Canceling Subscriptions Should Be As Easy As Signing Up, Newly Proposed federal Rule Says

In an effort to beef up protections for consumers against corporations, the Biden administration on Monday announced a handful of policies to crack down on "headaches and hassles that waste Americans' time and money." From a report: Through the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the administration will ask companies to make it as easy to cancel subscriptions and memberships as it is to sign up for them, and through the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a new rule will require companies to let customers cut through automated customer service "doom loops" by pressing a single button to reach a real person.

"For a lot of services, it takes one or two clicks on your phone to sign up. It should take one or two clicks on your phone to end the service," White House Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden said on a call with reporters to discuss the new policies. Consumers could see the new rule applied to gym memberships or subscriptions with phone and internet companies. The administration will also call on health insurance companies to allow claims to be submitted online, rather than requiring insured customers to print out and mail forms in for coverage.

I can't seem to find the cancel button

[Tony Isaac]

for my Slashdot subscription! When oh when will it end???

Re:

[Darinbob]

At our age, none of us here on Slashdot remember the obscure method that we used to sign up in the first place. I think it was something involving fur and stone knives, with some whistling into modems.

Re:

[ls671]

At our age, none of us here on Slashdot remember the obscure method that we used to sign up in the first place. I think it was something involving fur and stone knives, with some whistling into modems.

I got my first ADSL connection in 1997 so no whistling into modems was required. It was 2.2mbps down / 1.1mbps up, a real ADSL using a Nortel proprietary protocol back then. I was part of a team testing the service. When it became widely available to everybody, it was DSL (no "A") and an inferior performing product with connections wrapped in PPPOE and other BS like that. That first ADSL was really nice although.

Re:

[Lije Baley]

Signing up was for suckers, so I held out for several months until the 5-digit UIDs. They punished me later by only inviting the 4-digits to the anniversary party.

Re:

[Darinbob]

I didn't post for ages, except anonymously, like a coward. I was still naively assuming USENET would last forever.

Re:

[dgatwood]

Signing up was for suckers, so I held out for several months until the 5-digit UIDs. They punished me later by only inviting the 4-digits to the anniversary party.

[Holds fingers apart] Missed it by *this* much.

[Holds hands apart] Would you believe... this much?

Re: I can't seem to find the cancel button

[sixminuteabs]

Not having to go to the neckbeard party is the reward

Re:

[bn-7bc]

Well I must ve new here then, when I signed up all that was requiered wass to fill inn a form and click a link in the confirmation E-mail. but maybe I was lucky

Re:

[PPH]

Don't forget: You're here forever.

Outback Steakhouse v. Rules

[Pseudonymous Powers]

Cutting through entrenched, intentionally obstructive, and corrupt systems of authority pretending to be logical and disinterested arbiters in pursuit of just outcomes is a net positive, proposes a federal agency, all of which have been recently and decisively undermined by an entrenched, intentionally obstructive, and corrupt system of authority pretending to be logical and disinterested arbiters, i.e. the United States Supreme Court.

Re:

[Fly Swatter]

Uh Oh, did they deny the illegal forgiveness of your student loan?

[Insert Worlds smallest violin]

Re: Outback Steakhouse v. Rules

[Pseudonymous Powers]

Yeah, you're right, America can't afford to allow its people to squirm out of the consequences of the poor decisions they made when they were young and callow, like accepting a billionaire's offer to fly them by trans-oceanic hovercraft to ride Ski-doos down a waterfall and then you jump off the Ski-doos and ride a jetpack back to the top and then you and your friends all rape a girl and rule in that billionaire's favor in a major court case and you keep the jetpack and force the girl to get an abortion aft

Re:

[Fly Swatter]

At some point you have to be an adult, our country's society has decided that is 18 years legally and 21 years socially. Although reading this drivel I am wondering if there should also be an actual adulthood test to leave mom's basement.

Re:

[Pseudonymous Powers]

Welln I mean, she's YOUR mom, just ask her. I'd ask her for you, but you seem to be really into self-reliance, and besides her mouth is usually full when I'm around.

