Subscribers: Cancel Your Subscriptions (Sort of...)

[Jason Dunn]

A little over a year ago when we first launched the <a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/subscribe.php">subscriber services</a>, I had the option to set it up as a one-time billing or an auto-recurring charge. I dislike how I have to renew my Maximum PC magazine subscription every year, and often I miss an issue because the processing time is so long. At any rate, I thought that doing the same thing with the Pocket PC Thoughts subscription would be a good thing, but it turns out it wasn't. Because of a breakdown in our email system, subscribers aren't being notified that they're going to be billed again via PayPal. And because of the way PayPal works, I neither have the ability to check which people are going to be re-billed, nor do I have the ability to cancel the auto-renew. 2checkout, our credit card processing company, at least sends out messages telling customers they're going to be billed, but it doesn't give the customer a way to cancel the transaction - they have to file an "issue" with 2checkout, then I have to go in and cancel it. 8O Worse yet, our system for activating subscriptions only works well when the person is paying - the renewals really complicate things. This whole thing has given me a headache, and I'm trying to sort it all out.<br /><br />So here's what I'm asking all <a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/subscribe.php">subscribers</a> <b>who paid via PayPal</b> to do: log into your PayPal account, then click on the MY ACCOUNT > HISTORY tab, then do a SHOW: SUBSCRIPTIONS. You may need to adjust the date to show you all of 2003 - the goal here is for you to find your Pocket PC Thoughts subscription, which will show up as being from Thoughts Media. What you want to do is click on the DETAILS of the subscription, then CANCEL SUBSCRIPTION down at the bottom. <b>This will have no impact on your actual subscription to the site</b>. The only thing this will do is stop you from being billed automatically again. When you want to renew your subscription, you'll do so by paying for it again.<br /><br />If you paid for your subscription via credit card, I'm in the process of going through and cancelling all the 2checkout recurring orders - I should have this complete within the hour. You should receive an email from 2chekcout indicating that the recurring charge has been cancelled, but remember this doesn't impact your actual subscription on our site. To prevent any further recurring subscriptions from being set up, I've temporarily broken the 2checkout links - we'll be transitioning them over to non-recurring charges.<br /><br />There are still a few people who paid from a recurring charge that I still have to process (both PayPal and 2checkout), so I'll get those in order today. If you're having any subscription issues by tomorrow, drop me an email (subscriber@) and I'll look into it. Thanks for your patience - once we get this straightened out, our next focus is the subscriber benefits page, the PDAmill codes, and all that jazz.<br /><br /><b>UPDATE:</b> This includes you lifetime subscribers who paid via PayPal. PayPal has a bug with their subscriptions that I believe will try to bill you again for the lifetime subscription. <b><span style="color:red">Everyone who subscribed via PayPal should be cancelling the PayPal portion of their subscription to ensure that the auto-renew will not occur</span></b>. Thanks!<br /><br /><b>UPDATE #2:</b> If, when you're looking at the PayPal subscription details, you don't see a CANCEL SUBSCRIPTION button, that means that you aren't set up to auto-renew and you have nothing to worry about (most of you lifetime subscription people will be in this groups). My apologies for this being so confusing. :?

[lisantica]

On my way to Paypal now.

[Jason Dunn]

On my way to Paypal now.

Thanks! It's mildly depressing to see all these cancellation notices roll in - I need to keep reminding myself "They're not cancelling for REAL!" :lol:

[lisantica]

On the part where you say,

"What you want to do is click on the DETAILS of the subscription"

I got a little confused, but quickly figured out that I have to click on my subscription number to take me into the details. Then it's just 2 cancel clicks away (guess they ask you twice to make sure).

You're correct, I'm still a subscriber as I didn't receive a refund, just a cancellation.

