Information about the Giant Bomb billing

This is just meant to be an informative post, I was charged recently when I wasn't expecting it so I just wanted to give a heads up to anyone who might be in a similar spot. I am sure many of you guys know this but hopefully someone will benefit.

If you have bought a Giant Bomb yearly subscription you will automatically be billed on that date for every future year. This auto renew is the default behavior, so unless you explicitly cancel you will be charged. There are no notices that this charge will be coming up, it will just happen. The charge is the $49.95 yearly fee.

Should you be charged, there are no refunds, even if no time has elapsed. https://auth.giantbomb.com/support/#1-5

If you don't want to automatically be charged you can use the below link. There is no discount in auto renewing so you can always stop the auto renew then buy should you change your mind or when it gets close to your ending date.

https://auth.giantbomb.com/cancel/

This has come up like a thousand times, it's not a surprise, it's not some hidden thing that is never mentioned. You just weren't paying much attention.

Thanks for reminding me to add my new replacement debit card though.

@MordeaniisChaos: again, the point of this post is not to indite GB nor to excuse me. I think your reaction is a little misplaced as I don't believe anywhere in my post was I taking a stance against GB that you should be compelled to defend.

Maybe you don't believe that anyone is unaware of this, I believe some people might be. The fact that you say this has come up a thousand times actually seems to support this though, as it seems other people have been caught unawares.

My current status is "Premium Annual Member through Nov. 23, 2012. (no-rebill)" so it seems like I won't be charged if I decide not to renew my sub.

@burnttoast: I'm not saying you're taking a stance, I'm just saying the info was right there for you. My stance is you need to pay attention when buying things, not defending GB. It's also a topic that has happened a number of times in the past.

I'm in the same boat with @burnttoast - Had a god damn email gone out a few day prior saying, "Hey, just a heads up, your GB subscription is coming up for renewal" then I would've been able to go and make sure it did not. But nope, I get screwed and even though I tried to cancel again the day I saw the charge email, I was pretty much told, to go F myself, no refunds.

@keithfreitag@Lumley@MordeaniisChaos

The way GB does it is actually in violation of CA law, and probably laws in other states or European countries as well.

Specifically, SB 340 "imposes rigorous information, notice and consent requirements on businesses (the "Offeror" or "Offerors") that make automatic renewal or continuous service offers to California residents".

Giantbomb (GB) does not adhere to "Offerors also may not charge the consumer's credit card without affirmative consent from the consumer and must provide an acknowledgment of that consent in a form that is "capable of being retained" by the consumer. This acknowledgment must detail the offer terms, the cancellation policy and how to cancel the automatic renewal or continuous service." Meaning that if GB wanted to pursue its existing billing it would need to send an email with the details of how it auto renews and how to opt out when the first subscription is purchased. GB does not do this, none of this information is sent despite billing defaulting to auto renew (it renews without user action to confirm or turn it on). Additionally, there is no 'affirmative consent' to the automatic renewal. The consent in the payment process is just to the 1 year subscription (I think you could argue), not to the renewal process as the law seems to call out.

Here are some human readable links on the law:

http://www.perkinscoie.com/news/pubs_detail.aspx?op=updates&publication=2875

http://venturebeat.com/2011/04/18/ask-the-attorney-the-auto-renewal-conundrum/

@burnttoast: Maybe you should take a look at the Terms of Service before posting something like this...or maybe before agreeing to them in the first place.

"Renewal

For your convenience, after your subscription period ends, there is an automatic renewal of subscription and billing of your credit card. If you do not wish for your subscription to renew, go to your Profile page, select “Billing,” and select “Cancel.” Your subscription will be cancelled at the end of the current term."

@MB: I don't see how that is relevant to me posting this, or is relevant to the law. The automatic billing is mentioned in the FAQ section of the site too (which is more accessible than the TOS) and I wouldn't say that changes anything in what I have said.

I would say my posting has been accurate, careful if anything. Unless you are somehow not saying that I shouldn't post but rather that the rights under the law are waived under the TOS?

@burnttoast: It's relevant because you are claiming that there is no notification that subscriptions will be automatically rebilled, when in fact that is not the case.

