Does it work trying to cancel a subscription you can't access by calling credit card company and not authorizing?
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Anonymous
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I have been trying to cancel a Microsoft 365 subscription I purchased for my 13 year old 4 years ago. He set it up using an email he created and a pre-paid flip phone. Foolishly I let him use my American Express thinking it was a one time purchase. My so no longer remembers that email and no longer has that phone number. I tried to call Microsoft to cancel the subscription but I got the run around. They said they can't look up the account using a credit card number. I tried calling back to reach a supervisor but I think they blocked my phone number and it goes straight to a voice mail that says to do it online.
I called American Express to block them so it doesn't get charged next year. Will this work? American Express had a canned speech that they read. It didn't seem clear if they would or not. |
Anonymous
| I have the same question about a different subscription. It ought to be so much easier to cancel recurring charges. I think California is on the verge of passing (or has recently passed) legislation that restricts auto-renew. |
Anonymous
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That won't work. You can have Amex replace your card with a new number though so MS can't charge you.
You can also write MS a letter revoking the authorization to charge your Amex card then dispute the charge with Amex. |
Anonymous
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Can you call from another phone or thru star69 (blocks your number) and press whatever to get NEW service. Those calls typically get answered first. Or press for Spanish speaking. I believe they are required to be bilingual at most call centers.
Good luck |
Anonymous
Card number is a security code not an account. Changing your card numbers does not cancel your contracts with 3rd parties, and many CC companies will do the right thing and migrate recurring charges to the new card. If you legitimately cancelled the subscription but the company is fraudulently refusing you with malicious incompetence, issue a chargeback and then fight the credit report. |
Anonymous
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I had the same issue canceling my Dropbox subscription a few years ago. The company made it extremely difficult to locate the cancel option even after multiple emails to the company. As a result, I flagged it as a fraudulent transaction and explained the failed communication attempts to the cc company. The cc blocked the monthly charge, but Dropbox found a way around it and continued billing me even though the cc card communicated that I no longer wanted the service.
It took several months to resolve, and I absorbed a few months of charges because the cc company reversed them. I will never do business with Dropbox again. |
Anonymous
| Make a CFPB complaint especially since it was a minor who set up the account. Also make your kid pay it for not being responsible for passwords. |
Anonymous
| Bank of America just allowed me to do this because we couldn’t get a pay as you go phone company to cancel a recurring charge even though the phone numbers associated had long been cancelled. The bank rep said this means we can no longer do business with this company because any and all charges will be denied. Of course, that’s easier to swallow with a shady company than with Microsoft. |
Anonymous
| My dad had this problem with Comcast and they said they cannot block the charge. My dad disputed and won a charge back and Comcast billed that same charge again to the same credit card! They issued him a new card with a new number and said that should prevent them from billing him again. I feel so bad that my elderly father had to deal woth all this sh*t and Comcast is being so unethical about it. |
Anonymous
| We've had this issue with DoorDash -- really frustrating! Might end up closing the card account entirely over it. |
Anonymous
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You can absolutely dispute the charge with your cc company.
Spouse purchased something (some sort of upgraded subscription) with Linked in while unemployed that automatically renewed (he had forgotten). Trying to contact LinkedIn was impossible, so we disputed the charge. Linked In didn't fight it, and we didn't pay it |
Anonymous
| I have the same issue with the New York Times - they keep charging my credit card but they can’t find the account so can’t cancel it. My credit card won’t block it, and they said that if I cancel the credit card and issue a new one the charge will just port to the new card. It’s mind boggling - how can this be legal? |
Anonymous
Lol @ cant find the account. That's some serious made up BS right there. Clearly they can find it when it comes time to billing it so it'd not lost in some mythological filing cabinet. |
Anonymous
I actually had so many issues with logging into NYTimes on my phone that I called to cancel the subscription. I thought we were done but two years later I realized they were still charging me. If I remember correctly I called NYTimes to cancel immediately and then I told my credit card company to refuse the charge. I am wondering if it is dependent on the credit card. I only have credit union memberships. |
Anonymous
| I recently called my bank to request help for a similar issue had they said the solution was to cancel the card and get a new one issued. It worked! After read in this thread I just checked my account and that subscription, which hits the card at this time every month, didn’t go through. I’m thinking of not activating the new card when I get receive it. |