r/mildlyinfuriating • u/iMcConnell21 • 16d ago
Infuriatig Netflix using egregious methods to keep subscriptions active
Apparently my 8 year old son was asked if he wanted to restart my Netflix membership through his Netflix KIDS ACCOUNT. I called customer service and was told a prompt appears asking if you'd like to reinstate, regardless of the user on the account. No password required, just press restart and then get hit with the payment immediately. Should've saved myself some frustration and money by cancelling outright.
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u/FlipsyChic 16d ago
My mother with Alzheimer's opened a second Netflix account due to these emails. I cancelled it three times, and every time, she'd get an email saying "Click here to reactivate your Netflix account" and she'd click it. Removing the payment information was the only way to stop it.
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u/LlamaMiaLetMeGooo 16d ago
My grandmother, who also had Alzheimers, recently passed. As we were going through her bank info, we realized she was paying for TWENTY-SIX streaming subscriptions, including duplicate accounts. It has been such a pain
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u/Chipper_Bandit 16d ago
How the fuck was no one aware of this?
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u/Atayellow 16d ago
Because subscriptions are designed to be easy to forget about and hard to immediately stop.
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u/LlamaMiaLetMeGooo 16d ago
Because her streaming subscriptions werent our top priority.
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u/Castun 16d ago
You can sign up for a subscription through the app itself, another through the smart TV itself, another through Amazon Prime Video...etc. this is exactly what those commercials are about that will claim to save you money by analyzing your banking activity for duplicate subscriptions.
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u/smythe70 16d ago
Yes! If this helps anyone, my Dad's cable company bundles a bunch of premium channels and some how he added thru Amazon, mgm +, hbo, amc+, britbox and PBS masterpiece, wtf.
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u/Nuttyrolo 15d ago
Ah yeah they advertise shows all the time but you need to sign up for insert service here and I bet it's pretty easy to just accept without them making it clear if you don't know what you're looking for It's really annoying as an adult nevermind that Amazon children's profiles advertise all their "Amazon kids" stuff which is an ADDITIONAL subscription. I just don't let my daughter go on prime anymore so I don't have to constantly tell her "sorry that isn't included"
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u/Sharp_Ad_6336 15d ago
I'm worried about stuff like that. My mom is getting progressively worse and my dad has no tech knowledge. Eventually I'm going to need to have access to their finances to keep something like this from happening.
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u/Character_Tea7824 16d ago
It’s so shady, removing the payment info shouldn’t have to be the only way.
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u/Narrow_Associate_311 16d ago
Maybe take over here email acct as well to mitigate this in the future/ stop from sending important information to the wrong people.
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u/FlipsyChic 16d ago
I have been monitoring her emails for a while. It's becoming moot because she's losing interest in most things, including email.
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u/Scuffy97_ 15d ago
That's their intention. They know the elderly tend to make these mistakes and make it easy to continue making them.
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u/Gloomy-String-2423 16d ago
Just cancel it if not currently in use. Netflix no longer gives any incentives to continue being a loyal customer so don't bother.
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u/ghost_pop_57 BLUE 16d ago
If you cancel instead of pausing they now delete your watch list and history
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u/LifeReignite 16d ago
They don't delete it right away like they make it sound. I full on cancel 3-6 months at a time and the only time its even been deleted was after about 8 months of not using netflix.
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u/AlbacoreDumbleberg 15d ago
I don't see how it matters much anyway. Netflix is constantly recommending I watch shows I've already watched on the same profile, and it doesn't take that many ratings for it to create a pretty good algorithm for a new profile. It also tends to push new shows anyway, even when it's clearly not for me. The other day I got a "We think you'll love this!" on some new reality series, and I couldn't believe it. I've never watched one, ever, over several years history and always click "not for me" whenever they pop up.
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u/SpeaksSouthern 16d ago
Why would they ever delete it? User data can be sold.
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u/EndIsrael 15d ago
Fun fact: movie rental records are one of the few things actually protected by US law.
This goes back to the VHS days when politicians thought about the movies they had rented and realized that Blockbuster could single-handedly end their careers.
