Thursday marks a new era for New York City consumers waiting to put an end to their online and app-based subscriptions.
A new law went into effect on October 1, requiring companies to make it just as easy to cancel as it is to sign up.
No more swiping through buried pages of fine print or trying for hours to get past customer service bots just to cancel that subscription, and customers say it’s about time.
“They do make it harder to cancel. It’s a longer process to cancel than subscribe,” said a consumer in the Bronx.
A 2024 national poll by Data for Progress found 83% of respondents like the subscribers in the Bronx, are in favor of a Click to Cancel law.
“I don’t want to sign anything, I just want to end my subscription, that’s it,” another consumer said.
And some people need it to be simple. A Self Financial survey this year found that 70% of participants forgot to cancel after a free trial, landing them in a paid subscription.
“We know companies want to make it really easy to sign up for subscriptions. We’re going to take that and say you need to make it just as easy to cancel,” said Department of Consumer and Worker Protection Commissioner, Sam Levine.
Beginning in October, the New Yor City’s DCWP will be able to enforce exactly that.
“New York City has banned companies from trapping people in subscriptions they don’t want,” Commissioner Levine said.
Some practices no longer allowed include hanging up on consumers who call to cancel, providing false information on how to cancel and offering discounts to tempt members into keeping their subscription. If providers break the rules, they can pay fines from $525 to $3500, depending on how many times they break the law.
While some consumers welcome the change, others are still skeptical.
“If you’re not hip to it, they’ll just keep charging and sending you whatever junk they send,” said a consumer.
“My message is we’re going to be enforcing this law aggressively, but we need New Yorkers to be our eyes and ears. Tell us about it. We’ll put investigators on it to figure out what’s happening and hopefully get you your money back,” Commissioner Levine said.
If you suspect a company is making it harder to cancel, report them. Now that the rule has gone live in New York City, NYC.gov has a page dedicated to Click to Cancel. The State of New York has a similar law.
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