Lisa

[Spenser]

Jason, you said it's for "all subscribers who paid via PayPal".
Am I correct to assume, that it's NOT for the lifetime subscribers?
Spenser

[Jason Dunn]

Jason, you said it's for "all subscribers who paid via PayPal".
Am I correct to assume, that it's NOT for the lifetime subscribers?
Spenser

Actually, it's for EVERYONE, because PayPal has some crazy bugs that I think will try to re-bill a lifetime subscriber. :roll:

[Jeff Rutledge]

Jason, does this need to be done for all Thoughts sites? I have lifetime subs here and on DigitalMediaThoughts. I assume the answer is yes but...

[Spenser]

Jason, you may not know it: Germans don't have access to Paypal-USA anymore (at least so far as I know). I sincerly hope that Paypal-Germany "knows" what I have "done" last year. I'll let you know.
Spenser

[OJ]

Just received a notice via email from 2checkout that my cc transaction was cancelled. Do I need to resubscribe manually from my subscription page?

Orley

[karinatwork]

What if I want to auto-renew? Do I still have to cancel? 8O

[Jeff Rutledge]

OK, either I'm blind or you don't need to do this if you've got a lifetime subscription. I can get to the subscription details OK, but can't see any button/link to cancel.

Has anyone else with a lifetime sub tried this? It's very possible that I am in fact blind. 8)

[disconnected]

I can't find it either. I'm also a lifetime subsriber, and I can see four entries in the history --
July 2, 2003 -- subscribtion creation (no dollar amount)
July 17, 2003 -- transfer from credit card
July 17, 2003 -- payment to Thoughts Media
July 17, 2003 -- subscription completion (no dollar amount)

I clicked Details for each one, but none of them has anything about cancelling.

[Jeff Rutledge]

I can't find it either. I'm also a lifetime subsriber, and I can see four entries in the history --
July 2, 2003 -- subscribtion creation (no dollar amount)
July 17, 2003 -- transfer from credit card
July 17, 2003 -- payment to Thoughts Media
July 17, 2003 -- subscription completion (no dollar amount)

I clicked Details for each one, but none of them has anything about cancelling.

Ditto, so maybe we're OK.

[OSUKid7]

Hmm...I didn't remember that I had a reoccuring subscription, but there was an active one listed in my history, so I canceled it.

[lisantica]

I was having a similar problem. I had to click on a long string of numbers..for me, that was the link that took me into a page where I could finally click on cancel.
Lisa

[Jason Dunn]

Jason, does this need to be done for all Thoughts sites? I have lifetime subs here and on DigitalMediaThoughts. I assume the answer is yes but...

No, on Digital Media Thoughts we didn't set up the auto-renew option. I think. Don't worry about it for now - I don't think you'll have any problems. ;-)

[Jason Dunn]

Just received a notice via email from 2checkout that my cc transaction was cancelled. Do I need to resubscribe manually from my subscription page?

Yes, that's correct. When you want to renew or add on another year (you can do so before your subscription is up), you'd just go to the subscription page and buy another one. :-)

[Jason Dunn]

What if I want to auto-renew? Do I still have to cancel? 8O

Yes, please do - it makes things MUCH easier for me because our system works best when we're doing it from scratch. The auto-renew is something we didn't anticipate properly and it's more work for me to process an auto-renewed subscription versus a brand new one.

[Jason Dunn]

Hmm...I didn't remember that I had a reoccuring subscription, but there was an active one listed in my history, so I canceled it.

Yeah, I have no way of checking, so the only thing I can ask is for people to check.

If you don't have a CANCEL button down at the bottom, it means you're ok - it won't renew.

[ftlum]

Can someone post a picture of what the cancel screen is supposed to look like? I don't see the button and am not sure if I am supposed to or not.

thanks,

- Frank

[nosmohtac]

Jason,

I was going to renew, but I was going to go for the lifetime subscription.
Paypal took an auto payment out of my account for another year. Is there any way I can pay the difference and become a lifer.

[Jason Dunn]

I was going to renew, but I was going to go for the lifetime subscription. Paypal took an auto payment out of my account for another year. Is there any way I can pay the difference and become a lifer.

Email me privately about this (jason@) and we'll fix it up - I tried looking for your PayPal payment, but I can't find a payment from a "Clark T."