Cable companies, advertising firms, and newspapers are asking courts to block a federal “click-to-cancel” rule that would force businesses to make it easier for consumers to cancel services. Lawsuits were filed yesterday, about a week after the Federal Trade Commission approved a rule that “requires sellers to provide consumers with simple cancellation mechanisms to immediately halt all recurring charges.”
The 5th Circuit is generally regarded as the nation’s most conservative, but the 6th Circuit also has a majority of judges appointed by Republican presidents. When identical lawsuits are filed in multiple circuits, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation randomly selects a court to handle the case.
The NCTA cable lobby group, which represents companies like Comcast and Charter, have complained about the rule’s impact on their ability to talk customers out of canceling. NCTA CEO Michael Powell claimed during a January 2024 hearing that “a consumer may easily misunderstand the consequences of canceling and it may be imperative that they learn about better options” and that the rule’s disclosure and consent requirements raise “First Amendment issues.”
“Too often, businesses make people jump through endless hoops just to cancel a subscription,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said. “The FTC’s rule will end these tricks and traps, saving Americans time and money. Nobody should be stuck paying for a service they no longer want.”
As someone living in the EU, I am shocked by these stories.
In my home country in the east you, you can basically cancel most things monthly, or just stop paying, and they’ll figure it out and kick you off the service after a few weeks.
In Germany it can be a bit more annoying, but cancellation is always legally well regulated.
Things are usually pretty easy, but there are bad actors in each case. Most gyms will end your service if you stop paying, but some will consider it debt and hit your credit until you pay. Likewise for most banks and some insurance companies. To “properly” close these services can require a fair amount of effort, such as physically going to the gym/branch to cancel, mailing a specific form, or calling and waiting on hold on the phone to get to a rep. It’s usually pretty easy, but there are a lot of companies that make it as difficult as they think they can get away with.
I’m sure a lot of it is technically illegal, but very few people will actually file a lawsuit.
That said, most of the time it’s perfectly reasonable, which is why it’s important to check how the customer service is before signing up for something.