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Netflix stops charging customers who never watch

bbc.com

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Re: Netflix stops charging customers who never watch

#131

Post by Sebguer »

Hamuko wrote: post #119
Androider wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A cancelled credit card does not mean bills are automatically void or the recurring subscription cancelled, but it's a scale whether it's worth it for the company to try to collect or not. If your rent autobill fails, I think everyone realizes it doesn't mean you don't have to pay. If the credit card for your gym membership expires, I think most people would likewise fear (and has been known to happen) that your bill…

Netflix, like many subscription services, charges you for services ahead of time. If you don't pay, you don't get the service. It's that simple.

Almost every major business cloud provider? Agree with you that something like Netflix is entirely safe, but AWS as a major example has an entirely post-paid model.

Re: Netflix stops charging customers who never watch

#132

Post by NicoJuicy »

cortesoft wrote: post #22
raiyu wrote: post #12

I always wonder when a company does this if it is completely altruistic or if something else is going on behind the scenes. Maybe notifying customers gets them to reactivate, maybe if they resubscribe later they can charge more, maybe it’s better for financial reporting and projecting subscriber counts. On the other hand it could just be a rare moment of a company doing right by the customer.

Amazon did this for me back in 2005 when they introduced Prime. I used the free trial for an order (to get it in two days), but then didn't order anything else and forgot to cancel. They sent me an email that they weren't going to charge me because I hadn't used it, but I was free to sign up in the future if I decided I wanted it. It was so refreshing, it made me a lifelong customer.

Amazon does NOT do this now!

Their Prime subscription was a pain to cancel in Belgium. I found it on the German site, even though I always use English and there for the English site.

They also use dark patterns for it, unsubscribing is very confusing.

Re: Netflix stops charging customers who never watch

#133

Post by 1bc29b36f623ba8 »

ekianjo wrote: post #89
cocochanel wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just a few weeks ago I realized I was paying for Xbox Live without having played it for 8 years. I didn't even remember the password.

Cancelling for XboxLive has always been a pain (at least until 5 years ago, I don't know now): they make it easy to subscribe online and pay with a credit card, but cancelling forces you to look for a phone number buried in help pages and call a hotline that's only open during business hours or something. Pure dark pattern.

I cancelled mine a few months ago, and could do it through Microsoft's web site. It was a pain to find the option though.

The best way to handle Xbox payments is to buy pre-paid codes in the store and use them (assuming that's an option where you live).

Re: Netflix stops charging customers who never watch

#134

Post by ukoki »

raiyu wrote: post #12

I always wonder when a company does this if it is completely altruistic or if something else is going on behind the scenes. Maybe notifying customers gets them to reactivate, maybe if they resubscribe later they can charge more, maybe it’s better for financial reporting and projecting subscriber counts. On the other hand it could just be a rare moment of a company doing right by the customer.

Just one theory: If I go to a restaurant I expect they'll give me to-go box if I ask for it; If I accidentally buy they wrong size shirt from a high-street retailer, I expect to be able to return it. If a business doesn't meet these generally-agreed on "consumer expectations" they may be complained about viciously.

If Netflix can successfully normalize "only charge me if I use the service" into a basic consumer expectation for subscription businesses it might cost Netflix a little, but it might cost their competitors a lot more.

Re: Netflix stops charging customers who never watch

#135

Post by mackrevinack »

goodside wrote: post #55

Years ago, I heard of a dating site doing the opposite of this. They normally sent periodic digests and newsletters to their users to try to increase engagement, but if a user went a certain number of months without logging into their account, but still allowed monthly fees to be charged, they were labeled as a “sleeping giant” in the database. Once in this state, they would not be contacted by the site for any reaso…

sounds like a great way to get customers to hate you and never want to use your service again!

Re: Netflix stops charging customers who never watch

#136

Post by reificator »

Sebguer wrote: post #131
Hamuko wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Netflix, like many subscription services, charges you for services ahead of time. If you don't pay, you don't get the service. It's that simple.

Almost every major business cloud provider? Agree with you that something like Netflix is entirely safe, but AWS as a major example has an entirely post-paid model.

> Almost every major business cloud provider? Agree with you that something like Netflix is entirely safe, but AWS as a major example has an entirely post-paid model.

That's not a subscription, that's metered billing, where you are billed for what you have already used.

Re: Netflix stops charging customers who never watch

#138

Post by jasonkester »

croshan wrote: post #63
jonas21 wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is that scummy? You bought something, and they're charging you for it.

How can you cancel (without cc chargebacks) if you typed in the wrong email address?

Email and ask.

I routinely cancel subscriptions for S3stat customers who have forgotten which old employee first signed up for the service, or just don’t want to bother logging back in to do so. A name, or even company name is plenty.

Re: Netflix stops charging customers who never watch

#139

Post by staticautomatic »

staticautomatic wrote: post #90
goodside wrote: post #55

Years ago, I heard of a dating site doing the opposite of this. They normally sent periodic digests and newsletters to their users to try to increase engagement, but if a user went a certain number of months without logging into their account, but still allowed monthly fees to be charged, they were labeled as a “sleeping giant” in the database. Once in this state, they would not be contacted by the site for any reaso…

That's fascinating and very smart.

I'm not salty about it but I don't understand. Could someone please explain to me why this is being down voted?

Re: Netflix stops charging customers who never watch

#140

Post by csunbird »

NicoJuicy wrote: post #132
cortesoft wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Amazon did this for me back in 2005 when they introduced Prime. I used the free trial for an order (to get it in two days), but then didn't order anything else and forgot to cancel. They sent me an email that they weren't going to charge me because I hadn't used it, but I was free to sign up in the future if I decided I wanted it. It was so refreshing, it made me a lifelong customer.

Amazon does NOT do this now! Their Prime subscription was a pain to cancel in Belgium. I found it on the German site, even though I always use English and there for the English site. They also use dark patterns for it, unsubscribing is very confusing.

Agreed on the dark pattern and difficulty of cancelling. Today I cancelled my Prime subscription and had to first the cancel button, then I had to click "Cancel my subscription" button three times, which I had to find it along with ambiguous, same color "Keep my subscription and pay" buttons.
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