Unsubscribe? Good Luck with That!

For the past few weeks, I’ve been trying to cancel a subscription, and it was not easy! An unsubscribe button didn’t exist. The search bar took me to unhelpful articles. After a fair number of searches, I finally unburied a phone number where I had to call in to cancel. And we all know how much fun it is to try and get a live person on the phone. It’s as if the word “representative” turns into an un-ending demand or a curse word.

Subscriptions can be an expensive problem. C+R Research⁽¹⁾ tells us:

On average consumers thought they spent $86 / month for subscription services.
A closer look reveals that it’s $219, or 2.5% more than originally estimated.
It’s easy to forget about payments considering 72% of consumers said they set all their monthly subscription payments on autopay.
42% admit that they’ve stopped using a subscription service(s) but forgot they were still paying for them.

Can we please give the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) a big round of applause for its new “click-to-cancel” rule? ⁽²⁾

On October 16, 2024, the FTC issued a final rule that requires companies that sell subscriptions to make canceling a service as simple as it is to sign up (e.g., if you join online, you can cancel on the same website in the same number of steps). It would also require companies to send an annual reminder to customers before automatic renewal.

Does this sound too good to be true?

Maybe. Unsurprisingly, streaming services and businesses that use these tactics are already suing to block the click-and-cancel rule. ⁽³⁾

Let’s hope the ruling sticks. In the meantime, take a moment to review your current subscriptions as it could save you money.

And if you must cancel, please say hi to good friend, “representative.”

Be well,
Barbara

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