On Oct 16, the FTC, or Federal Trade Commission, passed a rule called “Click-to-Cancel” for subscription platforms. This will help consumers to easily cancel their personal subscriptions. This rule was instated due to companies purposely making it hard for their customers to cancel subscriptions. This is a tactic that companies use to discreetly make some extra money without the buyer realizing they are still subscribed, this is called a “Negative option Feature.” When a corporation does not hear from a customer, they take the client’s silence as they want to continue to pay for the monthly or weekly subscription box or item. This works even if the consumer declines the fee just a day after the deadline.
Some companies that are affected by this new policy are Amazon, Audible, Spotify, Fresh-to-go, most mainstream watching programs (Netflix, Hulu, HBO, Disney+), the majority of cable and internet services (Spectrum, Verizon), gym memberships (Planet Fitness, LA Fitness) and Online game subscriptions (Xbox Game Pass, Nintendo Switch Online).
The FTC is taking this seriously, so they have set up a criteria that the companies have to follow. The company cannot have any misrepresentation or misleading information to confuse the buyers. They must include disclosures, which means any company that uses the negative option feature needs to let their customers know they use it. Lastly, they added consent, making sure the customer consents to the new terms and conditions.
Many people believe that going through the hassle of unsubscribing is extremely time consuming and is a terrible struggle.
“I believe this is a great idea, it saves money and a lot of time. I can just do this instead of going through 15 processes just to unsubscribe,” junior Addie Emling said.
For the subscriptions that go on for a continuous amount of time, people can forget they are paying for it, leading to customers losing their funds.
“I like this concept, in general I would like to get rid of the payment that drags me down,” senior Ayla Shore said.
For those who purchased a subscription within these companies, be mindful and aware of what these memberships are doing to the money that customers spend.
