California law requires businesses to let you cancel your subscription online • Hacker News Board

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

#381

Post by thelastidiot » Fri, Jul 06, 2018, 6:23 AM UTC

robin_reala wrote: post #378

thelastidiot wrote: post #373

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's even worse than you think. Because even if you put a credit card to back up your payments (easier now that PayPal has a deal with VISA), and you are hoping that a passed expiration date on your card will block a transaction from happening, the company will try new dates with one year increment in the future, till eventually the transaction goes thru.

Huh? Does your card number not change when you get a new one in the US?

Unless you specifically ask for a new number, not at all. What's even worse it that the cvv is changing (checksum with the date and card number) but the transaction can go thru without cvv submission in most cases.

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

#382

Post by kibibu » Fri, Jul 06, 2018, 6:27 AM UTC

fragsworth wrote: post #375

flyGuyOnTheSly wrote: post #366

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The best thing to do is issue a chargeback. They had me sign over my direct withdrawal banking details the day I signed up. I regret doing that.

Fucking assholes. I guess that's why we need these stupid laws.

Don't let the libertarians hear you say that

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

#383

Post by maelito » Fri, Jul 06, 2018, 6:32 AM UTC

I've spent 4 months to find a way to cancel my complementary health insurance in France. They were sending me letters with 2 weeks delay asking me for other documents.

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

#384

Post by thecrazyone » Fri, Jul 06, 2018, 6:33 AM UTC

fragsworth wrote: post #375

flyGuyOnTheSly wrote: post #366

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The best thing to do is issue a chargeback. They had me sign over my direct withdrawal banking details the day I signed up. I regret doing that.

Fucking assholes. I guess that's why we need these stupid laws.

I'm a libertarian and I don't know what to say. There will be shitty companies as well I guess, but when they lose customers due to such practices, they will learn? If they don't learn they will go out of business.

You're stuck with a bad govt law, no efficient weeding out process exists.

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

#385

Post by paxys » Fri, Jul 06, 2018, 6:33 AM UTC

flyGuyOnTheSly wrote: post #368

joering2 wrote: post #352

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Recent renewal contract for LA Fitness has this cover. If you moving away you have to provide some sort of a proof, like new lease contract, job letter etc so that they still will try to find the gym within 15 miles and move you over. I was told in LA Fitness you cannot cancel without any sort of proof if you want to use "moving away" as a reason.

>If you moving away you have to provide some sort of a proof, like new lease contract, job letter etc so that they still will try to find the gym within 15 miles and move you over. Just tell them you're moving to another continent then... or Antarctica!

Or, like, don't sign a long term contract at all. It's pretty easy to find an affordable monthly gym which has all the basics pretty much everywhere.

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

#386

Post by subroutine » Fri, Jul 06, 2018, 6:33 AM UTC

TomK32 wrote: post #379

We europeans better block every access from California due to this overreaching undemocratic GDPR style law. /s

European law is years beyond this. Consumer laws in some EU countries stipulate that a person can cancel a subscription simply by vocalizing this intention out their front door between the hours of 9am-3pm. "Heyy, I'm cancelling."

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

#387

Post by thirdsun » Fri, Jul 06, 2018, 6:34 AM UTC

flyGuyOnTheSly wrote: post #331

Thank god for that. I made the mistake of joining a Goodlife gym in Canada many moons ago... The place was disgusting. Always crowded. Mould growing in the bathrooms. Stunk very badly, etc... So I stopped going regularly... and one day I was in the area I decided to stop in and cancel my membership. "Oh sorry, you'll need to make an appointment with management in order to cancel." "OK, is a manager in right now?" "Ye…

You seem like a patient person. That first visit should have ended with the cancellation or an unambiguous announcement of your intention to issue chargebacks for any future charges by said gym as far as I'm concerned.

There's no way I'd be relying on a manager's schedule to cancel their services.

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

#388

Post by pocketarc » Fri, Jul 06, 2018, 6:40 AM UTC

thecrazyone wrote: post #384

fragsworth wrote: post #375

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fucking assholes. I guess that's why we need these stupid laws.

I'm a libertarian and I don't know what to say. There will be shitty companies as well I guess, but when they lose customers due to such practices, they will learn? If they don't learn they will go out of business. You're stuck with a bad govt law, no efficient weeding out process exists.

“If they don’t learn they will go out of business” sounds nice, but in reality, we can all point to hundreds and hundreds of different companies that show that that simply does not happen. Otherwise, the US would have the best and friendliest companies in the world, since that’s where capitalism runs the most rampant, and where you can really see that “the market will sort itself out” philosophy in action.

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

#389

Post by kccqzy » Fri, Jul 06, 2018, 6:42 AM UTC

ouid wrote: post #370

kccqzy wrote: post #308

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed! One thing that impressed me recently is how easy it is to cancel Symantec's (rather useless) LifeLock service. Just write a sentence on their online support page and my service was cancelled in less than 24 hours. They even sent me an email suggesting things I can do to prevent identity theft without using their service. I know Symantec is unpopular here on HN, because of the certificate authority fiasco and…

Write a sentence on a support page is not simple. You haven't even said what the sentence was.

"I would like to cancel my LifeLock subscription."

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

#390

Post by raverbashing » Fri, Jul 06, 2018, 6:42 AM UTC

flyGuyOnTheSly wrote: post #331

Thank god for that. I made the mistake of joining a Goodlife gym in Canada many moons ago... The place was disgusting. Always crowded. Mould growing in the bathrooms. Stunk very badly, etc... So I stopped going regularly... and one day I was in the area I decided to stop in and cancel my membership. "Oh sorry, you'll need to make an appointment with management in order to cancel." "OK, is a manager in right now?" "Ye…

Yeah, this is the sleaziest tricks by gyms, especially in Canada/US

No thanks, no bank details. I'll pay by cash, every month. I don't care if I'm paying "double" because that "half price" is accounting for crap like this.