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FTC announces "click-to-cancel" rule making it easier to cancel subscriptions

(www.ftc.gov)
1737 points pseudolus | 2 comments | 16 Oct 24 13:09 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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Eumenes ◴[16 Oct 24 15:18 UTC] No.41860106[source]▶
Is this a real problem? I don't have one subscription service that I can't "click to cancel".
replies(1): >>41861074 #
Terretta ◴[16 Oct 24 16:36 UTC] No.41861074[source]▶
> Is this a real problem? I don't have one subscription service that I can't "click to cancel".

After 16,000 public comments, and 70 consumer complaints per day on average, up from 42 per day in 2021, the idea is that FTC made the rule for an imaginary problem?

replies(1): >>41861210 #
Eumenes ◴[16 Oct 24 16:50 UTC] No.41861210[source]▶
You don't have to be snarky. I have never experienced a service I couldn't cancel online. I didnt realize it was a problem. And yes, the government attempts to solve imaginary problems everyday.
replies(1): >>41863831 #
1. consteval ◴[16 Oct 24 21:02 UTC] No.41863831[source]▶
To put into perspective how awful this problem actually is, I signed up for planet fitness 100% online.

I went to the gym and well, it sucked. So then I want to cancel. Okay I go to the front desk. Can I cancel? No. They tell me to read the website. Okay I go to the website. It says "well... this varies gym to gym". Okay I call my gym "... yeah we can't cancel, you have to send a formal letter to HQ"

A letter? Really? As a matter of coincidence, my card gets lost, stolen, and used. So I cancel. Finally, I think, it's over.

No, I still get charges on my bank account from planet fitness. So I wrote a letter, mailed it, and then like 6 weeks later (so... another payment later) it's cancelled.

Keep in mind I signed up online, on my iPhone.

replies(1): >>41866680 #
2. dqv ◴[17 Oct 24 05:30 UTC] No.41866680[source]▶
For future reference, if any company does still require this sort of byzantine process and you want a quick resolution, the magic words "Certified Mail" strike fear into 99% of companies and will get them to act in days upon receipt rather than months. Even a company-appointed arbiter will respect the USPS certification stamp.