Can an online service provider update CC info without asking?

September 29, 2023 11:06 AM

Hi, just got a bill from a service where the card on file was expired, and it looks like they still somehow billed me. It appears that they may have updated the cc expiration date to make it go through but I still need to call them to ask.

I was planning on cancelling this service and had started by deleting my card on file because it’s one of those situations where they make you call in and sit on hold to cancel and I’ve been slow to commit the time and energy to that endeavor.

Is what they did legal? Can I request a refund for this particular bill?

posted by q*ben to Work & Money (14 answers total)

Assuming you're in the US, this is is legal, common, and expected behavior for a recurring charge on an expired card.

But if you're going to have to make the call to cancel the service anyway you can take a run at convincing them to cancel the charge as a courtesy while you're at it. You may not be terribly successful since they're already going to lose your business, but you could give it a shot.
posted by Stacey at 11:14 AM on September 29, 2023

Banks often do this as a matter of routine. If you actually deleted the card on file it does seem a bit odd, but if the card was somehow still there I am not surprised. THey do this as a convenience for the consumer in general.
posted by Alensin at 11:15 AM on September 29, 2023

Depending on how hard you want to push this, you could say that you thought deleting the card was sufficient to cancel, you do not agree to pay for the service any more, and you will be calling your state attorney general's counsel fraud division about what they did. This may convince them to drop the charge and close your account. To your question, you can always ask for a refund - the question is whether they will agree and, if they don't, what you will do about it.
posted by Mid at 11:44 AM on September 29, 2023

If you are a company or organization that regularly runs credit cards as part of a subscription or repeating payment, you can pay for an additional service that will automatically update cards for you with new expiration dates, and sometimes new actual card numbers (in the case of lost or stolen cards). It's typically a good thing for the companies and probably an ok thing for the consumer who is bad with updating credit cards. You need to actually cancel the service - not just delete your card - and then you will stop being billed. Otherwise the company doesn't know you want to cancel your service.
posted by Toddles at 12:21 PM on September 29, 2023

and you will be calling your state attorney general's counsel fraud division about what they did.

In the United States, "what they did" is completely legal and is covered in the tiny terms of service print on one's credit card contract.
posted by cooker girl at 12:33 PM on September 29, 2023

Definitely request a refund and that they close your account. If it happens to be DoorDash, apparently this is a known thing with them—I had to dispute multiple charges with my bank, cancel a card, and finally place a stop order on payments (because they somehow got the new card info) to end billing for my closed account.
posted by limeonaire at 12:47 PM on September 29, 2023

In the United States, "what they did" is completely legal and is covered in the tiny terms of service print on one's credit card contract.

I think you're talking about updating the expiration date automatically. Mid was talking about the card being deleted from the account, which should in all cases stop any further charges from occurring on it. That they charged it anyway does sound potentially actionable.

(because they somehow got the new card info)

Similar to updating expiration dates, when cards are replaced, banks can provide that info to updating services run by the credit card companies who update recurring payments providers. The idea is if you replace a card and forget to update the card with a company you do business with, they're being helpful. That doesn't really help if you cancelled it because the company won't stop charging you in the first place.
posted by tubedogg at 1:31 PM on September 29, 2023

I want to know how you were able to delete your card on file. Any service I've ever used requires me to have a card on file at all times. You have to enter a new one before you delete the old one. I think they do this precisely to prevent situations like this. But if you've discovered some way to do it, I'd love to know.
posted by jdroth at 1:44 PM on September 29, 2023

In the United States, "what they did" is completely legal and is covered in the tiny terms of service print on one's credit card contract.

Whether that is true or not, saying that you are calling the AG's consumer fraud office can convince companies that it isn't worth it to them. Something can be "completely legal" according to the letter of specific laws or terms of service and still be an unfair business practice that is pursuable by the state AG on behalf of consumers.
posted by Mid at 2:16 PM on September 29, 2023

It's very possible that their system was built in a way that deleting a payment method on file doesn't (and possibly can't) trigger a cancellation of an active subscription that might actually be handled through a third party payment processor like Stripe, and it's the processor that also does things like update cards when one expires or is replaced with one with a different number, without the provider doing a thing.

Someone on their end may even have to log in to the payment processor to do the cancellation and any refunds.
posted by Pryde at 7:12 PM on September 29, 2023

I have just gotten through long calls with my bank about this. They do this automatically “as a favor to the consumer” for subscription services and are slow to understand that sometimes people change cards specifically to avoid this. However you can dispute the charges with your bank, but be prepared for it to be a huge pain.
posted by corb at 8:38 AM on September 30, 2023

and you will be calling your state attorney general's counsel fraud division about what they did.

The person on the phone knows with certainty you are not going to do this, because if you were, that would have happened before the call you are on right now was placed.

Also, "you are going to hear from my lawyer/AG/Congressional Rep/etc!" is basically the sweetest possible words a business can hear. The person hearing it knows there is a 99.9% chance the person saying will never make an effort to do anything. And to handle the .1% chance something might actually actually happens, they get to tell you "Ok, have your lawyer/AG/Congressional Rep/etc. contact my lawyer at X firm" and hang up the phone. A legal threat that doesn't come on your attorney's letterhead isn't just worthless, it's worse than worthless.
posted by Back At It Again At Krispy Kreme at 9:30 AM on September 30, 2023

In my experience, mentioning that I am considering contacting my state's consumer complaints office has, indeed, been very effective, and the one time I had to follow up with that and actually file that complaint, boy howdy did I get an incredibly quick and satisfying response from the horrible company that wouldn't let me cancel.
posted by kristi at 2:58 PM on September 30, 2023

A legal threat that doesn't come on your attorney's letterhead isn't just worthless, it's worse than worthless.

This is a weirdly certain pronouncement for something that is obviously not always going to play out in the exact same way. I said that mentioning a consumer complaint to the state AG “may convince them to drop the charge.” It may. Telling someone to never try this relatively simple step because it will never work is not great advice, in my opinion. It has worked for me. And I have represented companies that have made changes to their consumer practices because of consumer complaints to state AGs. So, YMM always V, but it’s hard to see why this wouldn’t be worth a try.
posted by Mid at 12:23 PM on October 1, 2023