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"FREE" 1 Year ECA membership... for the price of YOUR SOUL. Read if you applied.

S

Suikoguy

I whinny my fervor lowly, for his length is not as great as those of the Hylian war stallions
Filled out a complaint with the BBB, and will contact Wachovia.
 
M

mYm|17|

Member
I still got till like august or september until my free membership runs out so hopefully something will happen to sort this stuff out.
 
S

ShockingAlberto

Member
mYm|17| said:
I still got till like august or september until my free membership runs out so hopefully something will happen to sort this stuff out.
Click to expand...
What makes me afraid is their claim that they'll go ahead and charge you if your cancellation has not been processed by the renewal date.

So they could delay processing it as long as they like.
 
3

3rdamention

Member
angelfly said:
They say in the forum selling your benefits results in instant termination and loss of the ability to renew so I hope this works http://forums.theeca.com/showthread.php?p=113475#post113475
Click to expand...



Freaking Awesome! I love the guy that is giving away all of his benefits. He said he is posting the codes on every forum around the web, giving away his freebies, you know, "abusing" them or whatever.


I think that is great. This is all coming to a big ugly boiling point (or boil, like nasty sore, lol) and the ECA looks like they are going to be overwhelmed very soon. Credibility is getting destroyed, the Mods cannot keep up with the numerous threads by angry "members."


I cannot stop watching/reading


insert Michael Jackson eating popcorn here.
 
S

ScrabbleBanshee

Member
Call your credit card companies. Problem solved. Worst case, tell them you lost your card - you'll get a new one with a new number that the ECA doesn't have.
 
Cravis

Cravis

Member
Wow! This is crazy. :lol The ECA is pretty much screwed. Their reputation is shot to shit. I'd hate to be the mod Gypsy over there. Her dumbass remarks are all over the web now and her face is plastered on her profile to boot. Her and this whole f'ed up situation will become synonymous with each other. Sucks to be the messenger.
 
C

Chrange

Banned
ECA forum said:
They're too big to handle online cancellations, but not too big to accept online registrations, and just the right size to instead handle regular mail correspondence?

The ECA is the three bears porridge of horrible customer service.
Click to expand...

:lol :lol
 
T

TheSeks

Blinded by the luminous glory that is David Bowie's physical manifestation.
Balb said:
All I wanted were some Amazon codes...
Click to expand...

Here's a tip: Go to Amazon for them.

Man, you guys got burned hard and I feel abd but honestly looking for online discounts on anything other than online stores themselves will get you burned 9/10 of the time.

Retail Brick and Mortar's Forever!
 
notworksafe

notworksafe

Member
I posted thread about selling benefits, and now I see this
You have been banned for the following reason:
Selling benefits is unacceptable.

Date the ban will be lifted: Never
Click to expand...

I wonder if it worked...
 
M

MrPliskin

Banned
They must think that banning an account and IP address and then saying "Do not come back" can keep people away.

Do they think it's 1992 and Proxy servers do not exist?

OH WAIT...they might think it's earlier, since they don't think Online Cancellations are possible. Pony Express, AWAY!!!
 
F

Flyguy

Member
Oh, the irony

Hal Halpin said:
EULAs are a real and tangible problem... Quite simply, they're out of control... these contracts have become so unwieldy that they regularly infringe on consumer rights. Many would likely be unenforceable in a court of law. Others, consumers would be shocked to find out what all of that fine print actually meant.
Click to expand...
 
L

Link Man

Banned
ShockingAlberto said:
wtf

I got banned before I posted anything

I registered under the same username I use here!
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It's also the name you used in the Consumerist article's comment section, which has been posted in their forums.

Anyway, sent the Cosumerist article to ArsTechnica, hopefully they run with it.
 
B

Baker

Banned
cress2000 said:
In case anyone cares, here's the ECA defense force's thread:

http://forums.theeca.com/showthread.php?t=6985
Click to expand...
What I don't understand in all of their "the peons won't stop griefing" posts, they solely focus on the amazon stuff. What I don't think they understand is that we are WAY past that and into an entirely crazy and legitimate complaint now.

Granted, I'm sure there are still a bunch of CAG babies throwing a fit, but they can't just keep ignoring the bigger picture.
 
S

Suikoguy

I whinny my fervor lowly, for his length is not as great as those of the Hylian war stallions
RS4- said:
There must be some hidden nazi subsection on those forums for him to have 11k posts.
Click to expand...

:lol, the whole forum is hillarious. I love watching something go down in flames.

A shame, but I'd rather have no organization than this one.
 
D

Dolla Dolla

Member
botticus said:
Well, he IS member #2.
Click to expand...
eyepatch-AustinPowers8.jpg
 
S

sk3tch

Member
ECA's official statement on the matter:

http://www.gamepolitics.com/2009/12/02/eca-statement

The Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA) has issued a statement in response to an article posted on the Consumerist blog today, which alleged that canceling membership in the organization was difficult and overcomplicated.

