Going to paste* this comment from HN I saw earlier today:
Proton, the company that still in 2023 doesn’t allow to cancel the auto renewal without losing access to the services you have already paid, the most anti-consumer thing I have seen in my life.
Here is how it works: 1. You pay for example for 2 years of access. 2. After a few months you decide to remove the auto renew and just use the remaining time of your subscription, your only option is to cancel your current subscription and lost access to any premium service you paid for, they give you credits for the remaining time of your subscription, that you can use if you contract other services.
So you are force to cancel the subscription before the renewal time and hope you don’t forget to cancel it.
Well generally if they cancel the service right then, yes you should get a prorated refund. The other alternative is simply allow for cancellation of the auto-renewal, so when the subscription runs out it simply expires.
I guess it means you have to cancel when your subscription is about to expire, because they won’t refund you or let you continue to use the service for the period you’ve already paid for.
If you cancel before that they’ll give you credits, which are useless if you don’t want to subscribe to another product of theirs.
So you are force to cancel the subscription before the renewal time and hope you don’t forget to cancel it.
I think the author actually means “force to cancel right before the renewal time (e.g. during the 12th month of a 2 year subscription)” because cancelling earlier means losing the rest of the subscription (according to the author). And if you forget to cancel during that short window you’ll be charged more money when it auto renews.
That’s definitely strange. Are you saying they won’t refund the credits and essentially lock you into paying for another service if you cancel a subscription?
No, what they’re saying is they do not understand Proton’s policy. They’re policy is an instant prorated refund the second you cancel. They also warn you about it.
Going to paste* this comment from HN I saw earlier today:
In what world is it anti-consumer to get back your money if you decide you don’t like the service?
Well generally if they cancel the service right then, yes you should get a prorated refund. The other alternative is simply allow for cancellation of the auto-renewal, so when the subscription runs out it simply expires.
Well apparently you don’t get a refund. You get credit for their service.
In the world of, I want my stuff and not paying for it. Gmail, for example
Oh but you DO pay, when using Gmail. Just not with your money.
Yes, I was being snarky about the complaining about Proton’s immediate prorated refund policy.
If it’s free, chances are YOU are the product. Not in all cases, but in a lot.
What does “cancel the subscription… and hope you don’t forget to cancel it” mean?
I guess it means you have to cancel when your subscription is about to expire, because they won’t refund you or let you continue to use the service for the period you’ve already paid for.
If you cancel before that they’ll give you credits, which are useless if you don’t want to subscribe to another product of theirs.
I think the author actually means “force to cancel right before the renewal time (e.g. during the 12th month of a 2 year subscription)” because cancelling earlier means losing the rest of the subscription (according to the author). And if you forget to cancel during that short window you’ll be charged more money when it auto renews.
That’s definitely strange. Are you saying they won’t refund the credits and essentially lock you into paying for another service if you cancel a subscription?
No, what they’re saying is they do not understand Proton’s policy. They’re policy is an instant prorated refund the second you cancel. They also warn you about it.