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

[quote name='kodave']There is an unsubscribe link at the bottom of the ECA email. Does that not work?[/QUOTE]
Nope, keep on getting the stupid emails.
 
[quote name='kodave']There is an unsubscribe link at the bottom of the ECA email. Does that not work?[/QUOTE]


Even if it did, once you are blocked out of your account you can't unsubscribe.
 
I sent my cancellation letter in February and received a "Membership Cancellation" e-mail from The ECA on 02/22/10. Well, I just happened to check my current credit card statement and sure enough...there's a charge dated 05/04/2010 for $19.99 from: ENT. CONSUMER ASSOC 02037616180 CT .

Let's see how long it takes for The ECA to respond and for the situation to be resolved.
 
[quote name='slickkill77']Even if it did, once you are blocked out of your account you can't unsubscribe.[/QUOTE]

This is what pisses me off the most. Just because we cancel our subscriptions, gives them no reason to lock us out of the ECA community, especially an organization that relies on communal support!

I truly hope ECA has lost a lot of support since this whole debacle...
 
Well, I'm able to log into my ECA account, which was allegedly closed in February, so I sent them a nice little message summarizing the situation and asking that it be resolved ASAP. If, as expected, that gets me nowhere, then I'll dispute the charge w/my credit card company.
 
[quote name='Z(+)DIAC']This is what pisses me off the most. Just because we cancel our subscriptions, gives them no reason to lock us out of the ECA community, especially an organization that relies on communal support!

I truly hope ECA has lost a lot of support since this whole debacle...[/QUOTE]

I got kicked out of the community even though my subscription was not canceled. I talked with their customer service and they told me the reason was because I filed a complaint with the BBB. I never filed a complaint and find it ludicrous that they are more than happy to take my money and send me newsletters but refuse to let me participate.
 
[quote name='sefjwm']Go voice your opinions and bad experiences on this new IGN article: http://ps3.ign.com/articles/108/1089091p1.html[/QUOTE]If you follow through ign's link to ECA's action page, yes there's a petition stating that you are a gamer and you believe video games fall under free speech protections, but they also require your email address and go ahead and check two boxes for you, one subscribing you to the infamous newsletter, and the other to send you information on a free 3 month trial to the ECA.

In short, they are shamelessly capitalizing on the Supreme Court case with a sham petition that won't matter in the court's eyes, with the real purpose of attracting more membership dollars.

I really want a shirt to wear to PAX; something like "I'm a gamer, and ECA doesn't represent me"

Any other ideas?
 
[quote name='sefjwm']I got kicked out of the community even though my subscription was not canceled. I talked with their customer service and they told me the reason was because I filed a complaint with the BBB. I never filed a complaint and find it ludicrous that they are more than happy to take my money and send me newsletters but refuse to let me participate.[/QUOTE]
Sounds like you need to file a complaint with the BBB. ;)
 
[quote name='chakan']If you follow through ign's link to ECA's action page, yes there's a petition stating that you are a gamer and you believe video games fall under free speech protections, but they also require your email address and go ahead and check two boxes for you, one subscribing you to the infamous newsletter, and the other to send you information on a free 3 month trial to the ECA.

In short, they are shamelessly capitalizing on the Supreme Court case with a sham petition that won't matter in the court's eyes, with the real purpose of attracting more membership dollars.

I really want a shirt to wear to PAX; something like "I'm a gamer, and ECA doesn't represent me"

Any other ideas?[/QUOTE]

Seeing as my creation was deemed "childish" and "counter productive for the CAG community", I'll post a link to it - http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j287/ChaunceyA/ECAJizz.png

Get that shit printed on a tee immediately! :bouncy:
 
[quote name='chakan']If you follow through ign's link to ECA's action page, yes there's a petition stating that you are a gamer and you believe video games fall under free speech protections, but they also require your email address and go ahead and check two boxes for you, one subscribing you to the infamous newsletter, and the other to send you information on a free 3 month trial to the ECA.

