Former Community – We Moved
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Is "As A Courtesy" A Covert Power Move?
I encountered this power move when asking for a refund.
I asked for a refund because I found the pricing model of the company manipulative.
Brief snapshot of the email exchange:
Me: I am not very comfortable with how the pricing is portrayed for this service.
The terms & conditions is misleading.
It is hard to understand how you charge me for your service on a monthly basis.
As such, I would like a refund.Customer Support: We cannot give you a full refund.
But, as a courtesy, we will give you a refund for 2 months of subscription.Me: I would not like to accept that. (Elaborates)
(No More Exchanges)
I decided to forgo pursuing the matter further.
Technically, I accepted the company's terms & conditions so the company has the upper hand legally.
However, they were very smart in how they phrased the terms.
Over here, the person used "as a courtesy".
This has a frame of
- Frame Imposing - I have the power of whether to give you a refund
- Credit Inflating - I am being courteous for giving you a refund even though it's a small refund
- Debt Deflating - Ignoring the part where they phrase the term manipulatively
As for the email exchange, I should have phrased a WIIFT to incentivise them to give me a refund.
Something like
I will be happy to continue the service in the future if the pricing model changes.
It depends on whether or not it's a courteous thing to do.
It's not, if it's a courteous thing to do.
It is if it's either a standard or a sub-standard offer.
So in this case, it depends on how shady and hidden the subscription contract was.
