Eleduar
Assistant
Sitter of the original sitting room. Vault 3 opener. Lover of mystery, otherworldy, supernatural.
Posts: 68
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Post by Eleduar on Jul 12, 2017 12:01:29 GMT -5
Greetings fellow members,
As most of you may already know, we were forewarned on the MPC web site that our grandfathered in subscription price to the C&C would no longer continue with Volume 4, Issue 2. Because this was somewhat unfair, and presumably because not all members are still subscribed to the email missive notifications of this, anyone not opting in to further volumes would have their subscriptions auto-cancelled. I felt this was fair.
Needing to do nothing else to omit further mailings, I made no changes to my account.
Suspiciously, an email was sent out not long ago titled, "Important Information Within!" on June 29th, 2017. A reminder that the price was changing was included. Nothing special. The suspicious part was at the very end, where it said simply, "If you wish to cancel, for any reason, please contact Member Services at concierge@mysteriouspackage.com."
This, I thought was strange, as not opting in and agreeing to the new price meant having the subscription cancelled. I felt like they were including that last line of text as a legal precaution on their part. Such a thing would be very dishonest if so, as many no longer receive the now too-frequent emails, and this completely contradicts what they stated previously.
I waited.
Sure enough my suspicions were correct. As of today, July 12, 2017, I have been charged the full price of $34.99 USD. The thieves!
As I did not opt in, nor agree to such an outrageous price, nor agree to continue getting a C&C which I no longer enjoy, I have, essentially, been stolen from.
I hope this information finds any of you who were no longer wishing to subscribe, and may have been charged in error. I hope the issue is resolved for you post-haste.
Best regards, Eleduar
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Post by mrkroovy on Jul 12, 2017 14:26:01 GMT -5
I think they have that line about being able to cancel any time on all of their emails concerning C&C so I don't think it's suspicious. Also, you could probably contact customer service about this and get your money back if you didn't want to be charged, I would think
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Eleduar
Assistant
Sitter of the original sitting room. Vault 3 opener. Lover of mystery, otherworldy, supernatural.
Posts: 68
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Post by Eleduar on Jul 12, 2017 19:49:57 GMT -5
I think they have that line about being able to cancel any time on all of their emails concerning C&C so I don't think it's suspicious. Also, you could probably contact customer service about this and get your money back if you didn't want to be charged, I would think I apologize if I wasn't very clear. I am disgruntled because we were informed several times, both on the web site and by email, that opting-in would be required. To not opt in would be to not agree to the new price or terms of the upcoming C&C past Vol4 issue1. Charging people anyway contradicts everything they said in the past. They basically just lied to all of us, and charged anyone not wanting it anyway. My subscription should have been cancelled as promised.
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Post by Todd on Jul 13, 2017 8:55:18 GMT -5
At the risk of sounding like an MPC apologist, I think Hanlon's Razor is best applied in this case. Either: - They fully intended to use the "Opt-In" method, but a processing bug resulted in everyone being charged.
- They discovered the Opt-In wasn't going to work, and the email of June 29 was an attempt to make sure your were actively unsubscribing.
- They decided, "Let's just charge them all whether they've Opted-in or not."
Ultimately, whether it's A, B, or C, you should be entitled to a full refund. Granted this unexpected charge could cause additional hardships on the part of the Member. If it is Case A, then they are just as surprised as the Members that this occurred and are likely trying to find a way to correct the issue. If it is Case B, then they should have been much more forthcoming in their June 29 email. They should have explicitly said that they had intended to use an Opt-In method, but issues with their system kept this from working, so please actively unsubscribe if you do not wish to continue at the higher price. Case C seems to be the least likely scenario from a business perspective. Members who did not wish to continue their subscriptions have every right to be angry, and in all scenarios, MPC has culpability. But to paraphrase Hanlon's Razor, never attribute to malice what can adequately be explained by incompetence. I, for one, am saddened to see so many long-time subscribers leaving the fold. I only know of a few members of the community who were active when I joined who remain active today. MPC has been striving to expand the appeal of Curios & Conundrums, unfortunately losing some of their oldest, most loyal customers in the process. It reminds me of that period in my life when I progressed from grade school to high school, and my grade school friends didn't want to hang out with me anymore because they now had cooler high school friends. But my opinion remains thus: In order to find the perfect balance, one must be aware of the tipping points. To mix metaphors, I expect the pendulum will swing back.
