Cancelling Dropbox Pro is hard • Hacker News Board

Re: Cancelling Dropbox Pro is hard

#271

Post by ascar » Sat, Jan 26, 2019, 5:15 AM UTC

hakfoo wrote: post #233

benatkin wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wouldn't put it past they NYT to do it. They could say that for privacy reasons the billing department can't view the last time you were logged into your account, and boom, they can argue that if they didn't pursue payment, you could be getting features from your paid account for free.

Most recurring billing APIs provide some sort of notification or query about the status. They could reasonably do "for each payment we got yesterday, extend the expiration date of the associated account."

Sure. They could also let you easily cancel online. But they don't want to. And if you refuse to pay for a subscription contract you entered, but didn't cancel, you owe them.

Re: Cancelling Dropbox Pro is hard

#272

Post by rabidrat » Sat, Jan 26, 2019, 5:15 AM UTC

glitcher wrote: post #106

This seems like standard fare at almost any company. Cox communications offered me $10 lower per-month Internet when I was cancelling. I told them if they retroactively paid me the $10/month they were over-charging me for years I would stay. This finally ended their attempts to change my mind.

That's a great idea, I'm going to use that.

Re: Cancelling Dropbox Pro is hard

#273

Post by daveFNbuck » Sat, Jan 26, 2019, 5:25 AM UTC

rolleiflex wrote: post #102

Tomte wrote: post #27

Amazon is the same. I just cancelled Prime yesterday. It took me four or five confirmations that yes, I want to lose the benefits. The buttons were jumping around. Sometimes the left one was for cancelling, sometimes the right one, sometimes it was a few centimeters lower. I love my Kindle, but without that my Amazon account itself would be in real danger.

Oh, heads up, you're in for a treat. Amazon will try to tack on a Prime subscription on every order you try to make from now on. They do this with a permanent full-page interstitial (not a pop-up) for ex-Prime users before the order confirmation page whose big green 'continue' button automatically one-click charges your account for a full year of Prime. You have to read down and click the tiny 'no, I don't want these…

It doesn't get much better if you're a prime customer. I don't think I've ever received an item I ordered with 1-day shipping. It seems their only mode is 2-day.

Re: Cancelling Dropbox Pro is hard

#274

Post by ascar » Sat, Jan 26, 2019, 5:25 AM UTC

zenexer wrote: post #229

tomschlick wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thats a good way to get 100 calls from a collection agency.

I’ve had that happen to me once in all the years I’ve been doing this sort of thing. A BBB complaint sorted that out pretty quickly.

Stopping payment is not the same as canceling a contract. You are basically acting on the premise that it's not worth going after you. That might even be true in all cases, but it's still disingenuous and probably unlawful.

Re: Cancelling Dropbox Pro is hard

#275

Post by NIL8 » Sat, Jan 26, 2019, 5:27 AM UTC

mrspeaker wrote: post #8

If it's harder to leave than it is to join, then I'm not using your stuff. It's mildly condescending and very transparent and so I don't want/need to deal with it. If you believed in your product, you wouldn't do it. I subscribed to the New York Times with a simple one-step "put in your credit card deets". One year later I was going to leave the country so tried to cancel it. After several steps of forms you get the…

Exactly the way I feel. I'm willing to lose big just to make this point to every company I deal with, nowadays. 'Too many Mutha'uckas...'

Re: Cancelling Dropbox Pro is hard

#276

Post by georgeott » Sat, Jan 26, 2019, 5:31 AM UTC

sxates wrote: post #39

mrspeaker wrote: post #8

If it's harder to leave than it is to join, then I'm not using your stuff. It's mildly condescending and very transparent and so I don't want/need to deal with it. If you believed in your product, you wouldn't do it. I subscribed to the New York Times with a simple one-step "put in your credit card deets". One year later I was going to leave the country so tried to cancel it. After several steps of forms you get the…

How do you determine how easy it is to leave before you actually need to do it? Before even signing up?

I do a search for canceling that business, before I sign up. If I see a bunch of horror stories, then it's time to walk away.

Re: Cancelling Dropbox Pro is hard

#277

Post by jdeibele » Sat, Jan 26, 2019, 5:33 AM UTC

daveFNbuck wrote: post #273

rolleiflex wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh, heads up, you're in for a treat. Amazon will try to tack on a Prime subscription on every order you try to make from now on. They do this with a permanent full-page interstitial (not a pop-up) for ex-Prime users before the order confirmation page whose big green 'continue' button automatically one-click charges your account for a full year of Prime. You have to read down and click the tiny 'no, I don't want these…

It doesn't get much better if you're a prime customer. I don't think I've ever received an item I ordered with 1-day shipping. It seems their only mode is 2-day.

For a while, I was getting things shipped in days, though it was always order day 1, at least 24 hours elapse, then "your order has shipped" and I would get it the next day.

Now it's more like prime shipping means at least 3 business days. My last order was on Wednesday but I was told it would be here Monday unless I wanted to pay extra.

I'm getting rid of old computers, phones, and routers on eBay. Dealing with that is therapeutic but it makes it really tempting to cancel Amazon Prime just to raise barriers to accumulating stuff.

Re: Cancelling Dropbox Pro is hard

#278

Post by georgeott » Sat, Jan 26, 2019, 5:35 AM UTC

brewdad wrote: post #265

bookofjoe wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm an online Washington Post subscriber; IMHO it's well worth $9.99/month.

If you have Amazon Prime, a WaPo subscription can be had for $4/mo.

Ahh, that's why it's $4. I kept waiting for the low price to expire.

Re: Cancelling Dropbox Pro is hard

#279

Post by paulcole » Sat, Jan 26, 2019, 5:40 AM UTC

zenexer wrote: post #229

tomschlick wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thats a good way to get 100 calls from a collection agency.

I’ve had that happen to me once in all the years I’ve been doing this sort of thing. A BBB complaint sorted that out pretty quickly.

What are the consequences of a BBB complaint? AFAIK it’s just like an older Yelp with a more confusing reputation.

Re: Cancelling Dropbox Pro is hard

#280

Post by everybodyknows » Sat, Jan 26, 2019, 5:57 AM UTC

zo1 wrote: post #169

tedunangst wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reading about the experiences of others. Or asking around.

Personally, I would just assume they're all like that, to varying degrees. Everyone optimizes the "on-boarding" process that they completely neglect how to let customers get out.

Not true. I cancelled Netflix last month, no problem.