Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by JenSocial on December 15, 2010 at 1:13pm

Good point. Thanks Jaap!

Happy Holidays,

Jen

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Permalink Reply by Jaap Verduijn on December 15, 2010 at 1:24pm

Happy Holidays to you and yours too, Jen!

 

Be well!

 

Jaap.

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Permalink Reply by JenSocial on December 15, 2010 at 1:27pm

Thanks!

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Permalink Reply by Jaap Verduijn on December 16, 2010 at 6:42am

At http://creators.ning.com/forum/topics/how-to-discontinue-my-ning you find a very recent prime example of how Ning gives people who want to leave the runaround. Eric Suesz makes it very opaque and difficult for people to cancel their subscriptions/payments, and when a paying customer after 5 (yes, 5!) ignored request for help with cancelling finally types in CAPITALS to vent his frustration, Eric (who is simply a paid employee) hits back at the customer instead of finally helping the man out.

 

I dunno if Eric reads this here forum, but if he does: Eric, please tell people who want to leave Ning the truth by simply telling them that all they have to do is: Log in to your PayPal account. Click on "History". Click on "Subscriptions". Find the Ning subscription you want to cancel. Click on "Details". Click on "Cancel". Done.

 

You don't have to jump through Ning's loops, you don't have to accept Ning's "grumpy slum lord" attitude, you don't have to put up with being lied to and given the runaround - you can cancel your subscription yourself, in less time than it took me to write this message.

 

By the way, after I got fed up with Ning I found http://www.groupsite.com (see my community "The Jaap Verduijn Network") which offers less bells and whistles than Ning (but those of Ning often don't work anyway) but gives me more than enough for a good and sound network. And... they have a phone number for instant support! Their basic plan, by the way, is free. Oh, they also don't have a paleozoic ban on " nudity" - as long as your site is not illegal or truly pornographic, it's your site where you call the shots.

 

Why don't I post my advice about cancelling Ning on the Ning Creators Forum? Simple: because I' m "suspended"  there, as are several of my friends, not to mention my dear wife who (according to Eric's message) got suspended simply because she is my wife (wide and wicked, although quite surprised, grin)!

 

Don't let the Ning staff pull the wool over your eyes.

 

Be well!

 

Jaap Verduijn.

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Permalink Reply by Jaap Verduijn on December 16, 2010 at 7:09am

Another desperate and very angry thread: http://creators.ning.com/forum/topics/cancel-my-account-immediately. Unfortunately I can't come to the aid of the desperate poster, but please... let somebody who can post on Ning Creators help the unfortunate OP out with:

Log in to your PayPal account. Click on "History". Click on "Subscriptions". Find the Ning subscription you want to cancel. Click on "Details". Click on "Cancel". Done.

 

The vast majority of Ning accounts are paid via PayPal, and PayPal offers this easy option to stop paying a vendor whom you don't want to pay anymore!!!

 

Let somebody, anybody, with posting access to Creators finally end this "you can only cancel via a Ning help ticket - if we get around to dealing with it" farce. Lots of people on Creators are screaming for help on this issue... all you have to do is help them by posting the one and only instant way to get rid of their unwanted subscription.

 

Be well!

 

Jaap Verduijn.

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Permalink Reply by Jaap Verduijn on December 16, 2010 at 1:31pm

Oh dear! Eric has deleted the thread http://creators.ning.com/forum/topics/cancel-my-account-immediately where a customer candidly criticized the way Ning lies to customers and gives them the run-around when they try to cancel their Ning subscriptions. Way to go, Eric! Way to go Ning!

Again, for anybody who has been trying to get their Ning plan/payment canceled without making any progress: Log in to your PayPal account. Click on "History". Click on "Subscriptions". Find the Ning subscription you want to cancel. Click on "Details". Click on "Cancel". Done. Please pass it on to everybody on Ning Creators Forum who find themselves being given the run-around by Ning staff who make it as difficult as possible for you to stop your payments.

Be well!

Jaap Verduijn.

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Permalink Reply by JenSocial on December 16, 2010 at 3:06pm

Sorry, didn't see your message in time. I could have posted a neutral response about this.

 

However, I do understand why Eric would have deleted the discussion, it's called damage control. And seriously, maybe the creator of the discussion deleted it? Food for thought...

