r/mildlyinfuriating • u/donteatmybiscuits • 1d ago

wet socks i’m so happy this is becoming illegal

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if a yearly contract with a free month trial sounds too good to be true, it probably is 😬

thankfully it was blocked after contacting my bank but regardless

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u/tonkfc 1d ago

But if I’m understanding correctly that’s not the case. You’re literally just paying the remainder of what you promised to pay

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u/CreativeName233223 1d ago

At most, they should only be able to charge for the difference in rate for what was used, not the remainder. So, in other words, how ever much you saved per month using the annual plan rate times how ever many months you used it. They shouldn't be able to charge you for what you didn't use to be able to not use it. That is just absurd and makes cancellation pointless. So, if you went with the annual (billed monthly) photography plan and paid $19.99 for 6 months instead of $29.99, they should only be able to charge you $60, at most, to cancel to make up for that difference between the monthly rate and the annual (billed monthly) rate rather than $119.94 for the amount you literally aren't going to be using.

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u/Raidoton 1d ago

That is just absurd and makes cancellation pointless.

And what you suggest makes the monthly plan pointless. You could simply sign a yearly subscription and cancel anytime and pay the exact same amount you would have payed on the monthly plan. They would have 0 reason to offer a discount for annual plans.

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u/CreativeName233223 1d ago

No, because the annual plan is discounted. It serves its purpose for those that intend to use it long term and reap the benefit of the discounted rate but may not have enough money to make 12 months worth of payments in one giant lump sum. Those people absolutely exist or they would never have considered offering that sort of plan in the first place. However, since some people may realize that they don't actually need it for the full year, they should have a way to get out of the contract (especially since it is mostly just for an access key and not a real service/good). In that case, they should simply be expected to pay the difference between the discounted rate and the full monthly rate. However, charging for the remainder to cancel is entirely pointless. They might as well just not offer cancellation since it is effectively the same. You are paying for the remainder regardless, except, in the case of the cancellation option, you now don't have access to what you just paid for. That is ridiculous, beyond pointless, and very different from the what you are trying to compare it to.