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

Would the people that sent the letters be willing to setup a paypal acct or something to help offset the cost? What they did was a majorly good thing, IMO, and I definitely want to do my part in supporting what they did. I'm all for pitching in for another round of mass cancellations, too.
 
I stopped keeping up with all of this, so I just looked at everything again. It's the same situation: nothing has happened, and it's difficult to figure out what is happening. A professional IT team should not be taking this long to implement a functioning cancel button (or upgrade the forums). And how is it that Hal can write up two press releases and an e-mail to CheapyD, but can't send a mass notification to ECA members?

They had good goals, I've vehemently agreed with a lot of Hal's writing and I still don't think it's a scam, but if they expect to charge for membership, they need to get their act together, and also earn their keep by doing more than writing. I know I haven't said anything new, but I feel like this is finished, at least for me, because I'm not going to follow it anymore; what is there to follow?
 
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[quote name='Apushmataha']Would the people that sent the letters be willing to setup a paypal acct or something to help offset the cost? What they did was a majorly good thing, IMO, and I definitely want to do my part in supporting what they did. I'm all for pitching in for another round of mass cancellations, too.[/QUOTE]

They said they didn't want to be reimbursed. Just donate any funds you would have given to them to Child's Play.
 
[quote name='Apushmataha']Would the people that sent the letters be willing to setup a paypal acct or something to help offset the cost? What they did was a majorly good thing, IMO, and I definitely want to do my part in supporting what they did. I'm all for pitching in for another round of mass cancellations, too.[/QUOTE]

Cheapy already offered to pay for this. The sender declined any payment. I think the last time this was mentioned, everyone decided to send any related money to Child's Play.
 
[quote name='Josef']This thread needs more Ceiling Hal and Jabba the Hal :lol:[/QUOTE]

Oh the good ole days of Jabba the Hal.

I wonder how long it will take Hal (if he even does it) to make a public response to our "petition". And also how much hes going to try and sugarcoat things. :D
 
This thread is horseshit. And I completely disagree with moving it out of the deals section. Right now, people think that the ECA issue has been resolved.

No it hasn't been resolved. Just 718 got their cancellations in.

The ECA is still screwing tons of other people.
 
[quote name='Squarehard']I wonder how long it will take Hal (if he even does it) to make a public response to our "petition". And also how much hes going to try and sugarcoat things. :D[/QUOTE]

Honestly, I would be very surprised if we hear anything more from him. He's had lots of time to make statements, have discussions, and try to clear things up at this point. He's had access to everything that's been said here, and we know that he's been logging in. At any point he could have stopped all of this by cutting it with bullshit press releases and bogus self-interviews and actually talking to us, and he hasn't done so. If he cared to make a public response (or, really, any response) to us at this point, he'd surely have done it by now.
 
[quote name='confoosious']This thread is horseshit. And I completely disagree with moving it out of the deals section. Right now, people think that the ECA issue has been resolved.

No it hasn't been resolved. Just 718 got their cancellations in.

The ECA is still screwing tons of other people.[/QUOTE]


I was thinking the same thing, honestly. I hadn't checked the thread in a few days and then looked for it. After not finding it I figured they had a cancel button up, but even then I figured the thread will have been retitled with directions on how to cancel. Nope though, nothing changed and the thread got too big and was moved. I don't consider Hal agreeing to honor the cancellations on that list news.

In about 10 months or so there are going to be enough people who forgot to cancel or don't know how to cancel and they're trying as hard as they can to maximize that number. Plain and simple...
 
Maybe we can get Cheapy to post a note in the Deals section forwarding people to this particular thread?

Seems more logical to me...
 
[quote name='arcane93']Honestly, I would be very surprised if we hear anything more from him. He's had lots of time to make statements, have discussions, and try to clear things up at this point. He's had access to everything that's been said here, and we know that he's been logging in. At any point he could have stopped all of this by cutting it with bullshit press releases and bogus self-interviews and actually talking to us, and he hasn't done so. If he cared to make a public response (or, really, any response) to us at this point, he'd surely have done it by now.[/QUOTE]

He did the sneaky thing: make no concessions, let the uproar die and then everyone moves along.

He sends an email to cheapyd and this message is off the sticky deals section.

I guess everyone who cancelled figured they got what they wanted so what else is there to do.

so disappointed.
 
That last thread did get too out of control and I didn't know there was some massive cancellation. I did the google snail mail and hopefully that works, but if not I would love to see another CAG cancellation box.
 
I got my name on there as soon as I could. Thanks to everyone that made it happen.

I also disagree with taking the main thread away from the deals section for reasons already stated.
 
