We recently sent you an Email regarding a discounted rate for 2-year membership renewals; an issue was identified with the some of the instructions in that Email and we wanted to send a follow-up with corrected instructions, as well as clarify some details of the renewal process with the new website, based on questions and feedback we've received.
In the previous Email, we mentioned that members currently on 1-year membership terms could take advantage of the December discount for 2-year renewals by changing their membership level -- however, the membership management system will not allow for a level change if renewal is pending for their existing membership level (which is the case for members with a renewal date of December 31st).
If you attempted to follow the previous instructions but were unable to find the option to change your membership level, please follow these steps:
Since the launch of the new website earlier this year, we've been using a new membership management system & that has introduced some changes to the renewal process. At 30 days before your renewal date, the system will generate and send a renewal invoice -- this is done so that members have sufficient time to renew their membership before the due date; the renewal invoice is not due until the actual renewal date, and is not a receipt/payment notice.
If membership hasn't been renewed by 30 days past the renewal date, then that membership will be considered "Lapsed" and the renewal invoice will be automatically voided. And there are several additional renewal reminder notice sent before that point (15 days before the renewal date, on the day-of, and 15 days after the renewal date) to ensure that memberships don't expire unintentionally.
The membership management system that's part of the new website includes support for automated, recurring renewal payments -- due to technical factors and policies of the payment processing system we use, this is currently available only for the 1-year membership terms, and not for 2-year terms. If your membership is currently 1-year and you renewed your membership 2024 via the new website, then automated recurring payments are most likely already enabled for your membership.
When paying online for a 1-year membership renewal (or new membership), the system will automatically enable recurring payments -- though this can easily be turned off if you would rather send payment manually (see below for the steps to check if automatic recurring payment is enabled, and how to disable it if desired). On the renewal due date, the system will automatically process membership renewal & payment; a copy of the invoice & the normal renewal reminders will still be sent before that point, however you don't need to take any action related to them if you have enabled automatic payments, as your membership will be renewed automatically.
HOW TO CHECK IF AUTOMATIC RECURRING PAYMENTS ARE ENABLED
The easiest way to determine if automatic recurring payments are enabled for your account is to go to the "Invoices and payments" portion of your account profile: https://members.crimewriterscanada.com/Sys/Profile/Finances
From there, if recurring payments are enabled you should see a button labeled "STOP RECURRING PAYMENTS"; if that button isn't present, then recurring payments aren't enabled for your membership.
HOW TO DISABLE RECURRING PAYMENTS, IF ENABLED
If you currently have recurring payments enabled and wish to turn them off (E.g. if you prefer to send payment manually or offline), simply go to the go to the "Invoices and payments" portion of your account profile: https://members.crimewriterscanada.com/Sys/Profile/Finances
From there, click on the "STOP RECURRING PAYMENTS" button. After doing that, your next membership renewal will not be processed automatically & you will need to re-enter your payment information (or send payment offline) instead.
If you have questions, or need assistance related to membership renewal, please don't hesitate to ask. The quickest way to get assistance is to Email us at membership@crimewriterscanada.com, and we will get back to you as quickly as possible.