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

niemanlab.org

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

#251

Post by hwers »

xg15 wrote: post #167

> including an option that’s “at least as easy” as the one to subscribe Weirdly enough this sounds like a loophole. I can already see some companies trying to bullshit their way through an investigation: "Oh sure, we don't provide online cancellation, because our way to cancel is even easier than online:" * presents a way to cancel that is in practice more difficult than online *. I think either mandating that cancel…

> mandating that cancelling must be possible using the same workflow as subscription

I'd rather not put into the law that strict a requirement on our UI design.

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

#252

Post by werdnapk »

john37386 wrote: post #194

I subscribed to a weekly meal kit. It was very easy to onboard and I liked the service for many months. My situation changed and I no longer needed their service. I wanted to cancel my subscription and it's impossible to do online. It's written in super small to call their happy representative. I didn't like this situation so what I'm doing is skipping the meal kit for the next 4 weeks. Every month I log on their web…

I used to subscribe to a meal it service (Hello Fresh), but circumstances changed and I just chatted with the online rep via the website and was able to cancel rather quickly.

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

#254

Post by _pferreir_ »

matheusmoreira wrote: post #172
Zanfa wrote: post #7

A reasonable legal requirement should be that customers are able to unsubscribe using the same method used to subscribe and the process should not require more time and effort than the initial subscription.

Reasonable would be lack payment ending the contract. We should be able to simply stop paying them with zero repercussions. Let them deal with the administrative trivia required to cancel a service.

This TBH, I think we're so used to being taken advantage of that we don't realize we should be asking for more. Especially if it's the kind of service which doesn't involve extra preparation costs for the provider.

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

#255

Post by rootsudo »

jcgoette wrote: post #236
88913527 wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

>photo ID will get you a free library card Results may vary.

No, Librarians are pretty liberal with this. Many in big cities, e.g. Chicago, Seattle, etc don't even need to see an ID, just a bill but if you show up and pester back and forth a few times they'll still give you one.

No government identity needed. A bill helps.

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

#256

Post by jasonwatkinspdx »

cutemonster wrote: post #250
jasonwatkinspdx wrote: post #241

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Naw, they wouldn't want to pay for a credit check. They run boiler room style call centers where the folks hassling you work on commission. So they just push whatever leads they have to their staff and make it their problem to squeeze money out of it. The entire industry is really, really, scummy, and barely one step better than those fraudsters that pretend to be the IRS.

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

#257

Post by IanSanders »

xg15 wrote: post #167

> including an option that’s “at least as easy” as the one to subscribe Weirdly enough this sounds like a loophole. I can already see some companies trying to bullshit their way through an investigation: "Oh sure, we don't provide online cancellation, because our way to cancel is even easier than online:" * presents a way to cancel that is in practice more difficult than online *. I think either mandating that cancel…

There's also a "genuinely super easy way to unsubscribe, except it unfortunately is experiencing technical problems"

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

#258

Post by la6471 »

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.

Not only news sites , but all kinds of business should adhere to this. Good job!

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

#259

Post by ilikepi »

jasonwatkinspdx wrote: post #224
ds wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You cant ding a credit rating unless you have a users SSN, which the NYT almost certainly does not.

Nope. To put something on a credit report you need only match 2 out of Name, Address, DoB, and SSN. This is one of the big reasons why the reports are so inaccurate. It's absolutely hellish for people with a very common name. Source: when I was young my job was to investigate adverse items on credit reports and find legal pretexts to get them removed.

> To put something on a credit report you need only match 2 out of Name, Address, DoB, and SSN.

So any third-party vendor on Amazon has enough? Fantastic.

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