In short, they are shamelessly capitalizing on the Supreme Court case with a sham petition that won't matter in the court's eyes, with the real purpose of attracting more membership dollars.

I really want a shirt to wear to PAX; something like "I'm a gamer, and ECA doesn't represent me"

Any other ideas?[/QUOTE]

I found their "petition" pretty laughable as well. Since when does the Supreme Court base their decisions on a list of petition signatures rather than the law? I wonder if the Supreme Court will even accept their amicus brief.

Here is what their "petition" really does:

Add me to the following list(s):
Newsletter Subscribe to our free nightly newsletter. The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.

Special Offer Send me information on a 3-month trial membership in ECA. The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly (Available to those over 18 years old.)

*By completing the registration form, you are agreeing with The Gamer Petition statement and to adding your name, city and state information to the petition. This document will be submitted with the ECA’s amicus brief (friend of the court document) for inclusion in the formal documents related to the case. Signatories need not be ECA members.
Click to expand...

Hopefully people don't get duped into a free three month membership and then BAM! AUTO RENEW!

Maybe we should start a counter petition asking the Supreme Court to reject the ECA's amicus brief because its really just a ploy to grab new members rather than to inform the court?
 
This been just over a week since I contacted ECA about being charged membership fees earlier this month for a membership they verified was cancelled on February 22, 2010 and I have yet to hear back from them. So, I have have filed a billing dispute with HSBC and provided them with a copy of my written cancellation request, ECA's e-mail cancellation confirmation and a copy of the auto reply from ECA when I contacted them on May 12; let's see how long it takes to resolve this situation.
 
I just got autorenewed today even though i sent in a letter to have my account cancelled and not renew. This is ridiculous, they're a bunch of fucking scammers.
 
I was just notified by HSBC that they have credited my charge account and removed the item from disputed status.

In my opinion, either ECA is an incredibly inept & poorly run organization or they're just a bunch of crooks...take your pick.
 
I can't believe this is still going on...

Thankfully the card I used to register was recently stolen (THANKS MONOPRICE!!!!!), so I have a brand spanking new checking account with all new info. Let see if they can get past that...

I'm sorry to hear about all the others being hung out to dry with this terrible company.

CAG Villain 2010 vote locked in now. Terrible company run by an inept loser.
 
Bumping this back up, because we're nearing the anniversary of the free sub codes in a month. If you checked auto-renew off in the past, they have made a few changes and you may need to cancel again. If the "Off" has an asterisk next to it, they're still planning to renew you. While they state they will notify you 45 days in advance, it's a flat out lie since I never received such. Before you cancel, I'd also edit your name and address to gibberish. Don't give them anything to sell in the future; fuck them.

Just a heads up.
 
I still think this was the most hilarious turn of events in internet gaming history.

A company offers a 10% coupon to a popular internet retail store for its members along with a free way of signing up for the company (CC required)

Internet users find this coupon, exploit the site, and sometimes double stack coupons

The company realizes a few months later that what was suppose to be a perk of membership ended up being an exploited trick that was costing them good will with that retail company and possibly costing them money.

So....

They trap everyone who used their CC and auto-subscribe them to their services, and makes it near impossible to unsubscribe.

And of course, upon feeling the sense of entrapment, the internet CRIES and begs their CC company to dispute the charges and floods BBB with complaints about what just happened (of course the company cares less about its reputation now, because the internet users didn't respect them before!)


Hilarious story

And nope, I used a pre-paid card that had exactly 1.07 on it. Enough to beat any pre-authorizations needed.
 
Reading a few pages back, it seems like the people who were charged received a refund check. I canceled via the website in late December, when the option to do so first appeared. I think my renewal date is mid September; I hope I don't get charged. :|
 
My paid account anniversary date is coming up very soon, but it was canceled months ago when they claimed to have finally fixed their system for good. I'm really uncertain the cancellation registered with their system, but they won't respond to my emails. Guess I'll see if I get auto-renewed on my paid account soon.
 
