customer problem when Benefits change

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1

There’s a problem when the benefits associated with plans change. The plan may no longer be attractive to the user. And if the user wishes to downgrade the plan they may then have a penalty. Through no fault of their own. There are many potential solutions to this problem. Including allowing people to downgrade after benefit changes to their plan without penalty. Or just scrapping the penalties altogether (instead of trying to be too clever-clever with marketing tricks). (A bit like social media companies now allowing customers to export the data and leave. It’s turned out to be the wiser decision - inspiring confidence - instead of trying to trap them.)

Here’s my concrete personal example.

Travel insurance has just been eliminated from the Premium Plan. It was the only benefit I was interested in and none of the new benefits are of any use to me. So I start thinking about what I should do. Downgrading is not an option because I need the Features of the Premium Plan. So I consider upgrading to the Metal Plan, asking myself the question if the incremental cost of Metal would be worth the additional benefits (I don’t need the Features of Metal). The answer is that it might be worthwhile. But I then realise that those benefits could be cancelled at any moment. Leaving me with the choice of paying for a plan that I don’t need or cancelling and paying a penalty. This is putting me off doing anything at all. And creating a feeling of customer frustration (which is not good for any brand).

2

My understanding was that there’s no penalty fee when dropping out due to material changes of the offering.

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3

A support agent confirmed to me - when I explained my dilemma as outlined above - that if I had paid annually and wished to downgrade there would be a 2 month penalty.

We were talking about plan “benefits “. Perhaps it’s different for features?

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4

Travel insurance has just been eliminated from the Premium Plan

Are you sure about that? My wife has the Premium plan and Travel insurance is still there. But I agree with you, when conditions change, especially for the worst, it should be possible to cancel the plan without penalties.

6

Travel insurance goes in early October. She’ll have had a mail about that.

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7

There’s no penalty for downgrading on an annual plan, there’s just no refund so your plan runs until the end of the sub year.

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8

If they downgrade your benefits, without being previously agreed, it is a penalty.

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9

She got an email, but is not about removing the insurance, is only about that they change the insurance provider and there is even some minor improvements, starting 3rd October.

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10

That’s my experience. Every time my plan changed for the worse, I was offered to drop out due to this change at the time the new T&Cs come into effect. I am on the annual plan.

(Like you pointed out, it might be “just” a change of the insurance provider. Then it makes sense that the plan termination follows early cancellation rules.)

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11

It might be a regional thing. I’m in Belgium and the email clearly stated they are removing travel insurance (3/10/23). And increasing prices.

It says free downgrade is possible up until 3/10/23. Thereafter penalties may apply.

However when I spoke to a support agent about what would happen if upgraded to metal and a “benefit” was removed was told downgrading penalties would apply.

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12

That does not make sense to me.

The email states that you can drop out without penalty in your current case (change of Premium plan). That makes sense. The plan materially changes, and you can drop out.

The assumption that Revolut will treat future changes of Metal differently is not reasonable in my opinion. Past changes of Metal do show that users were able to drop out here as well. Since Metal became available in Summer 2018, the plan changed numerous times, including the insurance package. And Revolut always allowed to drop out for free when price was increased or insurance coverage reduced as far as I am aware.

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13

It definitely is a regional thing, I found this in the en-Be (Belgium) page:

The Travel Insurance benefit will be removed from the Premium plan on 3 October 2023 for Cyprus and Belgium only.

I feel relieved, I’m so tired of the whole conditions downgrade from Banks that I was starting to really get upset with this post. I can imagine how annoying it is for you.

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