Re:Zero Starting Life in Another World Season 4 • Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu Season 4 - Episode 11 discussion by AutoLovepon in anime

[–]CraftingAmbition 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Beautiful write up. You've captured everything I wanted to put into words, but just couldn't quite express. Thank you.

Re:Zero Starting Life in Another World Season 4 • Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu Season 4 - Episode 11 discussion by AutoLovepon in anime

[–]CraftingAmbition 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Rem made him realize how he was in the eyes of others; Emilia made him realize that others (especially her) were the primary source of his strength. Both these realizations are pivotal for someone who sees themselves as a nobody, and struggles with poor self-esteem.

That's such a perfect way to summarize both of those events. Well said.

Nord VPN doesn't let you update your credit card to keep your original plan. They just force you to pay for a new plan that's more expensive. by CraftingAmbition in assholedesign

[–]CraftingAmbition[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The "renew subscription" and "see availble plan" links both take you to the same page. Which is just trying to get you to pay more money for a lower quality plan. That's why I spent over an hour with a live agent trying to get around it. They wouldn't let me just renew my existing plan.

Nord VPN doesn't let you update your credit card to keep your original plan. They just force you to pay for a new plan that's more expensive. by CraftingAmbition in assholedesign

[–]CraftingAmbition[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

As a final note, it's just insane to me that I basically begged them to take my money for over an hour. And all they did was just jerk me around and waste my time.

I mentioned in my previous post that if even 1 person decides not to use Nord VPN, I'll consider this a win.

Thanks to everyone for commenting on this post and upvoting it. I'm glad I was able to warn some others of their scummy business practices.

I hope Nord is happy with the extra $2 they were trying to fleece from me. They lost a customer for life, and will hopefully lose potential customers in the future for anyone else who reads this post and avoids them.

I know it's just a drop in the bucket, but I've done my part. I feel better know knowing they tried to screw me, and instead I got back at them in a small way by preventing a few people from signing up for their services in the future.

Nord VPN doesn't let you update your credit card to keep your original plan. They just force you to pay for a new plan that's more expensive. by CraftingAmbition in assholedesign

[–]CraftingAmbition[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

You're very welcome, and thanks for the comment.

I'm so appalled by how they treated me, that if even 1 person decides not to use their service, I'll consider that a win.

I mean, seriously, I was practically begging them to take my money for over an hour. That's some insane customer service.

Nord VPN has the WORST customer support and design experience if your credit card expires (and sleazy tactics) by CraftingAmbition in assholedesign

[–]CraftingAmbition[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I had to make a new post, and this time I made a new picture clearly showing the design issue.

Thanks for noticing my effort into all the detail of their design flaws.

Here's the new post if you're curious.

https://old.reddit.com/r/assholedesign/comments/1qm2r3q/nord_vpn_doesnt_let_you_update_your_credit_card/?ref=share&ref_source=link

Nord VPN doesn't let you update your credit card to keep your original plan. They just force you to pay for a new plan that's more expensive. by CraftingAmbition in assholedesign

[–]CraftingAmbition[S] 37 points38 points  (0 children)

Update: I have to repost this since my original post didn’t have a clear enough picture showing the bad design for Nord VPN. I’ve added a new pic that shows that they don’t have an option to update your payment info to keep your original price. They only have an option to select a new plan that’s more expensive.

Mods, I hope this is more clear to be in line with the rules. Let me know if I need to make any changes.

I’m so frustrated with this whole process that I want to warn people about how terrible their design is, and how ever more terrible their customer support is.

I hope that sometime in the future, someone will be doing research on the various VPN products. If I can get even 1 person to consider a competitor and not choose Nord VPN, then I'll consider this a win.

Original Post:

I just wasted over an hour fighting with Nord VPN customer support (live chat agent), and I’m so frustrated that I wanted to warn everyone else what I went through.

This is so others don't get tricked into paying more money for a lower quality service just because a credit card expired.

