It’s long overdue. Seems like a common sense thing but it’s different than the typical type of legislation so it seems unexpected.

My mom told me about her bank “it’s impossible to get anyone on the phone anymore” and I didn’t believe it. I tried myself and wow, she was right. The fraud department, sure . Just basic customer service, though, they’d take you in circles with their robot phone menu, make you repeatedly verify your information, then just hang up on you. Pretty wild that’s how a major bank can get away with treating their customers.

Telecommunications industry reform plz

I feel like the list of which lawmakers vote for and against this should be headline news but I won't hold my breath.

Gyms are ridiculous with their requirements to quit. When my Dad was alive, I needed to cancel his gym membership because he could barely walk and it just wasn't necessary anymore. They required that he show up in person to cancel the membership. So I had to get my Dad out there in a wheelchair or walker or whatever we were using at the time just to cancel something that we should've been able to cancel over the phone.

Here's an actual source.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/08/12/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-launches-new-effort-to-crack-down-on-everyday-headaches-and-hassles-that-waste-americans-time-and-money/

What I want to see them tackle is automatic renewals for subscriptions. It should be the law that when you sign up for a subscription service, you have to opt in if you want automatic renewal. What every service does is make you sign up for automatic renewal, and then you have to remember to cancel. And even though most sites will extend your subscription to the date you've paid thru so you can go cancel right away, that's never stated clearly on their site.

They should standardize a system where your card issuer can send a simple API call to cancel a subscription.

Log into your bank/card's website, see a list of your subscriptions, click cancel on one and it tells the company to stop charging you instantly.

I feel like with all the money our card issuers are making, they could very easily make better quality-of-life features, but they choose not to.

Of course, that feature would reduce their total fees, but even a feature like getting a digital copy of your receipt sent along with your payment would be amazing. Not by email, but just on your card statement.

Probably someone in the Whitehouse tried to cancel a gym membership and couldn't.

election year

Stop muddling fucking unrelated laws together in the same bill!!! This is why good shit doesn't get passed.

One time I had to cancel my gym membership because I was moving. I called and called. It took days for the gym to pick up. Literally could not get a hold of anyone. Until finally I got someone a week later on the phone which I was told I would have to come into the gym to cancel. So I show up at the gym at some later date. And wait..... And wait..... Like, it was a scheduled appointment. It wasn't a surprise. And I was on my lunch break from work so I'm rushing as well. Finally after waiting for my entire lunch break in front of the gym office. A guy comes in and is like "oh you hear to cancel?" No shit bro. I'm the guy who called you to talk to you about the cancellation. FINALLY I was able to cancel my membership. Turns out the person that managed the place died of COVID. So nobody was actually managing the gym.

Fuck gym memberships. I'm still a little mad about it. Why the hell do you have to jump through so many god damn hoops to cancel a service? It took me 3 weeks to cancel the service.

Better law: almost nothing can be a subscription.

Printer ink should not be subscription. You should just be able to buy ink. Shows and movies should not be subscription. You should just be able to pay for what you want. Internet service should not be a subscription. You should just pay for your usage.

There's an incredibly small number of things that benefit the consumer by being subscription. Subscriptions are to benefit the seller and usually by trying to offer as little product as possible for as much money as possible.

At some point we might realise just how little power the greatest office on the planet actually has.

Nevermind all that, where do I get me Crews Card™?

What's strange is that the abuse has been ongoing for more than a decade and the US this kind of measure is still in the "we're proposing to do this" stage.

Once again, the United States catching up to the modern developed world.

Yes, I'm half giving shit but also I'm saying I'm proud of you lot! Keep voting well and keep speaking up.

Add shipping companies to this list, I shouldn't have to call the wrong number and get passed around for an hour just to talk to a person UPS

Now do the USPS