Automatic Renewal Billing a Consumer Ripoff!
Many subscriptions, online services and other services have an auto billing renewal program which is anti consumer. These should be state and federal laws to prohibt these actions. Basically the company who has your account automatically renews additional tyears every time the contract is up. This was they can auto bill your credit card. In some cases they can even bill a closed credit card! For example Yahoo Greeting has a online greeting card service. This service costs $13.99 per year. When the one year term is up you get an email telling you that to cancel this service you must call an 800 number. I called and was on hold for 15 minutes. This tactic is so you give us and dont cancel the service. It can run for years. If you delete the email telling you it will auto renew, it will continue to renew unless you see the bill on your credit card statement and have it disputed. If you cna sign up with Yahoo Greetings online why can’t you cancel online? There can only be one reason. To make it harder for you to cancel. Imagine if at sign up you had to call and be on hold for 15 minutes. Nobody would sign up. Magazine companies do these auto renewals all the time. I try not to have my credit card on file directly with magazine companies and generally try to avoid these auto renewals if at all possible. Sometimes it is unavoidable. Watch those credit card statements and dispute any unknown charges on your credit card statements. I can only feel that these policies are against best interest of the consumer. I will probably followup this article in the future with updates
June 25, 2007 at 12:13 am
I just emailed my state legislators about this very thing. I signed up for Match.com and opted for a one month membership at $35 versus $16 per month if you opt for 6 months. It was because I wanted to try it before buying a longer term. Well, one month went by and I chose to not renew (so I thought). Today I see a charge on my credit card and I go back and see that they now have charged me 3 times. The first was when I signed up, the second occurred at the end of my first month and I thought it was the original charge going through, forgetting that I had already paid. So, I spent time searching and searching for a way to contact them. I eventually used a form to send them a note that I didn’t want auto-renew and….well, no refunds according to them. I went back in under an assumed name to see how the auto-renewal is disclosed, and needless to say, it isn’t very prominent.
June 26, 2007 at 7:26 pm
You mention some very good points. These companies try to make signing up easy and cancelling harder. In spreaking to the various reps on the phone, they know what is going on. If you sign up for a service online, you should be abe to cancel that service the same way. These companies let you signup online so b making you call and wait on hold, voice mail hell etc you give up and continue to get billed for a product or service that you dont wan’t.
Robert Weisberg
September 21, 2007 at 9:56 pm
We need an automatic contract renewal law for the consumer here in Florida. Every company should have to give a consumer notice if they are going to automatically renew their contract. Autmatically renewing a contract without notification should be illegal and unenforcable in every state.
I signed up for a 2 year contract with Safe Touch Security here in Jacksonville FL and they will not let me out of the contract because they automatically renewed me without telling me or notifying me. This is a dishonest and unfair business practice to the consumer.
September 23, 2007 at 4:52 pm
I live in florida and agree that every state should have laws about self renewing contracts. The security alarm industry has this as a means to keep you paying a higher price for the alarm monitoring which is a huge profit and where most of the companies make their money.
September 26, 2007 at 5:15 pm
Someone needs to consider whether the practice already is unenforceable under the Statute of Frauds (which exists in similar forms in every state). This requires that any contract that can’t be performed in one year be in writing and signed by the parties. Doesn’t an automatic renewal de facto require performance beyond one year?
I had this problem with a travel discount .com. They reversed the charges, but I reminded them of the Statute of Frauds.
October 26, 2007 at 1:57 pm
[...] up and the start of the month and they would probably cancel everything. This should be illegal. Previously I wrote about self renewing contracts. Health clubs are notorious for this practice. This is something that needs to be on the state [...]
November 21, 2007 at 8:39 pm
To John,
Match.com did the same thing to me and I found their customer service number, here it is if anyone is interested 1.800.926.2824.
