When Your Paid Membership Expires...

So, you got yourself a paid membership on Writing.Com.
Congratulations and thank you for supporting our community!

About 5 or 6 weeks before your paid membership is set to expire, you will begin receiving reminders to extend your paid membership. Whether you plan to renew or plan not to renew, we kindly ask that you take notice of the reminder and take the appropriate actions.

Remember that you can extend your paid membership at any time. Any additional paid membership time purchased will be automatically added onto your existing paid membership expiration date thereby extending your "paid until" date. For example, if your paid membership expires on March 15th and you purchase 3 additional months, your new expiration date will be 3 months later on June 15th.

If you decide that you won't be renewing, this documentation has been created to help you understand what happens when your paid membership expires and to help you prepare for that in advance of your membership's expiration. All active members are entitled to a free account, but your portfolio must fit within the limitations set for both the amount of items your can have as well as the types of items you can host.


What happens when my paid membership runs out?
Your paid membership runs out at noon on the preset date. This means that, at 12:01 pm, you will no longer be able to access any of the paid membership features. It also means, that your portfolio is automatically downsized to ten (10) allowable items provided with a free account. Free accounts are limited by both the size of their portfolio as well as the type of items they can host. Items in your portfolio that are outside the free membership offering will be locked from view and editing. For specifics on our paid membership levels, please see "Memberships @ Writing.Com" .


What counts as an "item".
Each and every individual item in your portfolio count as one item. Please remember that folders do count as items and each item stored within each folder still counts as one additional item in your portfolio's total item count. There is no way to "hide" items within a portfolio using folders. In other words, a folder with 10 items within it still counts as 11 total items -- that's the folder, plus 10 items.


Which 10 items remain in your portfolio after the locking process happens?
First and foremost, Folder items will not be locked within your portfolio as they are considered unlockable by the system -- the contents of the folders, however, will be locked.

After accounting for folders, the first 10 items that you created in your portfolio, from the moment your account was opened at Writing.Com, will not be locked, assuming these items are of types that can be housed in a Free Portfolio. Each item in your port has a creation date, and this is the date, that determines your first (10) ten items to remain in your port when your paid membership runs out.

For Secondary Account this means: A paid membership is required to maintain a secondary account. If the paid membership on your secondary account expires, you will not be able to use the account again until you gift it a paid membership. In terms of item storage in the account, the same policies described with Upgraded or Premium apply to any and all accounts. If you have an Authorized Secondary Account and the paid membership on your Primary Account expires, you will not be able to access the Secondary Account until you have renewed the Primary Account.

Remember that each portfolio size has different limits as to how much of any item that you can keep it in, this is especially important when downsizing from Premium to Upgrade status. For exact amounts please see item "Memberships @ Writing.Com" .


How soon can I renew my upgrade on my account?
You can renew your upgrade anytime, up to, and including, the day of expiry. However, keep in mind, if you are sending your payment in by mail, your payment must reach the office before your expiry date. If you are using Gift Points, or PayPal, as payment on your account, the renewal should be instant... but be sure to leave some time in case there is a glitch and your order requires manual processing by our staff.

Remember: You do not have to wait until receive your notice to extend your paid membership. Any additional time that you purchase will be added to your current time. For example; if your expiry is December 15th, and you have enough points in your account in October, and would like to use them to keep your upgrade running, you can do this. Your current expiry of December 15th will be extended for however much time you purchase. So, if you purchase a month, your new expiry will be January 15th.

When one increases their level of paid membership, the Membership System will automatically provide a Gift Point refund for the overlap time between the higher and lower memberships. For complete details on this process, please see:
          http://www.writing.com/main/faq.php#higher_membership


What happens if my payment is late?
If your renewal payment has not been received by your expiration date, your portfolio will be downsized to the 10 item limit and the items past the limit will be locked away from viewing and editing. As a precaution for late payments, Writing.Com provides a four week grace period, before purging items over your membership limit. During this grace period, items outside the limit of a Free Portfolio will be locked and not accessible by you or anyone else. When your payment arrives, it will be processed, and your portfolio will be restored. Once the grace period has run out, there is no way to restore your items.


How can I avoid having my portfolio items locked?
Renew your paid membership before receiving the notice to do so.
Renew your paid membership when you receive the first reminder.
Renew your paid membership before it expires.
Borrow gift points from a friend, but only if you know that you can pay them back.
Inquire at the many forums set up within the community that help with upgrades.
Enter contests and earn gift points to keep your upgrade going.
Do not solicit members, you do not know, for gift points to renew your upgrade.
Be responsible, and know when your upgrade expires. "My Account" lists your current expiry date all the time.


What happens when my portfolio items are locked, and I don't renew my upgrade?
If you have left your portfolio full and have left the system to automatically locked your items, you can purge the locked items from your portfolio using the Purge the locked items from your portfolio link found on your My Portfolio page.

We highly suggest that you do NOT wait for this step as you will not have control over which items are locked and purged. Remember: Every member is entitled to a Free membership on Writing.Com and you can pre-empt the locking and purging system by cleaning your portfolio BEFORE your upgrade expires.


I know I won't be able to renew my paid membership, how can I prepare in advance?
First, be sure to look over "Memberships @ Writing.Com"  for the most current set of limitations for each level of membership on Writing.Com. Make sure that you have removed or transferred any items that would not be allowed under the membership level you plan to move down to and that your portfolio is within the limit of total items allowed under your new membership level.

Note: If you delete items, remember to click the Purge Recycling Bin link on your My Portfolio page to clean out your recycling bin. Items are not fully removed from your portfolio count until you have purged them from your recycling bin.

Once you have removed from your port what you cannot have, review the creation date of your remaining items. Only the first ten (10), items you created will remain in your portfolio. Determine which items you want to have in your portfolio. Store the remainder of your stories, or poems, on your hard drive, disk, or cd.

Again, for a complete listing of what is available to each Membership level review the following item:

688627

Memberships @ Writing.Com  [E] Find out more about the various Membership options at Writing.Com. By: The StoryMistress

          To review the cost or to purchase your upgrade with Gift Points:
          http://www.Writing.Com/main/my_gifts

          OR

         To review the cost or to purchase your paid membership with Credit Card, PayPal, Money Order or Check.
         http://www.Writing.Com/main/shop


Acceptable methods of payment for your upgrade include:
Writing.Com accepts payment by Credit Card and eCheck online, as well as Checks and Money Orders sent via postal mail. Please visit "Our Shop" and proceed to the check out area for complete instructions on making a payment.