A user is seduced by the trial period of an online service. "30 days free", promises the announcement. And there is usually no kind of scam in most cases: the customer signs up on the platform, delivers their data and allows access to their card or bank account as a payment method in case they want to continue with the commitment. The problem comes when you review your statement at the end of the month and check a charge that you did not have, as it is usual for the fee to start withdrawing by default if the subscription is not expressly canceled.
First world problem or triquiñuela of companies, the truth is that nobody likes to pay more. That's why a young Briton named Josh Browder has created an application that automatically cancels these subscriptions at the end of the 30-day trial. The tool is called Free Trial Surfing and it is not linked to the credit card or the bank account, but is based on an algorithm called 'Do Not Pay' ('do not pay', translated into Spanish).
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Its dynamics is simple. Each client receives a virtual credit card number – registered in the name of the Browder company and without the possibility of being used for other purposes – and an invented name that you can use to create any account. At the moment, the application is only available in the 'App Store' in the United States and is free, although, ironically, it is possible that it will soon start charging a subscription, according to its creator in statements to the 'BBC'.
"Right now we are testing it, but maybe one day it will have a cheap price, around two dollars a month ", he details after justifying that it took him six months to develop the idea. "The reason it took us so long is that we wanted to make sure that (the card) would not be accepted if someone tries to use it for a real purchase," adds Browder, who already works on a web version and another for Android.
Let another try it first
"This new application is an exciting and innovative arrival on the market and could very well be the answer to cancel subscriptions with little effort," says Rachel Springall, a finance expert at 'Moneyfacts', who nevertheless calls for caution: "Like with any product recently launched to the market, it is still too early for consumer feedback, so some may want to wait and see how it works first for others. "
As with any product recently launched, it is still too early for consumer feedback.
Of the same opinion is Andrew Hagger of 'Moneycomms', for whom it is "a great idea" that It would lose its appeal if it included a fee. "The other problem is that companies that offer a free trial can seek to develop technology or systems that block this type of application," he laments. In fact, Browder himself admits that some platforms have already tried to block the cards that belong to 'Do Not Pay', but says they have not succeeded because "they are too many".
Be that as it may, there will always be a more rudimentary alternative at zero cost: set a reminder on the phone to alert when the test ends.
Source link
https://www.elconfidencial.com/tecnologia/2019-09-18/cancelar-suscripciones-automaticamente-app_2236451/
