Auto Renew (2 Viewers)

[shadrap]

I know a lot of companies are doing it but IMHO, it is BS. Just renewed for a year. I noticed how easy is to subscribe but then spent 15 minutes trying to stop the auto renew. Instead of a button that says "cancel auto renew", you actually press a button that says "cancel subscription" which on its face doesn't make any sense. It's obviously intentional & I for one think it is a sleazy, improper business tactic.

 

[MTskibum]

Blame the courts and lobbyists.

US moves to ban shady subscription auto-renewals after FTC court loss

Canceling subscriptions should be easy, lawmakers say, reviving FTC fight.

arstechnica.com

Had the court not intervened, the click-to-cancel rule would have taken effect this month, and Democratic Congressmembers Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.), and Chris Deluzio (D-Penn.) suggested it was a shame that American consumers are still stuck jumping through hoops to cancel online subscriptions due to the FTC's "procedural technicalities."

"Subscriptions are Corporate America’s new favorite way to try and rip people off, and it’s driving people crazy that they can’t easily cancel," Deluzio said in a press release. "Canceling subscriptions should not be full of tricks and traps that waste hard-earned time and money—canceling should be just as easy as signing up."

 

[Dezbelief]

If I'm forced to sign up for something I try to locate and turn off the auto renew option right afterwards. It's frustrating a lot times.

 

[glvsav37]

I keep a separate, brightly colored calendar flag in Google cal for anything that is a subscription and when it will auto-renew. This way I can look at the whole month and see what is renewing. I put the item in right after I subscribe to whatever it is, and set the frequency to fall a few days-week before it actually renews.

I esp hate annual renewals bc most of the time. I have long forgotten that I even had the subscription and have stopped using the software, service or whatever months ago. Then it wasn't until I saw the email receipt that it was charged again that I even remember is subscribed to the damn thing in the 1st place.

 

[FarFromHome]

I keep a separate, brightly colored calendar flag in Google cal for anything that is a subscription and when it will auto-renew. This way I can look at the whole month and see what is renewing. I put the item in right after I subscribe to whatever it is, and set the frequency to fall a few days-week before it actually renews.

I esp hate annual renewals bc most of the time. I have long forgotten that I even had the subscription and have stopped using the software, service or whatever months ago. Then it wasn't until I saw the email receipt that it was charged again that I even remember is subscribed to the damn thing in the 1st place.

That's exactly what I do. I'll have a CANCEL PARAMOUNT set on November 20th 2025. It's just hard to remember stuff as u get older. I'm that guy that looks at my calendar everyday. Smh

 

[fruity pebbles]

I usually check to see how to cancel before signing up for something. If it’s a pita I won’t sign up for the service.

 

[Doug B]

Has anyone ever gone to their bank or credit card company and asked them to simply stop paying on a given subscription? My wife signs up for things online from time to time, and some of them have recurring payments that we'd like to ditch. I don't really have enough information to go in to where she subscribed and try to figure out how to unsubscribe ... but I can take our latest monthly statement, highlight the unwanted subscriptions, and ask the bank to reject them. A little overhead (requires an in-person trip to the bank), but I should be able to knock out a few at once.

 

[belljr]

Has anyone ever gone to their bank or credit card company and asked them to simply stop paying on a given subscription? My wife signs up for things online from time to time, and some of them have recurring payments that we'd like to ditch. I don't really have enough information to go in to where she subscribed and try to figure out how to unsubscribe ... but I can take our latest monthly statement, highlight the unwanted subscriptions, and ask the bank to reject them. A little overhead (requires an in-person trip to the bank), but I should be able to knock out a few at once.

Bank might charge you to stop payment and if it's something you signed up for they would say sorry it's not fraud

 

[Doug B]

Bank might charge you to stop payment and if it's something you signed up for they would say sorry it's not fraud

Never been charged to stop payment on things in the past, though it's been a while since I've done that.

There's always the nuclear option, though a PITA: Close your bank account and open a new one. Have to set up a bunch of things all over again from scratch, but if the bank really won't work with someone ... might be the only way.

 

[Sand]

Don't forget the California trick. Cali, for all it's flaws, has a pretty good law around cancellations. There they have to provide a simple way to cancel. This works especially well for places like gyms that want a signed, notarized by a unicorn cancellation document. VPN in to Cali and there is a cancel button.

