# Membership renewal



## MalteseJane (Nov 21, 2004)

I was not happy last year that I had to open a Paypal account to pay for the membership. Well this year I am even more unhappy. Why ? Because I did not pay attention to the fact that it was an automatic renewal. And when I got the notice I did not expect Paypal to use my credit card without asking first. I was not going to renew this year and now it is too late since my credit card already has been charged. I did not want to open a Paypal account in the first place because I knew they keep your credit card on file and I hate that. I also feel that we should have a choice here at SM. So this post is for all of you who have not payed attention to this fact and warn you.


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## LJSquishy (Feb 27, 2008)

I'm sorry you are frustrated about the automatic renewal. Paying SM members do have a choice, though, to not renew a subscription if you state that you want to cancel. Most subscriptions are like this.


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## 3Maltmom (May 23, 2005)

LJSquishy said:


> I'm sorry you are frustrated about the automatic renewal. Paying SM members do have a choice, though, to not renew a subscription if you state that you want to cancel. Most subscriptions are like this.


Where do you cancel the membership? I was not aware PayPal, nor this site, did this.


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## MalteseJane (Nov 21, 2004)

LJSquishy said:


> I'm sorry you are frustrated about the automatic renewal. Paying SM members do have a choice, though, to not renew a subscription if you state that you want to cancel. Most subscriptions are like this.



Dear MalteseJane,

Your access to the paid subscription "SpoiledMaltese.com: Premium Membership" is about to expire.

If you have selected a recurring subscription you will be automatically billed for the renewal, else to renew this subscription you must visit http://spoiledmaltese.com/forum/payments.php

If you do not extend your subscription, access will be removed.

All the best,
Maltese Dogs Forum : Spoiled Maltese Forums


This is the e-mail I received. When you click on the link it brings you to "Available subscriptions" but does not give you any opportunity to cancel.

I did not expect Paypal to use my credit card without at least asking. If I would have expected that, I would have done something at the Paypal level. Now it's too late. Well I can always dispute the charge with the credit card company. 

I just don't think this is right. And there should be an option in SM to opt out of it. It's not about the 20 bucks it's about the principle.


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## beckybc03 (Jul 6, 2006)

even worse....I did not get an email telling me that my subscription was about to expire and that I would be automatically re-enrolled. I could not figure out for the life of me what the $20 charge on my credit card was. The merchant is listed as Verticalscope. I called BofA and they didn't have any further information either but told me to check my paypal account since it was a PayPal charge. Once I checked that I discovered that it was my SM automatically renewing!! I didn't get an email from SM or PayPal. I sent a message to customer service here on SM and no one has replied to me. It is not so much the $20 but the fact that I wasn't notified or given a choice and instead the charge just showed up on my card!!

I wonder if I will ever actually get a reply from this website....


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## Lacie's Mom (Oct 11, 2006)

Both of your should pm Yung at admin about this. I'm sure that he will cancel your membership and refund your fee. You can also disput the charge with Paypal and they will handle contacting Verticalscope about a refund.

Please let Yung know about this by pming him at admin.

Thanks


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## Cosy (Feb 9, 2006)

Mine ran out and I never renewed mine nor did it do it automatically. This must be something new?


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## MalteseJane (Nov 21, 2004)

Cosy said:


> Mine ran out and I never renewed mine nor did it do it automatically. This must be something new?


If Paypal does not have the number of one of your credit cards or your bank account number they cannot do it.


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## 3Maltmom (May 23, 2005)

Cosy said:


> Mine ran out and I never renewed mine nor did it do it automatically. This must be something new?


Brit, I'm thinking since the takeover, this is in place. I did not renew my membership after the takeover, so was not a problem. My membership was before, as well as yours was (before the take)


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## MalteseJane (Nov 21, 2004)

3Maltmom said:


> Brit, I'm thinking since the takeover, this is in place. I did not renew my membership after the takeover, so was not a problem. My membership was before, as well as yours was (before the take)


You are right. Before the takeover you did not need to use Paypal and it was not automatic.


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## Canada (Jun 4, 2009)

My membership expired before the switch over also,
And it never renewed automatically.
What I liked before is that a portion of our dues went to Rescue.
But that isn't the case now, sadly. 
I hope they look into that again.


