YouTube locked my accounts and I can't cancel my subscription

Billing, chargebacks, and bank controls

• Many suggest solving the problem by blocking future charges at the bank or card level, or doing a chargeback.
• Experiences differ by country and bank:
  • In Australia and the UK, people report being able to revoke recurring payment authorizations easily via bank apps or support.
  • In the US, some banks allegedly cannot or will not block specific merchants, forcing account closure.
• There is disagreement on risks:
  • Some say cancelling card authorizations simply ends the subscription.
  • Others warn that Google may treat it as fraud/“theft,” escalate bans across linked accounts, and generally retaliate.
• Impact on credit scores is debated: some say a cancelled subscription should have no effect; others think credit bureaus may use any available behavioral data.

Regulation and consumer rights

• Several commenters frame “locked account but continued billing” as classic consumer fraud.
• Suggested remedies include: contacting consumer protection agencies, sending formal cancellation letters, and using small-claims court.
• An Australian case against Valve/Steam is cited as precedent that digital goods are covered by consumer law and overseas companies must follow local rules.
• Others express pessimism that regulation can effectively restrain trillion‑dollar firms due to lobbying power.

Account bans, support, and lock-in

• Multiple stories describe arbitrary or opaque Google account issues (developer verification, Maps business listing, Gmail recovery), often with no clear path to human support and outcomes hinging on luck.
• Similar patterns are reported for other platforms (social networks, app stores, Amazon): bans plus broken or inaccessible billing controls.
• Some argue that banned or suspended accounts should automatically have subscriptions cancelled, and that preventing cancellation while continuing billing is unacceptable.

AI-generated content and the article itself

• Many readers find the linked article almost unreadable and strongly suspect heavy LLM use.
• There is discussion that YouTube may be cracking down on AI‑generated music and/or artificial traffic, though the exact reason for the ban in this case is viewed as unclear or omitted.

De-Googling and subscription hygiene

• Several commenters report migrating away from Google (own domain for email, alternative cloud, search, etc.) to reduce lock‑in and account‑ban risk.
• Others recommend using virtual or disposable cards for subscriptions, so problematic merchants can be cut off without negotiation.