5 ms·

In the interests of reaching a point of agreement, I concur that they could put, in or next to that initial wording, something like "early cancellation fees may

In the interests of reaching a point of agreement, I concur that they could put, in or next to that initial wording, something like "early cancellation fees may apply". But an annual plan really is that. They are telling you pretty clearly* what you're buying; the fact that there's a way to bail out half way for less is an advance on that position. * though as I said in the other reply, "yearly" would be better

civilized 5y ago
These four words are clear enough to be legally defensible, but they are the absolute minimum and they are designed to be the absolute minimum. They want to maximize conversion even if it traps people who didn't understand in good faith what they were buying. It isn't hard to provide a complete explanation of what happens if you go past the trial period and want to cancel. All they have to say is, "if you don't cancel after the trial period, you are obligated to pay X over the next 12 months. Early cancellation is possible for a fee of half the remaining balance. For example, if you cancel immediately after the trial period your early cancellation fee will be X/2." There's plenty of space to feature this explanation prominently. We all know why they don't. It's to trap people. Many subscription plans work this way but it's no excuse. It's scumbag behavior. The fact that it's so common is just one of the many reasons why I believe the world is run by sociopaths.
- unfocussed_mike 5y ago
  > ... why I believe the world is run by sociopaths. Finally a point on which we agree. On average I suspect it is.
Closi 5y ago
> I concur that they could put, in or next to that initial wording, something like "early cancellation fees may apply". Again, this wording seems unnecessarily soft to me - the inclusion of 'may' adds ambiguity to make the user think that there might not be exit fees - it should really be "early cancellation fees will apply". Better yet, you could give the cost: "Early cancellation fees of 50% of the remainder of the year will apply".
- unfocussed_mike 5y ago
  Fair point, though at that stage, early cancellation only may apply, because you can back out of the trial on/before seven days. Early cancellation fees will apply after the trial, is the wording that is the clearest, I guess. This is a really interesting exploration of word choice though. I must say, I had not considered that the word "annual" could be perceived to be unwieldy in this situation, for example.

civilized 5y ago

These four words are clear enough to be legally defensible, but they are the absolute minimum and they are designed to be the absolute minimum. They want to maximize conversion even if it traps people who didn't understand in good faith what they were buying. It isn't hard to provide a complete explanation of what happens if you go past the trial period and want to cancel. All they have to say is, "if you don't cancel after the trial period, you are obligated to pay X over the next 12 months. Early cancellation is possible for a fee of half the remaining balance. For example, if you cancel immediately after the trial period your early cancellation fee will be X/2." There's plenty of space to feature this explanation prominently. We all know why they don't. It's to trap people. Many subscription plans work this way but it's no excuse. It's scumbag behavior. The fact that it's so common is just one of the many reasons why I believe the world is run by sociopaths.

unfocussed_mike 5y ago
> ... why I believe the world is run by sociopaths. Finally a point on which we agree. On average I suspect it is.

Closi 5y ago

> I concur that they could put, in or next to that initial wording, something like "early cancellation fees may apply". Again, this wording seems unnecessarily soft to me - the inclusion of 'may' adds ambiguity to make the user think that there might not be exit fees - it should really be "early cancellation fees will apply". Better yet, you could give the cost: "Early cancellation fees of 50% of the remainder of the year will apply".

unfocussed_mike 5y ago
Fair point, though at that stage, early cancellation only may apply, because you can back out of the trial on/before seven days. Early cancellation fees will apply after the trial, is the wording that is the clearest, I guess. This is a really interesting exploration of word choice though. I must say, I had not considered that the word "annual" could be perceived to be unwieldy in this situation, for example.