A lot of people sign up for various services as digital subscriptions through Paypal. Two of the most common uses I've seen are for (1)
Premium memberships to sites, and (2) Recurring payments for web hosting services. It works well for both parties, as the business doesn't have to pay high credit card processing fees, and the customer can pay using a trusted payment gateway.
However, when users wish to cancel their services, they often mistakenly think that the website (business, company, person, etc) has any control over cancelling payments. They do not.
How Paypal subscriptions work:
Paypal subscriptions work like this:
- You sign up for a service, and they send you to Paypal.
- At Paypal, you start a new subscription with the website/service, and funds are sent to them based on the subscription schedule.
- In other words, the service and the payment happen separately.
When you want to cancel your membership (subscription, service, etc), you must cancel the Paypal subscription yourself !!!
This is done from within your Paypal account, for which the site/service has no access.
How to cancel a Paypal subscription:
Step 1: Login to Paypal:
https://www.paypal.com
Feel free to not trust my link, and instead type
https://www.paypal.com into your browser's web address bar! (That's what I'd do!)
Step 2: Go to
History, and then
Basic Search. You'll be taken to a new page of results.
paypal-sub-cancel1.jpg
Step 3: Look for the
More Filters dropdown menu, and the go down to
Subscriptions and Agreements, and then
Recurring Payments, and then
Transactions. You'll be taken to a new page of results.
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The results page is usually very limited, showing only the current month of transactions. You'll want to alter the date range to include your sign-up date with the service. In this example, I changed the dates to show me all subscriptions for the past 4+ years. The transaction history will show both payments you have made, as well as accepted, either as buyer or seller of subscription services.
paypal-sub-cancel2.jpg
Step 5: Under the
Order Status / Actions column, you'll be able to cancel the subscription.
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Now that you're done cancelling with Paypal, be sure to cancel your service with the website/company as needed, if needed. Do not assume a service is cancelled just because you've decided to stop making payments. With a service like web hosting, this is imperative. Login to the business' helpdesk or support desk, and cancel the service (or submit a ticket, if that's the proper cancellation procedure).
What if the payment was already made?
At best, the business can refund your mistaken payment, which is entirely up to them, based on their policies. Trying to dispute a subscription payment for "digital goods" or "services" is generally a waste of your time. Paypal will side with the merchant for non-tangible goods and services.
The best advice I have is this: Don't be a jerk. Kindly ask that the payment be refunded, and submit your cancellation request. Threats, attempted blackmail, and "demanding satisfaction" will more likely result in the merchant telling you to piss off, in addition to being served a link to their policies that contain refund information not in your favor. Think about it this way: you sent them money and ordered a service. The company did not take it from you.
Why Paypal subscriptions are a nuisance for business owners:
This site used to use renewing subscriptions for
Premium Members and even certain clients, but I changed it to one-time payments only. When the subscription runs out, members are put back into the Free Member group, and can simply re-subscribe to regain
Premium Member benefits. While some experts insist that subscriptions cause greater retention, I'd counter that it also increases admin headaches.
I was tired of answering stupid questions, and replying to stupid comments like these:
- Who are you and why did you charge my credit card?
- I didn't give you permission to change me!
- Your site is great, but I finished my project and don't need membership. Can you cancel and refund me? (And this person did this once per year for about 3 years. Each time, he ignored my instructions on how to cancel his membership.)
- Stop charging me a fee! (The third response from the person above.)
As a merchant, your hands are tied. You're blamed for "charging" them when it is the customer who sends the money. Paypal does not have a rejection function for merchants. All we can do is refund and tell you what to do to stop future billing.
There's no cure for stupidity. (Yet.)
