Credit card dispute - appropriate situation?

[apac]

I got an email yesterday that I was charged for an account subscription. It was for a game several members here played, Might and Magic: Heroes Kingdoms. I had signed up for the 3 month subscription, but then closed the account. Well, unbeknownst to me, closing your account does NOT cancel the sub. Here is the service request I sent to the billing agency after getting the charge.

I can't figure out how to log in to this page, and I'm not being sent any password reset messages. Please cancel the order below and refund the charge since I do not use this account and I do not wish to continue recurring payments.

Here is the response I received.

Hello,

Thank you for your email. We apologize for any inconveniences, however, we are unable to refund your payment made towards Might and Magic: Heroes Kingdoms. PayByCash/UltimatePay has a strict no refund policy. If you would like to cancel your account, you will need to contact Might and Magic: Heroes Kingdoms directly.

Here is some information we have located for you, on how to cancel your subscription.

http://forums-mightandmagicheroeskingdoms.ubi.com/us/read.php?1521,189602,189602

Also, you may contact Ubisoft directly, with the information provided below.

UbiSoft- Phone: 1-952-649-3818 OR
http://mightandmagicheroeskingdoms.ubi.com/en/support,contact

Please feel free to contact us at any time with any questions you may have or if you require further assistance.

Thank you,
Moria

Well, interestingly enough if you follow the link the service rep sent me, it's a FORUM POST in the "guides and strategy" section on how to cancel a subscription, because it's apparently that complicated. Here is what someone said

That was the worst process ever.

Took me forever to figure out how to unsubscribe to this stupid game. Stupid me, I subscribed for three months and didn't realize it was going to be a re occurring money transfer straight out of my bank account.

Let this be a warning to others.

To unsubscribe from this game, first you have to remember your password after you havn't played this dumb game for months.

Then you have to contact support who finally links to this page.

Then you have to start a fresh game and go through the lame intro that doesn't let you out of it (Fortunately you can skip the dumb movie) and until you get through all the clicking of the "continue" button and get in the game, then you can finally unsubscribe.

You've been warned.

I've never filed a credit card dispute, but this just pisses me off. Yes, it's only over $15. Like the above poster I also thought it was only a one-time fee, and I did read the fine print. There must have been some even finer print. What grinds my gears
- You have to be PLAYING the game to cancel the subscription, using the in-game UI. There isn't a subscription page, or even a mention of an active subscription, on the website "account" page.
- When you close an account you aren't notified that the subscription will still recur.
- To cancel your subscription you have to create a new account, log in to the game, use the game UI to cancel the subscription, and then delete the account.
- The company has a strict no-refund policy, despite the above.

So is a credit card dispute pretty painless, and worth it for $15, or is this going to be a thorn in my side if I try?



Update: WORST CANCELLATION EVER.

WOW. So I actually went and cancelled the subscription. Since the worlds "reset" and started a new ladder, here is what I had to do.

1) Log in on the web page
2) Start the game UI
3) Wait through an opening sequence
4) Click through a couple windows, and distribute "points" earned from the last ladder season
5) Create a new player on the new world, name the city, click through a couple other windows
6) Wait through another opening sequence
7) Click through THE ENTIRE TUTORIAL SEQUENCE. I was aghast at this. The "My Account" window was NOT ACCESSIBLE until the tutorial was 100% complete. This took me about 5 minutes of reading and clicking to get out of the way.
8) Wait through ANOTHER opening sequence
9) Go to the account page and cancel the subscription renewal.

 

[spidey07]

If you didn't authorize the charge, dispute it. That's why you use your credit card, for some of the protections.

 

[Homerboy]

hmmm.....
don't know if I should get a lawn-chair or not yet...

 

[apac]

hmmm.....
don't know if I should get a lawn-chair or not yet...

Why the lawn chair? Is there something unreasonable here?

 

[Schfifty Five]

Why the lawn chair? Is there something unreasonable here?

Nah, in this situation I think it's pretty reasonable to say that their canceling method is pretty retarded. Gotta jump through so many hoops to get it to stop a recurring charge.

But please clarify a few things, what did you mean when you said you thought the $15 was a one time charge.

Also, when you closed your account, did it say anything about how you would still be billed? What does closing your account do then?

 

[nick1985]

I'd be disputing the shit out of that charge.

 

[Golgatha]

Why the lawn chair? Is there something unreasonable here?

The only thing unreasonable here is Ubisoft's retarded cancelation system. Just tell the CC company you didn't authorize the charge, the game is uninstalled, and you have no method to stop the charges without going through them.

In the future use playtime cards. Never give anyone a CC number for potentially recurring charges or give them a self-expiring card.

 

[Homerboy]

Why the lawn chair? Is there something unreasonable here?

I only said that as I wasn't quite sure how the ATOT brigade was going to receive this.

It was a 50/50 shot of:


"YOU DIDN'T READ THE FINE PRINT!!! PAY UP AND QUIT WHINING!"
or
"SCREW THAT. THE CANCELLATION POLICY IS HORRENDOUS!!!"

It was a coin flip so I wasn't sure.
(if it means anything I would say I'm 100% in the "dispute the crap out of it" crowd. In fact I just disputed a charge on my debit card this Monday as the retailer not only ACH'ed my check, but deposited it too. Super painless)

 

[apac]

WOW. So I actually went and cancelled the subscription. Since the worlds "reset" and started a new ladder, here is what I had to do.

1) Log in on the web page
2) Start the game UI
3) Wait through an opening sequence
4) Click through a couple windows, and distribute "points" earned from the last ladder season
5) Create a new player on the new world, name the city, click through a couple other windows
6) Wait through another opening sequence
7) Click through THE ENTIRE TUTORIAL SEQUENCE. I was aghast at this. The "My Account" window was NOT ACCESSIBLE until the tutorial was 100% complete. This took me about 5 minutes of reading and clicking to get out of the way.
8) Wait through ANOTHER opening sequence
9) Go to the account page and cancel the subscription renewal.

Apparently, this is the only way to cancel. I cannot express in words how much fail that is.

 

[apac]

I also submitted a support ticket directly to MMHK to refund the subscription. If they refuse, then I'll dispute the charge. Might as well let them "try" to do the right thing.

 

[JTsyo]

Glad I never shelled out for the game. Now I never will. I would call the CC and make sure they refund this one and not allow any new ones. Good thing you didn't link directly to your bank account like the guy you posted.