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Can't turn off XBL Automatic Renewal - ended up 'losing' my credit card instead.
- Thread starter Grampa Simpson
- Start date
H_Prestige
Banned
What a despicable company.
Grampa Simpson
Banned
I was on fire.
StarCreator
Member
I can confirm this to be true as of the original Xbox era - still have no access to my original gamertag. Thankfully nothing of value was attached to it, but it was enough that I don't have any credit card details attached to my current account. Anything I purchase is with prepaid cards, which is cheaper and more secure in the long run anyway.
In which case people should start reporting the charges as fraudulent to their credit card company as they clearly are.
Augemitbutter
Member
not blaming you.
SirPenguin
Member
Microsoft's account page is just a complete mess, and its to point, given the type of company Microsoft is and the resources it has available, where I can only assume it's on purpose.
A few months back I had my account broken into. I had 2 CCs tied to the account, though one was long since expired. I removed the active (and affected) card first, then went to remove the 2nd one, only to hit a generic, 404-esque error screen every time. I called support about the account hacking, mentioned the old CC, and they said they would remove it. But they didn't.
Even now, if I go to buy anything with my Live account it prompts me to use this stupid ass credit card that expired in 2009. Still, I feel like I'm just incredibly lucky that I removed the most recent card first, as I'm sure what's going on is that Microsoft always wants at least one card tied to an account.
A few months back I had my account broken into. I had 2 CCs tied to the account, though one was long since expired. I removed the active (and affected) card first, then went to remove the 2nd one, only to hit a generic, 404-esque error screen every time. I called support about the account hacking, mentioned the old CC, and they said they would remove it. But they didn't.
Even now, if I go to buy anything with my Live account it prompts me to use this stupid ass credit card that expired in 2009. Still, I feel like I'm just incredibly lucky that I removed the most recent card first, as I'm sure what's going on is that Microsoft always wants at least one card tied to an account.
boundedseven
Banned
Best option is to link your paypal account through which you can turn off auto payments
Zoe
Member
Once again, doing this will eventually get your account frozen.
Baron_Calamity
Member
Duxxy3
Member
There is only a couple companies in the world that i would trust to keep my credit card information without abusing it.
Microsoft is absolutely not one of those companies.
When i had my 360 years ago i tried out XBL and put it on my credit card. Wanted to cancel but no easy way to do it at the time, so when the card expired i figured that would be the end of it. But microsoft still bills you even if the card expires and never stops.
XBL is way beyond shady.
Microsoft is absolutely not one of those companies.
When i had my 360 years ago i tried out XBL and put it on my credit card. Wanted to cancel but no easy way to do it at the time, so when the card expired i figured that would be the end of it. But microsoft still bills you even if the card expires and never stops.
XBL is way beyond shady.
I was referring to the phone service, but okay.
OldJadedGamer
Banned
I've been prepaid for years.
Grampa Simpson
Banned
Yes. The balance of the autorenewal that I thought was cancelled. Pigfuckers.
Really, I want to be account normal, and that's really it. I think if I can hash out a way to fix my account with a prepaid card (I have one from the last buy.com sale), I'll go ahead and do it, but really, it'll just be so that I can hold onto my XBLA titles. This has soured me to gaming with Microsoft (not that I ever really liked them) to the level that I'm probably not going to do business with them again after I'm done with Mass Effect 3. I know it's not a very tough stance, but it won't hurt my hoarding tendencies to blow away most of my 360 games through Goozex, and just hold onto the console in case I want to ever pick up a game again used or play some Torchlight again, or any of the other XBLA games that I own.
I'm really damn sure that there won't be buying another Microsoft console.
I probably wouldn't feel that way if they had been willing to resolve the issue over the phone for the nominal $5 for that the month they gave me before cutting the service off (all with me not powering on the system), but holding the account hostage to $60 is frankly exploitive policy, and personally, I don't like taking it in the ass from a corporation like this if they're not going to at least have the courtesy of giving me a reach-around.
WickedLaharl
Member
Thanks to this thread I checked to see if the option to turn off autorenew was back on the site in my state and thankfully it was.
After the PSN fiasco last year and having to get a new CC I'm not giving either my info ever again. Prepaid cards 4 lyfe.
After the PSN fiasco last year and having to get a new CC I'm not giving either my info ever again. Prepaid cards 4 lyfe.
There should be hundreds of these until this issue gets mainstream attention and forces them to act.
Their handling and practices in this matter are reprehensible.
thecouncil
Banned
my experience with the auto-renewing situation:
i was charged $60 on an auto-renewal. two weeks later, i noticed the charge. i was sure that i had cancelled the auto-renewal prior to it happening so i called microsoft. i wanted another year of gold, but i was willing to just wait until it was $40 on newegg or amazon.
the conversation went like this.
me: you charged me $60. im pretty sure i cancelled this and i am not paying $60.
rep: well, because you are a valued customer, i can give the year for $40.
me: ha. sure.
so calling basically reduced the price $20. fine by me.
