Membership Renewal - Auto Only?

[BLSonRP]

I went to renew my membership today (add on to it before the expiration date arrives).

It looks like the only option available for renewing a membership now is to sign up for auto-renewal (which I DO NOT want to do).

Is the organization TRYING to drop members for some reason?

Why is auto-renew not just an option, instead members are corralled into a corridor that requires signing up for automatic charges. Generally this is something that is prone to abuse, it's something that magazine subscriptions do - offering low cost entry and then raising rates significantly upon renewals. It is something I have observed from slimy organizations looking to profiteer, but not something that I would at all expect from an organization that touts itself as a membership advocacy organization.

When will this be fixed, so members can actually have a choice?

[BrendaW447391]

Yes. WATCH OUT. I was the primary. After my husband and I talked about how all AARP does is try to sell us stuff, I canceled both automatic renewal and membership, but AARP just sent an email to my husband notifying him that we were charged for AARP membership renewal! When I looked up my membership, they were still asking me to renew membership! I think I managed to cancel the membership and renewal on Chat, but we are wary. This seems very shady.

[AARPConsumerCare]

BrendaW447391 We're sorry about the confusion regarding cancelling your AARP Membership. We'd like to take a look at your account to ensure everything was handled as requested. Please send us a private message, so we can help. If you haven't yet enabled private messaging, you can find the instructions here - https://aarp.info/47hWcl7 - Alternatively, you can click here for other ways to get in touch - https://aarp.info/3epCObA - Christy C. 

[AARPConsumerCare · Accepted solution]

Hi BLSonRP, aarp.org does have the option for you to renew without the auto renew option, here is the link to renew https://aarp.info/2IIvRoZ. - Zainab M

[ColleenE557503]

Appears auto renew is the only option. In that case, I will not be renewing at all.

[AARPConsumerCare]

ColleenE557503 While we do offer Automatic Renewal as an option, it is not required to renew your AARP Membership. You can learn more about the different renewal term options here - https://aarp.info/3hKHUB2 - Christy C. 

[ColleenE557503]

Have you looked at the information on the link you provided? I’m saying there is no other option except auto renew if you renew online. Possibly if you mail a check you can avoid auto renewal. But I don’t write checks. 

[AARPConsumerCare]

ColleenE557503 The link provided shows 1-year with and without Automatic Renewal, a 3-year term, and a 5-year term. To renew online, you can use this link - http://aarp.org/renew?cmp=SNO-LITHIUM---&socialid=17379659826 - You'll see each term offered, including 1-year without Automatic Renewal. - Christy C. 

[BLSonRP]

I would add a couple of additional elements to consider here.

1. There seems to be some limit as to just how far out you can extend your current membership. I tried doing multiple extensions - over a couple months time (to get to 10 years out) and they were not processed. I then wrote a letter on this (and included a check) and (finally) received a (patronizing) response saying that this would not be processed. Follow up I asked if there was a limit to expiration date extension, what was that limit. Of course, I never received a response - there is some invisible policy on how far out one can extend which has never been clarified. (This is important for people who have funds available now, but may not in years to come.)

2. The CitiCard Double Cash credit card allows for the use of "virtual" credit card numbers. They are in place for a settable period of time, with settable daily limits on those numbers. These are great for using against organizations that try to force people into auto-renewal subscriptions (which if you pass away, will continue to be applied to your estate), as you can set the expiration (so no other charges can be made against the number).

Having a special page for non-auto-renewal subscriptions make things far less convenient (it's basically trickery) - all membership renewal pages should provide a CLEAR path to non-auto-renewal options. This effort (and my having to work around it) has definitely lowered my opinion of AARP as an organization that is supposedly in service of its members.

[AARPConsumerCare]

BLSonRP I'm happy to provide some additional information. We allow you to have up to 2 advance payments on your AARP Membership Account. This is likely why you had trouble making an additional Membership payments. We can definitely check on this to be sure if you send us a private message. If you haven't yet enabled private messaging, you can find the instructions here - https://aarp.info/47hWcl7 - Christy C. 

[BLSonRP]

Thank you for that clarification Christy!