Burned Again With A Free Trial I Didn't Know I Had

I certainly am not the first to write about "free trials", but nevertheless, I'm sick of being taken advantage of by companies that offer 'free trails" and then continue to take your money when they know you are not using their product or service...  they don't care as long as your money becomes theirs.  I'd like to think of it under the guise of "theft by deception".  Companies need to be accountable and become honest and trustworthy.

I just discovered I've been taken advantage of, in my opinion, by NetFlix and their DVD.com Service free trial. Unfortunately, I can't even tell how long this has been going on, they only keep a payment history for 12 months, so I need to research my own bank records going back before that. I don't ever recall asking for the trial, I think it came automatically, for free, when I subscribed to NetFlix.  I have never, ever, rented or used the NetFlix DVD Service...  EVER.

Nevertheless, I'm sure DVD.com, NetFlix and others that use the free trial come on, along with numerous others that sell subscription serviced products are doing so with a clear corporate conscious, after all, they'll show you it's all written out in the fine print and legalese, somewhere. Many have written on this issue and have offered suggestions of how to protect yourself.  Easier said than done.

We all should do all that has been suggested, but what about the companies themselves?  I am more on the side of less regulation, but, in this case, I think we need to hold companies to task, make sure they are honorable, trusting, and, looking out for the customers who don't have the time, resources, and sometimes, wherefore all, to know what they should be looking for.

From the Federal Trade Commission

Read more from the FTC by clicking << here >>

All well and good, but I'm all for putting some requirements on the company.  Using my experience with DVD.com, a NetFlix company, that apparently was for DVD rentals for $7.99/month plus $0.50 tax as an example.  I never rented a DVD (or even knew I could).  So far, all I have been able to determine is that they have been charging me for more than a year, month after month.  Why couldn't they be required to confirm with me, or any customer, after a certain amount of non-use of the service, verify if I wanted to continue being and customer before being charged further?  Why not a 2 month or a 3 month limit of non-use to cause the agreement is automatically terminate and charges stopped?  Why not create a simple, easy to find cancel button?  Another company, Sirus XM, requires their customers to call to cancel...  you can not write, email, click a button, you must call, when they are open and it is convenient to them.

When you hear about free trial legislation, support it....  better yet, write your representatives.