(Archived) REQUEST: Notify users of credit card issues before downgrading account

[Samuel K 0]

I just received an email informing me that Evernote was unable to charge my credit card, thus my account had been downgraded to free. Had I gotten a notice prior to the downgrade stating that there was an issue with the card, I likely would have logged in immediately and provided my new card number. As it is, since the account has already been crippled, I'm going to go look for other alternatives rather than bother upgrading my account.

Crippling the account without prior warning is just stupid from a business standpoint. Since being forced to switch credit cards, I have a long list of companies who sent me notices that they were unable to charge my own card, but Evernote is the only one who didn't give me an opportunity to provide the new card data prior to shutting me off.

[jbenson2 2,149]

And walking away from a useful program, due to an issue that can be solved almost immediately, is also questionable.

I ran into the same issue with Paypal and Amazon recently.

One of my credit cards had expired and a new one was issued with a new expiration date.

Both services were corrected the same day I found out about it.

[BurgersNFries 2,407]

Bothersome, yes. But really, it only takes like a minute (or less) to get it back to premium.

I'm going to go look for other alternatives rather than bother upgrading my account.

And that is what my mother would have called "cutting off your nose to spite your face."

Good luck with your search.

[tardis 87]

And that is what my mother would have called "cutting off your nose to spite your face."

Good luck with your search.

Mine, too.

Other side of the coin: If there are changes to my credit card information, I consider it my responsibility to update it. This is probably of no use to you now but I keep a list in Evernote of all the accounts that hold on to my card information so when the time comes to update it, I can go through the list and change everything at once.

I hope you find something that works for you (or at least have a change of heart).

[jefito 5,598]

@Samuel K: You might want to check with customer support. It's possible that they tried to contact you. Even so, if you liked Evernote the product, then one slip-up by the billing department shouldn't affect that.

[Samuel K 0]

If I found the program useful, you would be correct. But I barely use it myself and the only paid feature I was using was to collaborate on a very small number of shared notes. Thus this isn't a matter of spitefulness because if I'm not as invested in the program as most of you are. (And I'm not trashing the program, I simply don't have as much use for it as other people clearly do.)

But what if I were an invested user and I got the notice at a point where I couldn't securely provide my credit card information? With a couple of days notice, it likely wouldn't be an issue. With no notice whatsoever, it could prove to be a huge burden.

The simple fact is, it's stupid from a business standpoint to cut off users with no prior warning.

[jefito 5,598]

Fair enough. Good luck finding a program that works for you.

[JMichaelTX 4,118]

Problem is that the Evernote Update Billing page doesn't actually allow you to change credit card info.

See Problems with Update Billing Page in Evernote Account for details.

[jbenson2 2,149]

Problem is that the Evernote Update Billing page doesn't actually allow you to change credit card info.

See Problems with Update Billing Page in Evernote Account for details.

Ooops!

I edited my original post.

Thanks JMichael for your link.

My apologies to Samuel K. It looks like you have a legitimate gripe with Evernote.

[Phil Dean 150]

The current process if your credit card has expired or we attempted to charge it but couldn't is as follows.

1. When subscription period is about to expire we attempt to charge the card or payment method we have on file

2. If we cannot charge the payment method we send an email out to the email address on file stating we tried to bill the payment method on file but we were unsuccessful please update your billing method

3. We grant 4 days grace period for the customer to update their payment method

4. After 4 days if no change in payment method we downgrade account to Free and send out a follow-up email

@JMichael - I agree with your statements in the forum post you linked and I am working with the e-commerce team to change the flow and allow payment method to be updated at anytime without the need to cancel then resubscribe.

[BurgersNFries 2,407]

If I found the program useful, you would be correct. But I barely use it myself and the only paid feature I was using was to collaborate on a very small number of shared notes. Thus this isn't a matter of spitefulness because if I'm not as invested in the program as most of you are. (And I'm not trashing the program, I simply don't have as much use for it as other people clearly do.)

But what if I were an invested user and I got the notice at a point where I couldn't securely provide my credit card information? With a couple of days notice, it likely wouldn't be an issue. With no notice whatsoever, it could prove to be a huge burden.

The simple fact is, it's stupid from a business standpoint to cut off users with no prior warning.

Sorry, but the fact that you posted here rather suggests the opposite. If you're not invested, why do you care?

Anyway, Phil has posted an "official" reply & apparently either you didn't pay attention to the emails or they were going to your junk folder or going to another email account. So your request (notification of not being able to get payment) was already implemented.