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Use a temporary credit card number that's only authorized for one payment. When it doesn't work the second year, they'll let you know you need to pay. Sign up

Use a temporary credit card number that's only authorized for one payment. When it doesn't work the second year, they'll let you know you need to pay. Sign up and immediately cancel/turn off billing, so you aren't charged again next year (again, they'll send you a bunch of notices ahead of the end of your service). Put a calendar reminder in for 11.5 months out from when you sign up. In Slack, /remind me in 11.5 months to cancel X service.

rectang 3y ago
My tech-hating mom is currently spending hours, maybe even days setting up billpay through her bank so she doesn't have to give companies her credit card info for subscriptions. She's been burned too many times trying and failing to cancel subscriptions. But reading suggestions like yours, apparently it's all on people like my poor mom to outwit corporations with multi-million-dollar budgets dedicated to screwing her over. (And yes I'm helping, but precious few tech-noob elders have an engineer in the family.)
- jjav 3y ago
  > My tech-hating mom is currently spending hours, maybe even days setting up billpay through her bank so she doesn't have to give companies her credit card info for subscriptions. She's been burned too many times trying and failing to cancel subscriptions. Why? That's much worse. If anything is going to do a recurring charge to me, I want it to go through a credit card which offers a layer of indirection. I never authorize automatic billing directly to a bank account, then the money is truly gone. With a credit card I can always protest the charge and have had to do this with particularly difficult businesses a few times.
  - rectang 3y ago
    > Why? That's much worse. Congratulations, HNer — you're more tech savvy than my mom. Perhaps you're volunteering to help vulnerable seniors like her navigate the Hobbesian nightmare of subscriptions? I applaud your initiative, but if you're new to this, let me caution you: they don't always understand or follow the advice you give them precisely. Even if they are trying their best.
    - jjav 3y ago
      Funny, I guess it can be difficult. I do manage all the accounts and finances for a >>90yr old family member, but it is easier because I manage all of it.
      - rectang 3y ago
        Kudos for taking that on!
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
- rx_tx 3y ago
  would a service like privacy[dot]com which generates custom one-off credit card numbers with custom spend limits be useful? (Not affiliated, I just use them from time-to-time exactly for that purpose)
  - davchana 3y ago
    Privacy.com is awful. You forgo the credit card protections, they need full access to a checking account, you can't do chargebacks, you lose any cashback methods. Use a virtual card from your credit card Many banks offer these now a these days (Capital one does, with all cards, in app or in browser, no need for extension).
jklinger410 3y ago
Critical HN energy
- Andrex 3y ago
  So easy a toddler (with three PhDs) could do it!
  - idopmstuff 3y ago
    Do you actually think setting a calendar reminder is hard?
JumpCrisscross 3y ago
> Use a temporary credit card number that's only authorized for one payment These get sold to a collections company. Invalid payment doesn’t invalidate the contract.

rectang 3y ago

My tech-hating mom is currently spending hours, maybe even days setting up billpay through her bank so she doesn't have to give companies her credit card info for subscriptions. She's been burned too many times trying and failing to cancel subscriptions. But reading suggestions like yours, apparently it's all on people like my poor mom to outwit corporations with multi-million-dollar budgets dedicated to screwing her over. (And yes I'm helping, but precious few tech-noob elders have an engineer in the family.)

jjav 3y ago
> My tech-hating mom is currently spending hours, maybe even days setting up billpay through her bank so she doesn't have to give companies her credit card info for subscriptions. She's been burned too many times trying and failing to cancel subscriptions. Why? That's much worse. If anything is going to do a recurring charge to me, I want it to go through a credit card which offers a layer of indirection. I never authorize automatic billing directly to a bank account, then the money is truly gone. With a credit card I can always protest the charge and have had to do this with particularly difficult businesses a few times.
- rectang 3y ago
  > Why? That's much worse. Congratulations, HNer — you're more tech savvy than my mom. Perhaps you're volunteering to help vulnerable seniors like her navigate the Hobbesian nightmare of subscriptions? I applaud your initiative, but if you're new to this, let me caution you: they don't always understand or follow the advice you give them precisely. Even if they are trying their best.
  - jjav 3y ago
    Funny, I guess it can be difficult. I do manage all the accounts and finances for a >>90yr old family member, but it is easier because I manage all of it.
    - rectang 3y ago
      Kudos for taking that on!
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
rx_tx 3y ago
would a service like privacy[dot]com which generates custom one-off credit card numbers with custom spend limits be useful? (Not affiliated, I just use them from time-to-time exactly for that purpose)
- davchana 3y ago
  Privacy.com is awful. You forgo the credit card protections, they need full access to a checking account, you can't do chargebacks, you lose any cashback methods. Use a virtual card from your credit card Many banks offer these now a these days (Capital one does, with all cards, in app or in browser, no need for extension).

jklinger410 3y ago

Critical HN energy

Andrex 3y ago
So easy a toddler (with three PhDs) could do it!
- idopmstuff 3y ago
  Do you actually think setting a calendar reminder is hard?

JumpCrisscross 3y ago

> Use a temporary credit card number that's only authorized for one payment These get sold to a collections company. Invalid payment doesn’t invalidate the contract.