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Why the post-trial billing?
Pantastic
Member Posts: 1,204
Does anyone understand why Mythic does that post-trial billing bit, where after the trial is up they automatically make the trial account a full account and start charging you? I tried the trial a while back, didn't really get hooked, and was vaguely considering picking up the epic box and giving it another run. Then I read a thread on the main forums, went and checked, and sure enough I had been charged for a month of the game. Sure, fine, I even remember the agreements at the beginning where they mentioned it, so there's nothing illegal or illicit about the charge and I'm certainly not going to contest it or anything.
But at the same time, it left a very bad taste in my mouth. It's a sleazy tactic, not neccesarily unethical but very unfriendly and clearly embracing the caveat emptor school of business over repeat business. Most trials you play the trial, let it run out, then decide whether to buy the game or not. Playing the trial for a while, stopping, then finding out later that you're actually paying for it now since you forgot that their free trial works differently than everyone else's. It's not really the amount of money that's important, I could save more than that by packing a lunch to work for a week or two, it's the principle of the thing.
I mean, sure, they got their $20 (or whatever the fee is) from me, and I hope they enjoy all that they can buy from it. But they lost out on the chance of me ever picking up the full version of DAOC, or of the months of subscription fees that would entail. And now whenever I think of Warhammer Online, I don't think of the game so much as I do of how they conned me out of my money, so I don't know if I'll end up picking what sounded like a game I'd be sure to like. And anytime I talk to someome about WAR now, the conversation will end up along the lines of 'yeah, it looks like it might be good, but I don't know about buying from Mythic because...' since it's the first thing I think of when I think of Mythic.
Doesn't seem like a smart decision to me, it's the kind of thing that leaves people with grudges for a piddling amount of money compared to what someome actually playing one of the games would pay.
Comments
Nothing anyone says can justify DAOC billing after trial is over.
It is just an unethical , sleezy way to perhaps make few more bucks... but more likely just to turn few potentional customers away.
"Before this battle is over all the world will know that few...stood against many." - King Leonidas
Most trials let you play then decide? We must play very different trials, you and I, as most every trial MMO I have done you are obliged to provide a credit card at account inception, with the clear understanding that the first 30 days are free and then the onus is upon you to cancel prior to the start of billing. Along these lines. most Services function the same- Dial-up ISPs, broadband (not all, but most), club memberships, etc. You provide the method of payment prior to receiving access to the free services, then should you choose to remain beyond the introductory period (by NOT cancelling) then you are immeadiatly charged at the beginning of the next cycle. They require the establishing of an account before moving forward even if no charges will immeadiately hit that account. Maybe these days this applies more in life than MMOs, I'm not as MMO active as I used to be, but it's something I see all the time as a concept
Nothing sleazy, sneaky, or unusual about it. I dont care for it myself much, but the rules are clearly stated. I dont play DAoC (did once upon a time for about 6 months at release) but pretty much every pay-to-play game I have met functions the same way, as do many general services that offer promotional periods. Or at least they did back when I played them (being all retired now just waiting for vanguard to see if i may play one last MMO or not)
This may be changing slightly in some MMO's recently with the advent of game cards..but it is not uncommon in the least.
2. Any game/service that requires your CC in advance is going to charge you. Why else are they asking for the CC info? There are a few minor reasons, but the biggest is essentially that they assume after the trial period you will keep on playing or using the services. It is not meant to be a trick, it is just how it works. The same as if you bought the boxed edition. You could have simply canceled the free trial before you were billed.
3. It is your money so you need to take responsibility for it.
4. I always love when people mention unethical. If ethics is such a clear cut issue, then why does humanity always argue over it since the dawn of civilization? So please, if what DAOC is doing is so unethical, teach me what makes something right.
Yes, DAoC does this.
Yes, other MMOGs do this as well.
Yes, it is a questionable practice.
The first thing that I do when I start a new trial is update my account information to remove my billing information and select CANCEL from the subscription list.
You just learned a $15 lesson.
Sucks to be you.
Shame on any business that does this.
It may not be unusual, but it is certainly sleazy. Telling me that other companies you've encountered use the same sleazy tactics doesn't mean that I have to think well of them at all. It's pretty telling how bad most MMO companies are when you can post something like "Most trials let you play then decide? We must play very different trials..." and not think anything of it.
OK, so they were just lying in all of the big bold text telling me that they wouldn't refund charges for account time? That's actually worse than them just saying 'you bought it' and refusing, in that they post a fake refund policy in order to discourage you from calling and asking. Like I said before, it's not really the money involved, it's the principle of the thing.
EVE didn't, and a single counterexample disproves your 'any' claim.
LOL, yeah right. If it's not meant to be a trick, why not have a confirmation after the trial period ends but before billing starts? Quite simple to do and would have left me not at all dissatisfied, plus they'd probably make far more money off of me.
So, what you're saying is that I should responsibility by being very damn careful anytime I'm dealing with a company like Mythic in the future? That's what I plan to do, thanks. I'm not sure why you even posted this, I didn't try to blame anyone else for me falling for Mythic's little trick, and the whole point of my initial post was that I will now think twice before doing any business with Mythic.
Since I never called their tactics unethical, I'm not sure why you posted this.
[quote]OldManFunk
You just learned a $15 lesson. Sucks to be you.[/quote[
Nah, sucks to be the company that traded a one-shot $15 for potentially getting that every month like clockwork. I think trying to trick a single payment from people instead of trying to get them hooked for the long-haul is just insane.
Yep.
No offense but this is the "standard" currently. Not saying it's right or wrong or whatever. Personally it's never bothered me. Whenever I try a free trial I *immediately* cancel right after starting the trial. That lets me play my trial period and not have to worry about being billed at the end.
Currently Playing: Dungeons and Dragons Online.
Sig image Pending
Still in: A couple Betas
This isn't just standard for MMOs it is standard practice for just about any free trial of a service you can sign up for online. classmates.com, Delphi forums, credit monitoring services.... you name it. They wouldn't ask for your credit card number if they didn't intend to charge you, and it is always on you to cancel the subscription during the trial period to avoid charges. Im pretty sure you are warned about it ahead of time.
-----Zero Punctuation Eve Online Review-----
So it seems like everyone agrees, I shouldn't expect Mythic to behave in a reasonable manner, I should be very careful about anything I agree to with them and should double-check everything to be sure I don't get caught by a similar trick in the future. It still amazes me how much goodwill companies are willing to burn for a piddling amount of money.
A reasonable person would conclude that if they want my CC info, they are going to bill it. A reasonable person would assume that since almost everything that asks for your CC bills it, DAOC would be no different. A trick would assume that in some way they deceived you. When you select your billing method the game confirms it. They did not do anything deceitful. If you were mislead, it was not by Mythic but instead by your own presumptions and lack of reasoning.
While I am sure Mythic likes the money you gave them, you could have easily gotten it back. People who forget to cancel, couldn't cancel, or simply made unreasonable presumptions like yourself and then blame them for YOUR mistake, often call Mythic. They will refund your money without a hassle. It seems as though Mythic is being responsible and certainly cares more about goodwill than money if they give it back to you.