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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

#441

Post by ssharp »

joering2 wrote: post #71
SoftTalker wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I believe they also offer a "stop allowing charges by this merchant" feature If they have this it's another reason to use them for automatic billing. I have tried to do this with a VISA card and they said they cannot do it; the only way to prevent future charges would be to close that account entirely and even then I might still get billed for some period of time.

American Express is a very special card that typically comes with annual fee that is very much worth it. I would never book any hotels, buy plane tickets or signup in any form of membership with any other card because I got burnt way too many times with Visa and MC is even worse. Also that's why businesses typically do not like AE because how easy it is to dispute the charge. But to add - I discourage you from using…

> Most banks will report it to your credit bureau - you won't see it in form of points being withheld BUT it might be adverse for you when you try to get a loan, etc

I never knew this! I have heard about companies banning you if you request a CB, which would be really bad for things like Google, Uber, etc.

I usually end up having to dispute a charge only once a year or so. It has surprised me over the past few years how lacking AMEX seems to be in its "investigation". It at least used to take a few days and they'd sometimes ask for documentation. The last one I did got turned around in maybe an hour.

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

#442

Post by alkonaut »

scottyah wrote: post #419
alkonaut wrote: post #256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

The government needs to provide a service if we ever want taxes to be included. Taxes vary by city and can even depend on where you live, so sellers wouldn't be able to give you a price until you say where you are and where you're from for some sales. That's why you basically need a third party if you run an ecommerce website, unless you have a team to track down every time a county or city changes their taxes.

You could exclude prices on preprinted tags and just regulate shelve pricing and store signs I guess.

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

#443

Post by xracy »

seizethecheese wrote: post #406
xracy wrote: post #399

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We gotta stop giving SCOTUS credit for bad decisions when they make unpopular opinions. SCOTUS is not supposed to make legislation, and if they are going to try and override Chevron from the bench without legislation, then we have to ignore them. SCOTUS' power/respect only goes as far as they're actually listening to the will of Americans. This is not representing Americans if they override. Same for abortion (just l…

This is insane and wrong. The Supreme Court is explicitly not supposed to represent the will of the people. You’re advocating nothing less than a type of coup. And against my best judgement, I’ll add that in it was roe v wade itself that was essentially judges creating law (shoehorning abortion rights into a right to privacy is a stretch).

I'm advocating for a balance of powers. Which is why I'm quoting a precedented action by a president. Right now the SCOTUS is grabbing a lot of power for itself that has been delegated to the executive branch by congress in accordance with Chevron deference.

You call out yourself that the judges are essentially creating law. (presidential immunity and abortion both are just bonkers decisions based on thoughts and feelings). I think the only way to curb that from the supreme court is that the other governing body capable of action (see not congress) needs to remind SCOTUS that they've got finite power.

Do you have another alternative here? Maybe more ethics rules that SCOTUS doesn't have to follow? Wait for congress to impeach a sitting justice for corruption? Hopes and prayers?

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

#444

Post by alaithea »

What are the chances that this will reduce the seeming push, from every VC and Wall Street, for companies to have everyone in the world on a monthly payment plan? I would love to see that trend end. Most people cannot afford to have a monthly subscription with every company they interact with.

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

#445

Post by orev »

maccard wrote: post #374
hnburnsy wrote: post #358

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>There really seems to be no loophole or workaround despite there being huge incentive for there to be one. Every time I click an “Unsubscribe” link in an email... The loophole is that companies now claim that the email is 'service' related as part of your 'account relationship' so you cannot unsubscribe at all, even though it clearly is for marketing and promotion.

That’s what the report spam button is for.

That doesn’t work well when you actually do need to receive emails from them once in a while.

Equifax abuses this to the extreme, with every single change to your credit usage triggering an “account related” alert. But you still need to allow them for that one time they actually send a useful alert.

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

#446

Post by justinpombrio »

thayne wrote: post #432
mitthrowaway2 wrote: post #385

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've also found unsubscribe links that don't do anything. Like the unsubscribe link simply fails to work; nothing happens when you click on it.

I got on a mailing list for something from IBM. The unsubscribe link took me to a page that always said it was "temporarily" unavailable I should try again later. The first time I gave them the benefit of the doubt. After a few tries over the course of months, I decided that it was permanently unavailable, and if it really was broken, they didn't have any motivation to fix it. So I set up a filter to automatically de…

You should email them and tell them they're not in compliance with that regulation. IBM will have lawyers who care, so you might be able to stop that spam not just for yourself but for everyone.

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

#447

Post by ghaff »

ksd482 wrote: post #324
justinpombrio wrote: post #265

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unsubscribe links are a fantastic regulation, but there is a workaround. I must have received at least a dozen emails from Brown after graduating despite unsubscribing to every email they sent. The trouble is they're endlessly creative about the lists they put you on. I'd get one email from "Alumni Connections" and then another from "Faculty Spotlight" and then another from "Global Outreach" and then another from "Ev…

What I have noticed companies do is resume emails after a year or so. They probably think people would forget about unsubscribing them after a year, and for the most part they are right. If I catch any of these email lists not respecting my unsubscribing, I immediately mark them as "spam". Gmail then doesn't send them to my inbox anymore. I don't think just one person marking them as spam hurts them, but at least I f…

One thing that probably happens, as some who attends a lot of events or at least used to, is that you end up getting repopulated in a lot of mailings through purchased lists or badge scans.

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

#448

Post by internet101010 »

hnburnsy wrote: post #358
Uehreka wrote: post #190

When people try and say that regulating stuff like this is impossible, I often think about how unreasonably great the regulations around “Unsubscribe” links in emails are. There really seems to be no loophole or workaround despite there being huge incentive for there to be one. Every time I click an “Unsubscribe” link in an email (it seems like they’re forced to say “Unsubscribe” and not use weasel words to hide the…

>There really seems to be no loophole or workaround despite there being huge incentive for there to be one. Every time I click an “Unsubscribe” link in an email... The loophole is that companies now claim that the email is 'service' related as part of your 'account relationship' so you cannot unsubscribe at all, even though it clearly is for marketing and promotion.

Such as loyalty programs you apparently automatically signed up for when you shopped at a store.

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

#449

Post by xnx »

Uehreka wrote: post #190

When people try and say that regulating stuff like this is impossible, I often think about how unreasonably great the regulations around “Unsubscribe” links in emails are. There really seems to be no loophole or workaround despite there being huge incentive for there to be one. Every time I click an “Unsubscribe” link in an email (it seems like they’re forced to say “Unsubscribe” and not use weasel words to hide the…

Gmail "Report Spam" is my unsubscribe link. It's even got its own hotkey "!".

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

#450

Post by [deleted] »

cortesoft wrote: post #174
TheAceOfHearts wrote: post #96

It would be great to see the FTC go against predatory subscription services like Adobe. I'm fuzzy on the exact details, but I think they promoted a yearly subscription that was meant to look like a monthly subscription, where if you cancelled early they would charge you an exorbitant cancellation fee. I'm not sure how these new rules affect them. One recent idea I've had is that many online subscription services shou…

Man, I remember when Amazon Prime first started, I signed up for the free trial to get free shipping on something. Of course, I forgot about it and didn’t cancel, but then I got an email from Amazon saying, “hey, you didn’t cancel your prime subscription but you also haven’t used it at all, so we are going to not charge you and cancel it for now. Here is how you easily restart your subscription if you end up needing…

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