ANYWAY, you shouldve called microsoft. cancelling your credit card. haha. what a weird way to go about it.
i was charged $60 on an auto-renewal. two weeks later, i noticed the charge. i was sure that i had cancelled the auto-renewal prior to it happening so i called microsoft. i wanted another year of gold, but i was willing to just wait until it was $40 on newegg or amazon.
the conversation went like this.
me: you charged me $60. im pretty sure i cancelled this and i am not paying $60.
rep: well, because you are a valued customer, i can give the year for $40.
me: ha. sure.
so calling basically reduced the price $20. fine by me.
ANYWAY, you shouldve called microsoft. cancelling your credit card. haha. what a weird way to go about it.
It's definitely the way to go. PSN, XBL, iTunes... none of these places deserve my credit card details and with the last two it's pretty easy to get cards that have been discounted below face value.
They don't need a phone service if they just have a stop auto renewal link on the Xbox 360.
CadetMahoney
Member
Pretty much. How can a card expire and a company still bill you on it. Yet you can't take any money out or buy something for yourself with the same expired card.
Banks and companies just looking out for each other.
So you really thought you had successfully unsubbed from your account via a link you had to root through the HTML to find?
In any case, why would they "resolve the issue" for $5 when you owed them $60? You refused to cancel your account using proper channels and intentionally changed your card to avoid those charges. When they attempted to bill you for the agreed-upon sum, it failed - just as you planned. That doesn't clear your debt to the company though.
In any case, if you had the time to call your credit card company and report the card lost (and I'm assuming you then had to replace it on any other ongoing payments you might have had) surely you had the time to call MS and actually cancel the sub.
I went through the same thing last year. I did not want my Gold subscription to auto renew so I tried cancelling through the site, but this went nowhere. There was no way to stop auto renewal on Xbox.com. Keep in mind I subscribed during the launch of the 360, so cheaper prepaid gold subscriptions were not as common as these days. So in the end I had the idea to add a prepaid creditcard to my account, swap it with my original cc and let it run out. I did this and around this time last year my account was suspended because my creditcard was not valid anymore. They do not put you back to silver, but for some reason suspend your account. I still had to call the Xbox helpdesk to have them sort it all out.
I think it's just unbelievable Microsoft can still do this.
I think it's just unbelievable Microsoft can still do this.
Grampa Simpson
Banned
Its amazing the number of apologists who show up in these threads.
I'm not saying Microsoft and other companies shouldn't take steps to make it easier to cancel existing subscriptions, but it's ridiculous to act like you're not without fault.
You had an agreement to pay them $60 for a year of Xbox Live, an agreement that was still valid because you refused to call in and cancel it. You want to cry 'poor me' about what you did to yourself? As much as they need to change the shit they do, take some responsibility for your own actions as well.
The Faceless Master
Member
that's not how it works in real life.
they could not charge his card to renew, so as a courtesy, they extend his subscription another year and send him an email about his card not working asking him to update his details.
after a month or two, they suspend the account and wait for him to rectify the situation.
after another few months, they send it to collections due to non-payment.
Grampa Simpson
Banned
Which of the four steps on this page is call microsoft?
http://support.xbox.com/en-US/billi...management/cancel-xbox-live-gold-subscription
Have you not read the fucking thread?
Seems pretty clear to me. If you wanted to avoid charges to your card you could have simply set Autorenew to OFF instead of going through the HTML to find a buried link. Hell, you don't even have to call them as the option for cancelling is 'Request a Call from Support'
Was that changed since this started, or perhaps different in the US?
Downright stupid system and should be illegal. The fact they can take your credit card easily yet make you jump through hoops is ludicrous and they should be taken to town on it. I cancelled last summer and the fact that you actually have to phone someone and wait for something like this when you are dealing with the biggest software company in the world is laughable.
Speedymanic
Banned
Seems pretty clear to me. If you wanted to avoid charges to your card you could have simply set Autorenew to OFF instead of going through the HTML to find a buried link. Hell, you don't even have to call them as the option for cancelling is 'Request a Call from Support'
Was that changed since this started, or perhaps different in the US?
give it up, he chose not to call them and instead went through some crazy convoluted methods to make sure he wasn't charged, so the blame falls to him. any rational person can see this, but he won't accept it's his fault though, so just leave it he.
Grampa Simpson
Banned
Grampa Simpson
Banned
Speedymanic
Banned
...
you were wrong to not call them, they don't owe you anything and they certainly don't need to withdraw the outstanding balance. if you didn't want to be charged, you should have called them.
I find it baffling that you can't accept this basic fact and admit that you hold a lot of the responsibility and fault for what you're currently going through.
Grampa Simpson
Banned
So, once again, why was there no link to cancel renewal?
fabricated backlash
Member
So it was his fault that Microsoft isn't offering him a working link on their site?
No link?
