Back in September, I blogged about my initial hunches about the Entertainment Consumers Association, and then again with a follow-up.

At the time, I’d attempted to sign up for my own membership under the promotion of one free year, care of a coupon code provided in a Game Informer article. Because of some technical issues with their website, I was unable to successfully set up a membership account. I’d made a mental note to re-apply some time later, but never got around to it.

It looks like I’d dodged a bullet.

Reports are coming in that the ECA has removed a member’s ability to cancel their membership and disable automatic renewal. The ECA will continue to charge you for your annual membership fee and you are forbidden from turning it off. That is, unless you write a letter and pray it’s processed within 30 days of your next dues collection.

As explained by ECA Chapter Manager, Daniela “Gypsyfly PMS” Lao, the reason why the organization has had to implement this method of detouring members wanting to cancel is because the organization has “grown too large to handle the volume”. (Screencap below.)

My question then becomes, if you have a sufficient automated system for managing membership accounts, where is the need for manpower to handle the volume?

While researching the ECA and its related branches (GamePolitics, GameJobs, and GameCulture), I became frustrated with the frequent roadblocks in site navigation. The sites had multiple broken links or generic FAQs. It appears that in the past couple months, much has been fixed, hopefully with the enlistment of competent web developers. Though in hindsight, a blessing in disguise considering that’s what prevented my own membership.

I would be more sympathetic with the ECA if their policy were closer to this: A member signs up and pays for their first year up front. They can cancel long-term membership at any time and disable any automatic payments. Meanwhile, the current year of their membership is non-refundable and the member is entitled to all the benefits of the organization until that year expires. That sounds fair for both parties. I saw even before trying to redeem my offered free year that the cards were stacked in the ECA’s favor.

I fully support the spirit of consumer advocacy that the ECA represents. However, it’s situations like this that keep me suspicious of the organization’s motives and methods. There are non-profit groups younger than the ECA and its directors that exercise a firmer sense of organization. I look forward to reading Jason Anderson‘s press release on the subject and seeing how Ms. Gypsyfly’s role in the organization is affected.

UPDATE 12-02-2009 8:15pm EST

ECA President, Hal Halpin issued a response to the press that erupted this morning around this issue. He states that the membership cancellation issue is the result of a group of people taking advantage of an exploit related to the coupon code I mentioned above. Essentially, they patched a flaw with another flaw. They attacked the symptom instead of developing a cure.

But since Halpin mentions implementing more automation in its infrastructure, I now put him and the ECA to task. Come on, guys… We can do this. Let’s get this worked out. With all the layoffs that went down this year, I’m sure you can scratch up a few competent IT cyberninjas to set up your websites.

Above all, don’t punish the legitimate members for the actions of a few criminals. That’s what the publishers that you guys are supposed to protect consumers from are doing.