As I stated in an earlier post, I'm a subscriber to Google Workspace and the service was great and with a lot of features. However, when I ended up in a situation where I needed support (getting locked out of my admin account), I believe that denying my access to my account was used to deny me of my identity, so I took measures into my own hands, not to mention I looked into legally. Here's some of what I found in case you end up in a similar situation where collective ideologies abuse the power of their access, essentially making a bad name for the companies that employ them.
I really want to continue with my Google Workspace service, but unfortunately it feels like support admins are working against that ever happening, and likely as I stated in relation to an effort to deny me of my own identity. An effort executed by an abusive collective ideology. Its upsetting that these sorts of things exist, buy they'll remain if nobody has the courage to take them on.
So much of our online life is linked to identity, that there are predatory collectives who literally use that fact as a means to socially deny people of their own identity. Wielding it abusively as a form of power over others. I've been noticing this sort of thing occurring ever more from big companies who have a small population of employees who are members of an ideological group, and who abuse the company's resources to execute the goals of their ideology, especially against people they target.
My concern was that such a group might use their access to steal my domain name from me, or steal one of my YouTube accounts in order to steal my brand of Shhhh! Digital Media. I've found that increasingly, there is evidence to suggest such groups operate both at a distance, from these positions I've revealed, and nearby, in the way of neighbours and members of the community who are part of the same or similar ideology, and who collaborate with regard to such effort against the people they target.
So here's a little information I found related to my situation, and to exactly what I'm speaking about. I'll pull this down at some point, as I don't want this kind of thing polluting Shhhh! Digital Media.
Once again, I will say that my experience with Squarespace was good all around, both in terms of the service, and their support when I needed it.
If a company won't accept your proof of identity when you attempt to cancel a subscriber service with them, what is the legality involved if you cancel their payments? Can they just keep charging you until you're able to prove your identity?
A company generally cannot indefinitely charge you or force an ongoing contract if you have clearly stated your desire to cancel. However, simply blocking payments does not automatically terminate a valid subscription legally, and they may continue to bill you, potentially sending the balance to collections. [1, 2]
The Legality of Canceling Payments
When you cancel your payments (via "stop payment" or a card freeze) before the company processes the cancellation, you still run the risk of breaching your service agreement. Here is how the law typically views this: [2]
Revoking Authorization: You have the absolute right to revoke your payment authorization at any time. Doing so is a practical way to stop unauthorized or unwanted deductions. [3, 4, 5]
Contractual Liability: If you are legally bound to a fixed-term contract (e.g., an annual commitment) and you block payments without officially satisfying the company's cancellation terms, you could legally owe them the remaining balance and early termination fees. [1, 2]
Unfair Business Practices: If the company refuses to let you cancel despite you meeting the contractual rules, continuing to charge you can be classified as an unfair or deceptive business practice. [6, 7]
Can They Charge You Until You Prove Identity?
No. While a company is legally permitted to require account verification to discuss personal details or process account changes, they cannot hide behind this requirement to permanently trap you in a subscription. [1]
If you have made reasonable, documented efforts to cancel the service, and they refuse to accept your identity proof (thereby preventing your cancellation), they cannot reasonably continue to charge you indefinitely. [6]
How to Protect Yourself and Resolve the Situation
If you are trapped in a verification loop, you should immediately take the following steps:
Document Everything: Keep a strict written record of all dates, times, and methods used to try and cancel the subscription. Save any emails, error messages, or transcripts where they refused your ID. [1, 8]
Submit a Formal Notice: Send an email or registered letter outlining your intent to cancel, explaining that you attempted to verify your identity but were denied, and demanding that the account be closed. [1]
Contact Your Bank: Contact your credit card issuer or bank to issue a stop payment order and dispute the recurring charges as unauthorized. Provide the bank with your documented attempts to cancel. [3, 9, 10]
File a Consumer Complaint: If the company continues to threaten collections or ignores your cancellation, report them to local authorities.
If you are located in Canada, you can file a formal complaint with the Ontario Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery or the Competition Bureau. [7, 8, 11, 12]
If you'd like to proceed, tell me:
What type of service is this (e.g., gym, telecom, software)?
Is it a month-to-month plan or a fixed-term contract?
