Business
WASHINGTON (AP) — In the name of consumer protection, quite a few U.S. federal agencies are working to make it easier for Americans to click the unsubscribe button on unwanted memberships and recurring payment services.
A sweeping recent government initiative called Time is Money will introduce recent regulations and promise more for industries from healthcare to fitness memberships to media subscriptions.
“The administration is cracking down on any method that businesses use to waste people's money and time through paperwork, wait times and general hassles and actually hold on to their money,” White House domestic policy adviser Neera Tanden told reporters on Friday ahead of the announcement.
“Basically, all of these practices involve companies delaying the delivery of service to you or really trying to make it so difficult for you to cancel service that they can keep your money for longer and longer periods of time,” Tanden said. “These seemingly small inconveniences don't happen by chance – they have huge financial consequences.”
The effort, launched Monday, features a recent investigation by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) into whether communications corporations must be required to cancel a subscription or service as easily as they join for one.
The Federal Trade Commission initiated in March 2023 The “Click-to-Cancel” rule requires corporations to make it as easy for his or her customers to cancel subscriptions as they began them.
Also on Monday, the heads of the Labor and Health Departments urged health insurers and group health plans to enhance how customers interact with their medical insurance coverage. They will “identify additional opportunities in the coming months to improve consumer interactions with the health care system,” in response to a White House summary.
The government has already launched several initiatives to enhance the patron experience.
In October, the FTC announced a bill to ban hidden and spurious fees that may conceal the entire cost of concert tickets, hotel rooms and utility bills.
In April, the Department of Transportation passed regulations requiring airlines to routinely provide money refunds for flight delays and to more clearly disclose fees for bags or reservation cancellations.
In addition, the ministry has taken motion against individual corporations accused of misleading customers.
In June, the Department of Justice, on the request of the FTC Lawsuit filed against software manufacturer Adobe and two of its executives, Maninder Sawhney and David Wadhwani, for allegedly pushing the corporate's “annual subscription with monthly payment” on consumers without properly disclosing that canceling the plan could cost a whole lot of dollars in the primary 12 months.
Dana Rao, Adobe's general counsel, said in an emailed statement that Adobe disagrees with the characterization of its business within the lawsuit and “we will refute the FTC's allegations in court.”
“Early termination fees have a minimal impact on our revenue, representing less than half a percent of our total global revenue, but they are an important part of our ability to offer our customers a choice of plans that balance cost and commitment,” Rao said.
Some business leaders usually are not fans of the federal government's overall efforts to crack down on junk fees.
Sean Heather, senior vice chairman for international regulatory affairs and antitrust on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said the initiative was “nothing more than an attempt to control companies' pricing structures down to the smallest detail, often undermining companies' ability to offer consumers options at different prices.”
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