Your card gets charged $11.99. You don’t recognize it.
You google the merchant name. It’s a streaming service. You signed up for it to watch one show.
You finished that show in 2023.
The Origin Story
There was a limited series everyone was talking about. Six episodes. You signed up for the free trial.
You watched all six in a weekend. You meant to cancel Monday.
That was 31 months ago. You have paid roughly $370 for six episodes of television. That’s $61 per episode. You could have flown somewhere.
The Justification Attempt
“Well, I should use it more.”
You open the app. You scroll. Everything is either something you’ve already seen, something you’d never watch, or a movie from 1997 you’re vaguely aware of.
There are four original series. Three were cancelled after one season. The fourth has 4.2 stars and a title that sounds like a prescription drug.
You close the app. You’ll use it later. You will not use it later.
The Portfolio Review
This prompts a full audit. You go through your statement.
There’s another one you don’t recognize. And a third. And something for $4.99 that just says “DIGITAL SVC” which could be anything — a cloud storage plan, a meditation app, a game you played twice.
You are currently subscribed to seven things. You actively use two.
The Cancellation Flow
You go to cancel. The button is not where buttons go.
You find it under Account → Membership → Manage → Plan Details → a link at the bottom in gray text the same color as the background.
Then: “Are you sure? You’ll lose access to over 4,000 titles.”
Then: “How about 3 months at 50% off?”
You take the deal. You’ve been beaten. You’ll cancel in three months.
The Three Months Later
You forget. Obviously you forget. That’s the entire business model.
The price goes back to full. It renews. Your card gets charged $11.99.
You don’t recognize the merchant name.
The Endgame
Someday, someone will find an old bank statement of yours and marvel at it like a tax record from a dead empire.
“What was this one?”
Nobody will know. Not even you. You just paid it. Every month. Forever.
For six episodes.