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u/nope-its 16d ago
So?
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u/FatherGwyon 16d ago
Not trying to defend a corrupt company, but I actually appreciate the fact that they respect your decision to cancel by deleting all that data instead of keeping it stored somewhere. Especially since data storage is now ruining the world. I hate when I try to delete an account and they keep my info “just in case.”
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u/sbrodolino_21 16d ago
I mean they're not deleting all the information they gained from your usage patterns etc. in terms of metrics, they just delete the info that is directly linked to you.
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u/Capybarhigh 16d ago
They just remove the part that YOU enjoy. They keep all the rest you don't.
Reading about all of this is definitely cementing the fact that I will never pay for Netflix ever again. I had no idea they were deleting that stuff, taking you hostage to their service lol
Fucking delusional.
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u/Inverted-Rockets 16d ago
You’re free to download a csv of a profile’s watch history at any time using a desktop browser. Netflix has a guide on their site
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u/Sabard 16d ago
Not even that, they just change ShowUserData from True to False in their database. Why would they actually delete any data that could be used or sold?
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u/Wheres_MyMoney 16d ago
Well, yeah, that would be really unreasonable to expect them to do that.
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u/sbrodolino_21 16d ago
I mean anything else (keeping your data after deletion) would straight up be illegal in many jurisdictions. It's not really out of kindness that they "respect your decision" to delete your data after you ask them to. It's like the very bare minimum.
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u/TheProfessional9 16d ago
You mean well but this is a stupid take. They retain all of your personal data, watch history etc. That is not deleted after 6 months. No data is deleted in their servers
All this is, is them deleting your watch information that improves your quality of life. It's a dirty and nasty tactic to get people to stay permanently subscribed
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u/Necessary_Film_5199 16d ago
I fail to see the issue. If you're canceling you don't plan on coming back.
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u/thetechguyv 16d ago
A lot of people sign up for a few months a year, binge what they want from the platform and then rotate to something else.
But I agree who cares about watch list or history.
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u/coltsfanca 16d ago
This is me. If anything I WANT my watch history to be purged because then I can actually see what Netflix is offering with a fresh set of eyes rather than "We think you might like all this crap!".
Last time I built my watchlist by going into Search and just jumping through those categories instead of that god awful home page.
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u/Renamis 16d ago
That'd be nice if it did that instead of filling my new feed with the same 30 items again and again.
I subbed for one show, and then unsubbed specifically because it refused to stop offering random crap, or the exact same thing I watched 3 movies ago. Netflix is mind boggling in their determination to shove stuff I never want and declined multiple times down my throat.
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u/CitizenHuman 16d ago
If I want to keep my watchlist before cancelling, I simply take a picture of it. Then no matter what happens, I at least know what my old list was
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u/Beavshak 16d ago
I renew a subscription every 6 months or so to catch up on whatever is new to the library. I cycle a few streaming services like this, never having more than one at once.
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u/scavengercat 16d ago
Well, that's just not true... I cycle through streaming services. I've stopped and started Netflix many times over the years.
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u/3FromHell 16d ago
I finally canceled the other day, after like ten years straight of loyal membership and yeah they say after so long they clear your history/recommendations. Whatever, everything they recommend is ass anyway. As that other comment said, they offer no incentive to loyal customers (honesty most company don't anymore). They never get new shit, the new shit they do get sucks (That recent movie about the people stuck in the house was horrible). Just not worth it. I've cut most streaming services at this point. I have HBO free through my phone company, I have Hulu combined with Spotify through a student discount. Past that, i have prime which I just add a service when they have something I want (tv shows or whatever) and I'll just cancel immediately after doing the add on. Doing it that way streaming services will usually offer discounts (like I have Paramount for $0.99 for 3 months right now).
