Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has often made a big deal of the fact that his campaign is self-funded, although technically it’s not. Now we know one of the ways he keeps those funds rolling in from his supporters: once you pledge to make a monthly donation, it’s almost impossible to make it stop.
In the unlikely event that you did want to start supporting the campaign, the Trump website makes it child’s play.
Now, with Trump’s popularity plummeting as he makes one horrendous gaffe after another, people are deciding they no longer want to continue their commitment. When they try to cancel, they’re finding it’s not at all easy.
Sidestepping the generous option of chipping in a hefty $2,700, one intrepid researcher at Mic.com conducted a brave experiment by pledging a recurring donation of $1 a month. He followed the instructions, which are much the same as they are for any other online payment process. Then he tried to cancel it, and uh-uh – the website would only allow him to update his credit card information.
There is no cancel button!
It’s not even possible to beat the process by supplying new, fictitious card details. The system rejects the numbers, seemingly knowing they are fictitious, and the site still keeps the original payment details stored.
The automated email that thanks new subscribers for their pledge has no information about how to unsubscribe.
By contrast, the researcher found that the ‘thank you’ email from Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s online donation process does give an address to use if you have queries or problems about your payments.
While the internet chuckles over this latest Trump fiasco, the folks at the Everyday Money section of Time magazine have figured out a way you might – just might – be able to get out of the agreement. They report:
“The first thing you should do is contact the Trump campaign (here’s the form) and ask them if they can stop it on their end and reverse any unwanted donations.
The next step is dealing directly with your card issuer. ‘If I were in that position I’d call my credit card company right away,’ says Sean McQuay, NerdWallet’s in-house credit card expert. ‘Ideally the credit card issuer would be able to decline the next transaction before it hits my statement.’ For some cards, you can even instant message your issuer.
Even if it’s too late to keep the charge off your statement, the record of your call is important. ‘That call would give me plenty of leverage to get the donation removed from my statement soon after it appears,’ he says.
If the charge already posted to your credit card statement, however, you might have some trouble, says McQuay. ‘It’s more of a toss-up if the bank would contest it or not, because, in a way, the transaction was approved.'”
To be charitable, this is probably a simple matter of inefficiency rather than a deliberate scam, but it’s yet another indicator of the mess he’s in now.
Meanwhile, back at the Trump campaign online emporium, you still have time to buy an attractive Trump I’m With You T-shirt, which will help you “Make America Great Again.”
A snip at $35, or $40 for big guys.
You never know – it could turn out to be a collector’s item.
Featured image By NY Photographic Via JPhotostyle.com/CC By SA-3.0 – Screenshot Via YouTube Video.