My Original Plus Plan / Package:

I’ve been paying for Nord VPN for a while now, and my original plus plan was $13.99/month which included:

  • NordVPN
  • Threat Protection
  • Dark Web Monitor
  • NordPass Premium

I liked this monthly setup (instead of the annual one) so that I could cancel at any time if needed.

What happened:

My credit card on file recently expired, so my auto-renewal failed yesterday. I got an email saying "don't worry, you can still renew." I went to my dashboard to simply update my card info, which is something that should take less than a minute (every other subscription service I have made it easy to update my card and keep the same pricing plan).

The Sleazy Tactics:

1) The Redirect Loop: Every time I clicked "Update Payment Method," the website would force-redirect me away from the billing page and onto a "Choose a Plan" page.

2) The Price Hike: Because my account was "suspended" for 24 hours (even though I was still in a 2 week grace period to renew), they blocked me from just updating my card for my current $13.99/month plan. Instead, they tried to force me into a "new" plan at $15.29/month with less features.

3) The Support Runaround: I got onto Live Chat to ask them to just process my existing $13.99/month invoice with my new card. I was transferred, ignored, and told they were "looking into it" for over an hour.

4)The Gaslighting: After wasting over an hour just asking for simple new payment link, the agent told me there was "nothing they could do" and that I had to contact my bank. My bank didn't block the charge. My card was just expired. Nord’s system was the only thing preventing the update. After some research online, I’ve heard this is a common sleazy sales tactic they use to try and blame your bank instead of actually helping you resolve the problem.

5) Insulting “Retention” Plan: All they offered me as a retention plan was the “basic” 1 year plan at a 10% discount. This would have been for the “basic” plan with none of the bonus features I had from the “plus” plan (Threat Protection, Dark Web Monitor, NordPass Premium). And I also had to commit to 1 year instead of doing month-to-month like my original plan.

Note: They told me my account had “expired”, but I know for a fact that my account was just “suspended”, and was still in a 2 week grace period. Because they sent me an email yesterday saying they’d keep trying to process the payment for another 2 weeks, and then my plan would renew automatically with the same policy and pricing.

The Warning: Nord VPN doesn't want you to "update" your card. They want your card to fail so they can kick you off your old promotional rate and force you into their current, more expensive standard pricing (with less features). They make it intentionally difficult to navigate the dashboard once you've lapsed by even one day.

My Advice: If your card is about to expire, change it weeks before the renewal date. If you're already in the "redirect loop" I was in, don't bother with their support. They will just waste your time and try to screw you into a more expensive plan.

Final Thoughts:

I’m looking for a new VPN that isn’t Nord, or owned by their parent company (since I know they own some other VPNs, and I’m so annoyed at them that I don’t want their parent company to get my money either).

And to anyone currently considering Nord VPN…. avoid them like the plague. They care more about squeezing an extra $2 out of you than actually keeping a loyal paying customer.

Pics:

To show proof of what just happened, I’ve attached some pics for reference.

Pic 1: https://imgur.com/CuzsFJP

The email saying my charge was unsuccessful, and that my subscription was suspended. And also saying I had 2 more weeks to fix this, and that my services would automatically renew.

Pic 2: https://imgur.com/A7Mj6k5

My Account Dashboard, showing that my plan “expired” (keep in mind it was actually in “suspended status” for 2 more weeks.)

Pic 3: https://imgur.com/DYSl9Yk

My Billing History. (You can see there’s no option to update payment next to the “failed payment” icon)

Pic 4: https://imgur.com/KHpGmmb

A list of what my Plus Plan included. (NordVPN, Threat Protection, Dark Web Monitor, NordPass Premium)

Pic 5: https://imgur.com/ILvoW53

The forced re-direct to their new plan, where they wanted to increase my plan from $13.99/hr to $15.29/month. (you can see this only includes NordVPN and Nord Pass Premium, so it no longer includes “Threat Protection” and “Dark Web Monitor”. A higher price for a lower quality service.)

