ECA Discussion Thread - WARNING: Some CAGs Who Cancelled Are Being Auto-Renewed

[quote name='Siterath']
Here's a list of places to look into (and feel free to build on it):

Kotaku
Joystiq
Ars Technica
Terminal Gamer
The Consumerist

Beyond that

My suggestion is this (and yes, I know much of this is being echoed)

-Immediately initiate a charge back of the fraudulent charge
-File a report with your state Attorney general's office as well as the office of the AG in CT (where the ECA is located IIRC)
-Contact the BBB regarding this as fraudulent and repetitive billing
-If the problem is not remedied to your satisfaction, I would suggest sending a cease and desist letter to the ECA and/or taking other appropriate legal steps[/QUOTE]

Add
Gamespot
IGN
Destructoid
Gamespy
Gametrailers
Yahoo Games
GamesRadar
1up
GiantBomb
Game Informer
N4G
GamePro

Post this shit everywhere!
 
Ok I opted out of renewal after it expires, hopefully they don't charge me. So shady to set this to ON for default when u sign up
 
I can't log in, haven't been able to since I "cancelled" -- Does this mean I'm also at risk? I mean, hell, can't log in (says my user is locked or unactivated) so I assume they got the message. I was careful months ago when I "cancelled".
 
[quote name='Rhett']I can't log in, haven't been able to since I "cancelled" -- Does this mean I'm also at risk? I mean, hell, can't log in (says my user is locked or unactivated) so I assume they got the message. I was careful months ago when I "cancelled".[/QUOTE]

Someone has already posted that they had "canceled" and can not log in, but still got a charge. I'd just find out when your renewal date would be and watch out for a charge anywhere around that time.

If you don't remember when you joined hopefully you save your emails. Just do an email search for "eca" and maybe you still have the confirmation email for when you joined.
 
[quote name='donkeydrop']I'm sure I'm going to get attacked for saying this, but the CAGs who panicked and caused the massive run of cancellation have to share the blame. A few weeks after the nerd rage subsided on CAG the ECA web site was updated and settings were changed so that your account would not auto-renew unless you specifically chose that option again. (Basically the auto-renew was set to neither yes or no, so even if you never went back to the site to choose No your account still wouldn't renew.)

So, if instead of the massive over-reaction people had just been patient everything would have been OK. No-one was trying to cheat you (that's a laugh since the whole reason most people signed up was to take financial advantage of Amazon and many cheated Amazon out of a lot more than $20 with the coupon stacking!) That doesn't completely excuse the ECA because they should still have been able to handle the manual cancellations correctly during the "panic", but mistakes were almost inevitable given how swamped they were.[/QUOTE]

The one thing that I will most certainly agree with you on is that no one is trying to cheat anyone. Everyone who keeps acting like their $20 is going to fund Halpin's next car really take it to an extreme and make the rest of us look silly. The reality is, the ECA is simply one of the worst run "organizations" I've ever come into contact with. They have no clue what they're doing, and it shows when crap like this pops up.

But I could do without the references to "panicking" and "nerd-raging." That was definitely the minority of CAGs. Most people were simply annoyed by the way the ECA was handling the whole affair. And then we got even more annoyed when Halpin started making us (not referencing CAG directly, but we all know who he was talking about) out to be a bunch of nuts concerned over a non-issue.

If anything, all of the "panicking" and "nerd-raging" is what forced the ECA to update everything. How do we know ANYTHING would have changed...especially as quickly as it did...if CAG did not mobilize?
 
The one thing that I will most certainly agree with you on is that no one is trying to cheat anyone. Everyone who keeps acting like their $20 is going to fund Halpin's next car really take it to an extreme and make the rest of us look silly. The reality is, the ECA is simply one of the worst run "organizations" I've ever come into contact with. They have no clue what they're doing, and it shows when crap like this pops up.
Click to expand...

We don't know what percentage of this mess is the result of incompetence vs. greed, but it's definitely a combination of both. Nevertheless, incompetence is no excuse, and the law would agree with that.

They will have to fix it though soon, because this can blow up in their faces in multiple ways.

Frankly I don't think most of us even care what the deal is with these idiots, we just don't want them to try to scam us anymore. They will have to stop, and it is a good thing that this is being discussed here.

Thanks again to Cheapy for doing the right thing.
 
Never said or suggested that incompetence is an excuse. Nonetheless, there's a big difference between them not being able to properly administer things and them purposefully doing this. Sorry, but I find it hard to believe this is a grand scheme to steal $20 from...how many people? Can't be all that many.
 