 

And hopefully this isn't really a conspiracy to keep Ning Network Creators from cancelling an account. But more of a situation, the programming hasn't been implemented to do this. Not that the latter is much better though, LOL.

 

;-)

Best to you as always,

Jen

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Permalink Reply by Jaap Verduijn on December 17, 2010 at 12:12pm

Hi Jen!

 

"(...) I do understand why Eric would have deleted the discussion, it's called damage control (...)"

Unfortunately such "damage control" tends to do more harm than good, only leading to distrust and the opening of new threads on the matter. Real damage control would be: taking care of the issue instead of dancing elegantly and artistically around it.

Ning made a mistake in choosing PayPal as their payment processor, PayPal being strongly inclined to protect the (relatively weak) customers against the (relatively powerful) companies/vendors. Nothing wrong with that, on the contrary... but if the vendor is crooked, he's hardly inclined to inform his customers what their rights are (wide and wicked grin)!

No, I'm not saying Ning is crooked - I really don't think they are. But I do believe that they're very scared of loosing customers/creators, which panicked them into making the simple act of canceling a subscription unnecessarily difficult and opaque. Look at the most recently updated thread about the issue: http://creators.ning.com/forum/topics/how-do-remove-my-ning-account. The poor NC writes: "(...) I've been trying to close one of several accounts for two months now, with no response.  I ended up having to cancel the card so it would quit being charged (...)". Jen, whether you agree with me or not, I find it wrong, very wrong that Nng makes it so goshdarn difficult for people to close their account that in pure despair they even cancel their creditcard to finally stop their payments and get rid of Ning! Maybe you do agree with me after all (wide and wicked grin)!

By now I think I have carefully read all the threads on the "cancel issue", and I really can't blame the various disgusted posters for feeling that they're being held hostage by Ning. Geez... Ning's is bloody slum lord behavior!

Again: anybody who uses PayPal and is having problems with canceling Ning payments can simply throw off their shackles by following the simple steps I have outlined several times in this thread.

Be well!

Jaap Verduijn.

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Permalink Reply by JenSocial on December 17, 2010 at 4:34pm

Hi Jaap,

I guess what I meant by damage control, I figured, knowing Eric's pattern - - he probably handled that particular one via private emails. But, I could be wrong.

 

On your comments: "Jen, whether you agree with me or not, I find it wrong, very wrong that Nng makes it so goshdarn difficult for people to close their account..."

 

No, I don't disagree with you at all. I just think it's an issue of programming, more than a concerted effort to make it tough to cancel. Does that offer Ning an excuse? No, not really. They really do need to fix this issue, immediately. But, just my opinion. ;-)

 

Best to you,

Jen

 

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Permalink Reply by Dave on January 7, 2011 at 11:00am

Hi..what if you pay by credit card ?

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Permalink Reply by Jaap Verduijn on January 10, 2011 at 3:55am

"(...) what if you pay by credit card (...)"

Then you're screwed (wide and wicked grin)! The very character of credit card subscriptions is essentially different from that of PayPal subscriptions. When subscribing via credit card you hand the authority over to the vendor (Ning), thus becoming subjct to the whims of said vendor, who is basically the one and only party who can cancel the subscription/contract and has to be asked to do so by the customer.

Most vendors are extremely decent in such a situation and take care of the desired cancellation without delay, either by promptly acting themselves or (more usually) usually by offering their customers a link ("Cancel your subscription by clicking here") that simply automates the process.

Ning, however, doesn't offer such a link but makes you jump through hoops by force-funneling you through their flawed "support" system. Ning's support system, at least in this area, mainly supports themselves instead of their customers - the way they "deal" with cancellations is clearly not to the advantage of the customer.

Now PayPal works the opposite way. They leave full control of subscriptions and eventual cancellation of them fully in the hands of the customer. Which is the way it should be because the customer should be in charge of his own money and where he wants is, or wants it not, to go. Wit PayPal you can cancel any subscription any time. That's the correct way - because it's your fuggin' money.

In short: when you subscribe via credit card the power over the money concerned is firmly vested in Ning - when you subscibe via PayPal the power over the money concerned is, and remains, firmly vested in you.

So: in your case , unfortunately, you really have to ask Ning to be so kind as to instruct your credit card company to stop paying out your money. It's too crazy for words...

Be well!

Jaap Verduijn.

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