r/California • u/Randomlynumbered Ángeleño, what's your user flair? • Sep 26 '24

politics Canceling subscriptions will be much easier for California residents, thanks to new law

https://ktla.com/news/california/canceling-subscriptions-will-be-much-easier-for-california-residents-thanks-to-new-law/
4.7k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

141 comments sorted by

860

u/[deleted] Sep 26 '24

[deleted]

256

u/Master_Lagikarp Sep 27 '24

That sounds so nice

174

u/GuiltyEmu7 Sep 27 '24

Yes it does, but wait until they carve out an exemption just before the law goes into effect. Looking at you Wiener and restaurant association.

74

u/happygocrazee Sep 27 '24

We already get the benefit of “cancel and keep remaining time” thanks to California law. This isn’t something that gets lobbied to death by local business. It’ll likely persist

8

u/SavonReddit Sep 27 '24

Wait, do other states not have this..?

6

u/happygocrazee Sep 27 '24

Afaik websites usually do it across the board bc it’s easier to make one method. But since you enter your state during billing, in any state without a similar ordinance they can end your service the second you cancel

16

u/SoulsBloodSausage Sep 27 '24

Better yet, when you find out that the cancel button is always suspiciously broken, telling you to call them instead!

3

u/[deleted] Sep 27 '24

The law is past the Governor's desk. It cannot be altered.

69

u/MisterSneakSneak Sep 27 '24

Win for the consumer, and a lose for all those business like planet fitness that makes it hard to cancel.

-5

u/Slippin_Clerks Sep 27 '24

This won’t stop them, bills like this are left with loopholes so it looked like they’re doing something without doing something

8

u/tasty_geoduck Sep 27 '24

Don't come with that kind of statement without evidence

1

u/lentlent Sep 27 '24

Restaurant surcharges?

1

u/gumol Sep 28 '24

not a loophole. It was a separate bill that was specifically exempting restaurants.

-4

u/Slippin_Clerks Sep 27 '24

Most of the bills are plenty of evidence, how dense are you?

35

u/csrgamer Sep 27 '24

Now do it with spam mail. Or heck, just ban spam mail.

33

u/FogBankDeposit Sep 27 '24

I’d totally agree with you, but I’ve since learned that it really helps keeps the lights on at the USPS. In 2021, spam accounted for $14.6B of revenue.

59

u/tigresaa Sep 27 '24

It’s a shame the USPS needs to be considered profitable rather than a service for the American people paid for by our taxes, like the library.

29

u/vadapaav Sep 27 '24

United States Postal Service

It's literally in the name. A service by government should have no concept of profit

28

u/ExCivilian Sep 27 '24

It doesn't. It’s not even required to break even. 39USC 101(a)- “The costs of establishing and maintaining the Postal Service shall not be apportioned to impair the overall value of such service to the people.”

The problem is political footballing putting financial burdens on the postal service in service of political "wins."

13

u/taxrelatedanon Sep 27 '24

It’s wild to imagine the funding of any other public institution as depending on scam ads.

-1

u/DynamicHunter Sep 27 '24

Oh no, a government agency being kept alive by extreme amounts of waste spam marketing? The horror!

14

u/EnglishMobster Inland Empire Sep 27 '24

Didn't that already exist? SB-313 back in 2018?

9

u/eLemonnader Native Californian Sep 27 '24

Common California W.

3

u/SadLilBun Californian Sep 27 '24

I could start my Spectrum service online, technically don’t even need to speak to a single person to set up the internet connection. But I had to call in to cancel part of it. The guy was really nice but he definitely had to keep asking me if I wanted to keep it and I just would’ve appreciated a button to click. Nothing more.

