Excessive membership renewal notices

[CathrineW985824]

Over the sixmonth period before my November renewal date, I received no less than eight membership renewal reminders (might have been more, but I kept tossing the really early onces).

Why so many, and why with new card(s) included with each?

In addition, I received a notification that “your new card is on the way” – after I paid the renewal and, well, already had 6 or 7  “new” cards in hand.

These multiple renewal reminders are 1. a waste of material and financial resources, 2. create confusion regarding which card is the legit one to keep, and 3. more than a little annoying, because it implies that the recipient is incapable of renewing in a timely manner. 

Receipt of these notices also results in frequent self-questioning and double checking i.e. “That isn’t due for another x months, right?”.  In the case where notices have arrived after renewal was paid, it raises the question “I paid that, didn’t I?” and multiple checks of the bank account to, again and again and again, confirm it was in fact paid.

Paying a renewal six months or more out from actual renewal date is not timely.  It is paying for something I may or may not need or want by actual membership anniversary date.

AARP is not the only organization our household is engaged with that sends extremely early renewal notices.  Some others have actually sent notices 9 months in advance!  But I digress.

Please stop this practice.  Sending notices more than 6 weeks out is not helpful.

My renewal is not due until November of any given year.  This year I renewed for 3 years, so hopefully I won’t start receiving early renewals any time soon.

Cathrine Weaver

[RosemaryR171491]

I paid $30 for a 5 year membership in Nov 2022.  I received the renewal letter in July 2023.  It is confusing and I suspect they are hoping we "old people" forget we paid for 5 years, or whatever, and just keep sending in that money.  I have no seen any benefits of my membership to date, and find it annoying actually to keep receiving correspondence that is wasteful and not useful at all.

[AARPJanelleM]

@RosemaryR171491 Thanks for being a valued part of our family, Rosemary! If you'd like me to reduce the renewal mail you receive, please send me a private message: How do I send a private message If you received mail from AARP that was not addressed to you directly with your name and membership number, it is likely a generic promotion. Generic promotional pieces are sent out in mass mailings as part of AARP’s overall membership acquisition program. 

Your membership includes a long list of carefully selected discounts, products and services. Have you seen them all? I invite you to explore all that AARP has to offer on our site here: www.aarp.org/LearnAboutBenefits Also, have you interacted with us on a local level? Through our state offices and local chapters, we get involved with the issues that matter to your community. We’ll help you connect with others in your community through various advocacy and volunteer opportunities: https://states.aarp.org/ I'm always here to help!

[ChadP255305]

It seems to me that when I first joined, AARP was an association that advocated for and advanced the interests of older people. Nowadays, it has morphed into sales, marketing, co-branding, co-promotions, and aggressive membership drives. 

[StevieK697826]

Catherine, you nailed it. It quickly became annoying after the second and certainly the third notification making me reconsider remaining a member.

"These multiple renewal reminders are 1. a waste of material and financial resources, 2. create confusion regarding which card is the legit one to keep, and 3. more than a little annoying, because it implies that the recipient is incapable of renewing in a timely manner."

LOVE IT!

JanelleM's reply to you is just plain ridiculous. She indicates that "many members prefer to renew far before the actual membership expiration date" as some sort of an explanation to your very accurate and well written post. I'd be interested in just how Janelle knows this and if they have done any scientfic research with statistics.

AARP would just love every member to enroll in Automatic Renewal and perhaps this is a method to increase those numbers. Their MULTIPLE reminders with enclosed membershp cards that are NOT actual membership cards is confusing and unessessary.

This can't be the first time AARP has heard this and I'm certain that many send in duplicate membership fees because of the confusion this creates. As somone who has been in the business world all of his life - I couldn't agree with you more. 

[AARPJanelleM]

@CathrineW985824 Thank you for being a member, Cathrine! AARP sends renewal notices to accounts that expire within 6 months and up to 3 months after expiration.

Our hope is that our members are able to renew before experiencing any interruption in their membership, including receipt of AARP The Magazine or their AARP Bulletin. Plus, some members have their life insurance, car insurance and more linked to their AARP membership, and it could be detrimental for it to lapse.

In fact, we have found that many members prefer to renew far before the actual membership expiration date at a time that is convenient for them. We also send renewal promotional offers that many members enjoy taking advantage of.

If you would prefer to receive fewer mailings, you may be interested in signing up for Automatic Renewal, which automatically renews memberships annually. Learn more about the benefits of enrolling Automatic Renewal. I'm always here to help, please don't hesitate to reach out if there's anything I can do. 

[nctarheel]

@CathrineW985824,

You have been advised to consider Automatic Renewal by the Community Concierge. I would strongly recommend against doing that, not only for AARP membership but for any subscription service or membership such as XM Radio, your local newspaper, magazines, and membership organizations. They may say there are advantages but the disadvantages outweigh any advantages. When Auto Renews occur, regardless of the organization, you are charged their top rate at the time and it is generally hard to discontinue an Auto Renew.

[lhannon062709]

On the same line... I renewed my old subscription this week, and paid for five years. I have since received three emails asking me to renew now, and when I get to the page, there's a big yellow "Renew" button at the top which is just annoying. It cannot be that hard to code that button to show up only when someone is close to subscription end. And at some point, if the barrage of emails selling various things don't slow down or end, I'm going to remember why I canceled my prior subscription. I get bombarded with so many things like this, and I feel like I just volunteered to double the garbage load.

[nctarheel]

@lhannon062709,

I hope you called AARP and negotiated a fair renewal rate.

I have seen AARP membership at $16 a year, $12 a year, and $9 a year while, for my last renewal, I called and negotiated $31 for five years or $6.20 a year. I was not required to sign up for auto renewal as I believe they are now requiring to get their $9 a year rate.

[AARPJanelleM]

@lhannon062709 I'm sorry that you're receiving renewal notices that no longer apply. We received your renewal payment on December 5. Pre-generated emails will fully stop within 10 days. I appreciate your membership, please let me know if there's anything I can do!