 

[Gally]

Has anyone ever gone to their bank or credit card company and asked them to simply stop paying on a given subscription? My wife signs up for things online from time to time, and some of them have recurring payments that we'd like to ditch. I don't really have enough information to go in to where she subscribed and try to figure out how to unsubscribe ... but I can take our latest monthly statement, highlight the unwanted subscriptions, and ask the bank to reject them. A little overhead (requires an in-person trip to the bank), but I should be able to knock out a few at once.

Bank might charge you to stop payment and if it's something you signed up for they would say sorry it's not fraud

I would think this could also cause issues with your credit as you are defaulting on a payment that you owe. They could eventually send you to collections and it could damage your credit.

 

[rockaction]

If I'm forced to sign up for something I try to locate and turn off the auto renew option right afterwards. It's frustrating a lot times.

This is my experience also. The worst is free articles where you’re trying to unsubscribe after and it is a freaking half hour to figure out what you need to uncheck. It’s odd that journalism is so completely unethical in how they do it.

New York Times was actually recognized as the worst until people found out how bad they were trying to make it and there was a firestorm. And then on the “other side,” or whatever you want to call it (there’s a lot of work being done here with these terms and assumptions), The Free Press was ruining my inbox until I sat for twenty or so minutes and figured it out while I was indisposed one night. I got my inbox box.

 

[Doug B]

I would think this could also cause issues with your credit as you are defaulting on a payment that you owe. They could eventually send you to collections and it could damage your credit.

Ending a subscription, especially an open-ended one (month-to-month, not, say, a year term)? That would surprise me, but I could be wrong. You're not defaulting, you're declining a service.

 

[Gally]

I would think this could also cause issues with your credit as you are defaulting on a payment that you owe. They could eventually send you to collections and it could damage your credit.

Ending a subscription, especially an open-ended one (month-to-month, not, say, a year term)? That would surprise me, but I could be wrong. You're not defaulting, you're declining a service.

It sounded like you were telling the bank to just stop payment. That doesn't cancel anything. That just stops payment of the bill. The bill still has to be paid if you signed up for the subscription. Maybe i am misinterpreting what you are doing. I would think if you just go through the bank to stop payment without cancelling the subscription you would still be on the hook for the subscription.

 

[B Maverick]

I WANT TO QUIT THE GYM

I haven't had many subscriptions outside of streaming services or something through my apple account. From what I have seen, you cancel the subscription and it runs through the paid period and then its done. No need to cancel the "autorenew". But maybe I am missing something?

I guess this is why the Rocket Money app seems to be so popular, or at least being heavily promoted. Track subscriptions and make it easy to cancel? Supposedly.

 

[Joe Bryant]

I agree, too many times it's difficult to stop the renewal.

We put a lot of thought into how we did this for Footballguys. It's never ever worth the negatives of making it difficult.

We also do the thing making sure we notify people in advance of a billing. I see lots of companies that seem to skirt the rules there.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

One has to wonder how much money is being wasted by people no longer wanting or using these. Of course I'm sure that was the intent of auto renew.

 

[Joe Bryant]

One has to wonder how much money is being wasted by people no longer wanting or using these. Of course I'm sure that was the intent of auto renew.

I guess anything is possible by some business people. But I don't personally know anyone who has a subscription business with that intent.

 

[shadrap]

agree, too many times it's difficult to stop the renewal.

We put a lot of thought into how we did this for Footballguys. It's never ever worth the negatives of making it difficult.

We also do the thing making sure we notify people in advance of a billing. I see lots of companies that seem to skirt the rules there.

so why not just have a box "cancel auto renewal" instead of "cancel subscription"? when I read cancel subscription I'm saying no, I want my subscription for the year; I'm not pressing that. It's just confusing is all I'm saying when it could be in simple, plain english.

 

[shadrap]

One has to wonder how much money is being wasted by people no longer wanting or using these. Of course I'm sure that was the intent of auto renew.

Guy dies. Kids don't get around to dad's paperwork for 2 to 6 months or longer. It's a shady practice that has gotten out of hand. Takes 2 minutes to subscribe & 15 minutes to figure how to cancel auto renewal.

