ECA Update: Amazon discount gone "for the time being"; in process of self-destruction

[Reira]

LOL @ topic title.

And Amazon would be better off to start their own gamer's club with an annual fee if they want to give out 10% discounts rather than giving them away free to an organization with (at the very least) "tainted" credibility. C'mon Amazon...

[USB Cable]

Doubtful Amazon would do business with them after this.
I honestly hope Amazon does a 10% off membership themselves, not even because I currently have issues with Teh ECA but something permanent would be nice. I have to pay tax on Amazon so it this would basically be taking it off.

[Wolfpup]

You know logic isn't the ECA way. If it was, then they would've give out one time annual codes for Amazon.

But I agree with you. If there was abuse due to promotions than wouldn't it make more sense to stop the damn promotion? If having a electronic method of canceling member would lead to abuse then ban the people who are abusing the system.

As for your CC number changing, I'd be willing to bet they would send a collection agency after you. The ECA has proven they are petty and pathetic, and will do anything to demean the consumer.

A couple of people in the other thread keep saying they can't use a collection agency against you, because they are a non-profit, but as usual with CAG, it's a bunch of armchair lawyers who can't actually point out where they are getting this info from. I honestly don't know the answer, but even if that's the law, I doubt that will stop them from trying, and it certainly won't stop a collection agency from gladly taking the cases. We're talking about the lowest form of scum on this planet...maybe even lower the ECA. They go after people who have the same name as the person with the debt. They will do anything to collect three pennies from an old lady. And if something shows up on your credit report, you're still going to have wait months to get it off, no matter whether you are in the right or not.

What's this other thread? I'm now officially...a bit more paranoid. I don't understand this group at all. You're an advocacy group who goes out of it's way to piss off the people you're advocating for?

As to those earlier BBB comments, it depends on the company you're dealing with. The ONLY time I've reported a company to the BBB was that horrible "Gameznflix". My account stopped working after a month, so I couldn't use the service, and couldn't log in to cancel the service. I submitted a half dozen or more requests to first fix, then cancel my service, and nothing happened. So I report them to the BBB, and Gameznflix completely ignore the BBB (which I think had a D or below rating from them, and said they usually ignored them).

Then I call my credit card company, and Gameznflix ignored THEM too-wouldn't answer the phone, talk to them, anything.

And...uh, yeah, don't use Gameznflix, if they're inexplicably still around.

But I'm hoping things don't go sideways like with that...

[chakan]

What's this other thread?
current thread:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=245915
small novel (old thread)
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=244949

[Wolfpup]

Thanks, I'll have to subscribe to that too :-/

[VipFREAK]

I received the following today. I looked back in this thread for when I contacted the ECA which was around November 12th. Take from this what you will. I'll still be watching my credit card.

Thank you for your letter requesting to terminate your membership with the Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA). This notice is confirmation that your request has been processed and your membership in the organization is cancelled.

All credit card information relevant to processing your dues has been removed, so if you wish to re-join the association going forward new/updated payment information will need to be manually re-entered.

To re-join the ECA, please visit http://www.theeca.com (http://www.theeca.com/).

Thank you.

Edit: Poo... just read a few posts above.

[sbains]

Cancellation can now be done online from within your profile page finally, you can also opt for your membership to NOT auto renew

[Jodou]

Cancellation can now be done online from within your profile page finally, you can also opt for your membership to NOT auto renew
But won't they be overwhelmed?! They were stupid to remove it in the first place.

[GLOCKGLOCK]

Cancellation can now be done online from within your profile page finally, you can also opt for your membership to NOT auto renew

Yep, that was easy. Thanks for the update!

[benjamouth]

Aye thanks for the update CAGs, canceled online yesterday.

[Jodou]

I can't wait until they say 'oops, that online re-release was an accident and never intended to work' so everyone rages for another two weeks.

[y2jasper]

ok so for the last few months i haven't been keeping track, but i just want to check, under my membership status it currently says auto renewal is turned off...so that means i'm good right?

[eau]

My account currently says:

You Currently have a

ECA Full Membership

You have been an active member since:

XX/XX/2009 XX:XX:XX

Your payment history is:

Click here to view your order history

You used coupon code:

N/A

Your Membership term will expire:

05/06/2010 11:41:57

And will auto renew to:

N/A

Your auto-renewal feature is:

Off
Does it mean I'm set now? I canceled it when they had the old feature that they allegedly claimed never worked and was never meant to be there.

[Jodou]

Does it mean I'm set now? I canceled it when they had the old feature that they allegedly claimed never worked and was never meant to be there.
HINT: they lied.

