topic Re: Amex- subscription billing question in Credit Cards

Amex- subscription billing question

Slowlyrebuilding — Wed, 19 Jan 2022 20:37:29 GMT

I'm not sure if this is the best place to post this question but a weird thing came up and I wondered if anyone else had this issue.
Around a year ago I signed up for espn+ through Roku and it was billed annually. Shortly thereafter I lost the Amex card it was billed to and got a replacement card with a new account number. Well the renewal date rolled around and I know get espn+ through my Hulu so I planned to cancel. For various reasons I didn't and was charged. One of the reasons was I figured it wouldn't go through anyway since the account number and expiration date was no longer valid but Amex just charged it to my account anyway. Does that seem normal or allowed? Doesn't that seem to defeat the purpose of reporting a card lost if they will just allow charges to the new account number anyway?

Re: Amex- subscription billing question

DONZI — Wed, 19 Jan 2022 21:36:13 GMT

Reliance on a changed/wrong credit card number isn't the way to cancel subscriptions.

I doubt there is any wrong doing by amex or roku/espn, until you cancel the subscription it could be assumed that you still want it.

I've had cards with expired dates magically reused before I was able to update the expiration date. Not always but it has happened before...

Re: Amex- subscription billing question

abdi12 — Wed, 19 Jan 2022 21:38:07 GMT

If is a recurring transaction (in this case, streaming) the network will try to pass the charge, even if the original number is no longer active. In this case, even when you have a different card/account number, it still the same account. If it was a one time purchase, like buying something on eBay online, the charge would not approve since the card is not active. You can try contacting Amex to see if they can unsubscribe and block the charge, since it's recurring. Hope this help

Re: Amex- subscription billing question

K-in-Boston — Wed, 19 Jan 2022 22:50:22 GMT

Many merchants with recurring billing subscribe to services that allow payment updating when a card number, expiration, and/or CID has changed. Amex has offered that for nearly 20 years on their network. The boilerplate script read over the phone (or written online or in chat) for cards across all payment networks when reporting fraud or a card that has been lost or stolen clearly states that recurring billing charges may still be allowed.

The reason these are allowed is that your card issuer can clearly see that you authorized previous charges from a merchant with a subscription service or other recurring billing, rather than a new charge from a merchant you had not previously been engaged with. In most cases, this is a convenience for both the consumer and the merchant.

I would not dispute the charge with Amex, as that would be a frivolous chargeback since you clearly authorized recurring billing and it would have been disclosed when the card was replaced. I would contact ESPN+, let them know that you have duplicate subscriptions, and it is likely (particularly if this was a recent renewal) that they will issue you a credit.

Re: Amex- subscription billing question

OmarGB9 — Wed, 19 Jan 2022 23:54:34 GMT

Sometimes it happens when you put a card on a recurring subscription. The bank will still allow the charge to go through because it is recognized as a recurring subscription, even if the card number changes. I see where you're coming from, though if it was true fraud, you could fairly easily call them up and tell them.

Re: Amex- subscription billing question

MrDisco99 — Thu, 20 Jan 2022 13:25:08 GMT

Yeah recurring charges will go through. They do that so you don't have to update your payment info when you get a new card with new expiration and CVV every few years.

Never count on your payment method going away as a way to get rid of a subscription.