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California law requires businesses to let you cancel your subscription online

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Re: California law requires businesses to let you cancel your subscription online

#61

Post by 13of40 »

danso wrote: post #8

I recently had to cancel an ongoing subscription I had with Equifax, which requires you to call by phone. Unbelievably frustrating. I had to dial the service at least 10 times. Each time, the automated responder would make me go through a very slow menu selection process, only to randomly fail to acknowledge either my correct SSN or zipcode or street number, which I entered using a keypad. As a consumer, I've had to…

Half a year back I got a check from American Express for $50-ish because of some accounting issue they had. Bank error in your favor. Unfortunately, the local meth heads stole it out of my mailbox and I only got the check stub when someone found it in the street and turned it in to the post office. So I called them up to ask them to reissue the check. Long story short, they dodged and weaved with their phone automation and outsourced call center until I finally gave up and wrote them a letter. Six weeks passed and right when I'd written it off, I got a check.

Re: California law requires businesses to let you cancel your subscription online

#62

Post by pavel_lishin »

mehrdadn wrote: post #50
Skunkleton wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am fairly certain that it isn't generally illegal to lie to people. Maybe a little shitty, but isn't it shitty to not let people unsubscribe from a service in the same manner they signed up?

This isn't just lying though, it sounds closer to fraud to me (lying go receive services you otherwise wouldn't). It also sounds a bit like parking in the disabled section. And I don't know if there are legal ramifications for using services that are for the disabled but I wouldn't be surprised if there were.

Or walking up a sidewalk ramp, or using the headphone jack at the ATM, or using the handicapped stall in the bathroom, or taking the elevator instead of the stairs...

Re: California law requires businesses to let you cancel your subscription online

#63

Post by slezakattack »

kelukelugames wrote: post #26

I wish this applied to banks too. I tried to pay off my mortgage this week and I had to go to a physical bank and handle them a check for seven hundred dollars. So stupid.

I had one of those 80-10-10 mortgages and was trying to pay off the 2nd mortgage. Had to go in person, give them a check, and then had to HANDWRITE A LETTER to be sent to corporate (I think?) saying that "yes, I really would like to close out the account that held this mortgage". No template and a "sign here" or anything. They just gave me printer paper and a "just write something" attitude. It was a very odd experience as I wasn't sure how formal it was suppose to be.

Re: California law requires businesses to let you cancel your subscription online

#64

Post by mehrdadn »

c3534l wrote: post #53
mehrdadn wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This isn't just lying though, it sounds closer to fraud to me (lying go receive services you otherwise wouldn't). It also sounds a bit like parking in the disabled section. And I don't know if there are legal ramifications for using services that are for the disabled but I wouldn't be surprised if there were.

Parking in a handicapped spot takes resources away from people who need it. This gets around an unethical business practice designed to charge money from people who no longer agree to receive services.

> Parking in a handicapped spot takes resources away from people who need it.

And this one does the same? Who says that guy going through the emails for isn't otherwise going to be helping someone who is actually deaf?

> This gets around an unethical business practice designed to charge money from people who no longer agree to receive services.

This sounds like the most legitimate argument here, if this is indeed unethical. Not sure what my stance is on this.

Re: California law requires businesses to let you cancel your subscription online

#65

Post by striking »

mehrdadn wrote: post #59
rspeer wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not like that at all, because it encourages more services for people with disabilities, instead of taking them away. Every site should be more prepared to accommodate people who can't or don't want to talk on the phone.

> It's not like that at all, because it encourages more services for people with disabilities, instead of taking them away. I mean you could argue the same for parking right? If everyone parked in the disabled section then you'd encourage having more such parking. And this also requires paying a representative more hours to deal with emails etc. It's not like there's zero cost.

They could use a thing called a website to help people do it automatically, which probably costs them less than the IVR or human rep on the phone.

They just don't want that. Because they don't want you to cancel.

Re: California law requires businesses to let you cancel your subscription online

#66

Post by joenathanone »

dv_dt wrote: post #43
docker_up wrote: post #28

Ring (the video doorbell) is exactly like this and I haven't gotten rid of my subscription because I keep forgetting and their hours are like 9 to 5pm. Hopefully this changes so that I can get rid of that crap.

I'm sorry, maybe it's my IoT-get-off-my-network/lawn hackles being raised here, but why does your doorbell need a subscription in the first place?

Cloud based DVR functions, the doorbell can record whenever there is a ring or on motion. The subscription isn't mandatory.

Re: California law requires businesses to let you cancel your subscription online

#68

Post by greglindahl »

gshulegaard wrote: post #33
hermitdev wrote: post #9

While I like the spirit of this law (rare for me with CA laws), I expect it to be ruled unconstitutional as attempting to regulate interstate commerce, whose so jurisdiction is under US Congress.

Not sure it would hold up in the Supreme Court. Provided the law is worded strictly to apply to CA citizens / only when corporations are serving CA citizens there is little to make an interstate regulation argument on. And there is also international precedence (EU GDPR) which could guide court opinion. Maybe it's just wishful thinking but that's my $0.02.

It may well even be limited to businesses that have a presence in California; there are tons of precedents for crafting this kind of law to survive an interstate commerce challenge, even when the Internet is involved.

Re: California law requires businesses to let you cancel your subscription online

#70

Post by AznHisoka »

mehrdadn wrote: post #42

Are you actually deaf? Or is lying to get exceptions that are meant for the disabled actually legal?

"exceptions that are meant for the disabled "

Since when was the ability to cancel something online meant for the disabled?

Either you or a loved one is disabled, and that's why you're so sensitive (if so, I cut you some slack). Otherwise, I have no clue why you're throwing such a hiss about this. Many businesses (like cable companies) are being complete assholes by making it hard for you to cancel their service. Sometimes you have to lie and act unethically to get back at people like that. Hey, you wouldn't have to if they were ethical in the first place! They started this whole prisoner's dilemma! Me? I would love to cooperate and be honest all the time!

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