EMusic offers a subscription music download service. At no time does it proactively and obviously disclose to the subscriber that unused monthly balances expire at the end of every month. The only disclosure of this practice is contained under a tiny "terms of use" link on the home page; see section 6.1.7 here: http://www.emusic.com/info/help/terms-of-use-us/.
Also, there is no home-page link to frequently asked questions. Only by clicking on the terms-of-use link does one find a link to Frequently Asked Questions. (FAQs are generally prominently displayed on the home page of e-businesses that are not trying to deceive their customers).
Under the FAQ, the only seemingly relevant section is called "How do eMusic memberships work?" (http://www.emusic.com/info/help/#q3). There, the content reads: "Every 30 days your account balance refreshes according to the plan youve chosen." "Refresh" is hardly likely to be interpreted by the interested customer to mean "expire." Further, at no time following subscription does eMusic communicate proactively with the customer about upcoming expirations or with reminders to use-it-or-lose it.
Clearly, eMusic's intended business model is to harvest cash from customers who sign up for but then under-use the service.
I had been a consistent user of eMusic services for a long time, through November when I became too busy to utilize it. I checked back yesterday and discovered that I had lost the value of six months of service I paid for ($95.94 @ $15.99/mo). When I contacted eMusic, they first offered me one month of additional downloads, then upped their offer to $50 worth of credit. I have let them know that I require a full refund of the money they have stolen from me through their deceptive marketing practices.
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