This is insane. Just when you think it's over, bam! My membership was due to renew in June. I cancelled way back when it was first announced that you could. I will dispute any and all charges.

This is one of the worst run organizations of all time. I pity all the people who join at a later time and don't know about any of this.
 
[quote name='confoosious']God you're an ass.[/QUOTE]
[quote name='bigdaddybruce44']Exactly. It's these kind of "CAGs" who help to kill a lot of deals and offers and then brag about it like proud kids who took their first dump in the toilet. They give this site a bad name.[/QUOTE]
Your tears are delicious.
 
Turned off auto renewal, canceled account, got email (nothing about my financial info written) hopefully no charge.

Non profit my ass.
 
[quote name='Jodou']Your tears are delicious.[/QUOTE]

I realize your whole reason for existence is to rile up people on CAG. And I'm falling for it.

You're a sad pathetic little man. In a way, I feel sorry for you.

On the other hand, you probably should just kill youself, end your pathetic life, and do the world a favor.
 
It's very simple guys, if they charge your account all you have to do is call your bank and inform them of the situation. Request a charge back to ECA and to permanently block them from future unauthorized charges.

Done.

I don't think the ECA/Hal would be so stupid to take things further. It will only damage him...big time.
 
The OP needs more information about who is at risk to be renewed despite canceling because we're getting the same questions several times over on each page.


It appears that several people who canceled via snail mail and who received a letter or email saying their account was canceled were the ones who were auto-renewed despite the fact they can't even log into their ECA accounts anymore.

If the above is indeed true of the group getting auto-renewed, lets just put it in the OP first thing, and note that people who canceled or turned off auto-renew via the new online system have not reported being auto-renewed against their wishes.

Again though, someone would have to double check me on all that, but I think I've only read snail mailers having auto-renews done against their wishes.
 
[quote name='Nitemare25']I was in the CAG box, couldn't log in anymore, had gotten a confirmation email, and have now just been charged by them. This is a problem.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the finite answers.

I don't believe ECA is motivated by greed. Atleast not that they would actually do this "mistake" in an attempt to get more money. However, someone, somewhere, is excessively inept. I can only hope that given another 2 months, when my renewal would be up, someone has learned how to use a fucking computer over there and I don't have to go through the hassle you guys are about to.

Sorry I laughed at your last line. Reminded me of the same line in FLCL and I heard it in that character's voice ;)
 
I wouldn't underestimate the sleaze factor, or the number of people who are potentially involved in this.

All you have to do is look at the way they have structured their cancellation procedure on their site to
see they are trying to intentionally put up barriers to canceling. That site is not set up that way by random chance.

That said, they will be forced to stop what they are doing before huge numbers of people are affected,
but the pressure needs to stay on them to make sure that happens.
 
This is Hal's face right now.
Oh and I turned off auto-renewal awhile back after the CAG mass cancel thing. Expiration date was 4/23/2010 They can't do anything to me anyway, my previous bank was bought by chase so I got a new card & #.
incunl.jpg
 
holy crap I can't believe the eca is coming up again. I am genuinely disgusted.

ok here is my deal: I sent my cancellation through the mailed in box, never got a cancellation email but still get the "user no longer activated/blocked" message, and I still get emails from ECA.
I know it's already been said that people who cancelled and can't sign in are getting charged.
But should I be worried that I am still getting emails from them? Does this mean they still consider me a member? Is there anybody who has suceesfully cancelled that is still getting emails from them?

I signed up in september so I still have awhile to go
 
Seems clear at this point it's a problem with mailed cancelations, and perhaps only the cag mass mailing. If you were in the mass mailing your account has likely been disabled, so there's not much you can do online to prevent a potential charge. Hopefully someone gets ahold of the eca soon to prevent more charges. This seems like just another mistake to me, given its isolated to the mail. Although I must admit, it is pretty ironic it's the mailed method that's causing the problems, given they insisted on the mail in the first place.
 
I cancelled on their site and all of the sudden started getting MORE newsletters from them. I knew at that point things were going to get worse before they got better.
 
I aggree with the ECA origional charter but they really Effed up and lost tons of creditiblity. Since I paid in sept I just set my account to not auto renew and if it does I will just call AMEX. So I really dont care. Its to bad hal was such a jerk about it if he was not maybe we could have a strong lobby we trust. But all it takes i one jerk to screw things up.
 
