California's subscription protection law - what would it take to adopt here

Submitted by wkomorow t3_yaqqme in massachusetts

Background: it is more nuanced, but basically if you can subscribe online, you can cancel (not get a refund but incur no further charges online or through a preformatted email), it also provides notification of renews and when you are facing an end to promotional pricing. https://www.connectsafely.org/new-law-will-make-it-easier-to-cancel-online-subscriptions/

Basically it allows you to unsubscribe (stop subscriptions nothing to do with refunds) online.

The basic idea was that CA is such a big market that subscription services would modify their systems to allow all consumers to do their cancellations online.

Reason for question: I cancelled 3 newspaper subscriptions (turned off renews), the NYT, and 2 MA papers. (I like to read multiple papers to get a perspective before the election.) The NYT allowed me to do it online, the 2 MA papers required I call. One paper took about 10 minutes, the other with phone tag took 3 days.

Question: what would it take to enact a similar law in MA?

Action I took: I wrote my state rep and senator, and received pleasant noncommittal form letters in response.

I realize that subscription confusion is big business and making it easy to stop subscriptions online will cost businesses money, but by making it difficult to cancel businesses are also losing money. Subscribers may like their services and want to subscribe, but are weary to even try their products given their prior cancellation experiences. Newspapers in particular make subscription changes difficult. I am not advocating being able to subscribe for a day, but like streaming services we should be able to subscribe for a month and cancel online when it is time to renew.

59

Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

freedraw t1_itcetjv wrote

Any service that allows you to sign up online should be required to allow you to cancel online. This should be federal law.

55

wkomorow OP t1_itch7bp wrote

You are absolutely right, but I am a pragmatist. Even if Republicans voted for it in the Senate, red state Attorneys General would file a suit in Texas federal court and the judge would put a nationwide stay in place. We should be able to do this in MA.

7

freedraw t1_itcigoi wrote

It would benefit consumers at the expense of giant corporations, so I won’t hold my breathe.

8

[deleted] t1_itgnfnv wrote

[deleted]

1

BigScoops96 t1_itcbkck wrote

Planet fitness would go bankrupt

17

wkomorow OP t1_itccawk wrote

Would it be wrong of me to say - good better them than me? Gyms did not come to mind, but you are absolutely right, for some gyms, their business model is to have no one use their services, but require the hassle of in person cancellation. I wonder what they do in CA.

12

BigScoops96 t1_itcch4h wrote

I am not defending planet fitness, they let you sign up online, but to cancel they want you to write a letter?

9

Educational-List8475 t1_itcju6s wrote

Planet fitness, crunch, anytime fitness, 24hour fitness, etc, they’re all the same. You should be able to cancel online if you signed up online.

7

knign t1_iteaexp wrote

This would make an excellent ballot question.

6

otm_shank t1_itg6esk wrote

I also had a hell of a time cancelling a Boston Globe subscription. I was so irritated sitting on hold that I vowed to never give them another dime.

So yeah, I don't know what it would take to pass this here, but I'd be in favor. In the meantime, temporarily changing your billing address to somewhere in CA might let you trigger some of these protections.

3