Re:

[froggyjojodaddy]

Word salad.

Government does something pro-consumer

[PhrostyMcByte]

This needs celebration.

Re:

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:

[taustin]

It's an election year, and the Democrats are desperate. This is nothing more than empty virtue signaling to garner votes from the gullible. If it even goes into effect, it will be challenged until it's dead.

Re:

[Pascoea]

Holy shit, you're telling me politicians pander to their bases? And it gets worse in an election year? Stop the fuckin presses, taustin has some earth-shattering news! (Oh, and it's only the desperate democrats doing it.)

Re:

[taustin]

Apparently, some people do, in fact, need to have it explained to them.

Re:

[ArchieBunker]

I mean, this is how it works? I vote for people who do things I agree with.

Re:

[Pascoea]

But you can't pass legislation in an election year, silly.

Re:

[taustin]

Perhaps it's a bit subtle for you, but there is an important difference between "I vote for people who do things I agree with" and "I vote how I'm paid to vote."

And I know which is SOP in California politics.

Re:

[Pascoea]

Those damn Democrats are just DESPERATE. [thehill.com]

Re:

[taustin]

Tit for tat. The Democrats set the rules, of course the Republicans are going to play the same game.

Re:

[Pascoea]

Got it. "My team" does something, it's election year pandering. "Your team" does something it's just normal course of business. Am I keeping up?

Re:

[MDMurphy]

While I love the idea of canceling being as straightforward as signing up, after the ping pong Net Neutrality game my first thought is whether it will happen, and stick. So much of what Congress does is posturing and wasting time vs passing laws, more crap is left for various agencies to sort out. The trick is that when left to their own devices many agencies will sometimes do "the right thing" even If they are technically not empowered to do so. Then it's a log slow slog from rule making to a company get

Re:

[dbialac]

I somewhat agree and somewhat disagree. On the one hand, if there's no counter offer to keep the service, yes, definitely. If there is a counter offer by the merchant to keep the service at a discounted rate, the merchant should have the opportunity to present that offer.

Re:

[PhrostyMcByte]

Seems workable within the framework. Click cancel -> show "yes, confirm cancel" and "no, accept counter-offer" buttons with equal prominance.

Re:

[Pascoea]

On the other hand, if they "value me as a customer" why should I have to beg for a discount? And, further, for most things like Netflix or Gym Memberships you don't get a refund if you cancel, you keep the service until the paid-period ends. If they want me to re-sign up they can harass me next time I log in or show up.

Re:

[thegarbz]

This needs celebration.

Don't worry, Trump will fix this. Can't have consumer business getting in the way of profit.

data brokers

[awwshit]

Now do data brokers. It should be as easy to remove my information as it was to get snarfed, by doing nothing at all.

Re:

[GoGoGadgetWhiskey]

Something like this but it actually works... optout (dot) networkadvertising (dot) org

Re: data brokers

[devslash0]

...and once my data is removed, I can sign up for another 30 day free trial and never pay a penny for the service. Great!

FTC Complaints

[JBMcB]

Is the FTC going to make it easier to submit a complaint on their website? Because right now submitting a complaint to the FTC is more complicated than unsubscribing from Amazon.

Re:

[Fly Swatter]

Maybe you should file a complaint..

pre-cancel

[bugs2squash]

It should also be easier to pick a cancellation date, or at least a reconfirmation date. When I sign up for something I should be able to tell them when I want the service/payments to terminate

Re:

[PsychoSlashDot]

I agree. In general, cancelling a recurring charge service should be easier than signing up in the first place.

Worst-case scenario if you cancel something accidentally is... you sign up again using the same process you've already figured out how to do. Worst-case if you can't cancel something is you lose money for something you don't want, which is effectively theft. Maybe all of this stuff should auto-cancel if you don't overtly agree to renew once a year. Sure, maybe you suddenly lose your Internet

Re:

[taustin]

Worst-case scenario if you cancel something accidentally is... you sign up again using the same process you've already figured out how to do.

