Refund Request -- European Reasons
Dear Peter,
I am requesting a refund on my yearly renewal I haven’t used in two years. I know you close these threads, so I just wanted to explain why I am going to do a chargeback, which I have never had to do before:
In Europe, these are huge issues:
1. No one can reach you. The support address on your Stripe invoices does not exist (mails to it bounce) and everything else is noreply. The "Contact Us" section of your ToS is empty, with no company name, no address, and no email. If you sell to EU consumers, § 5 DDG and Art. 6 of Directive 2000/31/EC require a means of rapid, direct and effective contact. As it stands, a European customer cannot serve you a cancellation or a complaint at all.
2. Yearly plans can't renew into another fixed year. Under § 309 no. 9 BGB, a consumer subscription may not tacitly renew for a further fixed term. Only indefinitely, and cancellable on a month's notice. Your terms renew "for the same period of time," i.e. another 12 months. That clause is void, and under § 306 BGB it can't be trimmed down to a lawful version, so no valid renewal happens.
I am a huge fan of your work. I paid for this service last year even though I don’t use it, to support, because I was in a good financial situation to do so. This year, it came out of my account and I unfortunately have no way to contact you. I really cannot afford this right now, unfortunately. I would very gladly explain and prove the situation if I had a means to do so.
I understand and have read your no contact policy which is cool and all, and hope it brings you peace, but it puts me in a really shitty situation here, that I feel forced to chargeback.
You’ve also tweeted about european complaints before, specifically that “you shouldn't be able to buy a digital product in EU, use it extensively, then return it“. I agree fully with this. I understand you have to pay some fees to save the models and photos I generated, but this doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be able to cancel the new, fixed period, especially after cancellation and a deletion request for everything on my account.
Will continue following your work and looking up to you as inspiration, and hope I will have some extra income to play around with new things you make in the future.
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Comments3
Coffee Cactus
Aug 13
@levelsio :(
Coffee Cactus
Aug 13
Misquoted the laws, here is more correct. Genuinely trying to help, I know its a pain in the ass and I’m embarrassed having to do this.
No one can reach you. The support address on your Stripe invoices does not exist (mails to it bounce) and everything else is noreply. The "Contact Us" section of your ToS is empty, with no company name, no address, and no email. EU e-commerce rules require service providers to make certain identifying information and a means of rapid, direct and effective electronic contact available; in Germany, § 5 DDG contains corresponding requirements where applicable. As it stands, a European customer has no obvious means to send you a cancellation or complaint at all.
Yearly plans can't automatically renew into another fixed year for German consumers. Under § 309 no. 9 BGB, a consumer subscription may not tacitly renew in a way that binds the consumer for a further fixed term. It may instead renew indefinitely, provided it is cancellable at any time with no more than one month's notice. Your terms say the subscription renews "for the same period of time," i.e. another 12 months. To the extent that clause purports to bind a German consumer for another fixed 12-month term, it is ineffective under § 309 no. 9 BGB. Under § 306 BGB, the rest of the contract generally remains effective and the statutory rules apply in place of the ineffective clause.
Coffee Cactus
Aug 13
Posting the rest as an additional comment because it looks like the styling on the website cuts it off:
I understand and have read your no contact policy which is cool and all, and hope it brings you peace, but it puts me in a really shitty situation here, that I feel forced to chargeback.
You’ve also tweeted about european complaints before, specifically that “you shouldn't be able to buy a digital product in EU, use it extensively, then return it“. I agree fully with this. I understand you have to pay some fees to save the models and photos I generated, but this doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be able to cancel the new, fixed period, especially after cancellation and a deletion request for everything on my account.
Will continue following your work and looking up to you as inspiration, and hope I will have some extra income to play around with new things you make in the future.