Initially loud boos, then big cheers for the actions of RealNetworks in dealing with an account issue I had recently. The story is that I took out a (free) one-month trial subscription to their Unlimited Movies service. I found that I wasn’t going to make use of this effectively, so I cancelled the service. All this I completed online. Then, for a couple of months a US$6.95 transaction was appearing on my credit card statement. I finally got around to doing something about it, only to discover that I had set up the subscription using a different email address than the one I thought I had used (it was my gmail account, not my regular work email account). While it was user error on my part, I got to the ludicrous situation that RealNetworks was not going to cancel my subscription unless I called a US phone number to speak to a live operator. Now, I am based in Australia, so I would have to call and pay international rates for a service that I signed up for over the Internet. I am pleased to say that RealNetworks realised that this was a silly proposition, and finally cancelled my subscription based on email correspondence. Here is the email transcript for interest (read from the bottom up!):
| Dear The Mangle,
Thank you for contacting RealNetworks Customer Support. I understand that you would like to cancel your account with Unlimited Movies. Considering your case, I would like to inform you that your account has been cancelled. No future charges will appear on your credit card. If you wish to renew the subscription, please write to us and we will be glad to assist you. Thank you for taking advantage of our service. Regards, RealNetworks Customer Support |
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| Customer (The Mangle) | 01/19/2007 02:43 AM |
| Hi RealNetworks
That’s ridiculous. I didn’t subscribe to the service over the phone, so I shouldn’t have to cancel it over the phone. If you are offering an international service, you need to either provide a mechanism for international subscribers to transact with you conveniently, or not offer the service at all. I wish to cancel my subscription, and I should be able to do that by email, or via a website. I just tried calling the number then and the office is closed – I don’t know what the time is over there at the moment, and I shouldn’t have to pay international call rates just to cancel a service that I thought I had cancelled months ago. Please let me know what information you require from me, and I wish to cancel my subscription to Unlimited Movies effective immediately. regards The Mangle —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————- |
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| Response (RealNetworks) | 01/19/2007 01:00 AM |
| Dear The Mangle,
Thank you for contacting RealNetworks Customer Support. I understand that you need clarification on your RealNetworks billing. We searched our records using the e-mail address provided, but there isn’t an active subscription order listed under this e-mail address. I got a different e-mail address under your name in which you have Unlimited Movies subscription open and active. That is the reason you have been charged $6.95 which is the monthly subscription fee. I would like to inform that you have cancelled only your RealPlayer SuperPass account. I regret to inform you that we are unable to cancel your subscription via e-mail. If you would like to cancel your account to avoid the charges, we request you to call us. Hold times are usually under two minutes, and we make every effort to respond quickly and efficiently to your request. Please visit http://service.real.com/contact/help.html?product=subs and look under the “Cancel Subscription” heading for the toll-free cancellation number. To cancel your account, please contact our Customer Service which can be reached at 1-866-212-1343 , Monday – Friday from 6:00am-6:00pm PST and Saturday – Sunday from 7:30am-5:00pm PST. If you have any questions or clarifications, please reply to this message and we will be glad to assist you. Regards, RealNetworks Customer Support |
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| Customer (The Mangle) | 01/18/2007 09:20 PM |
| Hi
I am being charged a monthly fee on my Visa account for an Unlimited Movies subscription, but I cancelled my subscription during the trial period. My account is listed under the email address above, but when I spoke to a Real representative via live chat, he was not able to find any details on me. I am being charged $6.95 a month on my Visa card. regards The Mangle |
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| Auto-Response | 01/18/2007 09:20 PM |
| Question: How do I cancel my Real subscription Real account or subscription and stop the monthly charges to my credit card? Answer: Please visit the Customer Support Contact page for RealPlayer or SuperPass and Video, then look under the Cancel Subscription heading for a toll-free cancellation number. - |
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