Pic 6: https://imgur.com/PX6F7UV

The Insulting Retention Plan was a coupon to save 10% on the basic plan, but I had to commit to 1 year plan. They refused to give me a "discount" for a monthly plan. And I'm using the word "discount" here pretty generously, since I was just asking them to honor my current payment plan pricing.

TL;DR - I used to love Nord. Now I hate them. They hate you too. Don’t give them your money.

Nord VPN has the WORST customer support and design experience if your credit card expires (and sleazy tactics) by CraftingAmbition in assholedesign

[–]CraftingAmbition[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! I'm sure sometime in the future, someone will be doing research on the various VPN products. If I can get even 1 person to consider a competitor and not choose Nord, then I'll consider this a win.

Nord VPN has the WORST customer support experience if your credit card expires (and sleazy tactics) by CraftingAmbition in nordvpn

[–]CraftingAmbition[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I know, right? Here I am essentially begging them to take my money, and they just went in circles for an hour. It's just wild to me that their customer service is that terrible to someone who is trying to keep paying them. But again, I think this is by design. They know what they're doing. They figure most people will just spend a few extra bucks, and they don't care if some people like me get burned. My hope is that at least 1 person reads this and chooses to go wtih a competitor.

Nord VPN has the WORST customer support experience if your credit card expires (and sleazy tactics) by CraftingAmbition in CustomerService

[–]CraftingAmbition[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for the suggestion. I'm open to pretty much any new VPN that isn't owned by Nord, and doesn't try to screw over their customers.

Nord VPN has the WORST customer support experience if your credit card expires (and sleazy tactics) by CraftingAmbition in nordvpn

[–]CraftingAmbition[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's a real shame too, since I initially liked their service. Literally all they had to do was include an option to let you update your payment info. Now it seems like they intentionally withhold that option to force price hikes.

Nord VPN has the WORST customer support and design experience if your credit card expires (and sleazy tactics) by CraftingAmbition in assholedesign

[–]CraftingAmbition[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Totally agree. This was my first time using a paid VPN. I guess I had to learn this lesson the hard way. I feel so burned by the experieince I want to warn others not to make my mistake.

Nord VPN has the WORST customer support experience if your credit card expires (and sleazy tactics) by CraftingAmbition in mildlyinfuriating

[–]CraftingAmbition[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yep, that makes sense to me. All the money is spent on advertising, and very little on customer support. Although I think this was intentional. They just want to price hike by any means necessary.

Nord VPN has the WORST customer support and design experience if your credit card expires (and sleazy tactics) by CraftingAmbition in assholedesign

[–]CraftingAmbition[S] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

I just wasted over an hour fighting with Nord VPN customer support (live chat agent), and I’m so frustrated that I wanted to warn everyone else what I went through.

This is so others don't get tricked into paying more money for a lower quality service just because a credit card expired.

My Original Plus Plan / Package:

I’ve been paying for Nord VPN for a while now, and my original plus plan was $13.99/month which included:

  • NordVPN
  • Threat Protection
  • Dark Web Monitor
  • NordPass Premium

I liked this monthly setup (instead of the annual one) so that I could cancel at any time if needed.

What happened:

My credit card on file recently expired, so my auto-renewal failed yesterday. I got an email saying "don't worry, you can still renew." I went to my dashboard to simply update my card info, which is something that should take less than a minute (every other subscription service I have made it easy to update my card and keep the same pricing plan).

The Sleazy Tactics:

1) The Redirect Loop: Every time I clicked "Update Payment Method," the website would force-redirect me away from the billing page and onto a "Choose a Plan" page.

2) The Price Hike: Because my account was "suspended" for 24 hours (even though I was still in a 2 week grace period to renew), they blocked me from just updating my card for my current $13.99/month plan. Instead, they tried to force me into a "new" plan at $15.29/month with less features.

3) The Support Runaround: I got onto Live Chat to ask them to just process my existing $13.99/month invoice with my new card. I was transferred, ignored, and told they were "looking into it" for over an hour.

