European App Store Price Increase Turns Off Auto-Renewing Subscriptions

[MacRumors]

Apple last week implemented price increases for App Store content throughout the European Union and in several other countries, rebalancing the company's pricing as exchange rates have shifted and new taxes have gone into effect in some countries.

One side effect of that change, however, is that auto-renewing subscriptions for app content have been automatically turned off for any pricing tiers that saw increases due to Apple's changes. The issue was noticed by a MacRumors reader and also highlighted by Popular Science UK editor Tom Royal today.

Users have so far apparently not been notified that auto-renewals have been turned off following the price increases, although in the examples we've seen the renewal dates are still several weeks into the future.

It is understandable that Apple may want or need to receive consent from customers before automatically raising recurring subscription fees, but so far neither publishers nor users have been notified of this issue and they are only discovering it for themselves when digging into the subscription settings for their apps.

Apple was proactive about notifying app developers of impending price increases roughly a day and a half of time, but additional information on the effect those changes are having on recurring subscriptions was not included. As a result, some users may suddenly find themselves losing access to their content while publishers may lose out from users who simply elect not to follow up on the issue and resubscribe, regardless of whether the new rates themselves would be a determining factor.

Users in affected countries should check their settings for any recurring in-app subscriptions and ensure that they turn auto-renew back on should they wish to continue receiving their content.

(Thanks, Richard!)

Article Link: European App Store Price Increase Turns Off Auto-Renewing Subscriptions

 

[0003462]

I received an email 3 or 4 days ago about one of my subscriptions being cancelled due to the price increase. That particular subscription expired 2 days ago.

The other couple of subscriptions I have don't expire for another week or two. I haven't received any emails about those yet.

 

[bushido]

those sneaky bastards

 

[Derekuda]

Other then the undeletable POS newstand app that sells overpriced subscriptions that NOONE in the history of EVER has used, I didn't know their were actual apps that you could subscribe to.

 

[Jeaz]

The dollar has dropped 10% in just a few days versus my European country's currency, should I expect a price cut?

 

[coolfactor]

The dollar has dropped 10% in just a few days versus my European country's currency, should I expect a price cut?

Hahaha, not a chance! Apple will just absorb the extra profit. Tim says thanks!

 

[macs4nw]

those sneaky bastards

Not sure what you are referring to, but it's the right thing to do for Apple (or any other company) to give subscribers the option to decide if they're OK with the new higher prices, rather than a presumptuous (and sneaky indeed) negative billing option.

 

[Steve121178]

Two of the magazines I subscribe to will no longer auto-renew at the end of this month as they have increased in price compared to last year.

Decided I won't bother renewing. Not really worth the cost.

 

[mw360]

I subscribe to two UK magazines. I'm in the UK, the mags are published in the UK, and I pay for them in UK money. Why is the price going up?

 

[dumastudetto]

Two of the magazines I subscribe to will no longer auto-renew at the end of this month as they have increased in price compared to last year.

Decided I won't bother renewing. Not really worth the cost.

I suspect quite a lot of people won't bother renewing. But surely the publishers themselves could have done something to keep prices the same and avoid losing existing subscription auto renewals?

I subscribe to two UK magazines. I'm in the UK, the mags are published in the UK, and I pay for them in UK money. Why is the price going up?

I think the automatic price hike will make digital editions more expensive than some print editions that are delivered through the post. So in addition to opting everyone out of existing renewals, surely publishers are going to have to go in and reset pricing back to the current levels anyway in their local currencies.

I could be wrong but it sounds like a bit of a mess and one that is likely to make a lot of publishers very unhappy. Whether they could have done something to prevent it and didn't understand the procedure, or Apple doesn't offer the necessary flexibility I don't know.

 

[capuzino]

I subscribe to two UK magazines. I'm in the UK, the mags are published in the UK, and I pay for them in UK money. Why is the price going up?

Even the mags are from UK, published in UK, paid in UK, until the beginning of this year the VAT was charged by Luxembourgs rate (15%) on the area of Europe. But in the beginning of this year a new EU law became effective that stated that the VAT of digital products must be charged by the country's rate where the customer lives, as in your case, UK.

Don't know how Apple got the rate of $ into the game, but atleast here in Finland the price increase is explainable with the VAT change.

 

[bushido]

Not sure what you are referring to, but it's the right thing to do for Apple (or any other company) to give subscribers the option to decide if they're OK with the new higher prices, rather than a presumptuous (and sneaky indeed) negative billing option.

oh i assumed they would be charged the old price until they cancel and decided to renew again. sorta like with phone plans, you stay with your old conditions and prices until you decide to cancel