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Before buying a NYT subscription, here's what it'll take to cancel it

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Re: Before buying a NYT subscription, here's what it'll take to cancel it

#181

Post by sliken »

JohnTHaller wrote: post #153
whoisjuan wrote: post #25

Imagine having a business model so fragile that your only line of defense is to obscure the cancellation process through these tactics. Do they really think that they can curve their churn this way? I mean best you’re doing is getting maybe another month or so of revenue from a customer who is just pushing the pain of cancelling because they are busy or lazy. And at the end instead of getting what could be a dormant…

I said the phrase "I want to cancel cable but keep internet" 23 times to a Time Warner retention specialist then their supervisor, and I may have talked to her supervisor, too. They get paid to ignore you and read back canned responses like "but what about your favorite channels?", "what about watching sports?", etc. It was the first time my girlfriend had ever seen me angry.

Heh, comcast says the same thing. I was snookered into accepting a improved internet plan with "free HBO". Which after a few months added TV broadcast fee, and substantial other costs. I tried to move back and they literally said the are not an ISP and will not sell me an internet only plan.

I had to cancel the plan and have my "roommate" (actually my wife), start as a new customer to get an internet only plan.

Re: Before buying a NYT subscription, here's what it'll take to cancel it

#182

Post by jjcon »

jimmaswell wrote: post #114
rawtxapp wrote: post #22

I've never been able to cancel any subscription with ease, so nowadays I always use Privacy to get temporary credit cards. When I want the subscription cancelled, I try the provider's website, if it doesn't work, I just cancel the card all together.

This sounds like some kind of fraud, or at least an easy way to tank your credit and get debt collectors after you if caught. For what it's worth I've never had trouble canceling anything I've subscribed to.

For anyone wondering - no this definitively isn't fraud - no it will have no impact your credit (there isn't even a mechanism for this to happen), nor will it get debt collectors after you (you don't owe a subscription continual payment, failure to pay only means they can terminate your service).

Re: Before buying a NYT subscription, here's what it'll take to cancel it

#183

Post by bastawhiz »

jimmaswell wrote: post #114
rawtxapp wrote: post #22

I've never been able to cancel any subscription with ease, so nowadays I always use Privacy to get temporary credit cards. When I want the subscription cancelled, I try the provider's website, if it doesn't work, I just cancel the card all together.

This sounds like some kind of fraud, or at least an easy way to tank your credit and get debt collectors after you if caught. For what it's worth I've never had trouble canceling anything I've subscribed to.

This is not fraud at all. You could just as easily file a dispute. You're under no obligation to continue allowing a company to charge you a recurring subscription that you do not wish to continue with.

Cards stop working due to fraud or lost cards all the time. Businesses must accept this as a fact of life. Forcibly dunning is a malicious business practice.

Re: Before buying a NYT subscription, here's what it'll take to cancel it

#184

Post by [deleted] »

samcheng wrote: post #99
tech-historian wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Back in 2006 an AOL subscriber recorded their conversation with an AOL customer service agent while trying to cancel the service. It was really bad, way worse than this NYTimes process. The NYT wrote an article about the debacle [1] and had this to say about Netflix's great customer service and ease of cancellation, compared to AOL's awful service: "Seeing how Netflix would be so protective of my time were I to leave…

Netflix is notoriously generous here. They allegedly auto-cancel accounts that don't use the service for too long! https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/net...

[deleted]

Re: Before buying a NYT subscription, here's what it'll take to cancel it

#185

Post by kortilla »

JMTQp8lwXL wrote: post #49
whoisjuan wrote: post #25

Imagine having a business model so fragile that your only line of defense is to obscure the cancellation process through these tactics. Do they really think that they can curve their churn this way? I mean best you’re doing is getting maybe another month or so of revenue from a customer who is just pushing the pain of cancelling because they are busy or lazy. And at the end instead of getting what could be a dormant…

This isn't the first time I've seen NYT cancellation process in my social feeds. It has to be a negative feedback loop cycle. People that read HN are absolutely the type that would consider paying for NYT (or at least the two cohorts have great overlap). This cancellation process never considered the impact of internet cancel culture and rage reactions. It's far easier to damage a brand than it is to build it up.

> People that read HN are absolutely the type that would consider paying for NYT (or at least the two cohorts have great overlap).

Unlikely considering the general popularity of articles highlighting their incompetence/malfeasance. See: slatestarcodex articles of the last week

Re: Before buying a NYT subscription, here's what it'll take to cancel it

#186

Post by bastawhiz »

Spivak wrote: post #62
rawtxapp wrote: post #22

I've never been able to cancel any subscription with ease, so nowadays I always use Privacy to get temporary credit cards. When I want the subscription cancelled, I try the provider's website, if it doesn't work, I just cancel the card all together.

There is some danger to this since just because your card is declined doesn’t mean that you stop owing them money. Gyms like to take advantage of this.

Unless you have a contract, no, you don't owe them anything. Saying that you'd like recurring charges doesn't obligate you to continue paying after you've stopped using a service.

Re: Before buying a NYT subscription, here's what it'll take to cancel it

#187

Post by hartator »

jjcon wrote: post #182
jimmaswell wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This sounds like some kind of fraud, or at least an easy way to tank your credit and get debt collectors after you if caught. For what it's worth I've never had trouble canceling anything I've subscribed to.

For anyone wondering - no this definitively isn't fraud - no it will have no impact your credit (there isn't even a mechanism for this to happen), nor will it get debt collectors after you (you don't owe a subscription continual payment, failure to pay only means they can terminate your service).

Depends on the contract you’ve agreed to. I’ve heard gyms which would sent the invoice to collections if they can’t charge your credit cared anymore.

Re: Before buying a NYT subscription, here's what it'll take to cancel it

#189

Post by 40four »

Not surprising, and honestly I didn’t think it was that bad comparatively speaking. Try canceling you home cable or your mobile service and see how that goes :)

That’s no excuse though, ideally we would be able to cancel any service we want through an online form, but in reality that is a pipe dream.

Most companies will take this as a opportunity to make a pass on you with a sales person. And honestly, it is their prerogative to do so I think. Once you’re gone you’re gone. I don’t blame them for attempting to retain your business.

While I don’t blame them, I wish it wasn’t the case.

Any person who lines up in the queue to cancel is just a ‘lead’ for the sales people assigned to this task. And they are sales people. Don’t be fooled and think you’re talking to a customer service agent.

In this case, it was a pretty weak attempt by ‘Antonio’.

Re: Before buying a NYT subscription, here's what it'll take to cancel it

#190

Post by zippergz »

pottertheotter wrote: post #151

I had a similar issue with the Wall Street Journal a few years back, and despite having spent the majority of my career working on Wall Street, I’ll never buy a subscription again. I signed up for a really good deal for 6 months of digital + paper delivery, but my paper always arrived a day or two late, so before my 6 months were up I tried to cancel, but couldn’t figure out a way to do so on their website. I message…

I almost bought a WSJ sub during a recent sale, and decided against it specifically because I checked and it said I'd have to call them to cancel.
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