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California "Click to Cancel" law could end subscription nightmares [1]
['Mark Frauenfelder']
Date: 2024-09-27
Years ago, I had a SiriusXM subscription for my car. It was easy to sign up online. I didn't have to talk to anybody. When I sold the car, I tried to cancel the subscription, but the only way to do it was by calling them on the phone. I called the number and went through a voice mail maze to get to the cancellation option. And then… nothing. Literally, nothing happened. No recording, no ringing, just silence.
I hung up and tried again with the same result. I tried again the next day. Nada.
I eventually found a service that specialized in canceling SiriusXM subscriptions. I think it was $50. I paid it and, miraculously, it worked. My subscription was canceled. My guess is the cancellation company was run by a Sirius employee who split the money with a contact on the inside.
California's new "Click to Cancel" law, set to take effect in mid-2025, aims to prevent such maddening experiences. Under this law, companies will be required to provide cancellation methods that are as simple as their sign-up processes. For instance, if a subscription can be initiated online, customers must be able to cancel it online with equal ease.
From the California Government website:
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