 

[Sand]

One has to wonder how much money is being wasted by people no longer wanting or using these. Of course I'm sure that was the intent of auto renew.

Guy dies. Kids don't get around to dad's paperwork for 2 to 6 months or longer. It's a shady practice that has gotten out of hand. Takes 2 minutes to subscribe & 15 minutes to figure how to cancel auto renewal.

Cancelling the deceased credit cards is the first thing to do. And hopefully the deceased didn't hook anything straight into the bank account. I refuse to have anything that does that. ATT wanted that for my internet and I'm paying extra so they they aren't drafting straight from the bank. It's a ****ty practice.

 

[Ron Swanson]

Any services I need (or convince myself I need) that require a bank auto-ACH I set up a separate bank account for them. Easy to do on USAA and that way I have complete control. Perfect for gym memberships, etc. that try to make cancelation tough. There's a reason they don't allow cc's and it ain't the processing fees.

 

[Runkle]

Another option is to use privacy.com and create a temporary credit card linked to a real one. I believe it's still free. You can set up a credit card as 'single-use' (or specify a limit over time ($30 per month or $100 per year or whatever)). The expiration date is always a couple of years ahead, even if the card is single-use, so the service you're subscribing for will have a credit card on file, but, it won't work unless you re-authorize it.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

One has to wonder how much money is being wasted by people no longer wanting or using these. Of course I'm sure that was the intent of auto renew.

I guess anything is possible by some business people. But I don't personally know anyone who has a subscription business with that intent.

I can believe that you don’t know anyone who does it, but I’m sure that a lot of businesses are built on the expectation that people going to forget to cancel. A lot of these things have no reason to to auto renew other than that. Of course, for a lot of businesses, I’m sure it is helps with keeping revenue steady to make sure they can maintain operations, so it’s not like they are all just evil cash grabs but I have to assume that they put in the auto renew knowing that a lot of people will just forget about it.

 

[Navin Johnson]

I just cancel subscription right after signing up. You still get the year/month you have already paid thru.

 

[Mrs. Rannous]

Has anyone ever gone to their bank or credit card company and asked them to simply stop paying on a given subscription? My wife signs up for things online from time to time, and some of them have recurring payments that we'd like to ditch. I don't really have enough information to go in to where she subscribed and try to figure out how to unsubscribe ... but I can take our latest monthly statement, highlight the unwanted subscriptions, and ask the bank to reject them. A little overhead (requires an in-person trip to the bank), but I should be able to knock out a few at once.

I was paying one using PayPal. I just canceled the thing this month. I think it's gonna work! I have no idea how it got set for autopay in the first place. It's about like the hoops to avoid signing up for Amazon Prime. Ick.

 

[Mrs. Rannous]

I would think if you just go through the bank to stop payment without cancelling the subscription you would still be on the hook for the subscription.

I tried. There's no phone number, website, or any other way to contact the publication. It's a reputable one, too. The only way I could find was to end any contact. I'm hoping to start fresh once they stop bothering me.

 

[Dezbelief]

Has anyone ever gone to their bank or credit card company and asked them to simply stop paying on a given subscription? My wife signs up for things online from time to time, and some of them have recurring payments that we'd like to ditch. I don't really have enough information to go in to where she subscribed and try to figure out how to unsubscribe ... but I can take our latest monthly statement, highlight the unwanted subscriptions, and ask the bank to reject them. A little overhead (requires an in-person trip to the bank), but I should be able to knock out a few at once.

I was paying one using PayPal. I just canceled the thing this month. I think it's gonna work! I have no idea how it got set for autopay in the first place. It's about like the hoops to avoid signing up for Amazon Prime. Ick.

Often the auto renew is in the terms you have to accept to get the subscription started. It's a scammy practice.

 

[Joe Bryant]

One has to wonder how much money is being wasted by people no longer wanting or using these. Of course I'm sure that was the intent of auto renew.

Guy dies. Kids don't get around to dad's paperwork for 2 to 6 months or longer. It's a shady practice that has gotten out of hand. Takes 2 minutes to subscribe & 15 minutes to figure how to cancel auto renewal.

I don't know what other companies do. When this happens at FBG, we refund in full any subscription in that situation. And I send the person a note. And offer the person who contacted us the opportunity to gift the subscription to someone if they'd like.