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Post by thegenii on Jul 13, 2017 9:43:00 GMT -5
For the MPC, this change in direction and pricing for C&C is a test to see if they can expand their business enough to overcome the loss of legacy customers. They'll have made that decision just after the third issue of volume 4. If too many faithful customers bail, and are not balanced by an influx of new customers, you can bet (since the MPC has everyone's email addy) that they will begin an aggressive campaign to woo folks back.
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Eleduar
Assistant
Sitter of the original sitting room. Vault 3 opener. Lover of mystery, otherworldy, supernatural.
Posts: 68
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Post by Eleduar on Jul 13, 2017 12:08:20 GMT -5
If it is Case B, then they should have been much more forthcoming in their June 29 email. They should have explicitly said that they had intended to use an Opt-In method, but issues with their system kept this from working, so please actively unsubscribe if you do not wish to continue at the higher price. Also, it should have been corrected on the web site. After receiving the email, the first thing I did was check my account status. It still said at the top my subscription would not continue if I did not opt in and agree to the new price. I feel that by double-checking and confirming this with their web site, I did all that was necessary on my part. Also, I would like to add, that whether this was intentional or a clerical error, it's quite unfair not just to us, but to all the poor souls who have to spend oodles of time fixing the situation.
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Eleduar
Assistant
Sitter of the original sitting room. Vault 3 opener. Lover of mystery, otherworldy, supernatural.
Posts: 68
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Post by Eleduar on Jul 13, 2017 12:10:04 GMT -5
If too many faithful customers bail, ..... they will begin an aggressive campaign to woo folks back. Yes, please. I have several suggestions in mind.......
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Post by phill on Jul 13, 2017 13:54:45 GMT -5
I too have been charged the 'new' price after being told this wouldnt happen unless I opted-in. I've now cancelled my subscription and informed MPC of my dissatisfaction.
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Post by dmikester on Jul 13, 2017 17:19:19 GMT -5
I would also say here that in my experience the MPC is notorious for having technical problems with their site and with orders in general. While I've never had something happen that was super negative, I've absolutely had annoying glitchy things happen, such as the issue many of us had with the Filigree in Shadow T-shirt Kickstarter tickets not being redeemable for a while, and I've long had tracking number issues with them that I've never experienced with any other company. However, whenever I've reached out to them for needed support, including refunds and needing technical issues worked out, they've always been very gracious and the issue has always eventually gotten resolved. I am absolutely certain that this was not done maliciously and that if you reach out to them, they will be able to figure out what went wrong and will both cancel the subscription and issue refunds.
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Post by craigrj on Jul 14, 2017 6:23:18 GMT -5
Strikes me that their tech has not been tooled up in lines with ramping up their subscriber base. I'd draw parallels with MEC here - their initial mysteries were deeper, better written and more challenging but went out to a much smaller subscriber base. Compare to the current batch with extensive online hand-holding and less depth, but a vastly larger subscriber base. I'm afraid I fear the days of v1, v2 and v3 of MPC are not going to return.
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Post by centaurofattn on Jul 14, 2017 7:47:51 GMT -5
I am also am facing what I perceive to be a technical error, but a dissatisfying one as well. I DID renew, but also updated my credit card information back in March to a card that doesn't have international fees. They charged me a random amount and credited it back on that card, but then proceeded to charge the subscription price for issue 1 and issue 2 to the card I had used before (with fees) despite updating my credit card information previously. I too sent an email. I was trying to avoid fees and they are there anyway and there isn't a way that I found that I can delete a card from my options, only select which I want, which was apparently reset at some point. Hmph.
I also know of a member that was charged back when she decided to opt in, and then was charged yesterday as well...
