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Before buying a NYT subscription, here's what it'll take to cancel it
191–200 of 845 posts
Re: Before buying a NYT subscription, here's what it'll take to cancel it
#192I wanted to read an article of the NYT that interested me, so I purchased a month subscription. I only used it for that one article. This same thing happened when I tried to cancel. They don't provide a way to do it without talking to a representative unless you set your zip code to California which requires a way to cancel the same way that was signed up (i.e. if you can sign up without talking to someone you can cancel without talking to someone).
If it were easy to cancel I'd definitely re-up my subscription when I want to read an article they have. Now when I hit the paywall I just move on or look for another source.
Re: Before buying a NYT subscription, here's what it'll take to cancel it
#193Here’s a kicker: once canceled, your card stays on file. But there’s no way to access that credit card management page anymore because you’ve canceled the subscription. How can you get back to the credit card management page? By signing up for the subscription again. Can you remove the credit card from file at this point? Nope!!
That’s right. They have your credit card forever if you put it in once.
Re: Before buying a NYT subscription, here's what it'll take to cancel it
#194Earlier quoted context omitted.
Normal? What other business does that? I can’t think of one.
Banks and credit cards cancel inactive accounts.
That’s part of of most states’ escheatment processes. Inactive bank accounts are typically closed after three years, and funds are given to the state to hold until you claim them.
Re: Before buying a NYT subscription, here's what it'll take to cancel it
#195Earlier quoted context omitted.
Another related dark pattern: When cancelling a Prime trial, Amazon makes it appear as if you're going to lose the Prime benefits immediately, not at the end of the trial, to keep you from cancelling early. (It seems like you DO keep them until the end of the trial, but you only get told that after cancelling) Together with their decreased support quality (agents barely understanding what I write + the typical "tell…
Same story with a full Prime subscription, not just the free trial, they use several dark patterns to confuse you about what will happen when you actually hit the cancel button. When I found myself slowly buying fewer things on Amazon a few years ago and decided to cancel Prime after many years as a subscriber, I was so grossed out by the cancellation process that I’ve actively avoided ordering from them ever since.
I just got fooled by another Amazon dark pattern and ended up with a Prime free trial I don’t want. Went to cancel it immediately, and wow so many hoops to jump through. Hopefully I did it right. If they end up forgetting I canceled they are getting a chargeback so fast it will make their heads spin.
Re: Before buying a NYT subscription, here's what it'll take to cancel it
#196I just unsubscribed using web form. There are some dark patterns involved but not too dark. E.g. first option is the chat with representative, second is the call by phone and third option is the web form. After I have navigated 3 pages using "default button" for canceling the unsubscription process - it is done. It's not the best experience, but not the nightmare the OP described.
Same. I cancelled last week for one too many link-bait articles on the front page. After the usual page or two of pleas to stay, they let me go.
Re: Before buying a NYT subscription, here's what it'll take to cancel it
#19717 minutes of OP that they will never get back. Poor Antonio too, stuck in the middle between a money-machine and disgruntled users.
I feel really bad for the service reps. If you hate doing this every time you cancel, imagine how they feel having to do this all day every day, always with the threat of being fired from their minimum wage job if they're accidentally too helpful.
Re: Before buying a NYT subscription, here's what it'll take to cancel it
#198Imagine 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.
The worst experience I had with this involved 4 customer service representatives simply hanging up (after a 30+ minute wait) after exhausting their script. I simply recorded the final call, stopping paying the bill, and sent the documentation I had to the credit reference agency when the contract went into default
At some point they sent a debt collection agency, that was much less stressful than it sounds. They called me up, "you owe $telco money", "No I don't", "oh?", "Yes, I have complete documentation of cancelling it, but their CS reps kept hanging up. Sorry, you've been had.", "Oh, this again. Sorry to have bothered you.", never heard from the debt collection agency again.
Re: Before buying a NYT subscription, here's what it'll take to cancel it
#199Imagine 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…
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…
It looks like an editorial/opinion piece. (Just to be clear I went through the same process and I hate NYT)
Re: Before buying a NYT subscription, here's what it'll take to cancel it
#200Imagine 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.
How often do you see NYT articles on the front page? It is very rarely for me.