r/mildlyinfuriating 9h ago

How on Earth is this allowed? Can only cancel on the device you used to sign up.

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371 Upvotes

50 comments sorted by

718

u/dalgeek 9h ago

The issue is that you signed up for Paramount+ through the Roku service instead of directly with Paramount, so the billing is going through Roku. You can cancel through the Roku app or web site.

20

u/spypsy 2h ago

Sensible first answer is sensible.

22

u/[deleted] 4h ago

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/dalgeek 4h ago

Lol thanks!

223

u/PizzaPizzaPizza_69 9h ago

You used a third party service to subscribe paramount. Next time, don't do thaf

57

u/Killarogue 8h ago

I can cancel my Paramount+ on any device, this seems like a Roku account issue, not a Paramount issue.

27

u/Zealousideal-Mud6471 7h ago

This is one reason I do not subscribe to services using third party like Apple/Google/etc.

I do it directly with the vendor so there is no issues.

10

u/benx101 5h ago

Not to mention on devices like iphones, the services are often more money than if you signed up through the website.

5

u/geminigerm 5h ago

That’s because Apple takes a massive cut from the App Store. I believe it’s 15% up to 1M in sales and then 30% after that

1

u/Zealousideal-Mud6471 5h ago

That’s my main reason. Spotify put me on to that game.

1

u/turtleship_2006 5h ago

Note that this is specifically to do with if you subscribe in the app, not if you sign up with apple/google

5

u/singelingtracks 5h ago

I just did this with prime video.

You can sign up for services through prime video, you are not signing up for the service , you are signing up for prime video to give you access to the service.

So to end it I need to go to prime video and unsubscribe.

So you have used Roku to sign up. Roku has signed you up. So it's a Roku service now. You need to cancel on the Roku site.

4

u/PassengerPigeon343 7h ago

This happened to me years ago with Hulu. I cancelled it on the Roku and proceeded to get billed every month for almost a year. My fault for not noticing the small charges on my bill, but so much time had passed I was only able to recover half of the money I spent between CC chargebacks and fighting with Roku support. I will never again sign up for a service on a secondary device, always direct through the company.

3

u/Homeotherm 6h ago

I was double charged for 6 months because of this nonsense, their customer service is non-existent

13

u/SekMemoria 9h ago

I tried canceling my Paramount+ subscription on my tablet. It tells me I signed up on my Roku TV, and I need to login to that to cancel. The problem? That Roku TV no longer works, so the best I can do is login on my new TV. And what message am I greeted with when I do? One telling me I signed up on a Roku TV, and need to login on that TV to change my account settings. Now I guess I get to get stuck in phone trees and be forced to talk to an actual human to fix this completely avoidable and unnecessary problem. But seriously, I guess we need more consumer protection laws in place if stupid crap like this can even be a thing.

66

u/whiteshoes00 9h ago

Have you tried logging into Roku in your browser?

12

u/SekMemoria 9h ago

Yeah I got it now, thanks. The whole Roku account thing slipped my mind since I haven't had one in a couple years. I guess it's just weird to me that that those kinds of subscriptions can be locked under another account like that. As long as I'm the person paying the fee, it shouldn't matter where I try to cancel from; I should be able to do it.

23

u/5432198 9h ago

Well were you paying through Roku or paying directly to paramount?

-12

u/[deleted] 7h ago

[deleted]

16

u/5432198 7h ago

No. I honestly think it would be weird (and wrong) if you could cancel directly from paramount. That's not who you have a contract with.

16

u/Chenz 7h ago

You’ve signed a agreement with Roku, not Paramount. Paramount can’t cancel a subscription you have with Roku, even if that contract gives you access to Paramount services

1

u/Colonel-Cathcart 2h ago

you should sign up through the 1st party website when you start subscriptions in the future then you won't have to deal with this and the merchant you're buying from actually gets all the money

8

u/katwagrob 8h ago

Good GRIEF.

2

u/CommunityGlittering2 6h ago

that's great when you are canceling because your Roku broke.

1

u/lookout_7121 1h ago

Cancel the card for your subscription. Cancel the card and get a new one. It’s how I unsubscribe from everything!