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Post by Todd on Jul 14, 2017 8:23:56 GMT -5
While I haven't seen any of the MEC packages in a long while, and I'm only going on hearsay from the associated groups I still occasionally read, the MEC experienced a significant subscriber bleed and have attempted to return to a more immersive experience. One (now closed) facebook group to which I belonged, dedicated to the MEC, boasted several hundred members. The majority of the members of that group dropped their subscription about the same time I did. This very forum has had over a hundred new members join since the last issue came out, and overwhelmingly the comment I am hearing from the new members is "...what am I missing? There has to be more to it..." The fact is that a niche market remains of those who seek an ARG experience in a publication. Puzzles, metapuzzles, phone numbers, websites, and an plot entangled in that mess. If MPC does not fill that need, someone else will. But they cannot be motivated purely by profit. Maybe someone already has something in the works... I am not permitted to say more at this time.
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Eleduar
Assistant
Sitter of the original sitting room. Vault 3 opener. Lover of mystery, otherworldy, supernatural.
Posts: 68
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Post by Eleduar on Jul 14, 2017 11:14:19 GMT -5
I am also am facing what I perceive to be a technical error, but a dissatisfying one as well. I DID renew, but also updated my credit card information back in March to a card that doesn't have international fees. They charged me a random amount and credited it back on that card, but then proceeded to charge the subscription price for issue 1 and issue 2 to the card I had used before (with fees) despite updating my credit card information previously. I too sent an email. I was trying to avoid fees and they are there anyway and there isn't a way that I found that I can delete a card from my options, only select which I want, which was apparently reset at some point. Hmph. I also know of a member that was charged back when she decided to opt in, and then was charged yesterday as well... Hmm... It seems you're not alone. One of my pals who has done similar was charged twice when trying to update her credit card. (She opted in).
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Eleduar
Assistant
Sitter of the original sitting room. Vault 3 opener. Lover of mystery, otherworldy, supernatural.
Posts: 68
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Post by Eleduar on Jul 14, 2017 11:16:17 GMT -5
While I haven't seen any of the MEC packages in a long while, and I'm only going on hearsay from the associated groups I still occasionally read, the MEC experienced a significant subscriber bleed and have attempted to return to a more immersive experience. One (now closed) facebook group to which I belonged, dedicated to the MEC, boasted several hundred members. The majority of the members of that group dropped their subscription about the same time I did. This very forum has had over a hundred new members join since the last issue came out, and overwhelmingly the comment I am hearing from the new members is "...what am I missing? There has to be more to it..." The fact is that a niche market remains of those who seek an ARG experience in a publication. Puzzles, metapuzzles, phone numbers, websites, and an plot entangled in that mess. If MPC does not fill that need, someone else will. But they cannot be motivated purely by profit. Maybe someone already has something in the works... I am not permitted to say more at this time. Keep us updated
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Post by craigrj on Jul 14, 2017 11:31:09 GMT -5
While I haven't seen any of the MEC packages in a long while, and I'm only going on hearsay from the associated groups I still occasionally read, the MEC experienced a significant subscriber bleed and have attempted to return to a more immersive experience. One (now closed) facebook group to which I belonged, dedicated to the MEC, boasted several hundred members. The majority of the members of that group dropped their subscription about the same time I did. This very forum has had over a hundred new members join since the last issue came out, and overwhelmingly the comment I am hearing from the new members is "...what am I missing? There has to be more to it..." The fact is that a niche market remains of those who seek an ARG experience in a publication. Puzzles, metapuzzles, phone numbers, websites, and an plot entangled in that mess. If MPC does not fill that need, someone else will. But they cannot be motivated purely by profit. Maybe someone already has something in the works... I am not permitted to say more at this time. Whilst I entirely agree with you on the latter, I don't think so on the forum - I keep tabs on the current FB group, which stands at 2,513 members with 26 joining today. The prevailing wind there is always people joining and lamenting not being able to buy the earlier mysteries, and lots of comments that people joined within the last 3, 4, 5 months. Although I do not know numbers they produce, they do sell out each month - and fairly early in the month too. It's true that the "choose your own adventure" style only lasted a couple of months, but compare recent mysteries to the likes of the first one - Archon Genomics - and they are many leagues easier.
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