 

[rockaction]

I would think if you just go through the bank to stop payment without cancelling the subscription you would still be on the hook for the subscription.

I tried. There's no phone number, website, or any other way to contact the publication. It's a reputable one, too. The only way I could find was to end any contact. I'm hoping to start fresh once they stop bothering me.

I am not surprised. I got a clothing item that was about $130. I returned it with an RMA and I never got the refund. I wrote email after email to the company and called them at least ten times. Nobody was ever there and nobody responded. Nobody really worked there.

It was insane and I’m not a complainer about products, but they almost got referred to the BBB. In effect their error or lack of customer service (absolutely zero) seemed planned or, at best, totally disregarded any sense of propriety or ethics. I’m angered just typing it.

It was a clothing line that Nordstrom and others sell, so it wasn’t fly-by-night but I guess it was in one respect. Businesses cannot keep acting like this or the citizenry gets dispirited and acts accordingly. There should not be this mentality that however the “standard practice” or “industry standard” is defined means that it’s okay to do stuff like this because companies will just define it downward. Bad move. Bad omen. Doesn’t portend well for all of us in a lot of ways.

 

[Mister CIA]

I would think if you just go through the bank to stop payment without cancelling the subscription you would still be on the hook for the subscription.

I tried. There's no phone number, website, or any other way to contact the publication. It's a reputable one, too. The only way I could find was to end any contact. I'm hoping to start fresh once they stop bothering me.

I am not surprised. I got a clothing item that was about $130. I returned it with an RMA and I never got the refund. I wrote email after email to the company and called them at least ten times. Nobody was ever there and nobody responded. Nobody really worked there.

It was insane and I’m not a complainer about products, but they almost got referred to the BBB. In effect their error or lack of customer service (absolutely zero) seemed planned or, at best, totally disregarded any sense of propriety or ethics. I’m angered just typing it.

It was a clothing line that Nordstrom and others sell, so it wasn’t fly-by-night but I guess it was in one respect. Businesses cannot keep acting like this or the citizenry gets dispirited and acts accordingly. There should not be this mentality that however the “standard practice” or “industry standard” is defined means that it’s okay to do stuff like this because companies will just define it downward. Bad move. Bad omen. Doesn’t portend well for all of us in a lot of ways.

It's as if there's no one representing our interests.

 

[rockaction]

I would think if you just go through the bank to stop payment without cancelling the subscription you would still be on the hook for the subscription.

I tried. There's no phone number, website, or any other way to contact the publication. It's a reputable one, too. The only way I could find was to end any contact. I'm hoping to start fresh once they stop bothering me.

I am not surprised. I got a clothing item that was about $130. I returned it with an RMA and I never got the refund. I wrote email after email to the company and called them at least ten times. Nobody was ever there and nobody responded. Nobody really worked there.

It was insane and I’m not a complainer about products, but they almost got referred to the BBB. In effect their error or lack of customer service (absolutely zero) seemed planned or, at best, totally disregarded any sense of propriety or ethics. I’m angered just typing it.

It was a clothing line that Nordstrom and others sell, so it wasn’t fly-by-night but I guess it was in one respect. Businesses cannot keep acting like this or the citizenry gets dispirited and acts accordingly. There should not be this mentality that however the “standard practice” or “industry standard” is defined means that it’s okay to do stuff like this because companies will just define it downward. Bad move. Bad omen. Doesn’t portend well for all of us in a lot of ways.

It's as if there's no one representing our interests.

I’d give you an emoji but the don’t have one that conveys a tri-corner hat in spirit one, and that kind of hat took on a new meaning once the Pacific NW and Paul Revere and the Raiders sang “The Great Airplane Strike” in ‘67,

And this LA flyway is going to be my home
Mmmmhmmm

 

[sports_fan]

I'm in the camp that cancels immediately after signing up whenever possible. Still, Apple just about got me after getting a Mac mini. It came with 3 months of free TV, Music, and Arcade. If you don't cancel, it gets billed after the free trial period. If you cancel early, it ends your subscription immediately. So, if you want to use the full 3 free months and not get billed afterward, you have to pay close attention to the timing. I canceled after about 2 months to not risk it although there were a couple shows on Apple TV I was still interested in checking out.