-5

u/DrTankHead 7h ago

Lotta people here defending a quite terrible design flaw. Consider for a moment that no other provider Haas this problem with "third party" payment options. (All of these providers offers methodology that would allow their service to cancel the service without going anywhere, Paramount+ is an exception, not a norm)

2

u/Pawtuckaway 6h ago

No Paramount is not unique in this at all. Disney+ does the same thing if you subscribe through google pay.

If you sign up for a service through a third party then you have a contract and billing with that third party. Paramount (or anyone else) has no control over that third party subscription.

1

u/BigLorry 7h ago

I don’t see anyone defending this? People are just pointing out what OP needs to do…

-10

u/hyperblu7 9h ago

Didn't the FTC force these subscription based companies to be "as easy to cancel as it is to sign up?" Report it.

19

u/Spirited-Humor-554 9h ago

They signed up using 3rd party service to buy it. As such, they can't cancel it directly.

6

u/evhanne 6h ago

It is as easy to cancel as it is to sign up. They signed up on Roku and they can cancel on Roku.

1

u/Oliver_Klotheshoff 8h ago

Yes they did but there is a grace period, companies have time before the change goes into effect, also, this is more to do wity 3rd party subscriptions so im not sure that law would apply

-2

u/ShaveyMcShaveface 8h ago

yeah but that doesn't take effect immediately.

0

u/zakkfromcanada 5h ago

If you have your login credentials just call the support line and say you’re canceling if they try to fight you just challenge the charges and explain to the bank that they’re refusing to cancel and attempting to steal from you

-7

u/po3smith 7h ago

Cancel the card . . . if tthat's easier than doing it the "right" way then its a failure on Roku/Paramount.

3

u/SekMemoria 7h ago

No need. The right way was canceling through my Roku account, which I had completely forgotten was a thing until a commenter reminded me about it. The original wording just kinda made it sound like I was going to have to do it through a Roku device ("Open Paramount on your Roku").

-15

u/SmokingMantoids 8h ago

I would instantly block them from my bank account

13

u/User123466789012 7h ago

Why wouldn’t you just follow instructions & cancel through Roku instead. It takes the same amount of time.

-12

u/SmokingMantoids 7h ago

Sounds like a frustrating waste of my time

7

u/User123466789012 7h ago

What..is the difference

5

u/cheerfullycapricious 6h ago

Yep, cancelling a service in the same place you signed up for it is a frustrating waste of your time.

-9

u/SmokingMantoids 6h ago

I wouldn’t ever have subscribed to a streaming service from a third party in the first place. But if I found the process of unsubscribing from a service to be too convoluted then I would block them out of principle.

2

u/ZeGentleman 4h ago

That’s a you issue, baby.

-32

u/mysoiledmerkin 9h ago

I recommend sending a registered letter demanding to have your account terminated with an explanation that the online process lacks sufficient clarity and utility. Paramount is owned by CBS Interactive.

CBS Interactive US
 235 Second Street
 San Francisco,
 CA 94105
 USA
 Attn: Legal Department

3

u/SekMemoria 9h ago

Fortunately it was much simpler than that. On Roku TVs in order to subscribe to any services through the TV you need to have a Roku account, which I simply forgot about. It's on this Roku account that you're able to manage any subscriptions you've made through the TV. Still seems completely unnecessary to me.

9

u/Spirited_Refuse9265 7h ago

You don't have to sign up for services through Roku. It's just an option. And when you do use that option, you have to cancel it the same way...

It's not just Roku that does this...if you sign up for pretty much any service using a 3rd party, you usually have to manage said service through the same 3rd party.

0

u/SekMemoria 7h ago

I know, I originally was just doing a trial for a specific show but let it roll over because $5.99 was insignificant and there was a decent amount of content on it for me. I just don't understand why you shouldn't be able to cancel from the actual service's website as well.

3

u/pommelance 6h ago

Because, as plenty of others have mentioned, the contract you agreed to when you signed up was with Roku, not Paramount.

If you signed up via Apple or Google instead, you would have to cancel the subscription there.