That sucks, but I was expecting that shit to happen. I canceled my ECA membership online via the auto-renewal button and have yet to be billed. The thing is, I can still access my member page to check stuff like that.
 
[quote name='Guerrilla']That sucks, but I was expecting that shit to happen. I canceled my ECA membership online via the auto-renewal button and have yet to be billed. The thing is, I can still access my member page to check stuff like that.[/QUOTE]Well, that's because you are technically still a member till your year runs its course.

(IF you look around in your profile page it will tell you date of when your year runs out.)

Someone made a thread over on their forum... Not sure how many this helps but here's the link.
http://forums.theeca.com/showthread.php?p=122153#post122153
 
Here's some statistical info that may help:

I paid for membership with my bank card. I canceled via CAGbox and Google postcard. I received the cancellation email and have been getting ECA emails since cancellation. I cannot log into my account. When I try, I get the "The username dchrisd has not been activated or is blocked" message. As far as I know, I have not been charged yet.
 
[quote name='INMATEofARKHAM']Well, that's because you are technically still a member till your year runs its course.

(IF you look around in your profile page it will tell you date of when your year runs out.)
[/QUOTE]
That's the thing: my membership expired on 4/20/10 yet I still have access to my profile (edit- except discounts it appears, so I'm a quasi-member now).
 
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You should be able to call your credit card issuer to help you dispute the info. They will temporarily credit you back the $19.99, then open the dispute process with ECA. ECA should then have 30 days to respond. If no response was made or cannot prove agreement, then you keep the credit, and ECA gets charged. At least, that's as far as I know.
 
From the forum, as linked above, seems fairly clear it's just an error that some are being billed and they will probably fix it soon:

Thanks, Brett. Yes, the offices are closed for the weekend, but I understand that staffers are looking into your issue. Clearly, if there was a billing error, it will be rectified immediately.

Please understand that it may be Monday morning before you receive a reply.
 
[quote name='caltab']From the forum, as linked above, seems fairly clear it's just an error that some are being billed and they will probably fix it soon:

Thanks, Brett. Yes, the offices are closed for the weekend, but I understand that staffers are looking into your issue. Clearly, if there was a billing error, it will be rectified immediately.

Please understand that it may be Monday morning before you receive a reply.[/QUOTE]

Keep in mind that the whole cancellation fiasco started with a "non-functioning button" error. The ECA just seems to be filled with errors, even after telling consumers that their billing information had been erased.

The ECA should fix the "error", and I hope they do so, but at this stage they are going to need to find a way to assure all those who canceled (several hundred in the CAG box alone) that their billing information actually HAS been deleted this time around.

While a billing mistake is terrible, it thankfully can be fixed. However, what worries me more at this stage, is that they currently are holding on to billing information from potentially hundreds or thousands of former clients which they have previously claimed to destroy. That is unacceptable, plain and simple.
 
[quote name='confoosious']On the other hand, you probably should just kill youself, end your pathetic life, and do the world a favor.[/QUOTE]
Death should be a release, not a punishment.
 
I cannot believe that this is still going on!! It's flippin ridiculous. I got them to cancel my account through a dispute with the BBB, and after receiving multiple confirmation emails my account is not accessible, but I did for some reason start receiving their email newsletter. Thankfully, I had to close out the bank account I had opened this under so even if the problem is not fixed by September, they won't be able to charge me.
 
I just canceled through there website. i also got an email confirmation. I first went to membership, then membership status. then I selected the bullet point to not add any more time. Then i continued,and the next option was to cancel. I clicked submit and then went back to check and it said i had canceled.
I hope this helps anyone who is having issues
 
Good to know this information ... though hopefully I will not have an issues since I took other folks original advice and used a 1-time credit card number when I signed up
 
When I try to login with both mine and my wife's account information I'm told they are no longer active. Those fucks better not try billing me.
 
I was on the CAG cancellation box (I think) but never received a cancellation email and on top of that I started getting ECA newsletter emails. WTF? If anything I'll just be filing a complaint with my CC company.
 
This is what I get when trying to sign in: The username j804 has not been activated or is blocked.

Does this mean Im safe and wont be auto-renewed?
 
My renew wasn't set to become active until September, but I went ahead and canceled everything out now. Got the confirmation email as well.
 
This REALLY needs to go in the OP, or we should make a new thread where someone can actively update the OP with pertinent information as it relates to risk of being auto-renewed despite canceling.

