If You Can Sign Up Online, You Should Be Able To Cancel Online

You’ve seen the ads from companies that advertise the ease of signing up for their cable or Internet service over the web. However, if you decide to cancel those same services, you’re often forced to suffer through infuriating, time-consuming telephone calls, often spending hours on hold. We’ve all been there.
That’s why I introduced a major consumer-protection measure that would require companies that allow Californians to sign up for cable or Internet services online to also allow them to cancel those services online.
AB 2867 allows Californians to conveniently unsubscribe from a service with a simple click of the mouse. It just makes sense that if you are able to sign up for a service online, you should also be able to cancel it the same way.
Rapid advancements in technology grant consumers a wide variety of cable, Internet and phone service products from which they may choose and, while companies make it simple to buy or upgrade services, a cancellation request is usually a prolonged ordeal where customers are often pressured into extending their contracts. AB 2867 provides a convenient and consumer-friendly option for Californians to remove unwanted services without a long phone call.
There are times when we, as the Legislature, need to step in to protect consumers and make people’s lives a little easier.  This is one of those times.

Mike Gatto is the chairman of the Utilities & Commerce Committee and the longest-serving current member of the State Assembly. He represents California’s 43rd Assembly District, which includes Los Angeles, Glendale, and Burbank. www.asm.ca.gov/gatto