How is any of this unclear? Follow the instructions and it takes you right to it.
StarCreator
Member
No link?
How is any of this unclear? Follow the instructions and it takes you right to it.
It's been pointed out over and over that these options are region specific. They apparently only appear in regions where local laws require them to be there.
But then who do you call when it doesn't work? Then what? How silly.
Microsoft accountants and web designers in this thread
List of acceptable reasons for having CC removal or autorenew cancel being harder than a click on a webpage:
I called to get my CC removed (couldn't do it from the webpage!) and they told me they would have to cancel the account because it was tied to the credit card (wtf?). After some polite but stern 'fuck you no', they eventually relented, removed it, and sent me a one use code that I then applied to my account with no credit card on file.
So it isn't a matter of them not being able to do these things, its a corporate policy to make it a pain in the ass so people get tagged with charges they don't want. Mail in rebates 101 - lazy people pay more!
Can you avoid this by being alert and monitoring your financial transactions carefully? Of course, that's true everywhere in life, but its utterly absurd for large well known companies to pull these stunts. Its apparently perfectly legal, so they do.
List of acceptable reasons for having CC removal or autorenew cancel being harder than a click on a webpage:
I called to get my CC removed (couldn't do it from the webpage!) and they told me they would have to cancel the account because it was tied to the credit card (wtf?). After some polite but stern 'fuck you no', they eventually relented, removed it, and sent me a one use code that I then applied to my account with no credit card on file.
So it isn't a matter of them not being able to do these things, its a corporate policy to make it a pain in the ass so people get tagged with charges they don't want. Mail in rebates 101 - lazy people pay more!
Can you avoid this by being alert and monitoring your financial transactions carefully? Of course, that's true everywhere in life, but its utterly absurd for large well known companies to pull these stunts. Its apparently perfectly legal, so they do.
Grampa Simpson
Banned
The practice of doing something sleazy because it generates some income and it's not illegal yet is whats pissing me off. They know it's sleazy, but it helps them keep up their subscriptions rate so they do it anyway.
For a lot of people (often myself included) it's not worth the time jumping through hoops to save the admittedly rather small amount of money it costs to keep it every year.
For a lot of people it's a time vs money vs frustration equation. Guess which one wins out in my case most of the time?
For a lot of people (often myself included) it's not worth the time jumping through hoops to save the admittedly rather small amount of money it costs to keep it every year.
For a lot of people it's a time vs money vs frustration equation. Guess which one wins out in my case most of the time?
Zoe
Member
Are you okay with losing out on all the money you spent on DL content?
What really pisses me off is that auto-renewal will charge you full price. However, if you turn off auto-renewal and let your account turn silver, there is almost always an ad for a deal for XBL Gold sitting there on the 360 dashboard.
My Live ends in November, and my account has been set to "auto-renew off" for months. If that button magically switches to "on" in October, I'm seriously never buying the 360 successor.
My Live ends in November, and my account has been set to "auto-renew off" for months. If that button magically switches to "on" in October, I'm seriously never buying the 360 successor.
I've posted my tale of woe in threads like this before, but here goes.
I called and turned off auto-renew, which they did. I then requested that the card be removed, and they told me that they couldn't do that. I told them that the expiration date was set for a few months from that day, but the rep still wouldn't take the card off.
In the past people have told me they lied to me, which is a great policy for a company to have.
I called and turned off auto-renew, which they did. I then requested that the card be removed, and they told me that they couldn't do that. I told them that the expiration date was set for a few months from that day, but the rep still wouldn't take the card off.
In the past people have told me they lied to me, which is a great policy for a company to have.
But as been stated in this topic, the phone service isn't there to allow you to turn off auto-renewal. It is there to bug you to hell so you don't turn it off.
Grampa Simpson
Banned
Nope, and that's why I'll probably give in to their shit in some way at some point to make sure they're not non-recoverable.
I would like to play RE4 on my XBOX at some point.
Past that though, I will not be buying their next generation console, and it would take a special circumstance for me to purchase another game on the 360. The only one I could think of would be Resident Evil 6, and even there, I'm hoping for better options.
this. they will ban you. I don't have a 360 and even I know that!!!! Just cancel autorenewal
change your region to one that accepts canceling autorenewal from ms site
Darkmakaimura
Can You Imagine What SureAI Is Going To Do With Garfield?
I remember waiting on the phone for approximately 45 minutes just to have them turn off my autorenewal.
I called Xbox, waited a long time, talked to someone who had to transfer me to another guy, waited, finally talked to someone who then talked me into renewing for about 4 more months but said he would only charge me for 3 months (I was subscribed for a year when I called) and took it.
I called Xbox, waited a long time, talked to someone who had to transfer me to another guy, waited, finally talked to someone who then talked me into renewing for about 4 more months but said he would only charge me for 3 months (I was subscribed for a year when I called) and took it.
Grampa Simpson
Banned
So why should one have to jump through hoops for this? That's the big issue.