[MPoWeRM3]

Cancellation can now be done online from within your profile page finally, you can also opt for your membership to NOT auto renew

I only see the option to opt out for auto renewal, but no where can I find cancellation.

[bigdaddybruce44]

When you opt out of auto-renewal, they give you the option to either cancel your membership or keep it active until the expiration date.

[Chairman_LMAO]

Thank god for this. Cancelled my membership, will never join up again.

[Sn1PeR]

What page is the option to cancel auto-renewal under? I can't find it and mine says it's set to auto renew.

[tukai]

so glad i could cancel online

[_Ph03n1x_]

Cancellation can now be done online from within your profile page finally, you can also opt for your membership to NOT auto renew
thank you for this. just canceled :]

[RolePlayer]

Goodbye and good riddance.

It was like a 5 step process:

1. No additional terms. Submit.
2. Hey look at these offers! Continue.
3. NO, turn off my auto-renew. Submit.
4. Come on, pleeeeaaaaase look at these offers! Continue.
5. YES! Cancel my subscription now.

Then they want feedback. nope.

[slidecage]

link to ECA page would be nice

[LinkinPrime]

Cool, just canceled mine as well. Thanks.

[SimaYi]

Status: CANCELED

[Niwen Starfire]

I canceled the auto-renew, but I'll keep the account till its expiration just in case they have another promotion I might be interested in.

[Lord_Kefka]

Cancellation can now be done online from within your profile page finally, you can also opt for your membership to NOT auto renew

Thank you! Done and done.

Since we will likely see the question repeated multiple times....

Go to your account and the membership terms section. You will see 12month, 3-month, etc etc choices. Select "Do Not Auto Renew". Go past an advertisement on page two. Confirm opting out of auto-renew. Another ad.... and then "Would you like to cancel your account now?"

[BurtReynolds]

Not that the ECA has any sort of a decent reputation around this place, but I found this hilarious, and more proof that most of the board members here were spot on with their assessment of the ECA and Hal.

I haven't got around to canceling my account yet, and today I received (SURPRISE!!) the first ECA Newsletter I think I have ever had in my inbox. (On a side note, this confirms that ECA never sent a message to members about the ToS issues. Clearly I am on their newsletter list).

Anyway, the newsletter is not notable with the exception of a banner ad at the top of the page for "RockyBid.com", which is one of those scam-ish penny auction sites like Swoopo that claim to offer PS3s for $12. In reality people bid often hundreds of dollars to get these items for "95% off" and they are often auctions that arbitrarily end. Its never a good sign when you google a URL and in the top 5 listings the word "scam" shows up.

Anyhow, "ECA Members get free bids and special discounts" if you sign up. I just thought it was interesting that a consumer advocacy group would apparently partner up with a type of site that has been in the news for its questionable business practices (Swoopo has been. Rockybid seems to be the same thing) and encourage its members to join with discounts. Way to look out for membership Hal.

Just in case you needed to feel better about canceling, here is yet another reason.

[unforeseen]

Received the following termination email:


Thank you for being a member of the Entertainment Consumers Association. Your membership has been canceled.

We are sorry to see you go and thank you for your business.

This email notification is confirmation that your request has been processed and your membership has been canceled, effective today, February 17, 2010

We wish that you will choose to rejoin The ECA soon. If you wish to re-join the association going forward new/updated payment information will need to be manually re-entered.

To re-join the ECA, please visit http://www.theeca.com.

Thank you.
Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA).


Free at last...free at last.

[flatliner718]

I just spotted this, and have been meaning to cancel my membership, but held off...and they got the auto renew feature on there, so its cancelled...good thing because they'd try to take some money from me come mid april.

[bigdaddybruce44]

I canceled the auto-renewal but kept the account, just in case there is something I can ultimately get out of them. Suddenly, I am getting e-mails from them a lot. I almost never saw anything from them for months. The last couple of weeks, I got like three or four e-mails. What a crazy, crappy organization.

[BurtReynolds]

I canceled the auto-renewal but kept the account, just in case there is something I can ultimately get out of them. Suddenly, I am getting e-mails from them a lot. I almost never saw anything from them for months. The last couple of weeks, I got like three or four e-mails. What a crazy, crappy organization.

Well this is the first email I've ever seen besides the one I got after joining.

I just find it deplorable that the site would encourage members to join one of these penny auction sites. Why don't they just start directing members to phishing scams while they are at it?

[Vinny]

Good thing I saw this. Canceled my account. I don't want to have anything to do with this piece of shit association.

