heres the story

link

http://consumerist.com/5065113/whoops-i-paid-14382-for-15-years-of-xbox-live

Thomas did something dumb and he wants to warn others not to follow in his footsteps. He assumed (incorrectly) that his $7.99 per month subscription to XBOX Live would roll over into a yearly subscription once he'd paid $50. (A yearly subscription costs $50, obviously.) Yeah, it didn't.

Thomas says:

Just wanted to shoot you guys and gals a quick note on how I am an idiot and hopefully others don't make my mistake. I was under the impression that the monthly charge of $7.99 for Xbox Live service would roll into a year once I hit a total of $50 in charges.

I was wrong. Dead wrong. Over the past year and a half I have paid $143.82 for Xbox Live. Almost the price for THREE FULL YEARS of service.

When I noticed this I called their support and asked why they don't just roll it into a year once a user hits the $50 mark, both representatives I spoke with said the exact same thing "You are signed up for a reoccurring monthly payment of $7.99" and could not comprehend why I would ask such a question... I guess as a naive consumer I am expecting to much from a company to give me the best bang for my buck automatically.

I accept full responsibility for this situation and hope others avoid this.

-Thomas

Oh dear, that really sucks. At least you learned a valuable lesson (check your bank statements) and are trying to help others avoid your fate.

end of story

lol sucks, but kinda funny that he thought that.

Whoops
I paid $0.00 for 10 years of Playstation Network

Since when has a company forced the consumer into an agreement other than the one they agreed to?

He agreed to a re-occurring payment of $7.99 a month. Regardless if there's a better deal out there, I am certain there are laws preventing companies from switching consumers' plans without telling them.

OUCH.

god thanks, and made sony get my online free :P

mrstickball the problem he is paying now almost three years of service.

which probably he wont use 100% for a year of use.

I don't see the confusion. You have a choice, either pay $50 a year or pay $8 per month. Sure 8*12=96, but, hey that's you're fault for not doing a little quick math. At least he realized he was an idiot for thinking they would just stop charging him when he reached $50, I mean it did say $8 a month.

A lot of companies have pricing like this. If I choose to pay my insurance on a monthly term vs all at once, I get a $5 payment process fee. So an extra $60 a year.

i just cant believe he thought that.. why didnt he check his bank statements...

Wow, trolling before the thread even took off.

 no need for trolling

I'm sure some would say it's not even worth that.

:P