Ideally the OP should say this:



watchmeneca.jpg


What is going on now?

  • Ex-ECA members who believed their accounts were successfully canceled have been charged for an auto-renewal of their membership.
  • Something went wrong on the ECA's end between manually canceling memberships from letter requests and implementing the new web interface to cancel accounts.
  • The ECA claims this is an allegedly small error, and that they are processing refund checks for the affected former members.
Who has been auto-renewed despite canceling?

  • Some CAGs have reported that they canceled their ECA accounts by "snail mail" - through the "CAGbox" or through individual letters.
  • The CAGs reported that they received letters or emails from the ECA confirming that their accounts were canceled and their credit card information was deleted.
  • The CAGs also reported that they could no longer access their accounts on the ECA website.
  • However, the CAGs were still auto-renewed despite what appeared to be successful cancellations.

Who is at risk of being auto-renewed despite canceling?

  • Anyone who canceled via "snail mail" - even if you received a cancellation letter and even if you cannot access your account on the ECA website.
  • This is potentially several hundred ex-members, if not more, based on the number of people who canceled via the "CAGbox" or who reported canceling independently of the "CAGbox."
  • If your renewal date has passed or is approaching, be sure to keep an eye on your credit card statements. Please see the question below about credit card statements.
  • Even if your credit card number has changed or expired, or if your card has changed due to a change in bank ownership, it is still possible for the ECA to bill you again, and at least one ex-member has been billed under a newer card.
  • If you paid with a one-time use credit card number, such as the kind generated by PayPal, or if you paid using a pre-paid debit card, the ECA could still attempt to renew your membership based on the other personal information you gave them. However, it is incredibly unlikely the ECA will go to such measures to bill you for the renewal, though it is still possible.
If I check my credit card statement to see if I have been auto-renewed, what should I look for?

  • Some CAGs have reported that the unauthorized charges appeared as:
  • "Ent. Consumer asso $19.99"
  • "Point Of Sale Withdrawal ENT. / CONSUMER ASSOC 203-761-6180 CTUS 19.99"

Who is not at risk of being auto-renewed?

  • Some CAGs reported that they turned off auto-renew or canceled their accounts via the ECA's new web system and were not auto-renewed.
  • So far, one CAG reported that he canceled via the ECA website, but was still auto-renewed.
  • Canceling via the ECA website should not trigger an auto-renewal, however, it cannot be said you will not be renewed with 100% certainty.

My ECA membership was auto-renewed even though I canceled my membership. What can I do?

  • Immediately call your credit card company and inform them of the situation. Notify them that this was an unauthorized renewal of a membership service that you had already canceled and have proof that it was canceled. Your credit card company will then do a "charge back" or block the transaction from going through.
  • Contact the ECA by web form email: http://www.theeca.com/feed_back
  • Contact the ECA by regular email: [email protected]
  • Contact the ECA's Accounting Department by phone during regular business hours: (203) 761-6180
  • Contact the ECA by "snail mail":
    Attn: Accounting, ECA
    64 Danbury Road, Suite 700
    Wilton, CT 06897-4406
  • Contact the Connecticut Attorney General: http://www.ct.gov/ag/cwp/browse.asp?a=2224

What is the ECA doing about this?

  • Representatives of the ECA have replied to a thread on their own forums here.
  • Their offices are closed for the weekend, but staffers are looking into this issue.
  • If you email them over the weekend, you probably will not receive a response until Monday at the earliest.
  • The ECA representative on their message board claims that if there was a billing error, it will be rectified immediately - let's hope so.
  • This message was sent to a CAG moderator:
    Originally Posted by Bayou23
    Hello. My name is Jason Andersen (PR Director, ECA) and I wanted to let you know that we have posted a new message in our forums that addresses the current situation that is being discussed. Feel free to use the update (below) in the thread and please credit it to the ECA. Thank you.

