Nate
Subscriptions are like the modern-day version of gym memberships: easy to get into, but tough to break free from. You think you’re signing up for a steal of a deal, but before you know it, you’re locked in a never-ending cycle of charges for things you didn’t even know you needed—or wanted.
Before you hit that “subscribe” button, take a second look. Or better yet, take a look at these subscription scams exposed by customers who took to the internet, armed with pitchforks and hashtags, to warn the rest of us about the traps lurking in the fine print. Save yourself the hassle, the heartbreak, and the hefty charges.
1. “People Are Sick And Tired Of All Their Subscriptions. Well Played, The Wall Street Journal, Well Played”
2. “Free” Trial
3. “After Going Through Five Pages To Cancel Your $4 New York Times Subscription You Get This”
4. “Netflix Hides The ‘Happy Middle-Ground’ Option To Entice People Into The Most Expensive Subscription”
5. “Filtered Water Requires A Subscription And An App.”
6. “Walmart Is Charging Me 10 Days Before The Free Trial Ends. This Is Why I Don’t Use My Bank Card For Free Trials. I Also Keep It Locked, Just In Case. Google Is Bad About Doing This Too”
7. “HelloFresh Now Forces You To Talk To A Sales Rep If You Want To Cancel Your Subscription”
8. “I Keep Canceling, And For Some Reason, The Membership Keeps Continuing. This Is Already The Third Time I’m Canceling My Membership”
9. “Ultimate Guitar Costs More For A Year If You Use The 7-Day Free Trial”
10. “My Free Subscription To Paramount+ Is Up Tomorrow And So I Was Going To Cancel Today. No Matter How Many Times I Try, Or Reset My Browser, It Won’t Let Me. This Has To Be Illegal, Right?”
11. “I Don’t Print Much So I Canceled My Subscription… Now I Print Even Less”
12. “Trying To Cancel A Subscription, And Suddenly This Happens”
13. “Netflix Won’t Let Me Watch The Last Few Weeks Of My Subscription Without Resubscribing. There’s No Option To Continue Watching Without Selecting A New Plan”
14. “Adobe Must Be Joking… £109.82 To Cancel My Plan. Honestly Ridiculous”
15. “This Should Be Illegal. If You Allow People To Sign Up For A Plan On Your Mobile Device Or App, You Should Be Forced To Allow People To Cancel The Same Way”
16. “Get Your 7-Day Free Trial For The Amazing Price Of 200 Dollars”
17. “The Color Scheme Of This Email Spotify Sent Me”
18. “We Refuse Your Unsubscribe”
19. “Brand New Toyota Requires A Subscription”
20. “Can’t Reset My Yahoo Password Because I Have A New Number. Went Online And Read That It’s A Premium Feature Now”
21. “My New Truck Requires A $15/Month Data Plan To Use Features My Previous Model Did For Free (Maps, Basic Voice Commands, Text-To-Voice Messages)”
22. “For Weeks I Couldn’t Figure Out How To Unsubscribe”
23. “I’m Not Paying A Damn Subscription To Watch DVDs On My PC”
24. “Imagine Paying For A Subscription And There Are 5 Unskippable Ads In A Non-Live Show On Hulu”
25. “The App I Paid Money For Discontinued Because Their New App Is Subscription-Based”
26. “My $400 Baby Monitor Has Locked Previously Free Features Behind A Monthly Subscription”
27. “The Button To End Subscription Doesn’t Work”
28. “Trying To Cancel A Subscription Via Text Message”
29. “What’s The Point Of Paying For A Subscription? What’s The Point Of Paying For The Premium Family Plan If I Have To Pay More To Use It? I Hate Everything About This”
30. “The Website For My Physics College Textbook Has A Subscription For The Solution Of Questions”
31. “I Just Wanted To Cancel My Subscription, But Now I Have To Talk To Someone”
32. “Water Subscription At My Local Gym”
33. “PlayStation Now Is A Joke. Pay For A Subscription And Then You Have To Wait In A Queue To Play”
34. “No ‘None’ Option On An Unsolicited Email Subscription”
35. “UltimateGuitar Shows A Fake Tutorial Video With The Title Of The Song You’re Trying To Learn. Clicking It Just Brings You To The Sign-Up Page For Their Premium Subscription”
36. “They’re Trying To Make Us Pay Subscriptions On Everything. Greedy Companies”
37. “CAPTCHA To Uninstall And The Big Cancel Button Instead Of Continuing”
38. “I Canceled My Netflix Subscription Last July Because I Didn’t Want To Use It Anymore, And Ever Since, They Have Barraged Me With These Emails, Trying To Get Me To Come Back”
39. “Can’t Cancel My Subscription. Whenever I Try, It Always Leads Me To This Screen”
40. “So I Paid $250 For A Fitbit Watch And Half Of Its Features Are Behind A Subscription Paywall”
