Have you ever bought a subscription and regretted doing so after a month or two? The fact that these paid subscriptions don’t come cheap is the worst part but what’s more annoying is getting rid of them.
After all, no company wants you to cancel because they’re making decent money. This is the reason why you’ll find new loopholes and hurdles, each try to click on cancel. The process gets so frustrating that some have given up and therefore are forced to pay subscription fees, even if they don’t like what’s on offer.
Thankfully, things might be changing for the better, thanks to the FTC who has decided to intervene. The chairperson Lina Khan just rolled out a new set of rule for all companies that try to make it difficult to cancel subscriptions.
The rule dubbed ‘Click to Cancel’ forces all organizations to simplify the quitting process, making it just as simple as signing up. Moreover, the same number of steps would follow so if you signed up in minutes, the rule promises you the same when canceling. So one click sign-ups mean one click cancellations.
Khan also reiterated that no tricks and hurdles will be tolerated as it just wastes the users’ time and money. So her take-home message is that a subscription should never make you feel bound for payments for services that you don’t want.
Details about the new rule are asking sellers to give more data to clients about when a free trial is switched to a paid deal. This also includes providing consent from clients before giving the green signal. Anyone trying to trick the client will be penalized. So there is no room for negative marketing or misrepresentation.
The rule is set to come into play 180 days after it is printed in the Federal Register. As mentioned by the FTC, the goal is to bring an end to all deceptive practices that put users at the losing end.
The new rule will prevent sellers from misrepresenting facts during the marketing period and also stop them from failing to disclose terms before getting billing information linked to negative option features.
It also means sellers who fail to disclose the right terms and conditions before getting billing details linked to the negative option feature will be penalized. All users must get the option to cancel and stop charges when they feel they are getting the service they desire.
The latest rule appears to be in line with the current government’s Time is Money project which is designed to better people’s lives by ridding time. The fact that Americans are paying big money and getting very little in return is not acceptable, Khan concluded.
If a subscription is promoted as an easy one-step sign up then the same should be the case for an easy one-step cancelation. As explained by the FTC, it’s about someone taking charge and addressing the hundreds of complaints published each day, which is double the figure seen in 2021.
Image: DIW-Aigen
Read next: X Gets One Step Closer To Removing Blocking Feature
After all, no company wants you to cancel because they’re making decent money. This is the reason why you’ll find new loopholes and hurdles, each try to click on cancel. The process gets so frustrating that some have given up and therefore are forced to pay subscription fees, even if they don’t like what’s on offer.
Thankfully, things might be changing for the better, thanks to the FTC who has decided to intervene. The chairperson Lina Khan just rolled out a new set of rule for all companies that try to make it difficult to cancel subscriptions.
The rule dubbed ‘Click to Cancel’ forces all organizations to simplify the quitting process, making it just as simple as signing up. Moreover, the same number of steps would follow so if you signed up in minutes, the rule promises you the same when canceling. So one click sign-ups mean one click cancellations.
Khan also reiterated that no tricks and hurdles will be tolerated as it just wastes the users’ time and money. So her take-home message is that a subscription should never make you feel bound for payments for services that you don’t want.
Details about the new rule are asking sellers to give more data to clients about when a free trial is switched to a paid deal. This also includes providing consent from clients before giving the green signal. Anyone trying to trick the client will be penalized. So there is no room for negative marketing or misrepresentation.
The rule is set to come into play 180 days after it is printed in the Federal Register. As mentioned by the FTC, the goal is to bring an end to all deceptive practices that put users at the losing end.
The new rule will prevent sellers from misrepresenting facts during the marketing period and also stop them from failing to disclose terms before getting billing information linked to negative option features.
It also means sellers who fail to disclose the right terms and conditions before getting billing details linked to the negative option feature will be penalized. All users must get the option to cancel and stop charges when they feel they are getting the service they desire.
The latest rule appears to be in line with the current government’s Time is Money project which is designed to better people’s lives by ridding time. The fact that Americans are paying big money and getting very little in return is not acceptable, Khan concluded.
If a subscription is promoted as an easy one-step sign up then the same should be the case for an easy one-step cancelation. As explained by the FTC, it’s about someone taking charge and addressing the hundreds of complaints published each day, which is double the figure seen in 2021.
Read next: X Gets One Step Closer To Removing Blocking Feature
