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

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

#251

Post by choilive »

pc86 wrote: post #215
pbhjpbhj wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those who are pro-market probably consider the companies cropping up to be evidence that legislation is not needed (as the market is addressing the issue). I'm not such a person, fwiw.

I would definitely consider myself pro-market, and "market > government" has proven itself a pretty good default time and time again. That doesn't mean nothing should ever be regulated.

I don't think any free market capitalist outside of the most extreme libertarians think that markets should be completely unregulated. It is well known that free markets have areas where they are market failures or can never be Pareto efficient. Basically any "tragedy of the commons" type scenario is such a case. Unfortunately governments like to get their grubby fingers into everything and try to regulate their way out of problems.

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

#252

Post by Terretta »

Eumenes wrote: post #112

Is this a real problem? I don't have one subscription service that I can't "click to cancel".

> 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?

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

#253

Post by susanthenerd »

amatecha wrote: post #67

Nice. I canceled a service recently and I had to "continue to cancel" and click on other such "confirmations" such that I think I proceeded through 7-8 pages before my subscription was actually canceled. Truly manipulative and obtuse. That was Spotify btw. I should have recorded the process, as it was nearly comedic (if it weren't so hostile).

Services like this are the reason I prefer to pay thru google play. It is much easier to just cancel it

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

#254

Post by pbhjpbhj »

krunck wrote: post #74
amatecha wrote: post #67

Nice. I canceled a service recently and I had to "continue to cancel" and click on other such "confirmations" such that I think I proceeded through 7-8 pages before my subscription was actually canceled. Truly manipulative and obtuse. That was Spotify btw. I should have recorded the process, as it was nearly comedic (if it weren't so hostile).

Amazon is the worst in this regard.

[ ] Tick if you don't not unapprove of getting a free Prime trial when you purchase goods without checking the above box for not being completed. /s

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

#255

Post by gnu8 »

What surprises me is that I don’t see any comments here from people lamenting that their business will be negatively affected by this. Surely there are founders or engineers on HN involved with companies that will lose profit if they allow their customers to cancel their services.

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

#256

Post by alkonaut »

colechristensen wrote: post #188
thefourthchime wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Now, let's institute an actual price rule. I can't rent an Airbnb or book a plane ticket without being lied to about what the actual prices is.

The Minnesota law which provides exactly this goes into effect in 2025. https://www.allaboutadvertisinglaw.com/2024/06/minnesota-joi...

Wanted to see if it finally included taxes on price tags… but instead this law explicitly excludes taxes. So close.

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

#257

Post by hansvm »

cogman10 wrote: post #175
thefourthchime wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Now, let's institute an actual price rule. I can't rent an Airbnb or book a plane ticket without being lied to about what the actual prices is.

"Fees" on top of the top line price should be illegal. It's just a way to smuggle in a 100% increase in the purchase price to get an initial buy in for a product. It is super scammy. Heck, I would even take this a step further and say that taxes as well should always be fully included in the topline price. If a company wants to add a breakdown of how much went to taxes, I'm ok with that. The sticker price should alwa…

Interestingly, in some states it's illegal to post the "price" as one including all applicable taxes.

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

#258

Post by stronglikedan »

ajkjk wrote: post #28

There are so many things like this that have needed fixing for such a long time. The fact that something is happening, even slowly, is so heartening. If your reaction is wondering if this is legal then you should be interested in the passing of new laws that make it unequivocally legal. Society should be able to govern itself.

> The fact that something is happening, even slowly

Regulation like this, as necessary and obvious as this one is, should happen slowly. There are way too many short sighted, reactionary laws and regulations to begin with.

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

#259

Post by Kon-Peki »

deanputney wrote: post #236
cogman10 wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Fees" on top of the top line price should be illegal. It's just a way to smuggle in a 100% increase in the purchase price to get an initial buy in for a product. It is super scammy. Heck, I would even take this a step further and say that taxes as well should always be fully included in the topline price. If a company wants to add a breakdown of how much went to taxes, I'm ok with that. The sticker price should alwa…

Taxes should also be included in the advertised price, then. Just imagine!

That would be nice, but there is a LOT of background work before that is feasible (in the US). As it currently stands, for many products a vendor would need to know who you are and where you live before they could quote you a total price. That's unacceptable.

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

#260

Post by parineum »

VBprogrammer wrote: post #224
cogman10 wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Fees" on top of the top line price should be illegal. It's just a way to smuggle in a 100% increase in the purchase price to get an initial buy in for a product. It is super scammy. Heck, I would even take this a step further and say that taxes as well should always be fully included in the topline price. If a company wants to add a breakdown of how much went to taxes, I'm ok with that. The sticker price should alwa…

As a British person this is always so alien when traveling in the US. You could go one step further and suggest that perhaps tips which are practically mandatory should be included in the headline price but that might be a step too far.

The trouble is that sales tax can be different in every municipality. National advertising would be a nightmare. However, I think prices at brick and mortar stores should be tax included and, when shopping online, if my address is known, the tax should be include as well.

I also think "plus Tax/Tax included" should be featured more prominently but I think that businesses would likely do that themselves given the conditions above so that, when comparing prices, you would very noticeably see that whether tax was included or not in your price. ie, Amazon would put in green letters near the price "Tax included" so when I compared their price to another place I would know why Amazon's price might be higher.

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