Tofu Nation

Inspired by a recent incident involving a certain Elizabeth “Liz” Becton — see above for context — I am hereby (re)creating emails showing my pet peeve. Some typos not mine. Consider yourself warned.
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From: XXX
Sent: Monday, June 22, 2009 9:08 AM
To: Ho, Dorothy
Subject: Thank You for Renewing 119300 from [Redacted]

Thank you for renewing your subscription from [redacted].

Please email to XXX or reply to this message for further enquiry. Kindly quote your order no. 119300 or transaction no. [redacted] for correspondence reference.

Order Information
[Redacted]

Billing Information
[Redacted]

Notice
Subscription is now on auto-renewal for credit card purchase. Upon expiry, your subscription will be automatically renewed on the same subscription package and you would see it being reflected in your credit card bill. Please email XXX for further enquiry.

XXX
____________________________________________________________________

From: Ho, Dorothy
Sent: Monday, June 22, 2009 11:23 AM
To: XXX
Subject: Auto-Renewal

Hi there,

Please advise how I can stop auto-renewal. Does this mean my credit card has already been charged? I was not aware that when I signed up that this subscription would be automatically renewed each time.

Shouldn’t there be a reminder to renew if I want to? How can I cancel this auto-renewal?

The order number is 119300 and the transaction number is [redacted].

Thanks,
Dorothy
____________________________________________________________________

From: XXX
Sent: Tuesday, June 23, 2009 1:45 PM
To: Ho, Dorothy
Subject: Re: Auto-Renewal

Dear Ms Ho,

Thank you for your mail. We apologize for the inconvenience caused.

We started the auto-renewal mode with effect from [redacted]. For subscribers who subscribed online after this date, their subscription is automatically placed under auto-renewal. However, subscribers may choose to opt out from the auto-renewal by sending an email to us or call our hotline number, [redacted].

Upon successful transaction online, there will be indications that your subscription is on auto-renewal.

Just to check, would you like us to opt you out of the autorenewal mode?

Should you require any further enquiries, please do not hesitate to contact our Customer Service @ [redacted] or drop us an email.

Thank you.

Warmest Regards,
XXX
____________________________________________________________________

From: Ho, Dorothy
Sent: Tuesday, June 23, 2009 7:11 PM
To: XXX
Subject: Re: Auto-Renewal

Hi XXX,

Thanks for your prompt email. Has my credit card already been charged? When was it charged? I want to be able to decide whether I want to renew every time my subscription ends.

Yes, I would like to opt out of the auto-renewal mode. Please make that effective after this most recent credit card charge. Please also send me an email confirming that this is the last time you have done the auto-renewal for me and I DO NOT want any more auto-renewals after this.

Thank you.
Dorothy
____________________________________________________________________

From: XXX
Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2009 10:55 AM
To: Ho, Dorothy
Subject: Re: Auto-Renewal

Dear Ms Ho

Thank you for your email.

We have noted that you wish to opt out of the auto-renewal mode for [redacted].

Should you require any further enquiries, please do not hesitate to contact our Customer Service @ [redacted] or drop us an email.

Thank you

Warmest Regards,
XXX
____________________________________________________________________

From: Ho, Dorothy
Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2009 3:17 PM
To: XXX
Subject: Re: Auto-Renewal

Subscribers should not be expected to OPT OUT out of auto-renewal. Customers should be given the CHOICE to decide if they want to continue a subscription or not. Auto-renewal is just another sneaky way to make money from your customers without their permission! This is as bad as “opting out” of getting advertisements and email spam! I mean, who WANTS email spam? No one! No one wants auto-renewal either.

Dorothy
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Okay, I made that last one up, but the rest of the emails are true to the exchange.

So now you know.

I detest auto-renewals. Especially if it is not openly spelled out in the subscription.

Are you listening, World? ARE YOU?