The Times - Subscription cancellation

Newuser1987

Hi all,

I had a phone call from a rep at The Times newspaper saying I had an outstanding balance of £20. Initially I didnt know I had signed up to it but once I asked he said I signed up with the student subscription 3 years ago for £20 per year. I remembered doing this but have probably only been on it a couple of times (more of a guardian reader!).

So I had been paying for a few years without noticing and he said he was calling because my card is out of date so I need to pay as payment was declined. I said I wanted to cancel as I have never used it and he responded saying that the £20 is outstanding and that I have to pay it. I didnt really understand why they have activated the membership prior to taking payment going forward.

I finished the conversion saying that if they want to demand money they need to write to me. I have now received the letter saying I have an outstanding payment of £20. Please call to make payment to ensure your account is up to date and to avoid any further disruption.

Firstly can they activate a subscription before taking payment. Is that just a way of saying I then owe them money. Can I just ignore this or will I get the bailiffs round? :rotfl:

lammy82

When you signed up I guess you agreed to an auto-renewal of the subscription at £20 per year, until you decide to cancel it. So you need to pay what you owe them, and then find out exactly when that covers you to, and get them to confirm that the subscription is then cancelled and will no longer renew.

Newuser1987

lammy82 wrote: »

When you signed up I guess you agreed to an auto-renewal of the subscription at £20 per year, until you decide to cancel it. So you need to pay what you owe them, and then find out exactly when that covers you to, and get them to confirm that the subscription is then cancelled and will no longer renew.

Thank you for the reply. What I dont understand is how they can autonew without taking payment. Surely most subscriptions take payment a week or so before the renewal date and stop the subscription if payment isnt made. So I dont understand how I can owe them.

The same card expired for my netflix subscription. They didnt carry on the services and then start chasing me for money. Just quite surprised a subscription can work that way round.

Greta_Sharbo

Depends what your terms and conditions say.

lammy82

It's up to them, and it's defined in the Terms and Conditions. This way round obviously makes them more money as people are more likely to cancel their subscription if they are prompted to pay before the renewal date.

eddddy

Newuser1987 wrote: »

Surely most subscriptions take payment a week or so before the renewal date and stop the subscription if payment isnt made.

Some subscriptions work like that, others don't.

I guess you can compare it to a restaurant. Some insist on payment before giving you your meal, others give you the meal first and you pay afterwards.

Newuser1987

eddddy wrote: »

Some subscriptions work like that, others don't.

I guess you can compare it to a restaurant. Some insist on payment before giving you your meal, others give you the meal first and you pay afterwards.

Good comparison although they have asked to take payment when the food has been put on the table and I haven't even taken a bite. I have checked and the subscription restarted on the 6th Jan. I will just pay and then cancel. At least I will get some crosswords for a year. I haven't even been a student for 3 years also (probably wont mention that to them!).

agrinnall

It's what's called a Continuous Payment Authority, very common in car insurance but also in plenty of other fields.

giraffe69

I'd take this higher and ask to speak to someone about the subscription. If you haven't had the service and don't want it then whatever the T&C say I would argue.

Greta_Sharbo

giraffe69 wrote: »

I'd take this higher and ask to speak to someone about the subscription. If you haven't had the service and don't want it then whatever the T&C say I would argue.

Not using a service isn't the same as not having it.

Senlac1066

I just called them to cancel (during the trial period). 4 mins on hold, then the guy insisted on asking lots and lots of questions about what I liked and didn't like and was it the cost, and here's how the updates work... Losing the will, to live by now. I said "look, no more chit-chat, just cancel" and he said this would take several minutes, wouldn't I prefer to chat? I said "No, just cancel" so he abruptly put me on hold for 4 mins. Then came back and confirmed I'd been cancelled. Hard going... 10mins altogether. Sort of what I'd expected from a Murdoch rag.