i'd say the same about lingoda.com, although not extremely known, they offer language courses. their auto-renewal policy is abysmal, basically the only way to stop auto-renewal is to delete your account entirely.
Tell HN: Pluralsight and the dark-pattern of auto-renewals
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Re: Tell HN: Pluralsight and the dark-pattern of auto-renewals
#72Earlier quoted context omitted.
Do you know a similar service outside US?
In New Zealand we have debit cards, so they act just like a normal credit card, except it needs to have money in the account for the transaction to work. So you tie it to an account that you put money into, instead of say, your every-day spending account which could contain a lot more money.
In the UK, the bank will just let the transaction go through & then charge you a hefty fee for an unapproved overdraft.
Re: Tell HN: Pluralsight and the dark-pattern of auto-renewals
#73When you take out any subscription, you should always create an event in your calendar that is the last date that you can cancel before renewal.
Takes seconds to do and saves a lot of money down the line.
Re: Tell HN: Pluralsight and the dark-pattern of auto-renewals
#74I can't think of a single subscription service that does not auto-renew. Can you? Companies consider that a "feature" because it provides uninterrupted service. Is your beef with them because they didn't email you to let you know they were going to bill you for renewal? Do what I do. Never trust a company. Whenever you sign up for a recurring service or a free trial, add an event to your personal calendar that remind…
Got an email reminder from Jetbrains yesterday about my IntelliJ licence renewal —
"This is a friendly reminder that we are going to charge your MasterCard [last four digits] on October 16, 2019, for the next year of your subscription".
Reminder 3 months out from renewal (& IIRC nearer the time too). Nice to see a company with belief enough in their product that they expect you to renew on that basis rather than through forgetfulness.
Re: Tell HN: Pluralsight and the dark-pattern of auto-renewals
#75What I usually do is I use a virtual Revolut card that I keep frozen when I'm not making payments. Unfortunately some companies don't accept prepaid card as payment, but in those cases I simply don't give them my money.
Re: Tell HN: Pluralsight and the dark-pattern of auto-renewals
#76What I usually do is I use a virtual Revolut card that I keep frozen when I'm not making payments. Unfortunately some companies don't accept prepaid card as payment, but in those cases I simply don't give them my money.
Revolut actually has "disposable virtual card" - details are regenerated after the first purchase. It's even more convenient.
Re: Tell HN: Pluralsight and the dark-pattern of auto-renewals
#77The other day I was stopped on the sidewalk by someone who told me they worked for a large environmental non profit that helps save endangered species. He asked if I would subscribe to help. I offered to make a donation and was told they I can't do a one time donation and they "really need subscribers". He even told me I could just cancel after the first payment. Taking advantage of someone being forgetful is sleazy.
In the UK a typical suggested donation might be £10 per month and the first three payments will go to the sales person's employer - which is typically a third party, not the charity. If you cancel after the first month they get paid but the charity gets nothing. It's sleazier than you think!
I'm a member of a club in the UK which raises money for charity - we've stopped giving money to corporate charities because their overheads are such a high percentage of their takings - at this point they're largely just self-perpetuating bureaucracy machines.
We give cash to small volunteer-run charities where we know that 100% of the money raised goes to the cause in question.
Re: Tell HN: Pluralsight and the dark-pattern of auto-renewals
#78Had similar experience with Adobe. I got discounted monthly price on their photography plan for a year. However, they didn't send me the new price before end of the period. So, it went on for few more months, when I realized this. Contacted them, and after few chats, managed to get refunded the whole amount for the months renewed in full as their terms say they must send a renewal email/notice and they failed. I pushed that point heavy and managed to get full refund.
Re: Tell HN: Pluralsight and the dark-pattern of auto-renewals
#79Same for LogMeIn. And Washington Post. And so many others. It makes me sad that what should be legitimate businesses now seem to feel it’s acceptable to trick people into giving them money.
Re: Tell HN: Pluralsight and the dark-pattern of auto-renewals
#80The other day I was stopped on the sidewalk by someone who told me they worked for a large environmental non profit that helps save endangered species. He asked if I would subscribe to help. I offered to make a donation and was told they I can't do a one time donation and they "really need subscribers". He even told me I could just cancel after the first payment. Taking advantage of someone being forgetful is sleazy.
Every charity I've been stopped by in the past decade has done this. Donate $20 cash right now? Nope, we can't do that... but we can sign you up for monthly ongoing payments of $200, or even just $25 if that's all you can spare.
Even when I make a one-time donation online to some charities, a lot of them seem to spend that donation sending me mailers asking me to donate again. I wish I could donate with a "don't add me to your list" option.