The reason why Hal/ECA haven't sent out a mass email about the button not working is because they don't have a fix for it yet. Why alert the ENTIRE member base about a problem they haven't fixed yet? That will just equal more complaints and questioning toward them.

We shouldn't throw Cheapy D under the bus of any kind of conspiracy since Hal emailed him though. Hopefully when the web-based fix comes in, we can have a new thread in the Deals forum alerting people to it.
 
[quote name='confoosious']I guess everyone who cancelled figured they got what they wanted so what else is there to do.[/QUOTE]

Well, to some extent that's unfortunately true. Like I said in one of my last posts in the previous thread, I don't think that 718 of us canceling is really going to make that big a difference to them. To make the budget that their 2007 tax form indicates, they're either operating with a much larger number of members than that and we're just a drop in the bucket (not likely), or they're functioning in some other manner in which they don't actually need the members and membership dues to survive (much more likely, even though it does contradict their public business model). Either way, if they don't need us, and no one else is going to hold them up for scrutiny (it's clear that most of the gaming press don't want to take up the fight or have bought into Hal's stories), ultimately they don't have to answer to us if they don't want to.

Unless someone's holding onto some as-of-yet unannounced coup de grâce, I think that we're basically done here, even if it's not an entirely satisfying end. I mean, hey, I'm open to suggestions if you've got any, but if everything that's happened so far hasn't elicited any more of a response out of them than it has, I don't really know what else we can do to get it. I don't think that continuing around in the same circles is going to get us anywhere.

The worst part for me after all of that is that I think that Hal still thinks that he's right, and quite possibly even actually believes everything he's said. I don't know if it's because he's that dense or that egomaniacal, but either way the outcome is the same.
 
[quote name='DK745']That last thread did get too out of control and I didn't know there was some massive cancellation. I did the google snail mail and hopefully that works, but if not I would love to see another CAG cancellation box.[/QUOTE]

How could you miss THAT? It was mentioned incessently in the thread for days.

Anyway, if you guys want another box, you should get it together yourselves. The gracious individuals that got the first one together can't be expected to do it again. And it doesn't look like they're following the new thread.
 
[quote name='kodave']The reason why Hal/ECA haven't sent out a mass email about the button not working is because they don't have a fix for it yet. Why alert the ENTIRE member base about a problem they haven't fixed yet? That will just equal more complaints and questioning toward them..[/QUOTE]

Because it is the right thing to do.
 
Ok, seriously, how long does it take the ECA to cancel a membership? I was one of the signers in the box mail - and Hal emails Cheapy and claims they'll process it - but so far I see no changes. I'm still a member. No indication they won't try to renew. Despite what Hal told Cheapy I don't see any movement whatsoever. How long do we wait - another day - a week - a month? I mean WTF.

Has anyone who signed the 'box' petition gotten canceled yet, or notified at all?

Is this going to be like the replace the button crap where any web designer could have already set up a new cancel/do not renew button in a day. Even a single web designer could accomplish it. Yet, here we are still waiting?

And I thought Maingear cut ties, yet the promo is still there. Does Hal just yes everyone but does nothing?

Is the ECA (Hal) just BSing everyone and simply does nothing???
All I read is Hal's damage control but there is no action at all. Is he hoping everyone simply forgets???
 
[quote name='n64ra']needs link in deals forum where most people visit[/QUOTE]

Agreed. The thread seems buried.
I joined ECA based on all the CAG recommendations in the threads that were in the deals forum - and that's where the thread should stay.
 
People talking about the Deals forum:
The Deals forum is for Deals. This is not a deal.
If anything we should throw a link up on the frontpage, but not on the Deals forum. We had a huge thread there for quite some time. People had ample time to see it.
 
[quote name='kodave']The reason why Hal/ECA haven't sent out a mass email about the button not working is because they don't have a fix for it yet. Why alert the ENTIRE member base about a problem they haven't fixed yet? That will just equal more complaints and questioning toward them.

We shouldn't throw Cheapy D under the bus of any kind of conspiracy since Hal emailed him though. Hopefully when the web-based fix comes in, we can have a new thread in the Deals forum alerting people to it.[/QUOTE]

Why not alert the entire memberbase? How do you think I found out about this issue? Oh yes, much much better to get unofficial information from a dozen news sites and forums than actually have the ECA come out and admit they have a problem, what the problem is, and what they are doing about it.

I am also a member who wasn't so concerned about cancelling as that auto-renew bs. So now I contacted my credit card and the BBB to make sure there is no question that I did not give these guys permission to attach a subscription service to my card.

The ECA membership base doesn't live under a rock, I am sure they are already aware of the problem through some other venue. I can't even remember which article I read first about the issue but it wasn't CAG.
 
