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

Well I canceled about a few weeks ago, and when I try to log into my username it's denied. I guess that's a good sign. I guess we'll find out in September though if I get renewed since that's when I signed up.
 
Strell--I canceled via CAG Box & Google postcard. EDIT: I was also a member before the free memberships started.

Here is how the charge appeared on my bank statement. If someone wants to call the number, be my guest.

Point Of Sale Withdrawal ENT. / CONSUMER ASSOC 203-761-6180 CTUS 19.99
 
Signed up before free subscription ($15 for student). Cancelled via the mass CAG box. Didn't get an email notification of cancellation (or at least can't find one) but my account is blocked/closed when I try to log in. Got charged on the 20th ($15).
 
Thanks shrike. If you could have "Some condensed information from Strell" hotlink to the post, as I'm going to keep updating it directly from there.

Also, it's got some slight modifications given the last few posts. I will try to restrict myself to updating it only a couple times a day to keep the supply chain running smoothly.
 
Thanks for this reminder, as I just went ahead and used their site to cancel my auto-renewal. Debating if I should just close my ECA account (since they gave that option), but it is probably better to leave it open now while these new issues run their course. Good luck to all of you guys that are getting charged even after canceling.
 
Totally forgot to cancel awhile back. Couldn't be bothered to do the whole snail mail business.

Went ahead and canceled online and saved the email saying all credit card information was removed. I guess time will tell if I get charged or not.
 
[quote name='major morgan']I had mine set to not auto renew, but I was still able to login. I was also a part of the giant CAG box of cancellations.

You CAN cancel through the website immediately, if you wish.
1. Login to the website
2. Go to your profile and select membership status
3. Go through the steps, but be careful on the steps because step 3 says "Yes/No auto renew" and Step 5 says "Yes/No Cancel my membership now". Step 5 defaults to "No" so your membership will still be valid if you just click submit.

I just did this and after I terminated I was unable to log back in. I also got a cancellation email right way.

Now if people still end up being charged after this, then you should be angry.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for this post.

Apparently I was still on auto-renew and would have been charged in 2 days. But now I can't log in on both my accounts. Hope it works.
fucking ECA!!
 
[quote name='major morgan']I had mine set to not auto renew, but I was still able to login. I was also a part of the giant CAG box of cancellations.

You CAN cancel through the website immediately, if you wish.
1. Login to the website
2. Go to your profile and select membership status
3. Go through the steps, but be careful on the steps because step 3 says "Yes/No auto renew" and Step 5 says "Yes/No Cancel my membership now". Step 5 defaults to "No" so your membership will still be valid if you just click submit.

I just did this and after I terminated I was unable to log back in. I also got a cancellation email right way.

Now if people still end up being charged after this, then you should be angry.[/QUOTE]

Looks like I should just go ahead and fully close it, as I have yet to get a cancellation email, even though I did everything besides cancel the membership immediately.
 
Cancelled mine. Have received a cancellation e-mail.

Thanks, ECA. May have considered renewing later this year, but after this debacle...
 
[quote name='darkcecil32']I think I still have a while before I have to cancel...but better do this sooner rather than later...[/QUOTE]

Yeah, mine was listed as good until September, but I completely canceled it now. Got the email and everything, which I will surely save. I hope that is enough.
 
Tomorrow's my day if this is going to happen 4/25 is when my renew should happen. If it does, I may be half-tempted to make a visit to Hal. The douche.

I still have my cancellation email, and a record of my discounted membership purchase-date. I was included in the large box of cancellations, the email also noted that I sent a letter to cancel, and that all credit card information had been removed (I cannot log into the website either ((This account)...has not been activated or is blocked)). Is it illegal to blatantly lie to a customer about this, then using their credit card unauthorized? I mean, this is slightly worse than before in terms of deviousness.

I do believe I will go beat the crap out of Hal if I'm charged $19.99 instead of the previous discounted price...Which would mean that they're specifically charging customers and withholding their credit information. Regardless, the fact that this issue is being brought up again is infuriating me.
 
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Not set to "cancel" or "renew without permission" until Sept. Bought in before I knew about the freebies. Also NEVER got an Amazon code. Few companies draw such bitterness from me as ECA.

What a sham organization. Great idea, complete utter failure in execution.
 
My account still has the proper settings. I won't know until October if they actually bill me or not...

the-eca.bmp
 
I canceled via google postcard, received confirmation that my account was canceled, currently can not log into the web site with my old account, have not yet been charged for renewal. I got in before the free memberships and paid for my membership. Will report if and when any charge shows up.
 
I joined as a paid member last August before they made memberships free. I canceled via the CAG Box and a Google postcard and received email confirmation that my account had been closed. I checked and was unable to still log in to the site, so I'm assuming it went through. I'll be keeping a close eye on my credit card statement for August.
 
I sent in a letter to ECA offices around Nov/Dec 2009 and received a confirmation via either mail or email (don't remember). I just checked my credit card statement and don't see any charges. So, I'm think I'm all clear.
 
Hmm even if they tried to auto-renew my membership it wouldn't work because the card I used to sign up with has been deactivited. I got my membership cancelled in the early stages of that whole ECA Mess through "violating" the tos via spamming crap on the ECA forums.

