FTC unveils “click to cancel” rule

TheStreet’s Conway Gittens brings you the biggest news of the day, including what investors are watching and the FTC’s new “click to cancel” rule.

Transcript

00:00I'm Conway Gibbs reporting from the New York Stock Exchange. Here's what we're watching on the street today.

00:04Earnings season powered the Dow to a record high on Thursday. Economic data also helped.

00:10Consumers had more cash to spend in September thanks to falling gasoline prices,

00:14which led to stronger than expected retail sales. The week will come to a close Friday with numbers from American Express,

00:21Procter & Gamble, and fresh residential construction figures.

00:25In other news, if you've ever tried to cancel a subscription to anything and got the runaround,

00:30the Federal Trade Commission feels your pain. The FTC has finalized its

00:36quote, click-to-cancel rule to end that frustration.

00:40FTC chair Lena Kahn says quote, too often businesses make people jump through endless hoops just to cancel a subscription.

00:48Nobody should be stuck paying for service they no longer want.

00:51Under the new rules, companies will have to make it just as easy to cancel a

00:56subscription as it is to sign up. This includes gym memberships, streaming services, pay TV, and

01:02automatic billing on e-commerce sites.

01:04Companies must provide an online cancel button that does not require you to talk to a live person or

01:10interact with the company in any other way. If you enrolled at a physical location,

01:15the company must provide an easy way to cancel either online or by phone.

01:21Companies will have 180 days to comply with the new rules, which also include the free trial switcheroo.

01:27You know how it goes. The company offers a free trial,

01:30but you have to supply your credit card number first. And once the trial period ends, the company starts billing you

01:36automatically without any notice. Under the FTC's new rules, that can't happen.

01:42According to one research firm, Americans on average have four and a half subscription plans carrying a yearly price tag of

01:49$924. That'll do it for your daily briefing from the New York Stock Exchange. I'm Conway Gittins with the Street.