By Thomas Montana
New York Attorney General Letitia James is reminding New Yorkers to take advantage of the rule from the FTC which makes cancelling subscriptions easier than ever.
The new “Click-to-Cancel” Rule, which requires companies to make cancellation at least as simple as enrollment and to allow consumers to cancel using the same method they used to sign up, will go into effect on July 14. In addition to this, the Rule requires companies to make sure that people know what they are agreeing to before they sign up for a subscription that renews automatically as well as making sure that important information about the subscription is truthful, clear and easy to find.
This wouldn’t be the first time James dealt with companies’ recurring subscriptions. In May, she secured $600,000 in penalties from Equinox and refunds for consumers. In November 2024, James won a lawsuit to stop SiriusXM from trapping New York customers in unwanted subscriptions. In December 2023, James secured $740,000 from the online mental health provider Cerebral for its cancellation process. In June 2023, James led a bipartisan group of 26 state attorneys general in submitting a comment letter to the FTC in support of changes to its existing rule; those changes resulted in the new Click-to-Cancel Rule.
Attorney General James encourages New Yorkers who experience issues canceling a subscription to contact her office by filing a complaint online.
“New Yorkers should never have to jump through hoops just to cancel an unwanted subscription,” said Attorney General James. “This new ‘Click-to-Cancel’ rule will protect consumers and ensure companies are operating fairly. I encourage anyone who has a difficult time canceling a subscription to report it to my office, and I will continue to make sure companies throughout our state are following the law.”