I can help draft a formal demand letter to send to the company or guide you on the specific chargeback process with your bank.
[1] https://law.stackexchange.com
[6] https://www.justanswer.com
Do you see any indication that sort of a scam is being used by service providers or any other ideological group seeking to weaponize debt against unsuspecting victims or those they socially target?
Read this about Subscription TrapsYes, there is clear evidence that this exact tactic is being used. Regulatory bodies and consumer advocates classify this behavior under "subscription traps" and "dark patterns". Instead of a traditional scam where a hacker steals your card, this is a form of institutional or corporate scamming designed to trap you in a cycle of manufactured debt. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Predatory service providers, fake online storefronts, and grey-market companies weaponize consumer protection rules (like identity verification) against the consumer to force ongoing payments. [6, 7]
1. The "Identity Verification" Trap (The Bureaucratic Loop)
In this specific playbook, a company makes it incredibly easy to sign up—usually requiring just a name and a credit card number. However, when you try to cancel, they suddenly erect massive security walls. [2, 8, 9]
They claim they cannot verify your identity via email or phone.
They reject standard ID documents, claiming they are blurry, invalid, or "not matching our records."
The Weaponization: They use the guise of "protecting your data privacy" as a legal shield to ignore your cancellation request, all while continuing to bill your account monthly. [6, 10]
2. Fake Free Trials and Ghost Subscriptions
Scammers set up websites selling cheap products, dietary supplements, or tech tools. Tucked deep inside the unreadable terms and conditions is a clause that enrolls you in an expensive monthly subscription. [1, 4, 11, 12, 13]
When victims try to cancel, the customer service lines are dead, emails bounce back, or the portal demands impossible verification steps. [12, 14]
If you freeze your card, these entities use automated billing systems that actively try to bypass card blocks (using network updates from Visa/Mastercard) to keep forcing the charges through.
3. Zombie Debt and Collections Weaponization
The ultimate escalation of this tactic is debt weaponization. If a consumer successfully stops the credit card payments at the bank level, the predatory company changes tactics:
They sell the "unpaid balance" (which accumulated after you tried to cancel) to aggressive third-party debt collectors.
They threaten to ruin your credit score or sue you for breach of contract.
Because many consumers are terrified of credit damage, they face intense pressure to pay off a "debt" that should never have existed in the first place. [15, 16, 17, 18, 19]
What Regulators Are Doing About It
Regulatory bodies are actively fighting this specific flavor of corporate extortion:
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC): The FTC has actively cracked down on these "negative option" loops under laws like the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA), penalizing major companies that make cancellation deliberately confusing. While broad "Click to Cancel" rules have faced intense legal battles from corporate lobbyists, the FTC continues to sue companies using deceptive design to trap users. [20, 21]
The Competition Bureau Canada: In Canada, these are legally pursued as subscription traps and deceptive marketing practices. The government explicitly warns consumers that companies cannot legally hide behind confusing multi-step cancellation rules to keep taking your money. [1, 3, 22, 23, 24]
The Best Defense
If a company claims they can't verify your identity to cancel, but can verify it enough to keep billing you, stop playing their game.
Send one final, clear cancellation notice via email (to establish a paper trail), stating that you are revoking payment authorization. Then, immediately bypass the company entirely by filing a merchant dispute/chargeback with your bank, citing a "billing dispute" and "services not rendered." Banks are highly familiar with these predatory subscription traps and will often block the merchant permanently. [3, 6, 25, 26, 27]
If you suspect you are being targeted by one of these groups, tell me:
What is the name of the company or the industry they operate in?
Have they threatened to send your account to collections or impact your credit score?
I can look up known consumer complaints against them or give you specific steps to safeguard your credit file.
[1] https://competition-bureau.canada.ca
[5] https://help.globalpay.com
[10] https://ovs-svo.com
[11] https://www.getcybersafe.gc.ca
[13] https://www.tradingstandardsecrime.org.uk
[15] https://competition-bureau.canada.ca
[18] https://www.thecreditpeople.com
[21] https://www.cnet.com
[22] https://competition-bureau.canada.ca
[23] https://ised-isde.canada.ca
[26] https://www.karboncard.com
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