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“Click to subscribe, call to cancel” is illegal, FTC says

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Re: “Click to subscribe, call to cancel” is illegal, FTC says

#241

Post by jasonwatkinspdx »

cutemonster wrote: post #32
rogual wrote: post #22

I just expect these tactics from periodicals these days. Last time I signed up to one (The Economist) I used a pre-paid debit card for this very reason. Sure enough, they eventually gave me a reason to cancel (popup modals over their online articles for paying customers) and I just emptied the card and sent an email to their customer service saying "I hereby cancel my subscription; you are no longer authorized to cha…

Could they have sued you if they had wanted to? If, theoretically, there was an unsubscribe button in one's user settings that you hadn't seen, and you sent an email instead and blocked the payment card?

No one would sue unless the balance was into thousands, or they're just an individual pursuing a vendetta. What would likely happen is they'd charge it off to a debt collection agency that would hassle you by whatever means of contact they have for a couple years until you paid or they gave up on it. And when they give up on it they usually just sell it downstream to an even more crappy company more willing to use aggressive tactics.

Re: “Click to subscribe, call to cancel” is illegal, FTC says

#242

Post by ydant »

john37386 wrote: post #200
xg15 wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Question from a non-American. Is it actually legal to "cancel" a service by having your credit card expire? At least here, if there is a subscription with recurring fees active, you're liable for those fees, whether or not the provider is able to collect them at this moment. This sounds like you risk building up a lot of debt and eventually having a collections agency come after you.

I might change my strategy and finally call them at some point. It's just frustrating to be stuck in this situation. Thanks for the tip.

You can also try changing your address to a California address, and then the cancel button might magically appear in your account, due to different regulations around this for companies doing business in California.

Re: “Click to subscribe, call to cancel” is illegal, FTC says

#243

Post by kranke155 »

mdp2021 wrote: post #55
lagadu wrote: post #29

In Portugal the law makes it so you can cancel any service using the same means that you used to subscribe it, so if they support subscribing online, unsubscribing also has to be doable the same way; same goes for via phone, personal or whatnot. It makes sense, prevents service providers from making it too difficult to terminate a contract.

This is extremely reasonable and civilized. Would you say that the rest of the legislation in Portugal is consistent, and the direction of the Country is towards good sense and reliability? I have noticed of other EU countries that a response against abuse may exist, but severely delayed and only partial (e.g. about sale of misrepresented services and other contractual scams, especially when carried out over the phon…

No. Portugal is a (atm) an radically aging country, it is rife with corruption and politics are poorly led. Brain drain is massive. Employment is extremely difficult for both the jobseeker and the employer due to poor competitiveness, low productivity and terrible regulation. Healthcare systems have been dropping off a cliff.

IMO going the direction of a dying country. And I am Portuguese.

Virtually anyone I know with a good skill set that’s profitable abroad has moved.

Re: “Click to subscribe, call to cancel” is illegal, FTC says

#246

Post by xattt »

88913527 wrote: post #209
mercy_dude wrote: post #173

Good. The worst experience I ever had was with NY Times when I wanted to unsubscribe I had to go through multiple call/chats with a person and it was almost impossible since it was hard to get in touch with one. I am glad FTC is doing something others are afraid to do.

Anyone with access to a public library (photo ID will get you a free library card) can access eLibrary services that get updated daily. No need to pay for NYT, for WSJ, or any major national newspaper. By paying taxes, you're already paying for digital access to this media. I applaud the FTC's decision but I wish people realized there's more practical means for accessing media that is more frequently locked behind pa…

This depends on your library system. I am under a provincial library system which is woefully underfunded. We get “flavours of the month” services that are likely trial versions offered to libraries before lock-in. Some of the choices over the years were Freegal Music, Ancestry.com and some sort of language training thing.

Our Overdrive tier is probably the cheapest and I occasionally use my parents’ library card for expanded Overdrive access, who live in a place with a much better funded library system.

Re: “Click to subscribe, call to cancel” is illegal, FTC says

#248

Post by aliher1911 »

kieloo wrote: post #18

Same thing with The Guardian. Subscribed online and was then told I can’t cancel via email and have to endure a pushy sales call if I want to cancel. Similar experience with The Economist except it was via live chat instead. These experiences honestly make me want to never subscribe to a newspaper again.

When I had to deal with "customer retention dept" as a part of cancellation I was saying that I'm moving to another country and that immediately killed their interest.

Re: “Click to subscribe, call to cancel” is illegal, FTC says

#250

Post by cutemonster »

jasonwatkinspdx wrote: post #241
cutemonster wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could they have sued you if they had wanted to? If, theoretically, there was an unsubscribe button in one's user settings that you hadn't seen, and you sent an email instead and blocked the payment card?

No one would sue unless the balance was into thousands, or they're just an individual pursuing a vendetta. What would likely happen is they'd charge it off to a debt collection agency that would hassle you by whatever means of contact they have for a couple years until you paid or they gave up on it. And when they give up on it they usually just sell it downstream to an even more crappy company more willing to use ag…

Oops sounds both scary and realistic

Maybe the collector would do a credit check to find out how much money they could get from you

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