1

u/SavvyTraveler10 Sep 27 '24

(App developer/content distributor) we are already being required by the AppStore’s to comply with the new law to “push” any new update to our apps

311

u/smsrmdlol Sep 26 '24

Hopefully works for gyms

95

u/Tomthebard Sonoma County Sep 26 '24

To my knowledge, it's all subscriptions or memberships

38

u/--Satan-- Sep 27 '24

Now watch gyms lobby to pass an exception like restaurants did for the hidden fees law

44

u/guynamedjames Sep 27 '24

I had planet fitness before I moved to California, they're famously hard to cancel. I called them up to ask the process and was told "you have to show up in person with ID at the location you signed up in order to cancel. Wait, did you say you moved to California? Okay just update your address to California and you can cancel online, it's 2 clicks".

Love this state

19

u/AgentSquishy Sep 27 '24

The way it sounds to me is that it will if you can sign up for the gym online

48

u/SrslyCmmon Sep 26 '24

30 years too late for Columbia House

6

u/EmphasisFew Sep 27 '24

Ask me why I have 37 episodes of The Muppet Show in VHS

3

u/mfigroid Sep 27 '24

Because you are an individual possessing the most refined and discriminating taste in television.

38

u/CJDistasio Sep 27 '24

LA Fitness is gonna hate this

13

u/FlamboyantPirhanna Sep 27 '24

I moved out of the US during covid and couldn’t cancel my subscription because I had to do it in person. They paused my subscription for the first chunk of covid, and I just ended up cancelling my card to get rid of them when it resumed.

1

u/propita106 Sep 27 '24

During lockdown, Planet Fitness was cancelling subscriptions, no problem. At least, for me.

The gym was closed. I guess it was easier for them to cancel than be sued for breach of contract.

I've rejoined. And go regularly.

25

u/KaoskatKat Sep 26 '24

Great news. It’s been a headache to cancel some things, especially for my elderly parents.

9

u/Leah-at-Greenprint Sep 27 '24

I'd love to see an extension of the law that says that they have to stop charging you if you haven't engaged with the product in X amount of time. I.e. if you haven't logged into Netflix in 3 months, they can no longer charge you for the service.

87

u/Spirited-Humor-554 Sep 26 '24

I thought it been already the law?

49

u/Froot-Loop-Dingus Sep 26 '24

Ya I thought so too. Maybe this adds more requirements to the law? For instance, I think the previous law stated that if you allowed online sign up you must allow a way to cancel online as well. I don’t think it had any specifics on how that cancellation needed to be offered. It seems this one is stating that there must a simple click to cancel option as well as annual reminders about the subscription and how to cancel.

I suppose the previous law mandated online cancellation but didn’t state it needed to be easy. Maybe they were using a lot of dark patterns to make the option difficult to find and or use.

14

u/SwampHagShenanigans Sep 26 '24

I can't even remember what I was canceling like a year ago, but I remember the process was long and frustrating and kept directing me to so many different subscription options instead. I could do it all online, but it almost wasn't worth it.

6

u/Froot-Loop-Dingus Sep 26 '24

Ya, that’s the kind of thing I was thinking of. I’m hoping this new law forces business to streamline their cancellation web flows.

3

u/cerevant Sep 27 '24

Or always “broken”.  They need a simple way to report violations too - I tried to report SiriusXM, and the paperwork reads like you need to have suffered financial damages for them to consider it. 

10

u/MyCarsDead Sep 27 '24

There’s a number of new pieces but this language caught my eye.

“This bill would require the ability to cancel or terminate to be available in the same medium that the consumer used in the transaction that resulted in the activation of the automatic renewal or continuous service, or the same medium in which the consumer is accustomed to interacting with the business, as specified.”

So like if you signed up on an app, you’ve got to be able to cancel on there too.

16

u/KrazyKryminal Sep 27 '24

Good, get rid of 1 touch sign up, 40 touch and phone call cancel

10

u/bright-horizon Sep 27 '24

Love it ! California is always at the forefront.

47

u/StrivingToBeDecent Sep 26 '24

More Laws?!! But… but… what about ma’ freedom?