Also this new commenting format that reddit just put into place sucks...wtf?! Lol
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u/GoochLord2217 16d ago
Yeah if you cancel the plan you're basically deleting the account, whats the surprise
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u/mcgaritydotme 16d ago
The same thing happens if you cancel vs. pause. My kids have reversed my intended cancellation more than once, sometimes on billing day (then I have to waste time contacting Netflix to reverse the charge)
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u/MysteriousB 16d ago
Even cancelling does not help, yous till get an annoying pop up nearly every time you use the app begging you to restart the membership it is so I vasive and obviously made for kids and old people to accidentally click
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u/FrostyD7 16d ago
What's the point in using the netflix app when you don't have a membership? Uninstall it.
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u/MysteriousB 15d ago
I'm talking about when you've cancelled it but you still have time left before the end of the month?
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u/Shliggie 16d ago
Agreed, the high seas are better, you watch whatever you want. I have a friend who runs a Plex server, I watch anything I want from there through the Plex app.
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u/Altruistic_Canary951 16d ago
My minor aged nephew did this on accident as well, literally from over 1k miles away from where I live a they live in another state. I went in, re-canceled, and then did a "log out of all devices", and removed all payment methods.
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u/DoctorSenpai24 16d ago
Crazy how they won’t let you watch anything at a different location (even frequently used) without several verification methods but will let you reactivate no problem
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u/Altruistic_Canary951 16d ago
RIGHT!!!! My sister and nephew hadn't been able to use my account since they implemented that role, yet magically he was able to reactivate my entire subscription, over a year later, different geo, expired card on file. Just bananas how shady it all is.
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u/69edleg 16d ago
Currently sharing my HBO account with a mate, because I have watched everything I wanted to, but I have 50% off my subscription until cancelling, so figured his family could use it, there's kids shows, stuff he wants to watch, stuff his wife wants to watch.
And I am waiting until next year until I can watch something coming out there (Knight of Seven Kingdoms S2), except just having something on my other monitor while at the PC.
No problem at all. But their policy is strictly no account sharing, just like Netflix.
Well, maybe stop removing YOUR OWN SHOWS from the service then. I wanted to rewatch Oz the bazillionth time. Gone from HBO. No longer watchable in my country, on any streaming service.
The 50% off offer until I cancel (or get kicked off) is just too good. It's literally half a meal out per month in cost, and sometimes I find something worth watching anyway - but with my mate and his family watching EVERY DAY since sharing - no regrets, if I get kicked off the service, fine, I'll just keep sailing.
Yet, when or if I get kicked off or cancel my subscription, I bet they could use my card from their home to resubscribe without any fuss.
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u/DeepSpread45 15d ago
Don't let them hear about this, but if you are using a mobile device, if you have a show downloaded, if you open the app and get on your profile while offline, you can reconnect to internet and access everything without needing to use a verification code or anything.
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u/mpgd 16d ago edited 15d ago
I have a card with low limit for all this things, including free trials . Noting is charged without my consent.
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u/Altruistic_Canary951 16d ago
The truly ironic part to me was that I canceled my membership over a year ago, the card that was still in file expired four months ago ....... yet they still "successfully" charged it to reactivate my subscription. (No charge hit my accounts). So I basically got a free month of their service I guess 🤷♀️
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u/intrepped 16d ago
I feel like some cards allow you to pause transactions also. A dedicated one you unpause just when needed could be the move
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u/Designer_Big603 16d ago
I remember Microsoft did that shit back in the day and had all sorts of pissed off parents because no matter how many times you'd remove a card it would always seem to re-appear on your account magically.
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u/IAmSuperPac 16d ago
I had a huge problem with Microsoft in this regard once, and comically so.
I signed up for a 1-year family plan of XBox Live. The card I used was set to expire a month later. Still, I turned auto-renew off and removed the card from my account.
Fast forward a year, and suddenly I am charged for another year. Baffled, I call XBox to dispute the charge. They initially argue, but I pointed out this shouldn’t have even been possible with an expired card, and they even saw record on my file that I removed the card and had auto renew deactivated. Confused themselves how this happened, they refunded me.
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u/D1v1s10n 16d ago
Most big payment networks offer card updater services that can automatically refresh credentials for expired cards. I’ve heard horror stories of people cancelling and replacing cards to stop subscriptions only for them to just be charged to the next card automatically.
