If this had happened in the UK, you'd have the option to pro-actively block the payment, recover it, and legal standing to defend getting your money back.
Letting companies redefine the rights of their customers seems bizarre to me.
I'm sure it's obvious by now but perhaps it's worth restating:
Those companies have large budgets for contributing to elected officials' campaigns. The individual consumers negatively affected by these practices can't band together as efficiently as the large business on the other side of the abusive behavior.
As long as enough elected officials entertain these businesses in visits, allow them to help write legislation, and accept contributions from them, it won't change.
Also, executive agencies have to put out proposals for new rule making and allow a period of public comment. The business in the sector have entire staffs and/or contract with firms whose job it is to watch these publications and craft intelligent responses backed up by fudged data to "prove" how "damaging" these policies would be to the industry.
The individuals who respond are mostly retired people/activist citizens who can only say "this is a bad idea and I don't like it at all."
I consulted with some lawyers and they told me since I had only done business on the phone (the only way the company does this business by the way) that was essentially my word against the companies. There was no way to email them and even when I did they refused to confirm or deny any account status unless I called them.
That's not to say consumer rights aren't important, I think America could do better, but I certainly do not feel protected in the UK. It's worth noting that the bulk of my exposure to UK based utility companies or government departments has suffered from similar problems, no easy way to paper trail requests made making these kinds of consumer rights ombudsmans worthless.
Keep a record of that and when it comes down to having to make a complaint you can present it to the ombudsman.
> Letting companies redefine the rights of their customers seems bizarre to me.
Maybe it's just what I was used to, but I think it's far more annoying in many European countries (not sure about the UK but at least the one I live in) where it's harder to return products without specific proof and following strict guidelines, virtually impossible to get a credit or debit card that covers all fees for normal international use, difficult to get a fraud or improper charge on a card statement immediately rescinded, etc.
I'm not sure how exactly it compares, but every credit card at least in my lifetime in the US has been bound by these same protections.
> What kind of cover for fees for international use are you talking about?
Sorry, this is more of a tangent that I should have denoted, as it's not specifically related to fraud or consumer rights. At least compared to the major European and Asian countries in which I've traveled or lived in, credit card and bank/debit card offerings in the US are extremely generous in benefits, rewards, fees, etc. I actually still sometimes use my US card in a European country because my US bank offers lower fees than my domestic bank (in the home country) for ATMs, currency exchange, card replacements, etc.
> Speaking from Australia, we have outstanding customer protection and rights, and no massive hoops or hurdles to go to get it that would be more significant than anything in the US.
I'm honestly not sure how this compares to the US or elsewhere as I've never been to Australia. I'm regularly surprised by how inflexible businesses seem in much of continental Europe, however.
That's true in my experience. It's hard to find a card that doesn't charge ridiculous fees for foreign transactions (even in local currency), for example.
There's the other side of the medal though. Which is that somebody is going to pay for this generosity by the card companies.
Either merchants pay ludicrous fees, which are severely capped in Europe. Or card companies outright rip off the less fortunate members of society by usurious interest rates and fees. Fees, which may be outright criminal[1] if charged in some of the European countries.
[1] That's not hyperbole. For example: Interest rates in Switzerland are capped at 15% annually. If you charge more than that for a loan it's usury, which is part of the criminal code.
Probably still better than US, but that's not saying much.
and with a new subscription to the economist. tried to cancel a few months ago, mostly because i didn’t like how they would charge my card without warning or an invoice. it was all just super stealth. worst part was you couldn’t cancel online, you were supposed to call. but you couldn’t call either because their phone staff wasn’t working due to covid. so convenient for them. had to file a formal dispute with my card. also, never again.
ironically both free market publications. may the free market flush these awful, consumer hostile companies down the toilet.
https://www.quora.com/How-do-I-unsubscribe-easily-from-WSJ-o...
They are actively trying to scam me. Why would I want to be a "customer"?
First time i bought it via Amazon Prime, when it was available and with Amazon i could cancel stuff directly via Amazon at any time, bypassing WSJ minefields.
Then WSJ got smart and start selling it directly in hope to force subscribers to go through their sales jerks in case they want to cancel.
This made me to turn away from WSJ for good.
I signed up for a really good deal for 6 months of digital + paper delivery, but my paper always arrived a day or two late, so before my 6 months were up I tried to cancel, but couldn’t figure out a way to do so on their website. I messaged support asking them to not renew my subscription, and told them that the paper always arrived late. They responded back that they were going to give me a free subscription until they could figure out the paper delivery. I should have held firm and cancelled, but it seemed lke they were trying to provide good customer service.
Nothing changed with delivery, and I followed up a few times to see what was going on. I was told they were looking into it.
One day, out of the blue, I received a large bill from them. I called to see what was going on and I was told that my trial was up and since I hadn’t cancelled that it had renewed. A proceeded to tell the about my problems with delivery and that customer service was supposedly working on fixing the problem and not charging me until they could. The person on the phone told me that that’s not possible since they don’t provide same-day delivery to my address. I recounted exactly what had happened, and they basically told me I was a liar, and would not refund the charge because the user agreement says they don’t have to, even though I called within a few hours of the new charge and subscription renewal.
The part that really stung was that I was a PhD student and could get an entire year for less than what they charged me for a month. I’ve never had a company treat me so poorly before.