 

[rockaction]

I would think if you just go through the bank to stop payment without cancelling the subscription you would still be on the hook for the subscription.

I tried. There's no phone number, website, or any other way to contact the publication. It's a reputable one, too. The only way I could find was to end any contact. I'm hoping to start fresh once they stop bothering me.

I am not surprised. I got a clothing item that was about $130. I returned it with an RMA and I never got the refund. I wrote email after email to the company and called them at least ten times. Nobody was ever there and nobody responded. Nobody really worked there.

It was insane and I’m not a complainer about products, but they almost got referred to the BBB. In effect their error or lack of customer service (absolutely zero) seemed planned or, at best, totally disregarded any sense of propriety or ethics. I’m angered just typing it.

It was a clothing line that Nordstrom and others sell, so it wasn’t fly-by-night but I guess it was in one respect. Businesses cannot keep acting like this or the citizenry gets dispirited and acts accordingly. There should not be this mentality that however the “standard practice” or “industry standard” is defined means that it’s okay to do stuff like this because companies will just define it downward. Bad move. Bad omen. Doesn’t portend well for all of us in a lot of ways.

It's as if there's no one representing our interests.

I’d give you an emoji but they don’t have one that conveys a tri-corner hat in spirit, which took on a new meaning anyway once it migrated to the Pacific NW and Paul Revere and the Raiders sang “The Great Airplane Strike” in ‘67.

If I can't leave here, I just might stay
And that LA flyway’s going to be my home
Mmmmhmmm

The Great Airplane Strike

Paul Revere & The Raiders, Mark Lindsay · The Spirit of '67 · Song · 1966

open.spotify.com

We need to bring back the warranty of merchantability to our products. They’re shoddy, cheap, and they don’t last anymore. No pride. No justice. Just disposable stuff with a fake customer service center backing it up. A microcosm of an attitude and power hierarchy that pits one against millions. Awesome system you’ve got, sure would be a shame if something happened to it.

 

[phandango]

I keep a separate, brightly colored calendar flag in Google cal for anything that is a subscription and when it will auto-renew. This way I can look at the whole month and see what is renewing. I put the item in right after I subscribe to whatever it is, and set the frequency to fall a few days-week before it actually renews.

I esp hate annual renewals bc most of the time. I have long forgotten that I even had the subscription and have stopped using the software, service or whatever months ago. Then it wasn't until I saw the email receipt that it was charged again that I even remember is subscribed to the damn thing in the 1st place.

That's exactly what I do. I'll have a CANCEL PARAMOUNT set on November 20th 2025. It's just hard to remember stuff as u get older. I'm that guy that looks at my calendar everyday. Smh

My Reminders app is half full of cancellation reminders. If I sign up for something that auto-renews, I put in a reminder for a few days before renewal. If I book a hotel or Airbnb, I put in a reminder for a few days before the cancellation period ends. It's ridiculous, but I'm too addled to remember to do this stuff without constant reminders.

The flaw in all of this: having a significant other who signs up for crap but doesn't tell you.

 

[phandango]

By the way, I use VPNs when we travel outside the U.S. (because we like to unwind at night by watching TV, and VPNs allow you to watch your TV subscriptions overseas). A few years ago I signed up for ExpressVPN. When we got back from our trip, I cancelled it. Some months later, I noticed I was still being charged. That's when I realized there are a TON of complaints about that site.

There's a button that says, "Turn off automatic renewal." When you click that, it asks, "Are you sure?" So you have to click, "Turn off automatic renewal" again. The next page says, "You will get an email before your subscription expires in case you want to renew." But you're not done yet! You have to click "Turn off automatic renewal" a THIRD time before it officially cancels. So I ended up paying for months of service I didn't use because I reached the fake-out page and thought I had cancelled. (My fault for not noticing the charge on the credit card, which I check every month but somehow missed.) It's completely shady and designed to trick people.

 

[QUEZILLA]

I found out at the beginning of the year I was subbing to 2 Netflix accounts for like a year... They only refunded me for a few months. I tried disputing it with cc, but I don't think they ever refunded. It was all supposed to be so much easier when we cut the cord, now I have like 20 logins and memberships I forget about... At least Google and Amazon make it a little easier managing subs.