The End Of "Zombie" Gaming Subscriptions?

Slapshot1188

Interesting article on yahoo that seems to have impact on gaming subs:

From yahoo:

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Wednesday announced that it finalized its "click to cancel" rule that will require companies to make it easier for consumers to cancel their subscriptions.

The click to cancel rule will apply to nearly all sellers of negative option programs – which is a form of contract that assumes the consumer accepts the offer if they don't take active steps to reject it, such as with a subscription that automatically renews unless canceled.

The rule requires that sellers get consumers' consent for subscriptions, auto-renewals and free trials that convert to paid memberships. They must also offer a cancellation process that is "at least as easy to use" as the sign-up process is.

It will prohibit sellers from misrepresenting any material fact while marketing goods or services with a negative option feature; failing to disclose material terms prior to obtaining a customer's billing information; failing to obtain a consumer's express informed consent to the negative option feature before charging them; and not providing a simple mechanism to cancel the subscription or membership and immediately halt charges.

The FTC initially proposed the click to cancel rule in March 2023.

The rule also prohibits sellers from requiring consumers who signed up through an app or website to go through a chatbot or agent to cancel, while companies must also provide consumers who signed up in-person with means to cancel by phone or online.

"Too often, businesses make people jump through endless hoops just to cancel a subscription," FTC Chair Lina Khan said in a statement. "The FTC's rule will end these tricks and traps, saving Americans time and money. Nobody should be stuck paying for a service they no longer want."

FTC Chair Lina Khan said the click to cancel rule will be helpful for consumers.

Most of the final rule's provisions will take effect 180 days after the rule is published in the Federal Register.

The rule was first proposed in March 2023 and several provisions in the initial rule were dropped after the FTC's review that followed the public comment period. More than 16,000 comments were received from consumers, federal and state government agencies, consumer groups and trade associations during the comment period.

The final rule dropped a provision that would've required sellers to provide annual reminders to consumers about the negative option feature of their subscription.

It also removed a prohibition on sellers telling consumers seeking to cancel their subscription about modifications they can make to their plan or reasons to keep their existing agreement without first asking if they want to hear about them.

lotrlore

So I was wondering how this might affect gaming subs, since this is mostly in response to Adobe's frankly asinine cancellation policies and all of the fees associated with doing so. 

It'll be interesting to see how, if this is fully enacted, it will affect gaming subs, but also subs to things like Twitch streamers, YouTube memberships, site subs, Patreon and more. 

Personally, I hope it is the end of a "zombie" sub. I just looked at my account this morning and realized I'm still paying for way too many I don't actually interact with and now it's too late to cancel this month, lol. This would personally help me in a major way.

Elidien_ga

the worst thing I ever had to cancel was Sirius Satellite radio. I had to call or chat with an agent and it took like 20 minutes of chatting where I offered every deal under the sun to keep my subscription. it pissed me off so badly I did not renew just because of it.

Slapshot1188

Elidien_ga said:

the worst thing I ever had to cancel was Sirius Satellite radio. I had to call or chat with an agent and it took like 20 minutes of chatting where I offered every deal under the sun to keep my subscription. it pissed me off so badly I did not renew just because of it.

YES!!

I did the same.  Eventually I learned their menu of offers...

I eventually learned that I could just keep saying no until they offered me a free month.

But then I'd have to call again.   Eventually I just couldn't take it.

Elidien_ga

Slapshot1188 said:

Elidien_ga said:

the worst thing I ever had to cancel was Sirius Satellite radio. I had to call or chat with an agent and it took like 20 minutes of chatting where I offered every deal under the sun to keep my subscription. it pissed me off so badly I did not renew just because of it.

YES!!

I did the same.  Eventually I learned their menu of offers...

I eventually learned that I could just keep saying no until they offered me a free month.

But then I'd have to call again.   Eventually I just couldn't take it.

Yep, I try to get them as low as I can go for as long as possible. I think I got 2 years for less than $5 a month right now. But considering all the driving I do and family vaca's, $5 is worth it for me. Not many good radio stations reach up into the Appalachian Mountains

Theocritus

Some things used to require credit card information to get a free trial......They would say something like "Just go into your account and check off auto renewal and you wont be billed"....but often times people would forget and then get dinged....also it was often a major pain to get auto renew to stop....Things like this are why I refuse to ever pay a sub again in anything.