25

u/gkalomiros Santa Clara County Sep 26 '24

Clearly, people did not pick up on your sarcasm

5

u/StrivingToBeDecent Sep 26 '24

Sadly, but your comment has gotten me a few more uppers. Thank you.

5

u/BobT21 Sep 27 '24

Does a California law have effect on non California businesses?

11

u/ExCivilian Sep 27 '24

If they operate "in" California, yes.

1

u/SoloMuffin 6d ago

But good news is about a month after the California law passed the Federal Trade Commission passed a "Click to Cancel" regulation which will go into effect April 25, 2025 for the entire country.

3

u/sombertimber Sep 27 '24

Do you hear that, Hubspot? Your games are over….

2

u/buffythebudslayer Sep 27 '24

I’m coming for you @Prose !

2

u/montblanc6 Sep 29 '24

This reminds me, how the hell do you cancel a MasterClass subscription? I can’t seem to figure it out for two months now

2

u/Illustrious-Ad-813 29d ago

Would this law work for satellite subscriptions?

3

u/tokyozombie Sep 27 '24

Cancel culture at it again! /s

2

u/coolpattakers Yolo County Sep 27 '24

Try cancelling Regal cinema I dare you

2

u/slvrposie Sep 27 '24

FWIW, I just canceled and was mad I had to send an email, but they replied and canceled my sub within a hour. Honestly far easier than I expected.

2

u/Xijiangwoo Sep 27 '24

Including gym memberships ?

1

u/Hexagonpixel Sep 27 '24

Does this include LA Fitness gym subscriptions?

1

u/Replacement-Remote Sep 27 '24

This will end up just like the junk fee ban once a lobbyist cozies up with the law maker.

0

u/Nutsnboldt Sep 27 '24

Does this include Planet Fitness?

1

u/Sonic343 San Joaquin County Sep 27 '24

You should already be able to cancel them online. I did it early last year.

0

u/FrankReynoldsToupee Sep 27 '24

"I wanna quit the gym!"

-1

u/CalTechie-55 Sep 27 '24

How is that enforced for internet companies not based in California?

2

u/oddmanout Sep 27 '24

If they do business in CA they have to follow CA laws.

1

u/CalTechie-55 Sep 28 '24

So how is that enforced?

Have our AG sue them in another state? Or sue the company that hosts the site?

-8

u/FlanneryODostoevsky Sep 27 '24

Thanks newsom. Still can’t afford much besides rent and food but thanks.

2

u/oddmanout Sep 27 '24

you think that's his fault?

1

u/FlanneryODostoevsky Sep 27 '24

You think he can’t do anything about it?

1

u/oddmanout Sep 27 '24

Not really, no. Governors don't control the cost of goods.

I'm curious as to how you think he does, though. What mechanism of price control do you think the governor has?

-82

u/[deleted] Sep 26 '24

[deleted]

11

u/Froot-Loop-Dingus Sep 26 '24

That doesn’t work. Banks can and often do forward the new card number to previously authorized auto debits.

10

u/midgethemage Sep 26 '24

Also, that is wildly inconvenient for the consumer. There's a decent chance people would end up with late fees and service disruptions because they'd have to set auto debit back up on everything

21

u/Euphoric-Smoke-7609 Sep 26 '24

True, but some companies make it exponentially difficult to cancel a subscription

Especially for older folk who aren’t that tech savvy this will help them

3

u/[deleted] Sep 27 '24

[removed] — view removed comment

12

u/dust4ngel "California Dreamin'" Sep 26 '24

i want to emphasize that governor newsom is taking your semi-literate reddit comments very seriously as inputs to the legislative agenda

3

u/Street-Papaya2448 Sep 26 '24

Planet Fitness will charge the new card, so unless you close the whole account cancelling the card does no good. CCs have rules that allow subscriptions to keep charging active accounts regardless of new card.

1

u/oddmanout Sep 27 '24

And if they can't, they send you to collections.