In Sweden you’re allowed to cancel by phone call, email, letter, etc. Point is they don’t get to stipulate how you cancel the service. The US needs a similar consumer protection. Click to cancel is a good step, but really just providing multiple simple methods that legally work for all services is the correct approach.
‘Click to Cancel’ legislation introduced in Pennsylvania
151–160 of 253 posts
Re: ‘Click to Cancel’ legislation introduced in Pennsylvania
#152Earlier quoted context omitted.
10x more expensive. I bet that'd do wonders to the willingness of customers to sign up.
I’m confused by this line of posts. Are you saying making it easier for people to cancel services they don’t need is a bad thing?
I'm not actually making a value judgement on that. Just pointing out the consequences maybe not what was intended.
Re: ‘Click to Cancel’ legislation introduced in Pennsylvania
#153Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have broad spectrum allergies to lots of stuff (pollen, etc). I live in the southeast with pine trees everywhere so it isn’t really seasonal. A mask does help, which I’ve been wearing for… obvious reasons but exercising in a N95 is rough.
Ugh. That sounds terrible. I'm sure you've already considered it, but move north were there are seasons and no pine trees :-/ The rain in Seattle tends to wash the pollen out of the air, too. For me its grass. Even walking in grass with shorts on is a no-no.
Oh yeah, grass’s too…
Luckily none of them are that severe, but it’s just so many things… I got allergy shots for a few years in my teens which helped a lot, so it isn’t normally that much of a problem, but I’m also a bit asthmatic so exercise outdoors is a big trigger.
Re: ‘Click to Cancel’ legislation introduced in Pennsylvania
#154Earlier quoted context omitted.
I’m confused by this line of posts. Are you saying making it easier for people to cancel services they don’t need is a bad thing?
I'm not actually making a value judgement on that. Just pointing out the consequences maybe not what was intended.
The consequences would be that more people would be able to cancel services they didn’t want. I find it highly unlikely that those people would agree to continue paying for services they don’t need simply to subsidize other users of the services. So no I’m pretty sure that the result would be many clubs closing, the consequences would be exactly as intended.
Re: ‘Click to Cancel’ legislation introduced in Pennsylvania
#155Earlier quoted context omitted.
Ugh. That sounds terrible. I'm sure you've already considered it, but move north were there are seasons and no pine trees :-/ The rain in Seattle tends to wash the pollen out of the air, too. For me its grass. Even walking in grass with shorts on is a no-no.
Oh yeah, grass’s too… Luckily none of them are that severe, but it’s just so many things… I got allergy shots for a few years in my teens which helped a lot, so it isn’t normally that much of a problem, but I’m also a bit asthmatic so exercise outdoors is a big trigger.
Sorry about that. I'd never jog if I had to do it indoors on a treadmill. Tried it a couple times, blech. Outdoors is so much better. Like I often stop to chat with a neighbor. Just today I found out one on my route had a hidden 57 Chevy, so I had to give him a ride in my Dodge :-)
(The secrets people hide in their garages!)
Re: ‘Click to Cancel’ legislation introduced in Pennsylvania
#156Earlier quoted context omitted.
I’m confused by this line of posts. Are you saying making it easier for people to cancel services they don’t need is a bad thing?
I'm not actually making a value judgement on that. Just pointing out the consequences maybe not what was intended.
Also I’d like to add that your claim that the gyms would be 10x more expensive and that most would close is baseless. In Sweden there are gyms everywhere even though their are consumer protections against exactly this sort of thing. The gyms in Sweden are generally cheaper than the IS as well. I’m not going to draw a general conclusion from this other than “it’s complicated”.
The fact is you don’t really know how gyms would be affected en masse by such a law. The only thing we really know for sure, is that people would have an easier time not using services that they don’t want to use. I don’t really understand who could argue against such a change. Arguing against it is like arguing for some weird mini welfare for gyms on the backs of random members of the population. If we want that, then maybe we should just pass laws giving gyms money from the general municipal/state budget. It would accomplish the same thing and be much more fair and honest.
Re: ‘Click to Cancel’ legislation introduced in Pennsylvania
#157Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm not actually making a value judgement on that. Just pointing out the consequences maybe not what was intended.
Also I’d like to add that your claim that the gyms would be 10x more expensive and that most would close is baseless. In Sweden there are gyms everywhere even though their are consumer protections against exactly this sort of thing. The gyms in Sweden are generally cheaper than the IS as well. I’m not going to draw a general conclusion from this other than “it’s complicated”. The fact is you don’t really know how gym…
My basis is that I was told by a couple gym owners that 90% never show up to use the gym, and their business model depended on that.
I haven't examined their books myself.
Like I wrote, I'm not making a value judgement here, just pointing out the consequences.
The business model may still be the same in Sweden. It's just that people are too lazy to cancel, not that they cannot cancel. I never had trouble canceling any of the several gyms I attended over the years.
Re: ‘Click to Cancel’ legislation introduced in Pennsylvania
#158Earlier quoted context omitted.
Also I’d like to add that your claim that the gyms would be 10x more expensive and that most would close is baseless. In Sweden there are gyms everywhere even though their are consumer protections against exactly this sort of thing. The gyms in Sweden are generally cheaper than the IS as well. I’m not going to draw a general conclusion from this other than “it’s complicated”. The fact is you don’t really know how gym…
My basis is that I was told by a couple gym owners that 90% never show up to use the gym, and their business model depended on that. I haven't examined their books myself. Like I wrote, I'm not making a value judgement here, just pointing out the consequences. The business model may still be the same in Sweden. It's just that people are too lazy to cancel, not that they cannot cancel. I never had trouble canceling an…
You’re not pointing out the consequences. You’re speculating about the consequences. Frankly you should have seen the books before believing something like that. Furthermore it would be a stretch to believe that that situation extrapolates to all gyms.
If what they said was actually true, they _should_ go out of business. If their business depends on them exploiting the legal system to thwart their users’ clear will, they are immoral actors and deserve the economic difficulties that would be bestowed upon them.
Edit: to you edit
> The business model may still be the same in Sweden. It's just that people are too lazy to cancel, not that they cannot cancel. I never had trouble canceling any of the several gyms I attended over the years.
So basically what you’re tacitly admitting is that a law allowing cancelation might actually be _fine_. It might even turn out fine for your friends. I guess if that’s your position, then I don’t really have any more argument with you.
Re: ‘Click to Cancel’ legislation introduced in Pennsylvania
#159Earlier quoted context omitted.
One thing you can do is just tell them you're deaf, cannot do a voice call, and need to cancel by e-mail.
Sounds like an opportunity for a SaaS company to provide text to speech service for companies, so all the "deaf" people can be subjected to upsells as well!
Text relay is a thing in the UK, by the way. https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecoms-and-internet/advice...
Re: ‘Click to Cancel’ legislation introduced in Pennsylvania
#160Earlier quoted context omitted.
> But it does not stop your contractual obligation to pay. Can't you Americans just send a certified letter informing a business of your intent to cancel and asking them to send you a final bill (if any) to settle payments within a specified time limit? That should cover you legally?
The problem is generally in the contract you sign when agreeing to the membership in the first place. There’s a lot of fine print stipulating how cancellation will work exactly.
Can’t you just strike that from the contract, initial it, sign the contract and return it? If they refuse the/any edit, can’t you say they negotiate in bad faith and void the entire contract?