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Why isn't This Illegal?

2024-08-09 · letter vlog · Hank · 6:23 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Economics (also: Projects, US politics & society) · mode: Personal essay · tags: timely hook, self promotion

After a subscription he barely uses raised its price and made him call to cancel, Hank argues that once a customer decides to leave a business's incentive flips to trapping them, which hurts everyone; he hopes California's law and the FTC's proposed rule end it, then plugs Good Store's easy cancelling and the new Garden Party soap.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — A subscription raises its price and its cancel button says to call

  • ★★ Hank got a letter saying a subscription he rarely uses would rise from $25 to $35 a month, $420 a year, which seemed like a lot. — 00:00:00
  • ★★ The letter said he could manage the subscription online, but the website's cancel button just told him to call by phone. — 00:00:29
  • ★★ Hank says a company he subscribed to online can surely let him unsubscribe online; it makes cancelling as hard as possible because it wants his monthly money. — 00:00:29

00:00:58 — Once a customer wants to cancel, a business's incentive flips to trapping them; bad for the company, all subscriptions and the customer

  • ★★ It worked: more than a month after the letter Hank still hadn't cancelled and had paid his first $35. — 00:00:58
  • ★★★ Hank argues a business wants to keep customers happy only until they decide to cancel; then its economic incentive switches to stopping them, since it has already lost their business. — 00:00:58
  • ★★ Hank argues it is probably bad for the company too: he might have resubscribed later, but now never will because he no longer trusts it cares about subscribers. (hedged) — 00:01:27
  • ★★ Hank says it also hurts all other subscription businesses, because he will now be warier of signing up for subscriptions. — 00:01:27
  • ★★ Hank says it is bad for him too: he must waste time in phone menus and repeatedly tell a person he wants to cancel while they try to talk him out of it. — 00:01:57
  • ★★ Hank decides to make the cancellation call as part of this video, to give himself another reason to do it. — 00:01:57

00:02:24 — Hank tries to cancel by phone on camera after business hours

  • ★ The phone line is only staffed until 4 p.m. and it is 4:30, so Hank says he'll call tomorrow, then cuts to the next day. (playful) — 00:02:24

00:02:50 — California's law, the FTC's proposed rule, Lina Khan and the non-compete ban

  • ★★ Hank says it would be better for everyone if he didn't have to do this, except perhaps the company, which on average presumably earns more this way. — 00:02:50
  • ★★ Hank says California has passed a law making this illegal, so most companies have a special, easier cancellation page for Californians. — 00:02:50
  • ★★ Hank says that because other Americans get sent to the phone number, people can sometimes use a VPN to appear to be in California and cancel. — 00:02:50
  • ★★ Hank says the good news is that hard-to-cancel subscriptions probably won't last much longer. (hedged) — 00:02:50
  • ★ Hank tried the VPN trick with this subscription, but the company apparently has no California page. — 00:03:20
  • ★★ Hank says the FTC, the part of the US government that protects consumers, has proposed a rule change that will make this illegal. — 00:03:20
  • ★★ Hank explains the FTC has five commissioners nominated by presidents and approved by Congress, serving rolling seven-year terms, with no more than three from one party. — 00:03:20 · United States Congress
  • ★★ Hank says the rule became possible when Joe Biden nominated Lina Khan, widely seen as very pro-consumer in a way that has angered big businesses. — 00:03:49
  • ★★ Hank cheers that this FTC board also created a rule banning non-compete agreements. — 00:03:49
  • ★★ Hank says the cancellation rule is not yet in effect, and businesses will argue against it at an upcoming meeting. — 00:03:49
  • ★★★ Hank hopes the businesses' objections are ignored: it is a simple case of companies intentionally making life worse for their customers. — 00:03:49

00:04:18 — Good Store's easy cancelling, Sun Basin Soap and the new Garden Party soap; sign-off

  • ★★ Hank says Good Store would never do that: subscribers log in, manage everything in one place, skip orders or cancel with a big button. — 00:04:18 · Good Store
  • ★★ Hank says the subscription management service behind Good Store hid the cancel button in tiny print, and the Good Store team made them make it big. — 00:04:18 · Good Store
  • ★★ Hank says Good Store makes it easy to do what customers want because its incentive is a good long-term relationship, not locking people in for one extra month. — 00:04:47 · Good Store
  • ★★ Hank says Sun Basin Soap is the product growing most organically, with customers coming back over and over. — 00:04:47 · Sun Basin Soap
  • ★★ Hank urges viewers who haven't tried Sun Basin Soap to try it. — 00:04:47 · Sun Basin Soap
  • ★★★ Hank and Katherine created Garden Party, a seasonal summer soap inspired by the Pimm's Cup, which they both love; there is no official tie to the Pimm's brand. — 00:05:17 · Katherine Green, Sun Basin Soap
  • ★ Hank has used versions of the soap for nine months through its iterations and loves the result. — 00:05:17
  • ★★ Hank plugs a Garden Party and Dew Drop shampoo bar bundle, cheaper subscriptions, code WELCOME25 for 25% off a first subscription order, and free subscription shipping. — 00:05:46 · Good Store
  • ★★ Hank says the soaps use all-natural ingredients and fully biodegradable packaging, and all profit goes to charity. — 00:05:46 · Sun Basin Soap

In the description and comments

  • ★★ The description invites viewers to subscribe to, or just buy, Katherine and Hank's new seasonal soap at Good.Store. — video description · Katherine Green, Good Store
  • ★★ In a channel comment Hank confirms a viewer-suggested requirement is in the FTC rule; as a business owner he dislikes losing the chance to ask why people leave, but understands. — creator comment

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: Click-to-cancel rule · Dark pattern · Federal Trade Commission · Garden Party Soap · Good Store · Sun Basin Soap

Also: People: Joe Biden · Katherine Green · Lina Khan

Works: Dew Drop Shampoo Bar

Organizations: Federal government of the United States · United States Congress

Concepts: political party · Subscription business model

Places: California

Products: Pimm's

Policies: California Automatic Renewal Law · FTC Non-Compete Clause Rule

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