    Updated information from the ECA regarding recent billing inquiries:

    The ECA took swift and comprehensive action last December when members requested that they be permitted to cancel the annual auto-renewal of their membership and/or their affiliation with the organization as a whole, should they desire. In an effort to accommodate those requests, we built out a new module which would enable that functionality and then manually deleted the database references to those users. But we were, and are, required by law to maintain a copy of membership lists for a certain period of time. As a result, the second reference - which we believed isolated from the member list - was used by the system to automatically renew a limited number of former members when their renewal date occurred. We were advised of the error by complaints and commentary made on third-party forum sites not related to the ECA on Friday afternoon and are currently correcting the programming mistake. The effected users' credit cards will, of course, be refunded the incorrectly debited funds and they have our sincerest apologies for any inconvenience. If anyone has any further questions regarding their account, please use the ECA feedback form here:
    http://www.theeca.com/feed_back

    - The ECA
    Click to expand...
  • Update sent by ECA representative to CAG moderator:
    Originally Posted by Bayou23
    FYI - we just posted the following update to our forums:

    After being notified by a former ECA member of an incorrect membership dues charge last Friday, our Accounting Department examined the database to confirm that his credit card information was removed, as requested. They determined that his financial information was indeed deleted. Upon further inspection by our IT Department, it was found that a back-end database which exists to communicate between the servers, gateway and banks, was not updated with the deleted fields. As a result, roughly less than 24 ex-members may or may not have been affected similarly. We immediately rectified the synching issue between databases and are currently processing refund checks for the affected former members. If anyone has further questions regarding their account, please use the ECA Feedback form here: http://www.theeca.com/feed_back

    -The ECA
    Click to expand...
My account is still active - How do I turn off auto-renew or cancel my account now?

  • Log in to your ECA account on the ECA's website: http://www.theeca.com
  • Click on your username under the banner that says "Member Login" on the left hand sidebar once you are logged in.
  • Under the "Edit Account" tab, click on the "Membership Status" link.
  • At the bottom of the "Membership Status" page, check the box that says "*No Additional Term, Thanks" and click "Submit" and "Click here to continue" on the next page.
  • At Step 3, be sure to click the bubble that says "OFF - Please do not auto-renew my membership" and click "Submit" and "Click here to continue" on the next page.
  • At Step 5, you can choose whether to keep your account with Auto-Renew turned off, or you can choose to cancel your account. If you choose to cancel your account, please note that "Terminating your active membership in the association will remove the financial information on file, and will cancel all rights and services available to you as a member otherwise, but will not remove historical and contact information which ECA is required by law to preserve. " Whatever your choice is, click "Submit."
  • If you chose to cancel, on the next page, you can tell the ECA why you are canceling. Be sure to click "Submit" again.
I thought the ECA had to provide me with notice before they renewed my membership?

  • The following does not constitute legal advice, but rather just general information and discussion. Please contact a licensed attorney if you have further legal questions and feel that your rights under Connecticut law may have been violated.
  • Back at the end of 2009, the ECA's Membership Terms & Conditions stated that you had to cancel your account 30 days prior to the renewal date in order to not be auto-renewed. Under Connecticut General Statutes § 42-126b(c)(1), it appeared that the ECA was then required to give you notice of your impending renewal at least 45 days before the renewal date. At one point the Membership Terms & Conditions were modified to reflect that you would receive notice of the impending renewal 45 days before your renewal date.
  • However, since then, the ECA altered the Membership Terms & Conditions and removed the provision that stated members must cancel 30 days prior to their renewal date. The current Membership Terms & Conditions state that you can turn off auto-renew or cancel your account at any point prior to your renewal date.
  • The current Membership Terms & Conditions can be found here: http://theeca.com/Membership_Terms_Conditions
  • Under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 42-126b(c)(1), a company like the ECA is supposed to give members notice of the impending renewal at least 15 days but no more than 60 days before the renewal date. They can notify you by "snail mail" or by email.
  • If you feel that your rights under Connecticut law may have been violated because you did not receive such notice at least 15 days before being automatically renewed, please contact a licensed attorney.
 
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What the heck?!? Okay, I canceled months ago, my credit card no longer has the same number-so they don't even have my credit card. It shows I expired on April first on the site, it shows I've only payed once...but I just got an email thanking me for renewing.

I...don't think they have my credit card info, so it's a moot point...I guess. But still, this is weird.

The crappy thing is I actually really believe in their mission :whistle2:/
 
[quote name='Wolfpup']What the heck?!? Okay, I canceled months ago, my credit card no longer has the same number-so they don't even have my credit card. It shows I expired on April first on the site, it shows I've only payed once...but I just got an email thanking me for renewing.

I...don't think they have my credit card info, so it's a moot point...I guess. But still, this is weird.

The crappy thing is I actually really believe in their mission :whistle2:/[/QUOTE]

That's something I just added to the post above - it is possible for them to renew your account even if your card numbers have changed, your card expired, or even if your bank is under new ownership and you have a new card - as you just experienced
 
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