Well, how many of us have fallen victim to this: forgetting to say we’re going to cancel our membership, and then being charged a hefty sum for a year. It’s a vicious circle, unless you remember to cancel or turn off your card details, you’ll have a light pocket.
Auto-renewal has long been criticized across the industry, and back in 2019, CMA began investigating online subscription services from Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. Auto-renewal was part of it, but its concerns also included cancellation and refund policies, terms and conditions, and price increases.
As a result of this investigation, Nintendo has announced that they will be updating their Nintendo Switch Online guidelines. This means NSO will not sell when automatic renewal is turned on, and users will now have to opt in if they want to continue paying. Sony has also agreed to make similar changes to the PS Plus. That’s welcome news for us, especially as it follows Xbox’s changes in January, which our sister site Pure Xbox reported at the time.
Michael Grenfell, executive director of enforcement at CMA, was very pleased with the announcement:
“As a result of our investigation, a number of changes have been made to this area to help address concerns about customer safety and auto-renewing subscriptions. Today’s announcement therefore concludes our investigation into the online video gaming sector. Others Companies in regions that offer subscriptions that auto-renew should review their practices to ensure they comply with consumer protection law.”
In response to these changes, CMA has now closed its investigation into these online subscription services. This should make things more customer-friendly for those who just want to try out NSO, or who can only afford the service for a short period of time.
How do you feel about change? Tell us in the comments.