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## Harley & Dakotas Mum (Jun 11, 2005)

Canada said:


> My membership expired before the switch over also,
> And it never renewed automatically.
> *What I liked before is that a portion of our dues went to Rescue.*
> But that isn't the case now, sadly.
> I hope they look into that again.


That's one of the reasons I didn't renew mine.

I understand that this site is now corporately owned, and therefore is a business, and businesses are there to make money - but it would be nice to see the business make a contribution -say, a percentage of membership fees. Here in Au, donations to charitable organisations are tax deductable.

I also understand that this would then raise the question, - which organisation gets the donation? For a business, making a donation to one organisation is going to be a lot easier than splitting it among many.

Saying that, donating to worthy causes should never be put in the 'too hard' basket. Just sayin' :thumbsup:


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## almitra (Apr 24, 2009)

I am sure Yung will see to it & respond quickly as soon as you let him know. Please post back and let us know how it was resolved for you guys.


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## Hunter's Mom (Dec 8, 2008)

Mine was due to renew after the switch in administration and it did not automatically renew. I got an email telling me my subscription was up and asking me to renew. Perhaps this is new - I agree with Lynn - you should contact Yung.


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## Cosy (Feb 9, 2006)

MalteseJane said:


> You are right. Before the takeover you did not need to use Paypal and it was not automatic.


Right. I've been asked to renew since the takeover and they had my number (well before the takeover they did) but it wasn't auto pay.


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## bailey02 (May 1, 2009)

I think i joined before the switch and it automatically renewed mine. I did get an email about it.


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## Aarianne (Jul 22, 2005)

I'm not a paid member and when I click on Upgrade My Membership to sign up, under Premium Member it says that it's for 1 year and costs US $20.00*.

Then just below there, it explains the asterisk: 

_Validity periods marked * indicate that purchasing this subscription is recurring, this means after the period is complete it will automatically be renewed._

It also states: 

_All paid subscription fees are non-refundable._

Since I'm not a paid member, I can't check how to unsubscribe... but if there really is no way to unsubscribe through the website, then hopefully they'll fix that and refund you if it auto-renewed recently.

For those that did not receive an email warning that their subscription was about to expire, try checking User CP --> Edit Options (under Settings & Options) and in the Receive Email section, check the first box, which says: Receive Email from Administrators. 

Hope that helps someone!


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## Administrator (Sep 22, 2009)

Hello everyone,

Sorry I didn't respond earlier as I was away for the long weekend.

In terms of the subscription renewals:

- if you have a membership via PAYPAL, it will auto renew. This is not a VS thing.. it's a PAYPAL subscription thing. Anyone who purchased a paid membership AFTER the site acquisition almost two years ago would be on a PAYPAL membership case. 

- if you were auto renewed and did not want to, please send me a PM and I will process a refund and give you instructions to cancel the subscription.

Above all, I apologize that this has caught you guys off guard. If there's anything else I can help with, please feelf ree to write me a PM or post it here.

Yung


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## Lacie's Mom (Oct 11, 2006)

Yung -- thanks. I knew you would take care of it.


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## MalteseJane (Nov 21, 2004)

admin said:


> Hello everyone,
> 
> Sorry I didn't respond earlier as I was away for the long weekend.
> 
> ...


Sorry I don't agree with you. IT IS a VS thing. You don't give us a choice. On the contrary, you force us to take up a membership in Paypal in order to renew and we don't have an option in SM to opt out of an automatic renewal (I wonder how many people pay attention to it). Secondly I wonder how Paypal can enroll people in automatic payment without their agreement. Something is wrong somewhere. Frankly I am thinking that you just shift the blame. There must be an understanding between you and Paypal that they are doing this. I never wanted to renew through Paypal in the first place and this just confirms that it was a mistake to let myself talked in to it. It is not the 20 bucks, I might have renewed down the line anyway, it is the PRINCIPLE. I don't like my credit card used without my knowledge. And I hope you are going to change this at the SM level.


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## testVS2 (Aug 13, 2003)

Janine, I will get to the bottom of this and get back to you about the Paypal renewal options.


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## Administrator (Sep 22, 2009)

Oops that was me above... also, the offer to do a full refund is still there. Please write to me in PM and I'll get it done asap.


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