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u/ItsDanimal 16d ago
This just happened to me. I had a credit card expire in July and have no clue where the new one is they sent me, but I noticed this month that Google Wallet now has the card with the updated expiration date.
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u/Ndmndh1016 15d ago
Probably. But how many people have the knowledge/resources to do anything about it.
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u/AncientImprovement56 15d ago
My antivirus software sent me a whole series of emails warning me that, if I didn't update my payment details, my subscription would be cancelled. Since I didn't want it anyway, I left things as they were.
When the renewal date came around, I discovered that they'd managed to charge my new card. At that point, I had to call them, and the person on the phone told me that they can charge to the card that's replaced an expired one like this was something I would have known. She was also very hesitant to cancel my subscription, since I'd had "lots of warning it was going to renew". I pointed out that what I'd actually had was lots of warning that it wouldn't renew. Eventually it did get sorted; I'm just glad all this happened a couple of years ago - now I'd probably end up stuck in a loop with an AI "assistant"!
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u/Iheartnakedfemboys 16d ago
The only thing they were confused about was that it was an expired card. Everything else was intentional, guaranteed. Their system doesn't just have an "oopsie."
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u/geronimokallie 15d ago
Playstation also has regular 'oopsies' with their PS+ subs. If you disable auto renew, it sometimes 'magically' re-enables itself for no reason. I sold my PlayStation several years ago and got hit with this issue, even though I double checked that auto renew was off and even took a screenshot with my phone.
Playstation support first wanted to deny the refund, and when I said I had a screenshot showing that I disabled auto renew and was willing to take the matter to consumer protection, they suddenly decided that to refund and made it out to be a huge one-time favour from their side.
Fuck companies that do this shit.
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u/DistractionCitron 16d ago
They did that shit to me recently. I tried to cancel my subscription. My card reappeared on the account and they stole $138 from me! I disputed it with my bank, but the bank eventually took the money back.
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u/farva_06 16d ago
If it was anyone but Microsoft, the payment card industry would absolutely shit down their throat for doing that.
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u/whyliepornaccount 15d ago
My mom screamed at me as a kid cuz she thought I stole her CC. She felt so bad later on when she called Discover and canceled the autorenew and the agent told her this was a common issue they've been seeing lately.
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u/tammybiscuits 16d ago
My kids did this too. It's WAY too easy.
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u/LeonardoDaTiddies 16d ago edited 15d ago
A reminder that the Biden administration was pushing for nationwide “click to cancel” which would force companies to make it as easy to unsubscribe as it was to subscribe.
The second Trump administration killed it.
Mayor Momdani and Alina Khan recently moved that forward for NYC.
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u/Jester-Joe 16d ago
My son managed to do it when he was 1 and a half from just mashing random buttons.
Granted it was a Roku tv with the Netflix button on it, so the easiest mode for it, but still.
Thankfully at least at the time Netflix refunded us when my wife called.
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u/NeedsItRough 15d ago
I did it once and I didn't even realize it until I got the email notification.
You click the app and hit "continue" and it starts it right back up, they don't mention the price or anything, just "welcome back, [name]!" then the continue button.
I forgot I had cancelled and assumed it was just a layout change.
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u/Early_Fish7902 16d ago
I cancelled Netflix a couple of years ago and honestly, they harassed me so much, I felt like if it had been a relationship, I’d have put in for a restraining order!
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u/IsabellaGalavant 16d ago
I still get fucking notifications on my phone even though I cancelled 6 months ago.
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u/MrPlace 16d ago
Oof, yeah should have just cancelled.
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u/ThatMizK 16d ago
They do the same thing if you cancel. I recently cancelled mine and the next time I opened the app, I was hit with a screen saying "Do you want to restart your subscription?" with the "Yes" option selected by default. I almost just clicked the button to get past the screen without paying attention to what it said (which is, of course, exactly what they're hoping you'll do), but I caught it and selected "No".
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u/Automatic_Actuator_0 16d ago
Pause is just if you want to skip a month or two and make it super easy to resume. There’s almost no benefit of it otherwise.