[quote name='SDC']People talking about the Deals forum:
The Deals forum is for Deals. This is not a deal.
If anything we should throw a link up on the frontpage, but not on the Deals forum. We had a huge thread there for quite some time. People had ample time to see it.[/QUOTE]

But this was in the deal forum back when the free memebership was going, I believe.
 
[quote name='Outlaw Tracker']Ok, seriously, how long does it take the ECA to cancel a membership? I was one of the signers in the box mail - and Hal emails Cheapy and claims they'll process it - but so far I see no changes. I'm still a member. No indication they won't try to renew. Despite what Hal told Cheapy I don't see any movement whatsoever. How long do we wait - another day - a week - a month? I mean WTF.

Has anyone who signed the 'box' petition gotten canceled yet, or notified at all?

Is this going to be like the replace the button crap where any web designer could have already set up a new cancel/do not renew button in a day. Even a single web designer could accomplish it. Yet, here we are still waiting?

And I thought Maingear cut ties, yet the promo is still there. Does Hal just yes everyone but does nothing?

Is the ECA (Hal) just BSing everyone and simply does nothing???
All I read is Hal's damage control but there is no action at all. Is he hoping everyone simply forgets???[/QUOTE]
I was on the second line of the google doc list and my account is still active.
 
There were 718 names on the list. It will take them a while to get through them all, I'm sure. They only signed for the package at like 11 yesterday, so they've barely had it one day. Being first or second on the list is irrelevant, as they might have got moved down when the letters were merged together, or the ECA may have started at the bottom or the middle, or who knows.

Unless your account is up in the next week or so, don't panic. If they don't cancel accounts after a reasonable period, we'll get back on their ass.
 
[quote name='blissskr']I was on the second line of the google doc list and my account is still active.[/QUOTE]

Chill out you guys. Some people from the box have reported being canceled.

There's 700 names on there and likely one person in the office doing all this on top of other responsibilities.
 
[quote name='kodave']Chill out you guys. Some people from the box have reported being canceled.

There's 700 names on there and likely one person in the office doing all this on top of other responsibilities.[/QUOTE]

Where did you hear/read about people reporting being canceled? Was it posted here? I've seen nothing?
 
Agreeing with those above, this is way to early about worrying about the box people not being cancelled. Personally I'm giving them a week, then if they haven't done anything, I'm going to take action then.
 
[quote name='watcher0']How could you miss THAT? It was mentioned incessently in the thread for days.

[/QUOTE]

Probably because a lot of people stopped following the thread, considering how fast it grew.
 
[quote name='Jesus_S_Preston']Probably because a lot of people stopped following the thread, considering how fast it grew.[/QUOTE]

Well this one isn't having the same problem... so those wanting to, feel free to start another list, or go it alone. You could always start up a written petition demanding notifications, etc etc, and simply voicing displeasure... that way people from the last box could sign it if they agreed with it (just noting)...

Personally I think the ECA just wants it to go away, and I think if they get those 718 names processed quickly enough, it probably will.
 
[quote name='porieux']I don't want to cancel my account. Why should I? I just want to turn off auto renew.[/QUOTE]
Because you wouldn't want to be a member of an organization that's completely hypocritical?
 
I got 40 weeks before my renewal is set. I'm hoping they come through with an auto renew button or an easier way to cancel, but I have my doubts.
 
I noticed the ECA forums are still down. How long has it been, like almost a week? I bet their IT staff is composed of one person.

What I really want to see is a 3rd party interview Hal about this fiasco. I nominate Cheapy D of course! I think he would be a great representative of this community, and would be able to represent our questions and interests well.
 
I guess they got my cancel notice. I'm getting this message when I try to login now:

"Sorry, unrecognized username or password. Have you forgotten your password?"

Bye, bye shady ECA. :)
 
[quote name='Josef']I noticed the ECA forums are still down. How long has it been, like almost a week? I bet their IT staff is composed of one person.[/QUOTE]

Hal-Hal admitted in his self-interview that the forums were turned off intentionally. He "made the decision" to turn them off because "everything had already been answered".

OK, now I need to drink some Pepto to overcome the nausea of that last quote....
 
[quote name='Josef']I noticed the ECA forums are still down. How long has it been, like almost a week? I bet their IT staff is composed of one person.

What I really want to see is a 3rd party interview Hal about this fiasco. I nominate Cheapy D of course! I think he would be a great representative of this community, and would be able to represent our questions and interests well.[/QUOTE]

I bet their IT staff is ZERO. They probably contract out to someone to maintain their forums and website. Hal made the decision to shut down the forums, but that doesn't mean their tech people, in house or contracted out, were on the case right away. If their tech people are busy this could be down for a while. I really thought they'd have had the solution early this week to make it go away as it should have been a relatively easy fix, but instead they're just going to stall and make everyone think the dissenters are happy because the 700 submission box was accepted for cancellation. Who knows, they could be dragging this out by redesigning the entire back end or something instead of adding a couple of lines of PHP code and a couple of columns in a database.
 
