How to not be billed by Roku

Do you have a Roku device? Most streamers do.

Well, maybe not "most" but certainly there are more Roku devices in use than other devices, and by a pretty decent margin.

So, if you have a Roku device, did you notice that when you set it up, it asked you for a credit card? And if you did at the time, did you forget about it?

If you have a Roku account, there's a good chance you have a credit card tied to the account. That may or may not be a good thing. Here's why.

If you have a credit card tied to your Roku, it's really easy to purchase stuff. Mostly, I'm talking subscriptions to services through Roku Pay, which is what the Roku payment service is called. Maybe you really want that. The ease of subscribing to a service is nice if all you have to do is click "Subscribe" and there it is.

One problem with having a credit card on Roku is that is someone buying something without realizing it. And yes, that happens.

Another is forgetting about a subscription, then getting billed for it again. If you subscribed through Roku, then stopped using the subscription, if you haven't canceled it, you will still get billed.

Then, there is the recent update of Terms of Service that Roku announced.

We wanted to let you know that we have made changes to our Dispute Resolution Terms, which describe how you can resolve disputes with Roku. We encourage you to read the updated Dispute Resolution Terms. By continuing to use our products or services, you are agreeing to these updated terms.

Thank you for making Roku part of your entertainment experience. 

The Roku Team

A lot of people don't like the way Roku went about the change in terms.

Anyway, if you don't want to have a card on file with Roku, then remove it. It's easy to do:

To remove your payment method and stop using Roku® Pay:

1. Sign in to your Roku account
2. Select Update under Payment method
3. Select Remove payment method at the bottom of the page
4. Select Remove

Once removed, you’ll be prompted to update your payment information the next time you make a purchase. Before your payment method can be removed, you must cancel or turn off auto-renew for any active subscriptions billed through Roku Pay.

My Streaming Life has used Roku since 2010, before I finally cut cable in 2011. I don't have a credit card on file with them. I prefer it that way.