Expiration?

When my Insider membership expires, will it automatically deduct the fee from the credit card ad infinitum until I cancel? Or will I receive an email notification or something?

Elise, the moment it expires you will go directly to purgatory and be forced to sell golf clubs and tents forever. No more Roadfood for you, Elise, sorry.

Elsie, I was looking for an answer to your question. I guess no one knows, only the Shaddow knows. Chow Jim

Here is the info...I had to check too!

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Join The Roadfood Insider

Signing up for the Roadfood Insider will give you a year's worth of access to the exclusive areas of the site for $19.95. This includes the Roadfood Maps, Roadfood Logbook and the Roadfood template for Microsoft Streets & Trips.

We use PayPal for our billing and subscription service - it is the most well recognized and safe e-commerce system on the Internet. Because this is a subscription service, PayPal will automatically bill you another increment at the end of your year unless you cancel. Subscription cancellations must be made through PayPal. Lastly, paying by e-check usually takes 5 business days to clear before you can get access. Other payment methods are nearly instant.

I wish that I could pay without using PayPal. I have been getting so many phishing e-mails about my PayPal account that I hesitate to use it for anything. My "Insider" cancelled because I haven't updated the credit card expiration date on my PayPal profile.

Hmm...I am frankly amazed at this policy. I know it is common practice, but it is not a good one. I am shocked that Roadfood indulges in it. Roadfood has a great reputation, why sully it with this sort of deceptive practice? It makes no sense at all. Why would anyone permit an automatic renewal to any subscription service? I see it only as a deceptive practice to gain entry to ones bank account through a back door.

Sorry to be so critical, but I think the subscriber should be in charge of their subscription and their bank account without an automated process involved. It is a deceptive practice that Roadfood should halt immediately.

I also agree with Hillbilly, PayPal is just too phishy for me. I have never used it and never will yet I get all sorts of emails from them to update my account which I do not have. As long as this policy is in place, I guess I will never be an insider. Too bad.

quote:

Originally posted by Greyghost

Hmm...I am frankly amazed at this policy. I know it is common practice, but it is not a good one. I am shocked that Roadfood indulges in it. Roadfood has a great reputation, why sully it with this sort of deceptive practice? It makes no sense at all. Why would anyone permit an automatic renewal to any subscription service? I see it only as a deceptive practice to gain entry to ones bank account through a back door.

Sorry to be so critical, but I think the subscriber should be in charge of their subscription and their bank account without an automated process involved. It is a deceptive practice that Roadfood should halt immediately.

I also agree with Hillbilly, PayPal is just too phishy for me. I have never used it and never will yet I get all sorts of emails from them to update my account which I do not have. As long as this policy is in place, I guess I will never be an insider. Too bad.

I have realized that like any of your other on-line financial interests, you have to pay attention to PayPal. I think it is secure and, becuase it seperates me from the seller, I feel secure using it.

I was also disenfranchised from RF INSIDER status over an expired expiration date ... I had to dig into the situation, fixed it and now I'm doing a collection thing on eBay and, to be honest, I'm riled when PayPal isn't accepted.

quote:

Greyghost Posted - 08/09/2006 : 19:20:14
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Hmm...I am frankly amazed at this policy. I know it is common practice, but it is not a good one. I am shocked that Roadfood indulges in it.

GreyghostAs a freeloader you sure have a lot to say about some thing that does not concern you.
and a little ingenious as a free guest here to be so critically of your host. I have a very good idea for you, why dont you hit the road and start your very own food web site where you can be as critical as you like........... all by your lonesome self. ................

quote:

Originally posted by Hillbilly

I wish that I could pay without using PayPal. I have been getting so many phishing e-mails about my PayPal account that I hesitate to use it for anything. My "Insider" cancelled because I haven't updated the credit card expiration date on my PayPal profile.

Those phishing e-mails have nothing to do with Pay-Pal, so you shouldn't hold that against them. I also get them posing as being sent by banks where I don't have accounts, yet this hasn't prompted me to take my money from the bank. I have been using pay-pal for many years, and find it great. In two instances where I DID have transaction issues, they have a 45 day policy to protest charges. They were A LOT more responsive in handling my disputes than American Express or Visa have been in the past.

my husband uses pal pay to sell his pottery on ebay and he has never encountered a problem
with them.

Seems I have opened up a hornets nest here rather unintentionally. I do stand by my statements though.

fpczyz: I do maintain my own website that is free for everyone. It is an American history site and is used by many educational institutions as a resource. I have about 2.5 million hits on it and pay all the expenditures involved myself. I consider it a public service as history seems to be a dead topic in schools these days. As the classic saying goes; if you do not know history you are bound to repeat it. I am also involved with creating a few more sites, some of a commercial nature. I am not a web novice and can see a fatal flaw for a site a mile away.