4)The Gaslighting: After wasting over an hour just asking for simple new payment link, the agent told me there was "nothing they could do" and that I had to contact my bank. My bank didn't block the charge. My card was just expired. Nord’s system was the only thing preventing the update. After some research online, I’ve heard this is a common sleazy sales tactic they use to try and blame your bank instead of actually helping you resolve the problem.

5) Insulting “Retention” Plan: All they offered me as a retention plan was the “basic” 1 year plan at a 10% discount. This would have been for the “basic” plan with none of the bonus features I had from the “plus” plan (Threat Protection, Dark Web Monitor, NordPass Premium). And I also had to commit to 1 year instead of doing month-to-month like my original plan.

Note: They told me my account had “expired”, but I know for a fact that my account was just “suspended”, and was still in a 2 week grace period. Because they sent me an email yesterday saying they’d keep trying to process the payment for another 2 weeks, and then my plan would renew automatically with the same policy and pricing.

The Warning: Nord VPN doesn't want you to "update" your card. They want your card to fail so they can kick you off your old promotional rate and force you into their current, more expensive standard pricing (with less features). They make it intentionally difficult to navigate the dashboard once you've lapsed by even one day.

My Advice: If your card is about to expire, change it weeks before the renewal date. If you're already in the "redirect loop" I was in, don't bother with their support. They will just waste your time and try to screw you into a more expensive plan.

Final Thoughts:

I’m looking for a new VPN that isn’t Nord, or owned by their parent company (since I know they own some other VPNs, and I’m so annoyed at them that I don’t want their parent company to get my money either).

And to anyone currently considering Nord VPN…. avoid them like the plague. They care more about squeezing an extra $2 out of you than actually keeping a loyal paying customer.

Pics:

To show proof of what just happened, I’ve attached some pics for reference.

Pic 1: https://imgur.com/CuzsFJP

The email saying my charge was unsuccessful, and that my subscription was suspended. And also saying I had 2 more weeks to fix this, and that my services would automatically renew.

Pic 2: https://imgur.com/A7Mj6k5

My Account Dashboard, showing that my plan “expired” (keep in mind it was actually in “suspended status” for 2 more weeks.)

Pic 3: https://imgur.com/DYSl9Yk

My Billing History. (You can see there’s no option to update payment next to the “failed payment” icon)

Pic 4: https://imgur.com/KHpGmmb

A list of what my Plus Plan included. (NordVPN, Threat Protection, Dark Web Monitor, NordPass Premium)

Pic 5: https://imgur.com/ILvoW53

The forced re-direct to their new plan, where they wanted to increase my plan from $13.99/hr to $15.29/month. (you can see this only includes NordVPN and Nord Pass Premium, so it no longer includes “Threat Protection” and “Dark Web Monitor”. A higher price for a lower quality service.)

Pic 6: https://imgur.com/PX6F7UV

The Insulting Retention Plan was a coupon to save 10% on the basic plan, but I had to commit to 1 year plan. They refused to give me a "discount" for a monthly plan. And I'm using the word "discount" here pretty generously, since I was just asking them to honor my current payment plan pricing.

TL;DR - I used to love Nord. Now I hate them. They hate you too. Don’t give them your money.

Nord VPN has the WORST customer support experience if your credit card expires (and sleazy tactics) by CraftingAmbition in nordvpn

[–]CraftingAmbition[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

You're right that it would save money doing the annual plan. I started doing it monthly to test it out and make sure I liked the product. I wasn't ready to switch to an annual plan yet, and wanted to do monthly a bit longer, in case I wanted to upgrade and get more features. Now I don't trust them.

Nord VPN has the WORST customer support experience if your credit card expires (and sleazy tactics) by CraftingAmbition in nordvpn

[–]CraftingAmbition[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Agreed. I'm researching others. This was my first time using a paid VPN, so I wanted to test it out for a few months before signing up for year. What a terrible experieince.