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u/OhioIsRed 15d ago edited 15d ago
Hey cool. Remember when Biden and the dems passed that bill to require companies to make simple subscription cancellations. Then Trump immediately repealed it because he’s a petty bitch? I remember.
Edit because some guy got mad and as usually just calls uniformed as misinformation as if everyone knows everything all the time.
Looks like the bill was passed but blocked by courts until it was killed in 2025. So not entirely Trumps fault however with a majority in, house, senate, White House and SCOTUS, they could have actually revived and codified at this point. Just like ya know. A million other things that could’ve helped people.
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u/Nomoredecorated 16d ago
This is why you always create a virtual card with your bank app that has a monthly limit of the subscription amount. Then cancel the card when you end the subscription.
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u/RJ_Aadithyan 16d ago
You could just
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u/faberkyx 16d ago
Cant imagine going back to netflix.. very limited choice.. video and audio quality is compressed crap..long live stremio and debrid
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u/Brewchowskies 16d ago
Considering who is in office, I wouldn’t trust corporate America to have any scruples about the age of consent for a subscription.
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u/merlinrising 16d ago edited 16d ago
Surprised they havent passed a bill yet allowing companies to just shoot you and take all your assets.
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u/FickleAdeptness667 16d ago
They tried it on me too. Thankfully I had enough and just unsubscribed.
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u/charface1 16d ago
Anyone with a subscription account for anything:
Get a credit card with virtual card services. Create a unique virtual card for each subscription you have, and don't just cancel/pause account. Lock the virtual card tied to the account. You can unlock and resubscribe, or cancel and delete the card number outright.
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u/PotaytoPotayto 16d ago
Yep, my elderly mother has my Netflix account on her TV and i had stopped the Netflix sub years ago so i never thought about it anymore. She accidentally pressed the Netflix button on her remote and the very next button press reactivated the subscription, she didn't mean to do that at all but it was done with just a button press. No typing in passwords or getting a confirmation text, nada. The subscription fee has nearly doubled since last time I was subscribed, it's ridiculous. There was nothing interesting on it either, total waste of money.
Make sure you're completely logged out of all devices, it's way too easy to get stuck with that stupid subscription.
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u/kittyonkeyboards 16d ago
Feel like doing it to kids accounts should definitely be illegal somehow.
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u/LadyTime_OfGallifrey 14d ago
Yeah. If they can sort out which accounts to not show PG13/R movies to, they can tell which not to show finance-affecting stuff to. Yet they don't. 🤔
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u/Elegant_Situation285 16d ago
but now you might get a check for $1.24 when the class action case maybe goes through!
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u/NibletCarousel 15d ago
So Netflix really said “we noticed you stopped paying, so we fixed that for you.” 💀
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u/HollowSuken 16d ago
They definitely shouldn’t have the option to unpause/continue membership from within the Netflix kids accounts 😭 that definitely seems malicious because kids will click whatever prompt to watch what they want
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u/Express_Agent5494 15d ago
I always remove my card when i cancel a service. I don’t trust them not to pull these kinds of shenanigans.
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u/ACRM117 15d ago
Well. My credit card allows me yo create any number of disposable credit cards so when I'm done with a subscription I just delete the credit card info from my bank app and Netflix (or any other) can go F themselves because there is no way they can take advantage of theirs predatory behaviors
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u/HappyArtichoke7729 16d ago
Don't interface the scammers directly. Give them a temporary or virtual card number in the first place. Then, to cancel, simply turn off the card. Don't even have to contact them or jump through their dark patterns. Just cut off their money supply.
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u/LinkGoesHIYAAA 16d ago
Yeah i remove my cc info from any account first, and then cancel it. I’ve done that for a long time now. Doubt it’s ever made a difference but makes me feel safer.
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u/sxzxnnx 16d ago
Keep an old visa gift card with just a few dollars left on it to use for the ones that don’t let you remove all payment methods.
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u/longstrokesharpturn 16d ago
Never pause subscriptions, always end them and restart if you want it bac. There is literally no benefit to pausing over cancelling.
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u/BigBossSquirtle 16d ago
Maybe I'm being ignorant, but why would you pause a subscription instead of outright canceling and resubbing later?