But I've been getting stupid ECA newsletterse from time to time. No way they would try to reinstate my account and charge me though especially since I got banned? But there's no way for me to know since again the card they would charged me on is deactivited.
 
[quote name='Strell']Thanks shrike. If you could have "Some condensed information from Strell" hotlink to the post, as I'm going to keep updating it directly from there.

Also, it's got some slight modifications given the last few posts. I will try to restrict myself to updating it only a couple times a day to keep the supply chain running smoothly.[/QUOTE]Changed the info in the OP from you to be pointed to the post in question and removed the info from the OP. I did leave the cancellation information in the OP, however, since that should be in the OP, regardless.
 
[quote name='MuzykMann']So the question becomes: Did anybody send in a letter themselves, NOT in the CAGbox, and still get auto-renewed after a year?[/QUOTE]

I sent a letter on my own. I got the e-mail cancellation, as well as a snail-mail letter. Unfortunately, I shredded the physical letter, ASSuming that y'know, this would be over and done with. Guess I'll find out in the coming weeks/months if I'm charged.
 
I just carefully went through the steps to cancel, and made sure to turn off the auto-renewal.

Got the e-mail membership cancellation, so we'll see what happens.
 
It's like watching a gorilla beat itself to death, except not nearly as entertaining. I'm still a bit confused on where I stand in this debacle of sorts. I got a cancellation email through the soapbox derby thing rounded up here on CAG, and I also received a cancellation email after bringing the BBB on board which of course went COMPLETELY against their own backwards rules. And the credit card I used was a prepaid debit card that expired a month after I used it. I'm in a bit of a pickle here by not knowing where I stand. Though I hope everyone gets through this in one piece.
 
[quote name='Mr. 420']Since i lost the card i signed up with and got a new card, are they going to be able to charge me?[/QUOTE]

You'd be surprised, but it's very likely they WILL be able to charge you. Most institutions (yes your bank) are more than willing to give out your credit card info - especially if the group looking for it had your old info on a "subscription" service - which the ECA would probably qualify for. Having a new card is not a protection, at all.
 
[quote name='Izod517']Oh man I've missed the ECA thread.[/QUOTE]

The ECA thread is like CAG herpes -- you may think it's gone, but it'll come back when you least expect it. That's what we get for letting the ECA fuck us. No matter how good those discounts may have felt at the time, they weren't worth it.
 
[quote name='Izod517']You'd be surprised, but it's very likely they WILL be able to charge you. Most institutions (yes your bank) are more than willing to give out your credit card info - especially if the group looking for it had your old info on a "subscription" service - which the ECA would probably qualify for. Having a new card is not a protection, at all.[/QUOTE]

What about if you cut the card and switched banking institutions? Can they have that much of a reach?
 
I was going to log into my account to double check and it says "The username (myusername, you don't need that) has not been activated or is blocked."

So yeah, they charge me there is going to be a fight.
 
[quote name='iPhone']What about if you cut the card and switched banking institutions? Can they have that much of a reach?[/QUOTE]

In theory, if they really wanted to push it, they could try to send a collection agency after you. They'd have to be crazy, especially given how well documented the entire issue is at this point, but I think we've already seen ample evidence that they're not firing on all cylinders.
 
I just tried to log in:

The username xycury has not been activated or is blocked.

So I should have been canceled by the 'Big Box', which I have emails on that.

I have my first email from them at 6/12/09 so my "Anniversary email" telling me soon to renew should be in 3 weeks.

I think I have already changed my account number on my card I used, so they might not be able to charge, but we'll see.

I'm going to see exactly how they charged me so I can watch for it in the future. Maybe even warn my card company to block it before it hits.

Edit! Found the transaction....

ENT. CONSUMER ASSOC 55460299164275614 19.99 6/16 (I must have made the purchase on a Friday, bank is really "slow")
 
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Below's what my cancel letter looked liked.
so I better not get charged later this year as this letter says I canceled not once, but twice!


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 25, 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).
 
Yeah I joined the ECA for the discount which they ended as soon as I did so I never got any benefit. ECA pretends like they're some sort of official organization when they're really just a bunch of scumbags trying to rip people off. That skank gypsyfly gets all uppity because gamers get pissed and quit the ECA because they're not concerned with the other parts of ECA when the ECA themselves are only concerned with getting money out of people and offering as little in return as possible while pretending they're a legit organization. I hope someone sues them and they go out of business. They're scum and have no right calling themselves a consumer organization.
 
wowowowowowowow, how long has this been stickied? I got an official e-mail from them saying my account was canceled a while ago when this all went down..when I tried to log in, I couldn't..NOW I don't even know what credit card I used (not my debit ones) and I never check my itemized statements..FFFUUUUUU
 
I just canceled and terminated my membership through the website. Received the termination email too.

If they still blatantly charge my card, the termination email will be handy when I file a chargeback.
 
I signed up for free, and if I had to put in card info(which I think I did) the card has now been switched from MC to Visa, so I have different info.

I just cancelled via the website, so you can add me to that list Strell.

I hope they go under by 10/12/10 so I don't have to worry about this at all. (that was the end date of my membership before I cancelled)

EDIT: I got a cancellation email also.
 
I do remember getting a letter saying my membership was canceled awhile ago but im not sure when my membership expires or was going to for that matter.but my name was on the google doc.
 
bread's done
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