Canceling subscriptions may become easier soon

ATLANTA — It seemed simple enough, Ward Council hit the cancel button on his Netflix account.

“Well, I went on the website, canceled the account, got a nice email saying we’re sorry to see you go. Your account will end on September 11th. And that was that,” Council Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Justin Gray.

But days later, he got a welcome email from Netflix. Netflix had reactivated his account.

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So, he canceled again.

Once again, a couple of days later he received another email informing him that his account had been reactivated.

“At that point, I was like, okay, no point in continuing with Netflix. They’re just not going to take cancel for an answer. I’m going to the credit card company,” Council said.

It’s not just Netflix.

If you go, try to cancel your Amazon Prime account you find a maze of steps.

Critics call it a “dark pattern.”

This year, federal regulators at the FTC issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to try to better protect consumers.

The so-called “click to cancel “rule would require companies to make it as easy to cancel a subscription as it was to sign up for it.

More than 1,600 people submitted public comment over the summer, including Dunwoody resident Arlene Anderson who wrote, “When my daughter signed up for a ‘free trial’ of Netflix I had to make several phone calls to cancel. She signed up online, she should be able to cancel online!”

Our Channel 2 Consumer Advisor Clark Howard says to always try to cancel a subscription in writing.

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“What I try to do is if there is any way I can set up an electronic trail or paper trail. Where I cancel by email or by texting,” Howard said.

As for Ward Council, he finally is done with Netflix after disputing the charges successfully with his credit card.

“Netflix, just banks on a lot of people, I think, being asleep at the switch and not taking the time to really fight,” Council said.

An industry group, the Association of National Advertisers, submitted a comment criticizing the proposal saying it “would create consumer frustration and unnecessary burdens” for consumers.

FTC tells Channel 2 Action News they have no information on a timetable on when it could be voted on.

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