Streaming, lesson learned

[yogapam]

Originally Posted by donnamp

I'm sorry to hear that and I'm sorry to hear it was Lisa! I do wish there was a way to manage your subscription on the PBL site without having to e-mail Lisa directly. I enjoy popping in and out of that site from time to time, but I hate having to e-mail her to do so - I am not sure why - she never gave me any grief about it, but I just like the ease of managing things myself with a click of a button!

Donna

I manage my off and on subscription to Essentrics TV through PayPal as I don't like having to email them. It's easy to go to the automatic payment page at PP and cancel a payment. Essentrics sends me an invoice every month so it's easy to keep track of my monthly renewal date.

[antbuko]

Originally Posted by suzannaerin

Pilates by Lisa. I just got an email, advising that the canceled my subscription and it will not renew in 2019. I’ll try to log in later this week to see if they removed me from access despite my unwittingly paying for another year.

That's disappointing. I think they should have accommodated you I quit Chris Freytag's site and requested a refund and they did it without any push back at all.

[suzannaerin]

Originally Posted by cherimac

Yes. Pretty sure SBF does that now too. This didn’t used to be the case but is pretty much standard procedure these days.

But at least you can check your account information on her site so you know when to cancel without being charged. That’s the difference, there is no such opportunity at PBL.

I appreciate all the supportive comments here. As consumers, we need to look out for each other theses days.

[prettyinpink]

Originally Posted by suzannaerin

Pretty in pink, you are correct. I looked for my renewal date info on the site and couldn’t find it. On SBF and Cathe, you can see when your next renewal payment is coming, as well as payment info. I was tempted to call my card and dispute the charge, mostly because their screw you attitude.

If it were me I would consider disputing it if it were this much money.

You might not win, but they might not be following the rules for recurring charges for someone in the US, since you can’t find this info anywhere on the website, except, apparently, when you sign up.

[PhyllisG]

Try disputing it with your cc company. I did that recently with a recurring charge. I explained that I had authorized the initial charge but not the the recurring one. They refunded me.no problem. This was not for streaming. Worth a shot. Bet they won't be snotty with a cc company. Good luck.

[suzannaerin]

Originally Posted by prettyinpink

If it were me I would consider disputing it if it were this much money.

You might not win, but they might not be following the rules for recurring charges for someone in the US, since you can’t find this info anywhere on the website, except, apparently, when you sign up.

I think I will give it a try.

[susan p]

SBF does not auto-renew... At least, not as of my last renewal date, about 4 months ago. I got an email that said my service was expiring if I didn't renew. Of course, the website revamp happened since then, and I think there are some changes associated with that.

On most streaming sites you can access your account info and know your renewal date, but on PBL you can't. Lisa is very sweet when you contact her generally, but it's just a pain to have to take that extra step. I don't mind auto-renewing IF you can see your account status easily to keep track.

It seems that auto-renewing is, or is becoming, the industry standard. And if it's in the TOS, I think that's fair. But as I said, I also think you should be able to access your account status to know when your renewal is up.

[TracyQ]

Originally Posted by suzannaerin

I think I will give it a try.

I would reach out to Lisa’s customer service again and let them know that if they don’t give you a credit you will be disputing the charge with your cc company. Most vendors don’t want the hassle.

If you do dispute it I think you have a very good chance of winning. I had to open a dispute against a fitness vendor once and I got a refund pretty quickly. You have nothing to lose.

[txhsmom]

Originally Posted by susan p

SBF does not auto-renew... At least, not as of my last renewal date, about 4 months ago. I got an email that said my service was expiring if I didn't renew. Of course, the website revamp happened since then, and I think there are some changes associated with that.

On most streaming sites you can access your account info and know your renewal date, but on PBL you can't. Lisa is very sweet when you contact her generally, but it's just a pain to have to take that extra step. I don't mind auto-renewing IF you can see your account status easily to keep track.

It seems that auto-renewing is, or is becoming, the industry standard. And if it's in the TOS, I think that's fair. But as I said, I also think you should be able to access your account status to know when your renewal is up.

Susan,

You better watch out, because I believe that changed when SBF redid the website. I seem to remember someone here on VF having issues with an automatic renewal. You have to go in and "unrenew" a few days before renewal date (10 days?).

Carol

[kimf]

That's a pretty crappy way to make a buck!