How do I keep my Xbox Live membership from automatically renewing?

[norkusa]

My Live membership expires tomorrow and I've got a 12+1 month card coming in the mail. It won't arrive until after my membership expires, so how do I keep from automatically getting billed for 12 more months?

I go to the 'Manage Profile' section on Live and the only options I see under 'Modify Membership' are Month-To-Month, 3-Month, and Redeem Code with an automatic $50 12-month renewal coming up tomorrow.

I thought I could just delete my credit card number under Billing & Contact Info, but I only see my address.

I've got a 1 month Live Gold trial card from when I bought GTA IV. Can I just use the code from that to extend my membership? I don't see any mentions of 'New Accounts Only' in the fine print so maybe it'll work?

[Oobgarm]

If you've got the scratch, go pick up a 1-month card and use it.

You could try calling MS, but I've heard many stories about this exact matter with varying degrees of success.

[carlcarlson]

If you've got the scratch, go pick up a 1-month card and use it.

You could try calling MS, but I've heard many stories about this exact matter with varying degrees of success.

Yeah, this is the reason I just bought a card when I was ready for Live. I've heard it's a real bitch to get your cc info removed.

[norkusa]

I just talked to Accounts & Billing and they said they'll turn off the auto-renewal on my account and change it to a Silver membership when it expires.

I have a feeling they'll still screw it up though and I'll get charged for another 12 months, so we'll see.

[PapaStu]

Be ready to possibly have your account locked out. I've heard of numerous problems with people who've had expired CC cards and being unable to use a month card to keep their account active.

[BHvrd]

I cancelled my membership about a year or so ago by phone and not only could I not understand the person cause their indian accent was so thick, but they tried constantly to keep me on board and kept trying to sell me other things.

Finally told the person to shut the hell up and let me talk with management, then I had a problem with them and got redirected to the top guys and it was like night and day. It was a hassle and I got majorly pissed, but finally got it done, hope it goes better for you and they should have improved by now I would hope.

Kinda funny all the bullshit you have to go through to finally get a person that says "how may I help you sir".

[SegaAges]

I cancelled my membership about a year or so ago by phone and not only could I not understand the person cause their indian accent was so thick, but they tried constantly to keep me on board and kept trying to sell me other things.

Finally told the person to shut the hell up and let me talk with management, then I had a problem with them and got redirected to the top guys and it was like night and day. It was a hassle and I got majorly pissed, but finally got it done, hope it goes better for you and they should have improved by now I would hope.

Kinda funny all the bullshit you have to go through to finally get a person that says "how may I help you sir".

I said it in another thread. I am a programmer, but my company deals with telemarketing and phone service crap (tech support, billing, etc for companies), and if you just keep requesting a supervisor over and over and over, most call center reps will lose their job if they disconnect the phone, so you can keep them on, which means keep requesting a supervisor over and over, or request an english speaking rep over and over.

They can't hang up, abuse it and have fun (thats right, I said it, if they stay on the phones, it gives me more work, hahahaha).

[The 1 2 P]

I have a feeling they'll still screw it up though and I'll get charged for another 12 months, so we'll see.

Just keep checking your monthly credit card statements. Thats how I found out they charged me for a year when I still had 2 years left with my prepayed cards:? I love xbox live and can't imagine going back to split screen co-op only, but their call center customer service reps need just as much help as our economy.

[norkusa]

I cancelled my membership about a year or so ago by phone and not only could I not understand the person cause their indian accent was so thick, but they tried constantly to keep me on board and kept trying to sell me other things.

Finally told the person to shut the hell up and let me talk with management, then I had a problem with them and got redirected to the top guys and it was like night and day. It was a hassle and I got majorly pissed, but finally got it done, hope it goes better for you and they should have improved by now I would hope.

Kinda funny all the bullshit you have to go through to finally get a person that says "how may I help you sir".

What a nightmare. I had similar problems with Xbox customer support 3-4 years ago. I forgot what I was calling for, but the point is that this was my 3rd call in 2 days regarding the same problem. The third time I called, the girl helping me started going thru the standard "give me all your info, xbox serial number, reason why you're calling, etc." routine and I said I called twice already and that all my info should be in the system. She snapped back at me and started giving me attitued saying "do you want me to help you or not?!" and "give me your info! I don't have time for this.". Sheesh, lighten up.

The call I made today went a lot smoother though. Although the woman had an accent, I was still able to understand what she was saying and it sounded like she was changing my billing info on the computer while we spoke. Hopefully it'll be okay now but I'll keep an eye on my statements just in case.

[VACRMH]

I've got a 1 month Live Gold trial card from when I bought GTA IV. Can I just use the code from that to extend my membership? I don't see any mentions of 'New Accounts Only' in the fine print so maybe it'll work?

Sure can. I just used mine from a used copy I bought the other day :)

[norkusa]

Sure can. I just used mine from a used copy I bought the other day :)

Really?? Did you use it with an existing Gold account though? When I called MS today, I asked if I could use it to extend my existing Gold membership. They told me that it's only good if I use it with a Silver account or if I start up a brand new one.

[Neil Koch]

What a nightmare. I had similar problems with Xbox customer support 3-4 years ago. I forgot what I was calling for, but the point is that this was my 3rd call in 2 days regarding the same problem. The third time I called, the girl helping me started going thru the standard "give me all your info, xbox serial number, reason why you're calling, etc." routine and I said I called twice already and that all my info should be in the system. She snapped back at me and started giving me attitued saying "do you want me to help you or not?!" and "give me your info! I don't have time for this.". Sheesh, lighten up.

I had a similar thing happen to me when I tried to cancel Live for my Xbox1. On my third call, and being transferred multiple times on that call due to the shitty menu system their phone bank uses, I lost it.

I'm usually very polite with CSR's, having done a couple of years of that sort of work myself, but the sheer incompetence of their CSR's, who twice ended up renewing my membership rather than cancelling it even after the assured me it was cancelled, combined with a robotic attiude where they wanted me to keep verifying my information that I had already given several times during the call forced me to start yelling to put a supervisor on the phone.

Once I did actually get a supervisor, the matter was taken care of in less than five minutes. MS should just really think about ditching their overseas support, and not just for Live. When my computer crashed and I had to reinstall Vista, it wouldn't validate. That was a whole another nightmare. One of the CSR's was stumped and simply hung up. Once again, I had to directly ask for a supervisor.

[X SMF X]

Really?? Did you use it with an existing Gold account though? When I called MS today, I asked if I could use it to extend my existing Gold membership. They told me that it's only good if I use it with a Silver account or if I start up a brand new one.

You can use the 1 month trials that come with games to extend your membership on an existing gold account. I used the one in GTA IV on mine when I had my 360.

[Slate]

You can use the 1 month trials that come with games to extend your membership on an existing gold account. I used the one in GTA IV on mine when I had my 360.

You can use cards that say they are expired too. I had an extra month of XBL on a card that said it expired. I gave the code on it to a friend and it worked. (He had a silver membership before I gave the code to him) Apparently the cards expire but the codes on them don't. Do not eat. ;)

[norkusa]

You can use the 1 month trials that come with games to extend your membership on an existing gold account. I used the one in GTA IV on mine when I had my 360.

Guess the lady on the phone lied to me then. I just let my account expire and the next day I used the 1 month trial code. It used to say I was a member since 2003, but now it says 'Member since 10/08'. Oh well.

Just got my 12+1 month card today, so I entered the code for that and it looks like everything is good now. Under my profile though, it doesn't say anything about the trial still being used under the active membership. Just "12+1 month Live memebership" now. Says my subscription is good 'till 12/09, so it looks like the trial membership is still active though.