GamePolitics is a publication of the ECA.

The response, from the President of the ECA, Hal Halpin, is unedited and after the jump:



We were disheartened to read some of the coverage and comments related to complaints regarding our member cancellation policies this morning. The issue seems to have begun following a guest article that I penned a few months ago, where I highlighted the various policy issues that gamers should be aware of – from Net Neutrality and Universal Broadband to Digital Rights Management (DRM) and End User License Agreements (EULAs). I concluded the piece by providing those who had taken the time to diligently read the article with a coupon code, encouraging them to sign up for a free trial membership… the logic being that we’d like to have readers who care about the issues among our ranks. For about four weeks following the publishing, we had a small bump in new member acquisition, but they were not coming from the article, unfortunately. These new members were coming from websites and forums that were solely promoting the coupon code, sans important reading.

Within a relatively short period of time, some of the new members found an exploit in one of our partners’ promotional codes and spread the word. The partner tried to resolve the situation, during which time we removed any references to the program, but ultimately it was decided that the offer be terminated. We advised members as soon as we were aware and reassured them that we were working on additional offers with new partners. We updated our website during the same timeframe in a long planned for Content Management System upgrade and an inactive back-end feature became visible, which looked to give some members the option to opt-out of the association. We were alerted to the error and removed the non-functioning feature immediately. Because it was viewable and then removed, those same few members became concerned that it was a feature that had been live all along and was suddenly removed. We then attempted to explain the situation and allay their concerns.

There were then concerns about the auto-renew structure of our payment system and business model related to that same function. We explained that we are working on ramping up infrastructure to become more automated going forward, but due to a small but active number of members who were repeatedly joining, leaving and re-joining the organization – in an effort to exploit our member benefits and unduly take advantage of our partners’ generous offers – we would require a mailed letter, as per our membership agreement. Needless to say, that incensed the exploiters who then contacted the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and their personal banks to report that we attained their membership under fraudulent conditions, in effect committing fraud themselves. Upon investigating the opened investigations, the respective banks and BBB all found ECA to be soundly reputable. We understand that several of the banks have since opened fraud investigations into their customers and that they take such matters very seriously.

Over the past few years, membership in the ECA has grown substantially, the primary reason for which is directly attributable to the important work done by the association, partnerships formed with coalitions, parallel trade associations and corporations, all eager to help defend the rights of game consumers. We have added many valuable benefits for members including discounts on games-related goods and services, purchases and rentals and a whole host of additional affinity benefits. We have several retail partners who offer significant promotions and several more, which are in the process of being finalized. It is important to note that the number of members who were/are involved in this unfortunate issue is very small and not representative of the organization as a whole. We sincerely thank the dedicated ECA members and the gaming community for their understanding and support on this matter and we look forward to continuing to grow the organization to suit the needs of the consumers.
Click to expand...
 
B

botticus

Member
sk3tch said:
ECA's official statement on the matter:

http://www.gamepolitics.com/2009/12/02/eca-statement
Click to expand...
For about four weeks following the publishing, we had a small bump in new member acquisition
Click to expand...
:lol

Oh,
There were then concerns about the auto-renew structure of our payment system and business model related to that same function. We explained that we are working on ramping up infrastructure to become more automated going forward, but due to a small but active number of members who were repeatedly joining, leaving and re-joining the organization – in an effort to exploit our member benefits and unduly take advantage of our partners’ generous offers – we would require a mailed letter, as per our membership agreement. Needless to say, that incensed the exploiters who then contacted the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and their personal banks to report that we attained their membership under fraudulent conditions, in effect committing fraud themselves. Upon investigating the opened investigations, the respective banks and BBB all found ECA to be soundly reputable. We understand that several of the banks have since opened fraud investigations into their customers and that they take such matters very seriously.
Click to expand...
Great misrepresentation/oversimplification, or greatest misrepresentation/oversimplification?
 
N

Neuromancer

Member
Hal "Aw Hal Naw" Halpin said:
There were then concerns about the auto-renew structure of our payment system and business model related to that same function. We explained that we are working on ramping up infrastructure to become more automated going forward, but due to a small but active number of members who were repeatedly joining, leaving and re-joining the organization – in an effort to exploit our member benefits and unduly take advantage of our partners' generous offers – we would require a mailed letter, as per our membership agreement. Needless to say, that incensed the exploiters who then contacted the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and their personal banks to report that we attained their membership under fraudulent conditions, in effect committing fraud themselves. Upon investigating the opened investigations, the respective banks and BBB all found ECA to be soundly reputable. We understand that several of the banks have since opened fraud investigations into their customers and that they take such matters very seriously.
Click to expand...
Uh oh GAF, some of us may be under investigation for fraud! :lol :lol :lol

Source: 'Stiq
http://www.joystiq.com/2009/12/02/eca-members-cry-foul-over-auto-renewal-cancellation-hassles/
 
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