If as it is claimed by the "insiders" here that Roadfood is a pay site and all others are freeloaders I will gladly lick a stamp and enclose a check. This should be my option though and not an automated programs option.

Greyghost.. When this insider package deal started, Stephen let it be known that you can pay via snail mail if ya wanted. There was a discussion on this in one of the topics back then.. (Just email Stephen and he'll give ya the mailing info)...

Just to set the record straight - We have NEVER had any problems with PayPal. Zero.

fpczyz, Dose this meen that all of us that arn't a member of your elite group, infedels? Alot of the members here have been members before the option of doing the insider thing. Also many of those that contribue may not need those extra services or might be on a fixed income and are very carefull with their spending. I can understand Greygoasts concern, those that have never used pay-pal may be cautious about putting personel information over the web and I would like a months notice stating that my subscription was due to expire, just don't reach in and grab it. My suggestion to you is don't respond to non insiders nor to the threads that they start. Have a nice conversation with yourself.

Jimeats: here is a page out of my personal dictionary that you may find informative.

Definition:
poke/stick your nose into something (informal)
1:to show too much interest in a situation that does not involve you. 2: to try to discover things which are not really related to you:

as in 1: "That'll teach him to go poking his nose into other people's business!"
2:.........
"Don't stick your nose into someone else's business." Don't interfere where you don't belong.

put someone's nose out of joint
If something puts someone's nose out of joint, it offends or upsets them, You often use this expression to suggest that the person who is offended thinks that they are more important than they really are.



and a page for Greyghost

not see beyond the end of your nose
If you say that someone can't see beyond their nose, or can't see beyond the end of their nose, you are criticizing them for thinking only about themselves and their immediate needs, rather than about other people or wider and longer-term issues.

Well just slap me silly and call me Pinocchio. Who are considered "freeloaders" here at RoadFood? I thought I was at a site where I could discuss food, great places to eat, etc. I didn't know that I "had" to buy into anything. This is a serious question and could one of the mediators please answer. Thanks so much.

quote:

SassyGritsAL Posted - 08/10/2006 : 14:18:57
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Who are considered "freeloaders" here at RoadFood? I thought I was at a site where I could discuss food, great places to eat, etc. I didn't know that I "had" to buy into anything.

Sassy, your misunderstanding................ This is a free site for all.............. I am only calling Grayghost a freeloader because he was unkindly criticizing something that was free to him ......... You my dear are shooting before you see the whites of their eyes.

Thanks for the info, but didn't need the cliche. How can asking a question, "be shooting before I see the whites of their eyes?". Of course I could dispence one of my own, from the immortal words of Rhet Butler, "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn."

I'm pretty new in these parts so I offer my two cents with some trepidation. Especially in light of the earlier posts.

I too am a "freeloader" if that's true of non-Insiders. Thus far, though, it appears that only one of us would suggest that that's the case. I'm dismayed by the hair-trigger responses I've seen in this thread--surely we can express our differing points of view w/o including insults and vitriol, can't we? The poster who had issues with RoadFood's use of PayPal can say so, as can those who have not. One's opinion is not validated because one is an Insider. If that's not true (and I must have missed that when I signed up), then I'd guess that many of us would look for other sites to join...

how on earth can I make it any clearer then this. I did not say every non-Roadfood Insider Member are "freeloaders".................... I called Greygost a freeloader ONLY Greygost not you Jimeats, not you SassyGritsAL, not you Ciaoman, and not any one else that's a contributor to this great web site .................... Please, is that clear????
If all your looking for is a fight then please go into "Miscellaneous - Off Topic & "Lighter Fare"
and talk to Michael Hoffman................. my good friend will oblige you on any subject, he's the best.

fpczyz, it's true, you didn't call all of us "freeloaders." What may have prompted our response was the implication contained in your words. Thanks for clarifying. Speaking for myself, a fight (with the formidable Mr. Hoffman or anyone else for that matter) is not my objective. I'm not a fighter...I'm an eater.

quote:

Originally posted by fpczyz

GreyghostAs a freeloader you sure have a lot to say about some thing that does not concern you.

As a member here, Greyghost is a potental buyer of said service, so this is VERY MUCH SO a matter that does indeed concern him.

Calling him a freeloader is also incorrect. He makes use of this website and views the same ads the rest of us do when he comes here.By becoming a member here, that's the "cost" he agreed to. By your definition, I am guessing anyone who watches broadcast tv is a freeloader too....after all, they pay nothing to watch the programs. So....nothing could be further from the truth, and I think you owe GG an apology.

quote:

Originally posted by fpczyz

and a little ingenious as a free guest here to be so critically of your host. I have a very good idea for you, why dont you hit the road and start your very own food web site where you can be as critical as you like........... all by your lonesome self. ................

