Subscriptions

wendyhuggins1

Hi. I maybe late to this party but…….

Is anyone looking into the way companies sell their Apps….??

Im talking about when you are offered a weeks or months trial. So you sign up, pay a nominal fee. But in the small print T&C’s you are automatically enrolled into a monthly subscription at a much much higher price…if you don’t cancel. 

IMHO they are miss selling an offer and are relying on you to forget to cancel the subscription or make it very difficult to cancel it…

Surely when they offer a weeks trial. It should be just that…. Then if you wish to continue you have to contact them to set this up. 

But they advertise these offers for unsuspecting customers to trial and then BAM they have your details and continue to take your money..!!!

I have been caught out a few times. But no more..!! 

However there will be millions of people forgetting and the company will 
be raking  it in and the customer isn’t even using the
App..?? 

soolin

I'm not sure what there is to look into regarding trials? As long as the trial sign up is clear that membership continues at a paid for rate, then surely it is buyer error rather than mis selling?

You say you've been caught out 'a few times' which is unusual, as I suspect a fair few people miss the first one, perhaps if they are new to apps or subscriptions, but are more cautious going forward. If someone worries that they may forget then perhaps a diary note or reminder on their phone - or just cancel the day after taking the trial as most allow you to continue the trial even if you cancel it quickly.

I took a really cheap 1 year tastecard deal last September -I think it was  mentioned on here, I made a diary note for 6 weeks before trial  ends to cancel, but in fact I have already cancelled it and my 1 year is still running.

flaneurs_lobster

Not exactly a new phenomenon, free trial subscriptions that morph into paid-for subscriptions if you fail to cancel have been a thing for decades - remember that was how Reader's Digest used to trap their punters.

What's changed is the Internet - the near-ubiquity of offers being advertised on social media streams and email, the ease of signing up for these deals - and often the product itself is supplied online too.

So much simpler than having to spot the advertisement in the magazine and then having to send off the coupon with your postal order and then wait for your thing to arrive by post.

Don't want to sound too smug, I've just managed to have an annual subscription to Which? renew on me for £££ that last year cost me about thruppence. I was certain that I had made a diary note to cancel the thing with 2 weeks to run....

As ever, Buyer Beware.

BridgetTheCat

You can cancel auto renewal immediately after you sign up in most cases. I just regard it as part of the signup process now.

MattMattMattUK

wendyhuggins1 said:

Hi. I maybe late to this party but…….

Is anyone looking into the way companies sell their Apps….??

Im talking about when you are offered a weeks or months trial. So you sign up, pay a nominal fee. But in the small print T&C’s you are automatically enrolled into a monthly subscription at a much much higher price…if you don’t cancel. 

I have never seen it hidden in the small print, in my experience it is always very clear, to the point that if I do not want to keep the service I pop a calendar reminder in to cancel it.

wendyhuggins1 said:

IMHO they are miss selling an offer and are relying on you to forget to cancel the subscription or make it very difficult to cancel it…

Trying to claim it is mis selling would be a huge stretch even by the most flexible definition. I agree that it should be easier to cancel, personally I like the idea of the draft proposal from a few years ago that it should take no more effort to cancel than it takes to sign up, that all services should be cancellable online and that it should take a maximum of ten clicks, but that is not really the issue in question at the moment.

wendyhuggins1 said:

Surely when they offer a weeks trial. It should be just that…. Then if you wish to continue you have to contact them to set this up. 

But they advertise these offers for unsuspecting customers to trial and then BAM they have your details and continue to take your money..!!!

I would hardly say it is unsuspecting customers, more like lack of effort and/or care by the person not reading what they are signing up to.

wendyhuggins1 said:

I have been caught out a few times. But no more..!! 

Just set a calendar note to cancel, or cancel straight away, almost all allow a cancelled trial period to work until the end of the trial.

wendyhuggins1 said:

However there will be millions of people forgetting and the company will 

be raking  it in and the customer isn’t even using the
App..?? 

Who is at fault for signing up to something then not bothering to use or cancel it...

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

BridgetTheCat said:

You can cancel auto renewal immediately after you sign up in most cases. I just regard it as part of the signup process now.

This, I've use a few free trial via Apple and simply cancel straight away (or when I've decided the App isn't suitable for what I want) and the free trial has run it's course and then the subscription expired. 

MyRealNameToo

BridgetTheCat said:

You can cancel auto renewal immediately after you sign up in most cases. I just regard it as part of the signup process now.

It depends, certainly things bought via the Apple AppStore its great to do this because you still get the rest of your free trial, or if you have already paid then whatever the paid period was for so you dont lose anything. With some others though cancelling the trial/subscription has immediate effect so sign up now, cancel now and now you cannot access it. 

There was discussion of legislation being introduced to require companies to advise you in advance of any renewal but its unclear how this would operate with international firms who may not be subject to UK law and the possibilities of contracts to be constructed such that the free trial doesnt "renew" into a paid for contract but you enrol for the year to start with but have a cancellation period in the first X days/weeks

Ultimately if cancelling results in an immediate cancellation then use your diary. Probably also investigate how you cancel before the diary notification comes up as you dont want to find at 11pm on the last day of the sub that you have to cancel by phone and their call centre closed at 9pm

sheramber

I think the point the OP is making is signing up for a trial but not realising/ noticing/ reading that it is  part of a subscription.

There is only one person responsible for that.