I tried originally using the cancellation prompt, but that prompt only lead to dead silence, which gave the impression that I’d been hung up on. I called back and this time went through the generally questions prompt, I’d even go through the subscription prompt because more than likely there is only one room which houses reps and they can handle all types of calls, the prompts are just used for screening.
I informed the rep that I wanted my money because I only signed up for a month’s subscription. She tried to inform me of what was in the contract, and I told her I thought that the contract was very deceptive. Most people don’t have time to follow up on their subscriptions and if a person has signed up for only a certain amount of time then the contract should be that straightforward. I said automatic renewal should be considered fraud.
They gave me my money back and I’m sure they’ll do the same for you if you start talking fraud.
December 21, 2007 at 12:55 am
I have a contract with an alarm company that has automatically renewed my contract. They are not letting me out of the contract. Can any one out there advise me as to what recourse I might have?
Karen Matz
December 21, 2007 at 7:41 am
Alarm companies do this all the time. The monitoring of the alarm is where all the money is made. The contacts usually state that you need to cancel them in writing prior to their auto renewal. Hopefully it is only a one year renew. Maybe if they defaulted to you on another part of the contract you could take them to small claims. Or could could file a number of formal complaints. Maybe they will let you out to get rid of you.
Rob
December 30, 2007 at 10:12 pm
I would like to start a group of consumers in Florida who want stronger laws protecting us against company’s who do this. Karen 904-220-5283
December 30, 2007 at 10:13 pm
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO JOIN ME IN THE FIGHT FOR STRONGER CONSUMER LAWS, PLEASE JOIN ME, 904-220-5283
April 7, 2008 at 2:28 pm
actually, for as long as they give an option, so that customers can choose whether they want to use auto renewal feature or not, there should not be a trouble, but you are correct, that such option should be under the law for consumers to be even more well protected.
April 14, 2008 at 7:55 pm
A MUST-READ FOR ANYONE SCREWED OVER BY MATCH.COM
I just experienced what many of you have shared: the highly anti-consumer “auto-renewal” feature that supposedly appears in match.com’s contract. Following lollipop’s advice to John, I, too, did the following:
-Called the following number
1.800.926.2824
-Selected 1 for general inquiries, NOT the cancellation prompt, or anything related to complaints
-Got through to Kelly, a rep who politely stated that the auto-renewal policy was part of the contract to which I agreed
-Made Kelly aware that I am a legal assistant for a major local firm and after discussing the “policy” with my lawyer friends, was urged to take legal action over fraud
- She reiterated the agreeed-upon policy but did say that she would speak to her supervisor about my demand for a refund
- I also added that I want something in writing to assure me that I will not be billed in the future after canceling my account
- Kelly returned and said that she would refund my auto-renewal fee in 72 hours but could not provide a written assurance. I could write to the following address and/or email and try there:
match.com
customer care
po 45272
dallas, texas
75225
executiveteam@match.com
So…I’m not in the clear, yet. I will update to let you know if I see the auto-renewal fee refunded on my VISA statement. The point is that if this works, we have more power than we think. We can get our money back by not backing down and do our best to inform others to stay the hell away from this scam.
Perhaps, we can also suggest places for lonely souls to connect online without paying a cent.
April 21, 2008 at 1:36 am
(Follow up to previous post) Fought match.com and won.
They refunded the renewal fee the very same day. Dropping the word “fraud” and threatening to expose their anti-consumer practices seemed to work. Using a VERY stern tone and demanding to speak to the supervisor if the rep couldn’t do anything didn’t hurt either.
Remember, no matter what crap they feed you about wanting to provide convenience, putting the customer’s interests first, don’t be fooled into thinking they care in the least. These are manipulative, unfeeling vultures of human desperation. They don’t expect you to stand up to them.
Best of luck to you all.
