OneStream: surprise NordVPN trial

FYI – it looks like OneStream have been automatically enrolling users in a 30 day NordVPN trial, which automatically renews for £4.95 if the customer forgets to cancel: https://x.com/danielcroe/status/1826264669042233552

Nice.

Although looking at your link the punter can cancel immediately and no requirement to go through the setup procedure either.

As I read it, the punter has to click on a link to engage the trial, at which point punter becomes responsible for managing the costs after the month. Which would be acceptable.

However, if you are enrolled and the charge of £4.95 is activated without the intervention of the customer, that would be quite bad practice.

In addition to everything else, a free month of NordVPN and then £4.95 as the ongoing cost is nowhere close to a deal.

In reply to a post by DFScale:

As I read it, the punter has to click on a link to engage the trial, at which point punter becomes responsible for managing the costs after the month. Which would be acceptable.

The fact that the email says "Your free trial starts today" and includes instructions for how to cancel suggests that the trial has already started without clicking any links.

Edited by behuk (Thu 22-Aug-24 19:46:14)

But it also provides a button to click to start the setup. So the email provides two ways not to activate it. Cancel, or ignore. Immediate cancellation being the better option.

Edited by pluralist (Fri 23-Aug-24 00:58:26)

In reply to a post by pluralist:

But it also provides a button to click to start the setup. So the email provides two ways not to activate it. Cancel, or ignore. Immediate cancellation being the better option.

I think there might be some confusion here -- if this was the situation then it wouldn't be a problem. But not clicking "Get started" doesn't cancel the trial or prevent billing. See this discussion with OneStream's customer service from another customer confirming that customers have to cancel to avoid being billed even though they never took any action to "activate" the trial.

The immediate cancel however is there. It just needs to be used.

Regarding the trial supposedly having already started, if that possibility isn't in the Ts & Cs the customer signed up to I doubt if imposing a charge for this inactivated product would stand up in the small claims court.

Having said that, there could well be a clause allowing the OneStream to cease its own service at will.

Very dodgy business practices if so.

Edit: I've just read your X link. I believe that to be simply garbage from support.

Edited by pluralist (Fri 23-Aug-24 11:05:12)

In reply to a post by pluralist:

The immediate cancel however is there. It just needs to be used.

In my mind offering the customer the ability to cancel isn't good enough. If you think it is then let me know your email address and I'll offer you various services on a free trial basis, with automatic liability to pay if you fail to notice the email and cancel within the trial period.

In reply to a post by pluralist:

Edit: I've just read your X link. I believe that to be simply garbage from support.

Given they've previously attempted a similar "inertia selling" strategy I'm not inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt.

In reply to a post by behuk:

I think there might be some confusion here -- if this was the situation then it wouldn't be a problem. But not clicking "Get started" doesn't cancel the trial or prevent billing. See this discussion with OneStream's customer service from another customer confirming that customers have to cancel to avoid being billed even though they never took any action to "activate" the trial.

OK, that makes it very clear that what OneStream are doing is totally unacceptable. This looks like Inertia Selling, which is illegal for goods at least.

In reply to a post by pluralist:

The immediate cancel however is there. It just needs to be used.

No.Onestream are trading outside the bounds of acceptability on this. The customer should have to engage with a process to accept the offer. The customer should not have to engage with the process to cancel something he did not initiate.

It looks to me to be very much the case that regardless of clicking a cancel button, the customer is not party to a contract until they take a positive action to accept a contract. So Onestream and NordVpn can whistle for the money which is not theirs.

Para 29 of https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2008/1277/schedu... defines Inertia Selling as being in all circumstances considered unfair - although this applies to goods rather than services.