Gamers need to be given clear and timely information to make informed choices when signing up for auto-renewing memberships and subscriptions. Michael Grenfell, Executive Director of Enforcement at the CMA, said: These customers will be reminded how to stop payments, and if they continue not to use their memberships, Microsoft will ultimately stop taking further paymentsīetter information about price increases: Microsoft will give clearer notifications of any future price rises, and will ensure people know how to turn off auto-renewal if they don’t want to pay the higher price Inactive memberships: Microsoft will also contact existing customers who haven’t used their memberships for a long time but are still paying. Refunds: Microsoft will contact existing customers on recurring 12-month contracts and give them the option to end their contract and claim a pro-rata refund The improvements include:īetter upfront information: Microsoft will provide more transparent, upfront information to help customers understand their Xbox membership – making clear, for example, that the subscription will auto-renew unless the customer turns off auto-renewal when the subscription will auto-renew how much it will cost and how the customer can receive a refund after an accidental renewal The CMA has secured undertakings with Microsoft which are designed to address these concerns.
This means that membership is automatically rolled over at the end of each contract period and the customer charged unless they actively take steps to stop the subscription.Īs part of an investigation into the online console video gaming sector the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) identified concerns about certain features of Microsoft’s auto-renewing subscriptions, in particular: whether it was clear upfront that contracts would automatically renew how easy it was to turn off automatic renewal and whether people may not have realised they were still paying for services they no longer used. They are offered as memberships which are often entered into on an auto-renewal basis. Microsoft’s Xbox Live Gold and Game Pass products allow people to access a library of games and play together online. The changes relate to Microsoft’s practices in relation to the automatic renewal of contracts for online gaming services.
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