Unless you were subscribed to something that's no longer available (which happens when companies merge), or had a deal that's no longer available (which happens with special deals to get new subscribers) or had grandfathered prices (which is common with cell phone plans).

Not so simple as you imagine.

(But it should take no more than three mouse clicks to cancel an account. 1. "My Account" link on every page on the site. 2. "Cancel subscription" link on the Account page. 3. Confirm cancellation. And the fines

Re:

[taustin]

Then they'll get complaints about accidentally canceling services they can't sign up for again because the special deal is gone.

(But I largely agree with you.)

....also for things like receipts

[Vegan Cyclist]

I keep getting nearly daily email receipts from "Superdrug Stores" - someone is using my email address, and my spam folder is now 80% these receipts.

There's an 'unsubscribe' button which I've hit a number of times, but apparently that doesn't work for their receipts.

These systems need a little more sophistication.

Re:

[The-Ixian]

Clicking links from e-mails.... I see the problem here....

Re:

[Vegan Cyclist]

No, it's literally a receipt.

I have their partial CC info, what they bought, etc..

Each one is different.

Why would someone spam me with receipts for a months on end? It would be a bit of an interesting strategy, but highly unlikely this is anything but someone who gave a business the wrong email address and a business with a poor email validation system.

(And I haven't been getting any other spam.)

Typical government Rube-Goldberg

[schwit1]

From NBC ...
The Biden Administration has unveiled a new, multi-agency regulatory initiative to target corporate practices that officials claim are designed to waste consumers’ time and needlessly burden them with red tape, in order to maximize profits.

Congress(or the FTC) can mandate that every subscription app have an unsubscribe button. That and a confirmation email. Done

Sirius XM, this is why you don't have a customer.

[Fly Swatter]

After reading the loops you must take to cancel, I decided to never bother.

Sure you retain a few people, but you also never even see many other potential customers that do see how you treat existing customers.

Better idea...

[VeryFluffyBunny]

...how about make it a legal requirement to allow cancelling a subscription via your bank? I mean, the banks handle the payments so they have direct communications with the companies so why not log on to your online banking, find the direct debit, & just cancel that, then the bank sends a message through to the company telling them that the subscription has been cancelled? Simple, easy, & you know that banks will insist on companies making that process as hassle-free as possible.

Re:

[The-Ixian]

This is how I do it.

I use PayPal for all the recurring subscriptions that allow PP (almost everyone has a "Pay with PayPal" option, these days). They make it really simple to cancel the recurring subscription agreement.

Re:

[VeryFluffyBunny]

AFAIK, you can cancel bank payments just as easily. That's not the tricky part. The tricky part is to stop the company from sending your account to debt collection agencies for breach of contract. Stopping the payments isn't the same as ending the contract.

Incumbents

[dhaen]

Promises by incumbent parties at election time always beg the question: Well why didn't you it already?

Press zero for an operator...

[WCLPeter]

Through the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a new rule will require companies to let customers cut through automated customer service "doom loops" by pressing a single button to reach a real person.

"Hello and thank you for calling National Telecom, an award winning provider of communication services. Please listen carefully to the following menu options..."

presses zero

"You have requested to speak with a customer service representative. Due to high call volumes the next representative should be available in three-hundred and forty-six minutes. You call is very important to us, please continue to hold to maintain your place within the priority sequence...."

Because we all know they'll hire like 5 kids who work part time, half of whom have been trained to immediately hang up before saying a word to try and force you to use the "doom loop", and not a single one can do anything to help you without first speaking to their manager for approval. If they're gonna make this a rule they gotta give it teeth or companies will do less than the bare minimum out of spite.

Ever try to cancel SiriusXM?

[CyberSnyder]

You can sign up with a click, but to cancel you need to call in and wait, and wait. Hulu and Netflix make it pretty easy. But things like your cellphone, I think I want that to be difficult to cancel.