Auto-renewal for Premium servicesFollow

Well, just got an email saying ZAM charged my on-file credit card $30 for auto-renewing my next year of Premium services. Of course, the email comes AFTER the charge has cleared. I guess that's just "good business." They do remind me that I can shut off auto-renew for next year if I want to. I think I want to now. Here's why.

Man, how time flies. I had no problem with allowing auto-renewal many years ago since I couldn't imagine playing this game without the benefits of allakhazam EQ premium services. But the recent changes and the decline in admin support for the site.... Well, I do want to enjoy the next year as a premium subscriber but I do reserve the right to be ASKED if I want to renew my premium account in a year's time. I want to be sure the change (read: decline) in support services doesn't undermine my $30 annual investment. Yeah, two-and-a-half-bucks a month is chump change for the entertainment I've gleaned off this site over the years. But ZAM management will have little incentive to maintain service and support standards if subscribers don't vote their displeasure with their wallets---at least to the extent of cancelling AUTO-renew and ensuring this site that long-term loyal paying subscribers will have to be won over every year in order to keep their sub dollars flowing in.

I suggest other premium members consider doing the same thing.

Isn't there some way to cancel your premium membership at any time? Do they refund you the percentage of time you have remaining then? Not sure on the process here. I assume this is more about warning Zam that they need to up the service if they want future cash flow than actively seeking to cancel, but I figured I'd ask the question.

Hate to derail my own thread (altho if anyone can it's the OP, right? ) but isn't this overkill? Your credit card providers must love you. Wouldn't be easier to just to watch your credit card activity (you could log on daily if you're really paranoid) and just replace cards if/when you get unauthorized activity? You're fully protected against loss anyway. I also find these days banks are very proactive about detecting potential fraudulent activity. If I use one of my credit cards to buy something atypical for me, I will often get an email or even an automated phone call asking me to confirm that it's really ME doing the purchase. I value this kind of "intrusion" from my credit card companies since it works to keep me secure online.

You could also get a Discover card which lets you use disposable one-time-use credit card numbers. Some Visa and MC providers do the same although not the majority, which is stupid since this is one of the best ways to protect your on-line purchasing experience.


Edited, Sep 17th 2015 7:17am by Sippin

First, I don't do Discover (just like I don't do Nike). Personal choice. I worked for MorganStanleyDeanWitter when they owned Discover. There are practices that occur (still!) that I don't agree with.

All it takes is ONE negative incident, where a bank decides to drag their feet on protection against unauthorized charges for most people to look for ways to mitigate their damages themselves. I've had FOUR. Problem with your supposition is, I don't have buying patterns that fit the 'average consumer'. For example, at the height of my interest, I had 20+ EQ accounts active at once, all subscribed. Most banks (at the time) had alarms that shut down a card when multiple charges of the same amount hit at around the same time, even when the account had a history of this happening.

Keep this in mind. Everything is 'overkill' to someone.....until something bad happens. Then it's "What could we have done differently?". I watch my accounts like a hawk (I am/was an accountant, it comes with the territory) but I'm fallible and I acknowledge this. I have charges ranging in amount from $4.23 to $1875.44 and I don't always immediately recognize the abbreviated name of some vendors as it appears on the charge. I also travel a lot (20+ years as a travel agent) so it's not uncommon for there to be charges from three continents on my account in a month. So I'm speaking to my banks a lot already. But I haven't had an unauthorized charge in 12 years so my method works for me and that's really all that matters.

Hey, I hear you, I really do. Most people in MY life think I'm paranoid about such things. It's always best to be extra cautious. i've been using credit cards for decades and I've never suffered a loss to fraud. I am fanatical in reconciling my account statements, matching every line item to a receipt or an Internet purchase printout. Just because, like you, I do buy a lot on the Internet and it's amazing how two months later you can forget about that DVD or book you bought, especially when the merchant's name appears in some cryptic unrecognizeable form.

You're also right that the same bank that tells you there is zero danger or risk that you'll be ripped off, they will be the first to hem and haw when you go to them for reimbursement for a legitimate loss. Just like a lot of insurance companies. It's a "dog-eat-dog"----er, "corporation eat consumer" world.

I can't find any account button where do I find it?
Thanks

Yeah, username. Turns out I did have it set to auto-renew... but I have changed that to a no.