May 1, 2008 at 10:49 pm
I emailed their legal department and was able to get a refund with roughly the following email:
I opened an account with match.com as x. The website said my account would expire x and indicated no further action was necessary to make this happen. A deduction for services incurred x seems fraudulent given there was no intention or understanding I authorized renewal. Further, the subscription information accessible on the website led me to believe that my subscription would be terminated April 28th, and thus no further action was required to avoid further costs. I request the immediate refund of the x back to my account.
May 22, 2008 at 9:31 pm
Yahoo Music has the same automatic renewal problem. Without notice, they charged the fee on my credit card. I have sent emalils to solve this issue, but they really have trickly tactics to disguise consmers. They call it “Customer Care Department” but I was treated disrespectfully when I called them. The final answer from them; they can not refund the fee. They said that they sent a notice by email, but there is no trace of an email about renewal. It’s a great rip off business with a big corporation name.
August 14, 2008 at 9:20 pm
I am currently fighting with an alarm monitoring company regarding their automatic renewal terms of 2 years! This icannot possibly be legal!
August 31, 2008 at 6:40 pm
Many of these alarm contract self renew which most consumers are unaware of. It is a scam to make sure you have to buy monitoring service from them. the real money is not the alarm systems, its the monitoring charges.
September 11, 2008 at 6:47 pm
I just had the same thing happen to me with match.com. I spoke to a customer service rep and she said the best she could do it refund a portion of the charge. I asked her for a contact in their legal dept. She said they do not have a legal dept and gave me an email address.
Two things need to change:
1. There should be an option upon signing up that lets the consumer choose “auto” pay on or off.
2. Match.com should send out a simple email notice letting the consumer know their subscription is about to expire and will be AUTOMATICALLY billed on XX-XX-XXXX.
I’m going to check with FTC and find out about automatic renewel. Seems like total fraud!
September 25, 2008 at 3:05 am
The alarm company got me today. I emailed Dave Ramsey to see what he would do. Amazingly, I came home to find these two items in my mailbox:
1) A credit card company – whom I canceled a few years ago, happened to send me my brand new ‘replacement’ card today with a totally new number on it!!!
2) (This is the kicker) A finance company with whom I have a loan that is paying down aggressively, sent a letter stating a new ‘due date’ of 20 days further than it currently is (now is on the 20th, they are changing it to the 10th of the following month, and it will stay the 10th for the remainder of the loan payout). The letter clearly states: a) moving the date will give customers a better service, and b) by paying on the later date (the 10th of the following month) will accrue more interest charges to compound. So it looks like they are just giving consumers a legal ‘late payment’ date without coming out and saying that’s what it is.
Will the underhanded, unethical folks running these scams ever figure out it isn’t worth this much effort but for just so long? To underestimate the intelligence of their customers, past and present, is amazing me more every day.
December 3, 2008 at 3:20 pm
Same thing happened to me with Meridian Business Centers. They auto renewed a 12 month service without informing me or even letting me know the service was up for renewal. Now when I try to cancel because of economic difficulties I find out I am 2 months into a new contract and have to pay off 10 months of service to get out of it.
The irony is I had a great experience with them up until then and would have likely done business with them again in the future when things improved. They could have had a lifetime customer. Instead they rip me off and burn a bridge.
What a wasted opportunity, they could have kept me on the mailing list, kept me themselves in my mind and when I was looking for that service again I would have gone straight to them.
It’s a wonder these kinds of places can even stay in business.
August 19, 2009 at 6:53 pm
Any progess on having florida laws ?
Any body has consulted with Attorney or Consumer affair dept ? Let me know, i am also victim of Auto-Renewal. Security Network , alarm company in florida, renewd my contract for THREE years without my knowledge about 7 months back ? Now i can cancel, they are asking full amount or another victim as replacement.
This is unethical and unfair business practices.
Yes Karen >>> >>>>> We need an automatic contract renewal law for the consumer here in Florida. Every company should have to give a consumer notice if they are going to automatically renew their contract. Autmatically renewing a contract without notification should be illegal and unenforcable in every state.