[saturnotaku]

Anyway, the newsletter is not notable with the exception of a banner ad at the top of the page for "RockyBid.com", which is one of those scam-ish penny auction sites like Swoopo that claim to offer PS3s for $12. In reality people bid often hundreds of dollars to get these items for "95% off" and they are often auctions that arbitrarily end. Its never a good sign when you google a URL and in the top 5 listings the word "scam" shows up.

Anyhow, "ECA Members get free bids and special discounts" if you sign up. I just thought it was interesting that a consumer advocacy group would apparently partner up with a type of site that has been in the news for its questionable business practices (Swoopo has been. Rockybid seems to be the same thing) and encourage its members to join with discounts. Way to look out for membership Hal.

Just in case you needed to feel better about canceling, here is yet another reason.

Wow. Glad I got out of the ECA when I did.

[yourlefthand]

Well this is the first email I've ever seen besides the one I got after joining.

I just find it deplorable that the site would encourage members to join one of these penny auction sites. Why don't they just start directing members to phishing scams while they are at it?

Maybe they don't want any competition.

[GibbGA]

Thanks for posting the update for cancelling. Unlike most of you, I get bombarded by them with an email every single day with some type of newsletter. I think I've opened one of them in total. I went on their site and updated my profile to be taken off their distribution list, but they just kept coming. So, it'll be nice to know that I don't have to worry about the auto-renew, which was never supposed to happen in the first place, or the daily spam in my inbox.

[Goodeye]

Thank you for posting this. I was just this morning thinking how much of a PITA it was going to be to cancel this.

I will not renew and if nothing changes in a couple months making this worth it till sept (when my membership expires) I will just flat out cancel.

[eau]

Received the following termination email:


Thank you for being a member of the Entertainment Consumers Association. Your membership has been canceled.

We are sorry to see you go and thank you for your business.

This email notification is confirmation that your request has been processed and your membership has been canceled, effective today, February 17, 2010

We wish that you will choose to rejoin The ECA soon. If you wish to re-join the association going forward new/updated payment information will need to be manually re-entered.

To re-join the ECA, please visit http://www.theeca.com.

Thank you.
Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA).


Free at last...free at last.
How did you contact them to terminate your membership?

[NormanB258]

Thanks for the update guys.

Cancelled!

[Seasick Pirate]

I canceled my membership in June but kept receiving daily emails from them until I figured out how to stop that.

Then last week I got my first email from them in months titled November 2 Is The Day. This message had an option to unsubscribe to the mailing list so I went in there and double-checked to make sure my membership was still canceled.

Now today, I get this this email:
This is your notice that your membership is about to expire. You will have 45 days to respond to this notice. Click here to update your billing address.Once you are finished please log into your profile to edit your membership status.


Login to your account Click Here (http://www.theeca.com/user)
In the left menu select the "Manage My Profile"
In the user tabs select "Edit Account"
On the second tier user links select "Membership Status"
Proceed from this point on to edit your selection of choice



I'm wondering if I should go back to the site again to triple-check my account is canceled or just let this one go? I'm just afraid of accidentally renewing the membership just by going to this scumb-bag site.

What should I do?

[Squarehard]

You should go to the other ECA thread that talks about auto renewals.

This thread is mainly for how much ECA sucks and how they need to die and disappear off the face of the earth.

No wait, it's pretty much the same thread.

But here's the link anyways since the other thread is the one that's been active.

http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=245915

I canceled my membership in June but kept receiving daily emails from them until I figured out how to stop that.

Then last week I got my first email from them in months titled November 2 Is The Day. This message had an option to unsubscribe to the mailing list so I went in there and double-checked to make sure my membership was still canceled.

Now today, I get this this email:
I'm wondering if I should go back to the site again to triple-check my account is canceled or just let this one go? I'm just afraid of accidentally renewing the membership just by going to this scumb-bag site.

What should I do?

[chakan]

FYI FOR ANYONE ATTENDING PAX

Friday, 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM, Pegasus Theatre
Hal Halpin and Adam Sessler Talking Games

ECA President Hal Halpin and G4's host of X-Play and Editor-in-Chief of games content, Adam Sessler discuss the hot topics that are affecting the video game industry today and look at trends that could impact gamers in the future. Topics of discussion will include net neutrality, digital rights, and the upcoming violence in video games U.S. Supreme Court case. The panelists will take questions from the audience if time permits.


Panelists include: Adam Sessler [Host of X-Play and Editor-in-Chief of games content, G4], Hal Halpin [President, The ECA]

[Wolfpup]

Dang, that would be interesting to see. All three are really important topics for games (though presumably the latter will get resolved correctly by the courts...I mean how could the possibly find any other way...?)

[Ryuukishi]

How is it that the PAX organizers are even letting Halpin through the door?