Ending a subscription which is no longer of any use

There are laws surrounding subscription or membership cancellation. Then there are those sales and pressure tactics that will try to convince consumers that their cancellation requires a cause. The best protection for consumers is to know their rights. And they have many.

Ending a Subscription the Right Way

Thinking about ending a subscription? Contracts must be written and signed by both parties if the membership or subscription is over a certain amount. While the amount itself varies from place to place, the process is the same. Product purchases from door-to-door salespeople, fitness memberships, magazine subscriptions or contractor services that recur are subject to this kind of protection and requirement of a contract. The terms of the agreement must also define credit terms. This is especially relevant to ending a subscription. It must make explicit what terms go into effect if the consumer defaults, does not pay or what the extra charges are that will accrue.

For Consumers Who Are on Automatic Payments

Consumers ending a subscription agreement who chose to go the route of setting up automatic payments have an added step to perform. This is especially true if it is an automatic debit payment. Obviously, consumers must verify the company and watch out for NSF fees and overdraft issues on their end. When ending a subscription, there are two parties to inform: the company itself, via calling or writing, and the bank to inform them of a revoked authorization. Consumers should monitor accounts to ensure that communication on both ends has not only been received, but acted upon. If there are still payments coming out, they are then unauthorized and must be addressed.

Stopping automatic debit payment does not constitute a complete cancellation of the subscription agreement. If it were a loan, the payments would still accrue – just they would not be withdrawn and would accumulate. The same is true of a subscription. As for email marketing and digital offers, there is, by law, always an option to “opt out” of the “opt in” process first undertaken by heading down to the email and canceling the subscription.