Companies Must Let Customers Cancel Subscriptions Online, California Law Says (cnet.com)

A California law that went into effect July 1 is aimed at making it easier for customers to cancel their subscriptions online. From a report: The law states that customers who accept an automatic renewal or continuous service offer online must be able to cancel the service online. That could include a pre-written "termination email" provided by the company that can be sent by the consumer without the need for more information. The law means you won't have to make anymore phone calls to obscure customer service hotlines to cancel services like news subscriptions, music streaming or meal plans, for example. One person tweeted about trying to cancel a New York Times subscription on the phone and being put on hold for 15 minutes -- twice.

Comments

insurance scam related

[TheGratefulNet]

I recently changed jobs, and my previous employer's life insurance company tried to pull a fast one on me.

I did not need to continue the LI policy from the last job, I have one with my new job. the previous one was trying to be 'helpful' by giving me the option to continue it. that's fine, but...

they didn't phrase it that way, and that caused me to waste time with them. they sent me a 'bill' and it was hard to tell it was not a real bill. it looked like they auto-subscribed me to a continued service without my permission. I did not want to deal with a collections agency and all THAT hassle, when I never signed up for such service to begin with.

I called the LI company and asked what this was about. at first, they tried to snow me into believing I had to mail them some kind of letter or fax something to cancel this service. I asked what would happen if I just ignored the 'bill' and they finally admitted that the 'policy' would be void and there would be no charge.

so, why make me mail in some stupid shit and waste time when I could just ignore it and not have to spend time on a thing I never authorized?

reason: they hope to snag enough dumb fish and I bet they do, since they are still in business (and likely they make a lot from false 'renewals').

companies *think* they need to resort to low-handed tactics to be profitable, but its just pure greed. this is not - and should never be - part of a business plan. harassing past customers is not a sound business strat.

they are now on my 'never do business with' list. but I'm just one person, and their behavior will never change.