That gym membership you've been meaning to cancel? Whether escaping it takes one click or three phone calls now depends heavily on where you live. The federal "click-to-cancel" rule that was supposed to fix this for everyone got vacated in court — and in its absence, the states have built a patchwork.
The federal floor that's still standing
One national law does still apply: ROSCA, the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act. It requires companies to disclose auto-renewal terms clearly and offer a "simple" cancellation mechanism. The problem is the word "simple" — companies have interpreted it generously for years, which is exactly what the FTC's click-to-cancel rule tried to tighten before courts threw it out.
So the baseline everywhere is: they have to tell you about the renewal and can't make cancellation impossible. How easy it must be beyond that is a state question.
Where the strong protections are
California remains the benchmark. Its Automatic Renewal Law requires explicit consent before charging you, and — critically — if you signed up online, you must be able to cancel online. No mandatory phone call, no retention-department gauntlet.
Connecticut joined the club this July, requiring renewal notices and a clear path to cancel. Colorado mandates a one-step online cancellation link and prohibits companies from obstructing or delaying it. Maryland requires warnings before free trials longer than 14 days convert into paid plans, plus an alternative way to cancel for people who can't use an online account. New York, Illinois, Vermont, Oregon and Tennessee round out the list of states with well-developed rules.
And if your state's law is thin? You're not out of options. Every state has a general prohibition on unfair and deceptive practices, and attorneys general have used it against subscription traps plenty of times.
What to actually do
A few habits neutralize most of the machinery. Screenshot the signup terms — the price, the trial length, the renewal date. Put a calendar reminder two or three days before any free trial ends, because Maryland-style advance notices aren't guaranteed everywhere. If you enrolled online, insist on cancelling online, and put the request in writing if the company stalls; a dated email beats a phone call you can't prove happened.
When a company genuinely won't let go, escalate in order: dispute the charge with your card issuer, then complain to your state attorney general. AG complaints matter more than people think — they're the raw material for the enforcement actions that created these laws in the first place.
The direction of travel
Here's the odd upside of the federal rule dying: it kicked off a state legislative race that keeps producing stronger laws each session. Companies that operate nationally increasingly just build to the California standard for everyone, because maintaining fifty cancellation flows is madness. Your leverage is growing either way. The subscription economy trained us to sign up in one tap — the law is slowly getting around to demanding the exit work the same way.
Image: https://kaboompics.com/, via Pexels