Sent them an e-mail last week. Can't remember the day, but it was probably Thursday or Friday. They replied this morning with "your account is inactive/blocked, can you tell us when you canceled, and if you did, you should have gotten an e-mail."

I explained I was in the big box from CAG back from December 2009, and that while I had received a cancellation e-mail at that time, I knew that other people in that box had been auto-renewed and charged again, and that I didn't want this to happen to me and that my credit card information should be removed.

Just got another message from them saying, "You have been removed out of our system, but we sent it through again so you can get an email confirmation. Your credit card is no longer in our system and you will not be charged."

I think I originally joined back in September of last year, so I'll still be watching. But here's a little hope for people that they might be paying attention to e-mails sent now. If I try to log in at their site, I still get "The username Strell has not been activated or is blocked." Not sure how I feel about that.
 
What has the charged showed up as on credit card statements? I think I joined late June, canceled in the CAG box, got an email (unfortunately can't access it since my school email isn't working) but don't see anything on my statement.
 
According to other cags:


Via Lilboo:
Ent. Consumer asso $19.99

Via badlieut:
Point Of Sale Withdrawal ENT. / CONSUMER ASSOC 203-761-6180 CTUS 19.99
 
[quote name='Strell']Sent them an e-mail last week. [/QUOTE]

What email address did you get them to reply to you with? Because they sure as shit don't respond to their online form.
 
What happens if you used a prepaid CC if they try to take your money and there's none left on it? What do you think they would do.
 
Well, I just got a letter from my credit card company saying they're discontinuing the card I currently have and no charges will be able to be made on the card after 8/15 so the good thing is there's no way ECA can charge me. I canceled ECA a while back via the bulk mail anyways, but at least I definitely don't have to worry about it now.
 
[quote name='jjmai']So does going through the "No Additional Term, Thanks" to disable auto renewal actually works?
(as mentioned in post 781 http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showpost.php?p=7117949&postcount=781 )[/QUOTE]

I haven't heard any reports that it doesn't work.

My paid account that I canceled online back in April went past the renewal date with no charge. A few days prior I got through to ECA accounting and they said I wouldn't be charged. So far it looks to be true.
 
I'm glad I saw this thread. I finally got around to canceling just now, following the steps in the OP. I received the email too. I was scheduled to renew in October. Hopefully no charges go through.
 
Motherfucking pieces of shits.

08/04/10 ENT. CONSUMER ASSOC 14.99

Dammit I'm pissed that I have to deal with this shit. I looked through my email, and sure enough, December 22, 2009:

Thank you for your letter requesting to terminate your membership with the Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA). This letter is confirmation that your request has been processed and your membership in the organization, 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 [their fucking retarded website].

Thank you.
Click to expand...
 
[quote name='elessar123']Motherfucking pieces of shits.

08/04/10 ENT. CONSUMER ASSOC 14.99

Dammit I'm pissed that I have to deal with this shit. I looked through my email, and sure enough, December 22, 2009:[/QUOTE]

......

:wall:
 
[quote name='elessar123']Motherfucking pieces of shits.

08/04/10 ENT. CONSUMER ASSOC 14.99

Dammit I'm pissed that I have to deal with this shit. I looked through my email, and sure enough, December 22, 2009:[/QUOTE]

What method did you use to cancel? Just curious.
 
[quote name='distgfx']What method did you use to cancel? Just curious.[/QUOTE]

One of the 700 cards mailed to them through CAG. And to add insult to injury, I couldn't even log on to their site to turn off auto renew since canceling. What a fucking retarded company.
 
[quote name='elessar123']One of the 700 cards mailed to them through CAG. And to add insult to injury, I couldn't even log on to their site to turn off auto renew since canceling. What a fucking retarded company.[/QUOTE]

Interesting, I took the more personal approach and typed them up a letter, then signed it using a pen. I wanted to make damned sure I'd never have to deal with them again.
 