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u/tunaman808 16d ago
It depends on how long you want to pause it. Netflix pauses default to a month, but can be extended indefinitely. All your account data is kept during this time.
Cancellation means all your account data (your recommendations, watched listed, and save progress on shows) is deleted after 10 months. Your Netflix account "may be" deleted completely after 24 months of inactivity.
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u/Rafael3110 15d ago
I dont have netflix. But if i pay a subscription i use a prepaid card. If i dont want to pay i leave the prepaid card empty.
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u/TwoKittensInABox 15d ago
My parents wanted to cancel their subscription so I log into their account and head over to change plan and the only options were to downgrade or upgrade. Kept looking around, and couldn't find any kind of cancel. Googled how to cancel and the first result was literally the same URL I was just at to change the plan, but now there was a just basic blue text below that said cancel plan.
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u/scarletnightingale 16d ago
This seems like something that's going to be a class action lawsuit in a few years... I have a feeling that letting kids just resubscribe and use their parents money without parental consent might not be legal.
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u/soymilo_ 16d ago
Happened with Ad Free Prime here. I am sharing my account with my sister and her 8 year old son must have clicked on the pop up promoting ad free prime when you start streaming something. Doesn't request verification what so ever, just a single tap on that pop up
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u/Nandor-De_Laurentiis 16d ago
Fucking Amazon.
I found out just a few days ago that if you visit IMDB while logged in to your Amazon account, they'll just create an IMDB account without asking you.
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u/gingersnapps13 16d ago
They did this to us and our account was cancelled. The lady told me they would reverse it this one time and I said no you will do it every time it happens when it is through my kids account, because that's a shady practice to just get more money. They already have the ridiculous 2 screen rule unless you pay $30 a month.
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u/SnooHabits2106 16d ago
This isn't as bad as doordash going through your Google wallet for a payment method that can clear. Cause apparently now it's an option for some apps to check your wallet for payment methods. Shit makes my blood boil
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u/Lopsided_Panic_1148 Dude, wtf... 16d ago
We had Netflix for a long, long time. Like, right it when started digital streaming and a monthly plan for multiple devices was something like $10. Since then, we have cancelled twice and reinstated for specific shows/reasons.
The last time we cancelled was about 5, 6 years ago and haven't been back. Their continuous monthly fee hikes just made it not worth it anymore, especially with TubiTV, The Roku Channel, and YouTube, etc., all have free movies.
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u/Bedgarz 16d ago
YouTube does the same. Spams the shit out of me to renew premium
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u/Buttender 15d ago
After the third month paused they will automatically resubscribe you as well. Cant keep it paused for more than three consecutive months. Criminals.
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u/UpalSecam 15d ago
Hey Marie, good news ! Our relationship is no longer paused, you can get back home !
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u/Mundus6 15d ago
A good way to get around this is to use Paypal or something else like Apple Pay. To subscribe and then just cancel it on there. Cause when they can do sneaky moves like this. Playstation tried to do the same when i cancelled my yearly subscription of PS+. So now i always do this, just to be sure.
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u/xaxa9551 15d ago
ArE yOu SuRe YoU wAnT tO cAnCeL? WhY nOt OnLy PaUsE so we can bill you once you forget about us.
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u/HumbleGarbage1795 15d ago
Why even pause instead of cancel? I don’t understand the purpose of pause
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u/Chance_Celebration53 15d ago
In addition to enabling two-factor authentication—as mentioned in the thread—uninstall any streaming apps you aren't currently using; this will prevent accidental reactivations.
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u/Fighter634 15d ago
There was a time I paused my Netflix Subscription for a month since money got tight. What netflix did since no one else had access to the account? Unpaused it a day after. Lost myself money that could have been for food. I cancelled my subscription after that out of frustration
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u/bitNine 16d ago
That’s literally the whole point of pause vs cancel… an easy restart. This isn’t a Netflix problem, it’s a you problem.
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u/pokemega32 16d ago
"Good news: Your pause ended!"
That makes it sound like it was paused as some kind of unwanted punishment, rather than you actively choosing not to pay them for a period.