The Biden administration is implementing a new initiative called "Time Is Money" to simplify the cancellation of unwanted memberships and recurring payment services. Neera Tanden, White House domestic policy adviser, emphasized that companies often use complicated processes to delay cancellations, thereby holding onto consumers' money for longer. This initiative will affect industries ranging from healthcare and fitness memberships to media subscriptions.
Beginning Monday, the Federal Communications Commission will investigate making it as easy to cancel a subscription as to sign up for one. Similarly, the Federal Trade Commission started rulemaking in March 2023 to enforce a "click to cancel" option. Heads of the departments of Labor and Health and Human Services are also on Monday urging health insurance companies to enhance customer service interactions with health coverage.
Past consumer-experience efforts include an October FTC proposal to ban hidden fees and an April move that saw the Transportation Department establish rules for airlines to issue automatic refunds for delays. In June, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit against software company Adobe for their allegedly deceptive subscription practices. Dana Rao, Adobe's general counsel, defended the firm's practices, stating the early termination fees minimally impact revenue. Sean Heather from the US Chamber of Commerce pushed back, criticizing the government's efforts and claiming they undermine "businesses' ability to give consumers options at different price points." (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP)
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