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I didn’t realize canceling streaming subscriptions was difficult. Is this some sort of proactive measure?
It isn’t, generally. We went through a whole market transformation when streaming came in where we lost the whole “12 month contract” thing. It affected TV, phones, utilities services, banking products, etc. and now we have “cancel anytime” as the norm
But plenty of companies have tried to be sneaky around the “cancel anytime” approach. For example, the New York Times has a very easy subscribe process: click product, pay. But to unsubscribe, you can’t go through the same way, you either have to ring or go through their online chat, because it gives them an opportunity to retain, upsell, or even delay to get you to stay or give up unsubscribing. I feel like these kinds of tactics are what the FTC are going for.
Can't you just cancel the direct debit with the bank in those instances?
Yeah but in practice that’s a pain in the arse. Ringing your bank is not the thing most people want to be doing while they’re working, especially if they have to be on hold for an hour or more.
Huh, every banking app I use here in the UK has a feature where I can simply cancel direct debits/standing orders through the app.
In fact, the banks will encourage you to do this so they have less people calling/coming into branch.
Most people don’t pay for things with a direct debit from the bank. The standard is for the service to charge your credit card every month. You can call the credit card and stop payment but that is very different from canceling the subscription so most places will keep your account active and tell you that you’ve missed a payment and owe a debt.
I don't think it's just streaming services. FTC quotes gym memberships as an example as well, and they're notorious for bad cancellation policies.
Source: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/03/federal-trade-commission-proposes-rule-provision-making-it-easier-consumers-click-cancel-recurring