Cancellation of subscription not possible - support is asking me to provide passport copy to cancel?

[was0009911231]

Hate to vent, but my forum died. Long time ago, but I kept it alive thinking that maybe somebody one day would take it over and restart the idea.

But time has come, I don't want to pay another $40 for renewal. And here's where my problem started - turns out it is not that quite easy to cancel it. I heard about these gym subscriptions that are super difficult to resign and unless you block your Credit Card number and move out of the country, they will keep charging you no matter what.

Did Invision Power Board became one of these GYMs that you can never quit? I mean - why there is no button in the client area just to cancel? Why do I need to spend 3 days sending mails back and forth with support (and even now my subscription is still active?). Seriously? Security? My forum page says currently "closed down, because I don't want to pay anymore". 

The problem is that to confirm cancellation request, I was asked to reply back from an alias, which I used to register my forum. Long story short - this is technically not possible. I use aliases with custom domains for various reasons (privacy mainly), and my ipb@mycustomdomain.com is not an alias I could use to reply back from (technically I could, but then again my obsolete email server does not allow me to setup rev-DNS requirements of google business mail, which IPB is currently using to server their mails, so mails from this server are always bounced by IPBs mailbox servers operated by google). So I am stuck.

Somebody from support then asked me to send them my government issued ID. This is where I am really confused, because - well... sending it over email with random dude just like that? In 2022? Do you have facility to process sensitive data? Are you qualified to manage passports? Is your gmail mailbox certified to legally process information like this? And to prove what exactly? They never asked my real name or address, so what would I prove them?

At the end of the day - I cancelled my card (it expired, coincidentally, but I cancelled it anyways because these things can still impact your credit score, when they bounce, right?). Now what? Do I really need to write posts like these to close this subscription?

What's going on IBP?

[Mark H]

We are simply following our internal security policy in asking for proof that you are who you claim to be, nothing more than that. We aren't trying to strong-arm you into renewing. 🙂

Asking us to cancel an account. when the request comes from an email which is not associated to the purchase at all, is something we cannot do without proof. This protects both the integrity of your account, and us, from malicious actors.

Since you said the email used to register can't be used, we asked for an alternative way to prove your identity, in the form of a government-issued identification. (You did previously reply, "If you allow any other verification, please do let me know." We did offer the alternative method, which you indicated you were not comfortable doing.)

This has been policy for a very long time when an email address expires or is deleted, and we receive a request to cancel an account, license, or package. I'm sorry you feel this is not an acceptable way to do this.

That said, if you've removed your credit card from the Client Area, any renewal would go unpaid and eventually expire on its own.

[Jordan Miller]

On 5/18/2022 at 10:42 AM, was0009911231 said:

Hate to vent, but my forum died. Long time ago, but I kept it alive thinking that maybe somebody one day would take it over and restart the idea.

But time has come, I don't want to pay another $40 for renewal. And here's where my problem started - turns out it is not that quite easy to cancel it. I heard about these gym subscriptions that are super difficult to resign and unless you block your Credit Card number and move out of the country, they will keep charging you no matter what.

Did Invision Power Board became one of these GYMs that you can never quit? I mean - why there is no button in the client area just to cancel? Why do I need to spend 3 days sending mails back and forth with support (and even now my subscription is still active?). Seriously? Security? My forum page says currently "closed down, because I don't want to pay anymore". 

The problem is that to confirm cancellation request, I was asked to reply back from an alias, which I used to register my forum. Long story short - this is technically not possible. I use aliases with custom domains for various reasons (privacy mainly), and my ipb@mycustomdomain.com is not an alias I could use to reply back from (technically I could, but then again my obsolete email server does not allow me to setup rev-DNS requirements of google business mail, which IPB is currently using to server their mails, so mails from this server are always bounced by IPBs mailbox servers operated by google). So I am stuck.

Somebody from support then asked me to send them my government issued ID. This is where I am really confused, because - well... sending it over email with random dude just like that? In 2022? Do you have facility to process sensitive data? Are you qualified to manage passports? Is your gmail mailbox certified to legally process information like this? And to prove what exactly? They never asked my real name or address, so what would I prove them?

At the end of the day - I cancelled my card (it expired, coincidentally, but I cancelled it anyways because these things can still impact your credit score, when they bounce, right?). Now what? Do I really need to write posts like these to close this subscription?

What's going on IBP?

Hey @was0009911231, thank you for taking the time to post this. 

I'm sorry you've experienced a bump on the road. As my colleague @Mark H mentioned, it's important we vet people who have a request, but are emailing us from an email address that isn't associated to the account. Otherwise, it could open the door for a ton of major security risks.

With that said, I also understand where you are coming from. We haven't made the exit process super simple because quite frankly, we don't want to lose clients at the drop of a hat. Ultimately, if you and others want to cancel, it's a simple support request away (don't goooo 😅).

It appears since your credit card is cancelled/expired, we don't have much to do. Perhaps if you have a change of heart down the road and want to fire up another community, or breathe life into your existing one, you can reach out to us and we'll help get you sorted. And if not, no worries as well. 😊