We billed you for your online subscription on September 18, 2026...
asserted
We → bill → September
if you don’t want to renew automatically, you must cancel your plan no later than one day before your renewal date.
asserted
you → want → date
The email was enough to make my blood run cold.
asserted
blood → make → ?
I had just been charged €90 to autorenew a video storage service I don’t use any more.
asserted
I → charge → service
I relentlessly seek out the best deals for my household bills, yet here I was – letting a sizeable wad of cash slip away.
asserted
wad → seek → cash
It was almost enough to pay for a tankful of that most precious of commodities these days – diesel!
asserted
It → pay → commodities
To avoid coughing up, I was told, I’d have to cancel my subscription before September 18.
asserted
I → avoid → September
The communication ‘bot’ seemed delighted with itself.
asserted
bot → seem → itself
‘Thank you for using Vimeo!’ it enthused.
asserted
it → thank → Vimeo
‘Grrrrr!,’ I thought, ‘How could I have been so stupid?’
uncertain
I → think → ?
I am not the first personal finance journo to be caught out like this.
asserted
I → catch → this
Even subscription-cancelling expert Colin Baker has fallen into the trap.
asserted
Baker → cancel → trap
The above email was enough to make my blood run cold.
asserted
blood → make → ?
I had just been charged €90 to autorenew a video storage service
asserted
I → charge → service
I don’t use any more.
asserted
I → use → ?
‘I ended up paying for my brother’s ex-girlfriend’s Netflix for nine years,’ he sheepishly admitted to Newstalk’s Claire Byrne this week, during a package on subscription costs.
asserted
he → end → costs
Turns out he had freely shared his Netflix account back in the day when you didn’t have to pay for other users.
asserted
you → turn → users
Then suddenly you did – but he hadn’t noticed and kept paying for years.
asserted
he → do → years
‘I could have bought a small derelict cottage in Leitrim for the money I’d spent,’ he told Claire.
uncertain
he → buy → Claire
Colin now advises others on how to avoid subscription overspending through his tech services firm, Back From The Future.
asserted
Colin → advise → Future
Individually, some subscriptions cost hundreds every year but taken together, they can cost us more than our energy, broadband or even health insurance bills.
asserted
they → cost → bills
Here are eight ways you can slash those bills:
asserted
you → slash → bills
Beware of free trials
It’s the oldest trick in the subscription book.
asserted
It → beware → book
You’re offered a free trial – or some incentive – to sign up for a service.
asserted
You → offer → service
You intend to cancel before the free trial period is up, but then you forget and get signed up for a regular subscription.
asserted
you → intend → subscription
Autorenewal is not illegal but you must be clearly informed when you sign up.
asserted
you → inform → ?
Providers will normally do this at the end of the page.
asserted
Providers → do → page
You intend to cancel before the free trial period is up, but then you forget and get signed up for a regular subscription.
asserted
you → intend → subscription
Autorenewal is not illegal but you must be clearly informed when you sign up.
asserted
you → inform → ?
Providers will normally do this at the end of the page.
asserted
Providers → do → page
Play hard to get
Sometimes it pays to cancel, even if you like the service, just to see what happens.
asserted
what → play → service
You may find that the free version works out fine for you, or even that they offer you a compelling deal to come back.
uncertain
they → find → deal
If not, you can always sign up again.
asserted
you → sign → ?
For example, whether to cancel Spotify Premium is a tough call.
asserted
cancel → cancel → Premium
It costs a tenner a month for most of the music you’d ever want – and lots more besides.
asserted
you → cost → music
Recently, I bit the bullet and cancelled.
asserted
I → bite → bullet
Within a few days I had canceller’s remorse – that sinking feeling you get when you get bombarded with annoying ads on the free version.
asserted
you → have → version
(Are they made deliberately so to make us want to go back?).
asserted
us → make → ?
It’s the oldest trick in the subscription book.
asserted
It → ’ → book
You’re offered a free trial – or some incentive – to sign up for a service.
asserted
You → offer → service
…and 44 more, not listed.
The Aporia
