Beware possible subscription problem

TairikuOkami said:

Instant Payments Regulation

The European Central Bank (ECB) is the central bank of the European Union countries which have adopted the euro. Our main task is to maintain price stability in the euro area and so preserve the purchasing power of the single currency.

www.ecb.europa.eu

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What's that got to do with the argument -- the € has been the currency of the EU and it's been remarkably stable in spite of its detractors thinking that it would fail within weeks of its introduction - especially against the old mighty DM. (Deutsche Mark).

Actually I remember old tales of UK service men using their old "Shilling coins" pre 1971 decimal currency introduction (approx 5p in their today's currency) using them in cigarette machines - where the price used to be 4 DM a packet -- at that time there were about 4 DM to 1£ and the price of a packet of fags was around 4 to 6 DM - so 4 shilling coins - the same size as 1 DM coins especially in those days when vending machines weren't as sensitive with coin weights /shapes gave the Brit servicemen a huge discount on buying this stuff. Probably why so many ex B.A.O.R (British Army on the Rhine) personnel ended up as heavy smokers !!!

Anyway enough history for today !!! Have fun everyone.

Cheers
jimbo

When I was young, my father would cash his paycheck, then my mother would put the money in various envelopes, marked Food, Clothing, Utilities, etc.,
then, those items would get paid in person!
Oh, how I long to go back in time!!!

Edwin said:

When I was young, my father would cash his paycheck, then my mother would put the money in various envelopes, marked Food, Clothing, Utilities, etc.,
then, those items would get paid in person!
Oh, how I long to go back in time!!!

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I don't think so somehow !! No Internet --even for Land phones one had to wait months before getting connections, food --limited choices and on Sundays the only things you could buy were a house or some Petrol (Gas) or Diesel (Derv) -- not even a bible or prayer book could be sold !!. Outside toilets in freezing cold winters and central heating of any type unknown no thanks-- Those days weren't that great in most jurisdictions including even parts of the USA which on the whole did did OK even as far back as the 1950's in most states -- a load of the U.S Southern states (Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, W.Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee etc) were also dire until the late 1960's, Iceland until nearly 1964 - cod wars with Britain etc, - the UK itself until almost 1980 (perhaps regressing back again) and many other places too until at least the mid 1960's,

Cheers
jimbo

jimbo45 said:

I don't think so somehow !! No Internet --even for Land phones one had to wait months before getting connections, food --limited choices and on Sundays the only things you could buy were a house or some Petrol (Gas) or Diesel (Derv) -- not even a bible or prayer book could be sold !!. Outside toilets in freezing cold winters and central heating of any type unknown no thanks-- Those days weren't that great in most jurisdictions including even parts of the USA which on the whole did did OK even as far back as the 1950's in most states -- the U.S Southern states (Alabama, Kentucky, W.Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee etc) were also dire until the late 1960's, Iceland until nearly 1964 - cod wars with Britain etc, - the UK itself until almost 1980 (perhaps regressing back again) and many other places too until at least the mid 1960's,

Cheers
jimbo

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Well..., I don't know about all that, but, my teenage years drifted through the late 70's and early 80's..., was the best decade of my life!!!

Edwin said:

Well..., I don't know about all that, but, my teenage years drifted through the late 70's and early 80's..., was the best decade of my life!!!

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A load of those horrendous problems had already been fixed by then -- If you were a teenager in the 1980's you probably had it good anywhere !!!. I don't envy todays youngsters other than they are probably much healthier than I am now even though I'm good at my age and don't need to use electric bikes (although those are great fun to ride) or the elevators / lifts in tall buildings , train stations etc.

Cheers
jimbo

TairikuOkami said:

Unless you cancel the card, the new one will have the same number, only the date and CVV will change, but since the card payment is already verified, they are not needed to continue the subscription, it is basically the same card.

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United States here ... I recently had my card hacked while attempting to buy from a legitimate source. I notified my bank and my card was immediately cancelled and a new card with a new number was issued. I have never had a new card issued with the same number as the old one! I cannot imagine any bank doing that, no matter where it's located.

The hacker was stopped in its tracks, and they issued a refund. They seem to be a predatory company with saying I subscribed when I didn't!

I did have a problem with one auto-draft (forgot to notify them).

I had a scare once when I bought Franzis HDR Project 9 Pro with my card.
I wasn’t sure whether it was subscription or perpetual. Upon inquiry, Franzis assured me that it was a one-time payment.

I asked Copilot the following question: "will u.s. banks continue paying vendors from expired credit cards?"

It's answer:
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"Yes, U.S. banks can—and often do—continue paying vendors from expired credit cards, especially for recurring charges like subscriptions, insurance premiums, or memberships.
Here’s how and why that happens:
Automatic Updates via “Account Updater” Services
• Major card networks (Visa, Mastercard, AmEx, Discover) offer updater services that automatically provide merchants with your new card number and expiration date when your card is renewed.
• This ensures uninterrupted service and payment flow, even if your physical card has expired or been replaced.
Recurring Charges May Bypass Expiration Dates
• Some recurring payments are processed without requiring the expiration date, especially if the merchant has a long-standing billing relationship with the bank.
• Banks may allow these charges to go through if they recognize them as legitimate recurring transactions.
What This Means for You
• If you want to stop a recurring charge, simply letting your card expire won’t do the trick.
• You’ll need to cancel the subscription or service directly with the vendor. Otherwise, charges may continue on your new card—even if you never gave them the updated info."
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I did not know this. Don't like it a bit.

retexan599 said:

If you want to stop a recurring charge, simply letting your card expire won’t do the trick.

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That is an AI answer and those can be wrong. I suspect this could be an example. Nevertheless I must make enquiries as to the position in the UK. I find it hard to believe that an expired card can still be considered valid by a merchant and worse payments made by bank.

I use a pay and go debit card for most of my transactions, topping up card when credit gets low. I never have more than £100 in credit limiting financial loss if stolen or hacked.

My bank also issues virtual credit cards as well which can be cancelled or replaced in a day unlike physical cards that can take up to 10 working days to replace.

These virtual cards have a spending limit of £5000 per day which unfortunately you cannot set a lower limit. Nonetheless it is harder to wipe my pension nestegg completely with these.

The only timre I carry a physical debit card is when I need to withdraw a reasonable sum of cash which is really quite rare as most places accept apple or google pay (I connect these to my pay and go debit card).

For minor recurring subscriptions, I tend to use paypal as easy to block payments as others have noted.

cereberus said:

I use a pay and go debit card for most of my transactions, topping up card when credit gets low. I never have more than £100 in credit limiting financial loss if stolen or hacked.

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That’s smart. I wish we had that in my country.