I'm responding specifically to this part of what you said:

GB does not do this, none of this information is sent despite billing defaulting to auto renew (it renews without user action to confirm or turn it on). Additionally, there is no 'affirmative consent' to the automatic renewal. The consent in the payment process is just to the 1 year subscription (I think you could argue), not to the renewal process as the law seems to call out.

It's stated right on the subscription purchase page that it will be rebilled after a year, and it's stated again in the subscription TOS that must be agreed to before purchasing said subscription. You're reaching.

@burnttoast: The ToS meets all the requirements of the law. You consented to it renewing by agreeing to the ToS, you are 100% capable of accessing or making a copy of the ToS, and it outlines how to cancel the autorenewal. What's the fucking problem here?

Yep, you gave your affirmative consent when you agreed to the TOS which explicitly details how you will be charged and how to cancel it.

This has kind of side-stepped the point though, I don't think the OP is unreasonable in posting this, it's perfectly fair information to spread even if you don't need it.

Why do you care?

@yoshimitz707: @MB

Fine guys, you are right I am not a lawyer. I do not know what 'capable of being retained' means, though I assumed it was an email and not a TOS. But neither are you guys lawyers (I presume). I was going mainly off the text I was reading from those other sites.

http://venturebeat.com/2011/04/18/ask-the-attorney-the-auto-renewal-conundrum/

is an attorney listing things to be in compliance with the law and of that list what GB does not do for sure is:

Don’t use the negative option (GB is the negative option)

Provide acknowledgement of automatic renewal (GB does not do this 'after the purchase' as mentioned in the article)

Give ample notice (GB gives no notice in the days before charging)

I am not going to get in an argument of what is legal or what is not by pointing to that bill. Perhaps I was incorrect to do so. But I will point to that article and say it seems like GB is not doing it legally, because they fail to follow so much of that. I will also say it is really shitty to deny a person a refund who emails the day it is billed. Clearly that is not someone being abusive to GB. Maybe it is the comsumer's 'fault' but good companies, I believe, step up more then they are required to for stupid customers. That is the big idea of the refund which many companies do honor even if its by your bad choice.

@burnttoast: Have you asked for a refund? Try it, you may be surprised.

@MB: yes, my email was very nice. No anger on my part at all, just 'hey, didn't mean to rebill'. Got an email from Ryan saying no refunds and linking to the faq page. My follow up email was not responded to.

Check around on the site, they do the same for everyone. In this very thread keithfreitag is relating the same story.

@burnttoast: Look, Ryan is just trying to get his, okay? He's got a lot of hummingbird mouths to feed.

OP, I agree with you.

I think Giant Bomb shouldn't use the negative option and give ample notice.

Additionally I think a good company would honor your request to have your money refilled as you clearly didn't want to continue being subscribed and only noticed it because your credit card company informed you, and not the company that wants your money. Also you immediately contacted them, so "No refunds" is a shitty reply for customer satisfaction.

This is very unfortunate for you but I hope this thread helps others that are not interested in continuing their subscription to cancel the re-billing.

@burnttoast said:

@MB: yes, my email was very nice. No anger on my part at all, just 'hey, didn't mean to rebill'. Got an email from Ryan saying no refunds and linking to the faq page. My follow up email was not responded to.

Check around on the site, they do the same for everyone. In this very thread keithfreitag is relating the same story.

That's unfortunate. You'd think they could be a bit more reasonable considering no notifications were sent out.

Yeah, I'm with OP. I don't mind the auto renewal as a matter of convenience for me, but I think it could easily screw someone over. Also, the across the board no refunds thing kind of sucks. Seems pretty consumer hostile to me. Just my two cents

@MB: yes, my email was very nice. No anger on my part at all, just 'hey, didn't mean to rebill'. Got an email from Ryan saying no refunds and linking to the faq page. My follow up email was not responded to.

Check around on the site, they do the same for everyone. In this very thread keithfreitag is relating the same story.

Yeah, I didn't realise it was on auto-renewal either, and when I got charged it was a surprise, it's not a good practice. Just because the information is available if you dig around, doesn't mean it's the right way to go about it. This was last year though, so I changed it then.