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Or PayPal. When NYT wouldn't let me cancel without a phone call, I simply canceled the sub via PayPal. They sent me nasty collection agency-style "your account

Or PayPal. When NYT wouldn't let me cancel without a phone call, I simply canceled the sub via PayPal. They sent me nasty collection agency-style "your account is past due" emails before finally canceling, 2 months after I stopped paying them. I now pay careful attention to cancellation procedures when signing up for stuff.

vitorfs 9y ago
I had the same issue with NYT. I find it terrible services that doesn't allow you to cancel subscription without talking to someone. PayPal is a great option for services that support it. At least you can cancel whenever you want. One of the banks I work with let you create a virtual credit card number associated with your physical credit card. You can remove it and create a new one at any time, without having to request a new physical card. So I try to use it strategically nowadays. In the worst case, I just cancel the virtual card.
Terr_ 9y ago
Bojack Horseman had a whole episode partly about the lengths newspapers will go to to keep you from cancelling your subscription. The person on the phone ended up being a ridiculously empathetic and impromptu therapist for most of the episode, but here's the punchline: https://youtu.be/Ml94NgOFxxE?t=1m22s https://youtu.be/Ml94NgOFxxE?t=1m22s
distances 9y ago
> When NYT wouldn't let me cancel without a phone call, I simply canceled the sub via PayPal. They sent me nasty collection agency-style "your account is past due" emails before finally canceling, 2 months after I stopped paying them. I don't know how widespread problem this is, but definitely affects Germany too: companies have asymmetric requirements for signup and cancellation. We should get legislation that lets consumers cancel with the same method they used to subscribe. In Germany companies won't accept non-payment as cancellation though, and will send your bill to collections.

vitorfs 9y ago

I had the same issue with NYT. I find it terrible services that doesn't allow you to cancel subscription without talking to someone. PayPal is a great option for services that support it. At least you can cancel whenever you want. One of the banks I work with let you create a virtual credit card number associated with your physical credit card. You can remove it and create a new one at any time, without having to request a new physical card. So I try to use it strategically nowadays. In the worst case, I just cancel the virtual card.

Terr_ 9y ago

Bojack Horseman had a whole episode partly about the lengths newspapers will go to to keep you from cancelling your subscription. The person on the phone ended up being a ridiculously empathetic and impromptu therapist for most of the episode, but here's the punchline: https://youtu.be/Ml94NgOFxxE?t=1m22s https://youtu.be/Ml94NgOFxxE?t=1m22s

distances 9y ago

> When NYT wouldn't let me cancel without a phone call, I simply canceled the sub via PayPal. They sent me nasty collection agency-style "your account is past due" emails before finally canceling, 2 months after I stopped paying them. I don't know how widespread problem this is, but definitely affects Germany too: companies have asymmetric requirements for signup and cancellation. We should get legislation that lets consumers cancel with the same method they used to subscribe. In Germany companies won't accept non-payment as cancellation though, and will send your bill to collections.