Yeah, now I am certain you owe him an apology

That said, no website is perfect. Frankly, the policy of automatic subscription extension - ie, I will take money from you in the future without checking with you - is a bad one from a consumer point of view and is deserving of criticism. I am sure from the admins side it is more about the convenience of an automatic payment and the correlating administrative hassle of doing billing, not about being deceptive and making money in a sneaky or underhanded way, but that doesn't make it any better from a consumer-side view.

I'll add that constructive criticism sometimes brings about positive change here, like the recent change in the description of the FFF Forum.

quote:

Originally posted by fpczyz

how on earth can I make it any clearer then this. I did not say every non-Roadfood Insider Member are "freeloaders".................... I called Greygost a freeloader ONLY Greygost not you Jimeats, not you SassyGritsAL, not you Ciaoman, and not any one else that's a contributor to this great web site .................... Please, is that clear????

Not so much.

Tell us what made you decide that Greyghost is a freeloader, and then we'll determine if some or all of the rest of us are also freeloaders using that same criteria

More to the point - if your criteria for GG fits Jimeats, SassygritsAl, ciaoman, or anyone else - you were implictly rather than explicitly calling all those other members a freeloader as well.

Look up the words "implicit" and "explicit" if you require clarification.

quote:

Originally posted by fpczyz

If all your looking for is a fight

The person "looking for a fight" is the one who throws out the first insult. Care to guess who that was?

I certainly have been made to feel like an uninvited guest to the party after all this crap from "fpczyz"! Perhaps I was distracted, or just unaware, that unless I was an "Insider" I was somehow treading on sacred ground, and my posts and opinions were felt to be unworthy. I think I'll just scroll up to my "favorites" column and do a quick delete of this site.

If I have been a factor in upsetting the usual gentility of this site I am truly sorry. Stated briefly, my stance is against any automatic renewal unless the member knows about and gives express permission for the automatic renewal. I also believe there should be many ways to pay rather than a single third party payment method. I have absolute trust in the management of this site, if anyone is reading anything else into my previous statements they are wrong. I would much rather pay directly to people I trust than any third party.

I will not respond directly to my detractors. I learned many years ago never to argue with a fool as a passing stranger may come by and be unable to discern the difference

quote:

Originally posted by sunnyside up

I certainly have been made to feel like an uninvited guest to the party after all this crap from "fpczyz"! Perhaps I was distracted, or just unaware, that unless I was an "Insider" I was somehow treading on sacred ground, and my posts and opinions were felt to be unworthy. I think I'll just scroll up to my "favorites" column and do a quick delete of this site.

Don't worry about Fabushxysaaayz................he can be quite a jerk at times...............I believe he thinks he has a sense of humor and then there are those that think he is a pompous ---! Fill in the blank!!!

I do believe this is another case of much ado about nothing. If you want to participate in the OPTIONAL services of the site, like the mapping journals or adding photos, you subscribe to the 'Insider' version.
If your interest is to read and post messages in the forums, you do not have to pay a dime. I think that is pretty clear.

Frank , you do have a knack for yanking the crank on folks. Lighten up Please!

On the other hand if anyone has a gripe about paying for the optional services, don't do it. I was quite happy for almost two years with posting and reading on this site before I decided to subscribe to the OPTIONAL services. Whatever floats your little boat!

PS- Thank You GreyGhost for your civility! I for one appreciate it. We can agree to disagree without all the "other comments".

fpczyz must keep his personel dictionary in a very personal place. Chow Jim

Hello All,
I've been a freeloader (and that is a joke) for a little over
a year, and this is the most activity I've seen on a post in the Roadfood Insider.
Al has it totally right in my opinion, the 'insider'is an optional service of this site.
No one should feel like a second-class citizen of this site if we choose not to buy it.
I've been tempted to buy the services this option offers, but always put things off.
We really are a family here, even when we snarl and swipe at each other.
I've installed a mirror on the top of my computer. When I am responding to a post and
look in the mirror and see a true or an face, I delete it then or the next morning
after a night of guilt. But then most of my post aren't as fun as the ones I've read in this
thread. Flaming at each other can be amusing and funny as long as too much skin is not burnt.
Oops, my mirror just cracked....seven more posts of bad luck.
Well, this has been an interesting thread, but it reminds me of the tale of when Rudolph Hess
parachuted into England. The Duke of Hamilton brought the news to Churchill was finishing his
dinner. He listened for a moment and then said, "I'm sure this is all interesting but would you
mind seeing me later in the evening? We're running a Marx Brother picture here now."(story from
the Groucho Letters)
And like Churchill, this is interesting, but I'm off to the Where to Eat Section.
Take Care,
Fieldthistle

Wow... Pay the 20 bucks, see the maps, reviews before they make the free zone (if they make it, if not, you get to see the whole 9 yards up front).. If ya dont drop the 20, you'll be like the majority here and enjoy the discussions and reviews as they come thru. Pretty simple ehh???

PS. The only thing PayPal ever sends you is a receipt, anything else can be considered spam or phishing from a thief..