Some Max subscribers have found that their subscriptions have been canceled, and without any warning or explanation. For some, this has resulted in a full refund. For others, however, they seem to have lost access to the streaming service earlier than expected, and have yet to be refunded anything.
While it remains to be seen what exactly is happening, from what we can gather, the issue appears to stem from last month’s switch from HBO Max to Max. There were a number of problems during the switchover, and while some are fixed, others have remained a problem for subscribers.
One particular issue that we first started monitoring last week relates to the canceling of subscriptions. Basically, subscribers are having their subscription terminated early, without their consent, and often without any warning.
The vast majority of user reports we’ve seen so far relate to annual plans, and considering these yearly subscriptions were purchased September through November, some of these subscriptions have been canceled months before they were due to naturally end.
Again, while not confirmed, we suspect the issue is directly related to the switchover. Specifically, an inability for billing of existing subscriptions through third-party providers to be ported over to the new service. In almost all of the cases we’ve seen, the subscribers had their subscription set up through Apple or Google Play.
It is this billing provider detail that seems to have caused the issue and resulted in the subscription being canceled earlier than expected. For many of those affected, they have automatically received a refund. In many cases, a full refund of the entire cost of an annual subscription.
While some of those affected seem to be happy enough after receiving what is now basically a free subscription for the majority of the last year, others are still waiting on their full or part-refund to arrive.
Even though the majority of the complaints we’ve seen have been from Google Play subscribers, we’ve also started to now see an increase in Apple subscriber complaints as well.
As one subscriber explained in detail, their subscription was automatically canceled without warning, and when attempting to get help from Max, it was explained that the refund should be handled by Apple. However, the now-former subscriber has continued to struggle to get the issue resolved and a refund issued.
It should be noted that others have replied to the original post confirming a similar situation and that their refund was eventually processed automatically, suggesting those without a refund still might get theirs in time.
In another Reddit post from last week, users report the same issue, albeit with a warning. Those users note having received an email which seems to suggest that the subscriptions were canceled due to the inability to transfer billing over to Max.
As some users have noted in general, issues like this can be one of the reasons why it is better to sign up to a streaming service directly instead of through a third-party. Of course, for those that have got at least six months of HBO Max and a full refund, they probably see things very differently.
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