[quote name='elessar123']One of the 700 cards mailed to them through CAG. And to add insult to injury, I couldn't even log on to their site to turn off auto renew since canceling. What a fucking retarded company.[/QUOTE]

This is why I haven't changed my signature on these forums.

I'd suggest calling or emailing the accounting department ASAP, as well as contacting your card company and initiating a chargeback.
 
so slightly off topic, but i've had an open ECA order that i kept adding games too by emailing them. but i've tried adding black ops to that order twice now, and both times i got a reply that due to some technical error they couldn't add it. does this mean the times of my extra savings are over? do i have to go back to amazons normally great savings? or just an odd coincidence that 2 reps told me the same thing?
 
[quote name='y2jasper']so slightly off topic, but i've had an open ECA order that i kept adding games too by emailing them. but i've tried adding black ops to that order twice now, and both times i got a reply that due to some technical error they couldn't add it. does this mean the times of my extra savings are over? do i have to go back to amazons normally great savings? or just an odd coincidence that 2 reps told me the same thing?[/QUOTE]
I just had the AC: Brotherhood CE added to mine a few days ago, so it might just be the game. One thing I have noticed is that once an order gets really big, you get an error trying to view the details and sometimes when you cancel something from the order. Luckily, I have a backup order with a few games not due out for a couple years that I haven't been using in case anything ever does happen to the main order.

I'm honestly shocked they never bothered to wipe up these orders, as I've saved hundreds over the past year lol.
 
[quote name='Jodou']I just had the AC: Brotherhood CE added to mine a few days ago, so it might just be the game. One thing I have noticed is that once an order gets really big, you get an error trying to view the details and sometimes when you cancel something from the order. Luckily, I have a backup order with a few games not due out for a couple years that I haven't been using in case anything ever does happen to the main order.

I'm honestly shocked they never bothered to wipe up these orders, as I've saved hundreds over the past year lol.[/QUOTE]

yeah i guess i'll try another game. and by the way how big does an order have to be to get that kind of error? my order (from back in oct 09) is currently at 9 games. i think i've been pretty lenient with it.
 
[quote name='y2jasper']yeah i guess i'll try another game. and by the way how big does an order have to be to get that kind of error? my order (from back in oct 09) is currently at 9 games. i think i've been pretty lenient with it.[/QUOTE]
Once you breach ~30 games is when the issues start.
 
No response or refund from the f**kers yet. Filed my BBB complaint.

Complaint Description:
The ECA has been in the news for their deceptive practices, so here's another one. Last year, they made members jump through hoops to cancel their subscription. Hundreds, if not thousands complied. I even received an email from the ECA on December 22, 2009 informing me that they had received my request in the form of physical mail to cancel my membership, and they immediately blocked my account from their site. In the email, they also claimed to have deleted my personal information, so I thought I was completely done with this horrible example of a non-profit organization. Come August 2010. My credit card was charged automatically by the ECA for another year of membership - despite the fact that I could not access my paid account for eight months since they received my cancellation mail. My credit card on file did not even have the same address, yet somehow they charged it without my permission, and their promise that they will not, on top of their promise that they have purged my personal records from their database. I contacted the ECA immediately, and received a reply claiming they will look into it. It has now been 2 weeks without a word about any progress, or my refund. I'm filing this complaint because they're illegally charging me, withholding my personal information, including financial records, and failing to maintain contact or issue a prompt refund for their mistake. I'm also filing because I know more people will be affected by this, and the ECA doesn't seem to want to right their wrongs without being pushed by authorities.
Click to expand...
 
Great, so my card will be charged as well I bet. And because it's a debit, it could really hurt me and wind up creating overages if that account doesn't have enough in it. The card has expired, but I'm sure they'll adjust the exp. date to charge me.

Evil evil evil. I sent both a postcard and went in that CAG box.
 
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