I understand people, especially those who actually paid the $20, are a little annoyed that we currently have only two options: cancel or don't. I'm not really sure why, though. As someone else pointed out, do you really wanna remain a member of the ECA for the rest of your year? Come on. All you will be doing is keeping the numbers of cancellations down. The less people that cancel, the less of a message that is going to be sent to Halpin. Second of all, we're still pondering what the ECA does. Even if we wanted to ultimately forgive them for the way they have acted (not gonna happen), they seem pretty useless to the gaming community. Lastly, are there even any benefits left worth mentioning? The only other one I ever saw that interested me was the Fandango/Visa free movie ticket, but that is not exclusive to ECA members. Anyone can do that. And as another poster mentioned, others are like that, as well, and some of the benefits don't even work or they aren't actually what the ECA has listed.
 
[quote name='confoosious']I guess everyone who cancelled figured they got what they wanted so what else is there to do.[/QUOTE]
I do feel like that because I have no stake in them now--nothing to bargain with since I've canceled. And whether I've canceled or not, they aren't doing anything.

[quote name='kodave']The reason why Hal/ECA haven't sent out a mass email about the button not working is because they don't have a fix for it yet. Why alert the ENTIRE member base about a problem they haven't fixed yet? That will just equal more complaints and questioning toward them.[/QUOTE]
Their goal should not be avoiding complaints by not notifying people about the problem. Their goal should always be honesty. What if there are people due to renew now?
 
[quote name='Unrealevil']I do feel like that because I have no stake in them now--nothing to bargain with since I've canceled. And whether I've canceled or not, they aren't doing anything.


Their goal should not be avoiding complaints by not notifying people about the problem. Their goal should always be honesty. What if there are people due to renew now?[/QUOTE]

Then the ECA will have a loyal renewed customer, $20 in the bank, and the nerve to tell the member that the box they checked to keep from being charged never worked ... and to have better luck next year.

I do not want to make it my goal to bring the ECA down ... that was never a goal. That's not because the ECA doesn't deserve it, but instead because there is no need to have a personal stake. Organizations that operate like the ECA cannot, and will not, survive forever. People do react, as was shown with 700+ letters in an 8 pound box.

What our goal should be, and I would say always has been, is to shine the light on the situation. Our biggest gripe has been that the ECA has never (even as of this posting) officially notified its membership that the TOS had changed to exclude the internet auto-renewal button and all cancellation methods but mail. We are to educate others, because without the original thread, a great many people (would have never known).

So beyond my own cancellation from this shady organization, there is one last thing I believe our goal should be... do not let this simply die. While we do not need to raise hell, we do need to make sure that people know of the situation as it changes, so they can make their own informed choices.

And as of right now, I really don't see anything new to report lol
 
Seriously, this should really be in the Deals forum, or somewhere within easy notice. Not everyone checks this site daily (weekly, monthly), and the chance of them finding this thread is extremely unlikely. The only way that I got onto that generously-created Googledoc (still waiting for my account to be deleted) was through seeing the ECA thread being stickied, front and center, in the Deals forum. I realize that the Deals forum is for deals, but, until the ECA at least has a cancellation method on their site, this issue shouldn't die like this.
 
[quote name='kodave']I bet their IT staff is ZERO...[/QUOTE]I agree, their site still has amazon.com, maingear, and pax in their affiliate scroll. I can't log in to verify that maingear is still in the benefits section, but I'll bet it is.
 
[quote name='chakan']I agree, their site still has amazon.com, maingear, and pax in their affiliate scroll. I can't log in to verify that maingear is still in the benefits section, but I'll bet it is.[/QUOTE]

It is
 
[quote name='Josef']I noticed the ECA forums are still down. How long has it been, like almost a week? I bet their IT staff is composed of one person.

What I really want to see is a 3rd party interview Hal about this fiasco. I nominate Cheapy D of course! I think he would be a great representative of this community, and would be able to represent our questions and interests well.[/QUOTE]

Anyone besides me think their forums are still down because some of their mods like Gypsyfly are in college and this is around finals week? I know some florida colleges are just now starting their finals not sure about other areas.
 
[quote name='bahamut769']Anyone besides me think their forums are still down because some of their mods like Gypsyfly are in college and this is around finals week? I know some florida colleges are just now starting their finals not sure about other areas.[/QUOTE]

Though that would make sense, in this case, I doubt it ... since taking the forums down was a specific decision by Hal, I'm sure they'll go back up when he decides too.
 
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