The Activate New Card process hides a crucial function, that should be more visible. But the current design makes it a pain to stop the new card details from being automatically shared with merchants.
I didn’t know this was even a feature first time around so I ordered a new card in vain and a merchant who won’t stop taking payments still managed to do so after a new card was activated
Second attempt with yet another card, it turns out, the app automatically confirms the card for you without giving you a chance to toggle this checkbox. You have to toggle it off FIRST then enter your card number to activate.
So I’m ordering a third card now, to finally do this process correctly.
That’s simply malicious UI/UX. You are forcing / funneling a choice to users instead of exposing the options in advance. As a business account I don’t have other means to block spending and these aren’t direct debits.
The merchant in question won’t respond and is tied up in legal bs, but is still taking payments.
JUST EXPOSE THE OPTIONS TO USERS, LET ME PROCEED MANUALLY! WHY IS THAT SO DIFFICULT?
Probably worth a follow up that not paying a subscription you have signed up for does not end your liability and could result in you being chased for these payments. You should always contact the merchant to end the subscription rather than stop / replace your card to stop the payments.
If the subscription is fraudulent or was not instigated by you, you must contact Monzo as fraudsters will often use different merchant names / categories with your details.
I suppose it’s a matter of opinion but I think the new design is better - it hides an option that is not necessary for the vast majority of users who need to activate a new card but still leaves the option available for people who do. Although the fact you need to toggle it first sounds like a UX bug.
1 2 3. We read top left. First option is the card number field. 2 is the small text with additional options.
Guess what I filled in 1 and it confirmed my choice before I even got to 2. That’s stupid design.
Why not add a manual confirm button at 3, so I go 1 then actually get a chance to even notice 2, then press 3 once I’ve scanned the page. It’s basic UI we’ve done this structure for decades now.
The CPA isn’t all that useful either. The merchant can simply use a different name and still make payments in this case.
If you’ve signed a minimum-term contract, yes. But in many cases, stopping card (or DD) payments from the bank’s side is by far the easiest way to stop a service you don’t want any more, rather than deal with companies’ purposeful friction.
Not a card payment, but I recently did this with D&G. It’s a 30-day recurring policy, and there is no way to cancel it online. I simply don’t have time for a company that doesn’t respect my time, so I cancelled the DD. Roll on the letters, and they stopped my policy after begging for a while.
I hate this card number auto-update thing and wish it had never become a thing. If you get a new card, you should just update all your card payment subscriptions - it gives you an opportunity to review your spending too.
I hear what you’re saying and glad it works for you but this isn’t great advice to give on a forum. Just because D&G did not chase you for the missed payment via a court does not mean that cancelling your payment absolved you of the debt. I suspect your understanding of a “minimum term contract” is a commitment to multiple payments, but you are still bound to pay on a rolling term contract in exactly the same way. The merchant could even choose to keep your services running and increase your missed payments if their terms and conditions allow it.
Your strategy probably works 95% of the time, so I’m being a little over cautious here but just saying - be careful as you could end up with CCJs and ruin your credit score with that approach.
I did not have a contract specifying any sort of minimum term with D&G. It’s a 30-day rolling, you cancel when you want. You are not bound to pay e.g. for a whole year if you are on a monthly rolling agreement. It’s the same with 30-day SIM-only plans for phones, as well as many (not all) gym subscriptions, Spotify, YouTube Premium, and the list goes on. You are not bound to pay on a rolling monthly agreement, beyond that month’s payment (subject to some idiosyncracies, like for mobile networks you give 30 days notice so if you are mid-month you pay half of next month).
So long as you know the payment you are cancelling is not for a minimum-term contract agreement, there is no issue.
So long as you know the payment you are cancelling is not for a minimum-term contract agreement, there is no issue.
We’re probably just going to need to agree to disagree here because your lived experience is going to win over my theoretical argument You’re completely correct that 95% of the time this approach will have zero consequences - but to be clear, there is no special law that enables mobile companies to do what they do that other merchants can’t choose to do so, too. Cancelling payment does not sever your responsibilities to their T&Cs
There’s very little content on that first screen, so the “We auto update your card details - Learn more” message is already abundantly clear.
From a UX standpoint, adding too many options / text could easily have the opposite effect of overwhelming users and causing them to miss the most important information.
You’re completely correct that 95% of the time this approach will have zero consequences - but to be clear, there is no special law that enables mobile companies to do what they do that other merchants can’t choose to do so, too. Cancelling payment does not sever your responsibilities to their T&Cs