braintrust.... I'd try to fix this real fast. If they're ain't no way to contribute cash other than thru ACT BLUE.... I'll have to limit my support to feet-on-the-ground type activities.

[Smarmie Doofus]

9. I was able to cancel the recurring monthly contribution.

At last.

I went back to the Act Blue site.... tooled around... for a while and found a tel#.

After listening to Mantovani music for 10 minutes or so I spoke with an actual human who listened to the situation, corrected it in the system, and then sent me an email confirming that it was an individual, one-time contribution.... not a recurring contribution....and my acct. will be billed accordingly.

So, I'm now a happy camper. However: I'm not doing Act Blue anymore. For ANYONE. They still had me in the system this am as "monthly recurring" despite three emails from me to them asking them to change it.

Also... the set-up is a little sleazy. You have to actively OPT-OUT of "monthly recurring" to contribute "one-time only"?

No. I don't think so. That's Act RED, not Act BLUE.