cancel

[i2da]

Plan

Free/Premium

Country

Cancellation upon death

Where can I find information about canceling a contract if a subscriber dies while using a billing service such as a premium plan? If there is no agency in the country, such as Japan, and the surviving family members do not use e-mail or the Internet, how do you cancel the contract?
(Or in a country where contact information such as domestic address and phone number is not made public.)

Device

(iPhone 8, Samsung Galaxy 9, Macbook Pro late 2016)

Operating System

(iOS 10, Android Oreo, Windows 10,etc.)

My Question or Issue

[Maxim]

Hey @i2da,

Thanks for coming to the Community. 

While reaching out to Spotify's Support Team through their website would be the easiest and fastest way to get them to look into such matter, there are, of course, alternatives available.

For example, it's possible to fill out this form and physically send it to the address mentioned in the form. The form isn't available in Japanese but in a few other languages, including English.

Keep in mind that, if there's no return address provided and no other means to get in touch when physically sending the cancellation form, the request might not get actioned or when there's information missing to locate and verify the correct account.

I hope this clears things up 🙂

[i2da]

What about families who don't use e-mail or the Internet? I am asking. If you don't understand the question, there's no need to reply

[Maxim]

Hey @i2da,

Thanks for getting back.

Spotify is an online service, so an internet connection is, unfortunately, required to manage an account.

If none of the affected family members have an internet connection, it might be a possibility to get help from a local service that can make those arrangements for the family, if such service is available in Japan.

If none of that is possible/available, the family can get in touch with the bank to block the future payments for the Spotify subscription. 🙂

[i2da]

I live in Japan, but I have never heard of such support. Specifically, what kind of organization and what kind of support do you provide?

[i2da]

Regarding this matter, I asked about the Spotify Twitter account. Their explanation did not say that deactivating your bank account or credit card would cancel your paid subscription. Sporify's official support desk simply told me to cancel via the website or email. Like a machine.

 

 

[Maxim]

Hey @i2da,

Thanks for getting back.

It's possible that some funeral agencies may offer these kind of services, such as taking care of all the paperwork and requests.

Of course not all of them might offer the exact same services, so it'd be best for you to check what's available in your area.

Lastly, if the bank blocks all future Spotify payments or the payment method used for the subscription becomes invalid, Spotify will try to charge the saved payment method a few times in case of a failed payment. If all attempts fail, the subscription gets canceled and the account reverts back to the free tier. 🙂

Hope this helps!

[i2da]

Guessive answers are not helpful. In my experience at my parents' funeral, Japanese funeral directors never provide such legal services. This is done by lawyers who charge very high fees. No **bleep** would hire a lawyer for a subscription fee of a few hundred yen. Is there an explanation in Spotify's official contract that the subscription will stop if the bank account or credit card is stopped? There have been reports of cases in which contracts, such as cable TV charges, are not canceled even if the subscriber's bank account is closed after the subscriber's death. In the worst case scenario, you may have to pay the debt or go to court.

[Maxim]

Hey again, @i2da,

Spotify offers customer support through their official channels, such as the contact form (linked here) or social media platforms (X, for example)

Regarding internet access limitations, Spotify can't control that aspect. They also don't have control over the services provided by funeral agencies in different countries. My recommendation was merely to explore if such a service is available locally.

Regarding chargebacks, if Spotify receives such a request, the subscription is canceled. Some banks may provide options to block charges, but you'll need to inquire directly with them. If all payment attempts fail, the account reverts back to Spotify's free plan.

Since Spotify primarily operates online, their support is also online, except for a cancellation form that can be physically mailed to their office, but has to be downloaded from their website as well. If your local authorities don't offer a similar solution, reaching out to Spotify's support team or your bank directly is the best course of action. 🙂

Hope this clears things up.

[i2da]

Where can I find Spotify's official explanation that if your bank account or credit card is suspended, paid plans such as the premium plan will be automatically canceled? Is it listed on the help page?

[MartinT]

Hey @i2da,

Jumping in here to add some clarification on top of what @Maxim has already explained.

As mentioned, the official way to cancel a Premium subscription is through the account page online or via our cancelation form.
Unless a partner company (e.g. phone or internet provider) manages the payment, Premium can be cancelled anytime and in case we don’t receive payment on the next billing date the subscription will be automatically terminated by the system.

It's not directly mentioned on our Support site, but if you take a look at what it says here under Regular payment failed? - Premium won't be lost immediately, but if the payment is unsuccessful eventually it will stop.

Hope this clears things up.

[i2da]

Spotify support did not explain that the premium plan could be canceled due to credit or bank account suspension. There is no point in writing about it here, but if such a system exists, it should be clearly stated and posted on the help page. There are cases, such as television broadcasting contracts, where payments are likely to be made even after the death of the deceased.
https://nlab.itmedia.co.jp/nl/amp/1807/01/news031.html