Ancestry.com was reported to the Deceptive Design Tip Line over its subscription cancellation and free-trial arrangements. According to the report, cancelling a subscription is difficult because it can only be done by telephoning a phone number, and taking part in a free trial requires signing up to a paid subscription. The report also states that, although the trial is advertised as lasting 14 days, the customer is charged through auto-renewal unless they call two days beforehand, which in effect shortens the trial to 12 days.
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Ancestry.com: Difficult subscription cancellation and misleading free trial
“It is difficult to cancel your subscription as you have to call a phone number to cancel. Furthermore, in order to participate in a free trial, you must subscribe to a paid subscription. Finally, while it says 14-day free trial, they will charge you through auto-renew if you don’t call two days before making the trial a 12-day trial instead of a 14-day one.”
Disclaimer: examples in the Hall of Shame are generally drawn from public submissions and cited sources; they have not been independently verified and may contain inaccuracies. They are presented as illustrations of design patterns, not findings of fact, unlawful conduct, or intent.