In my online purchasing journey (passim), I was invited to join an online appliance retailers "Five Star Club". This could be done instantly
online, and provided access to a tempting range of benefits. For £39.99 a
year (and you know it will be a subscription in their favour).

Upon (wisely as it turns out) checking the T&Cs, I notice that to
*cancel* this arrangement, required a phone call at their convenience.

Needless to say I lost interest.

However it set me thinking about the possibility and practicality of a
law that says if you can sign up for a contract in one medium, then they
are obliged to allow a cancellation in that medium.

On a related note, it used to be possible to create one-use credit cards
for such occasions. Is that still "a thing" ?

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Jethro_uk <jethro_uk@hotmailbin.com> Wrote in message:r

In my online purchasing journey (passim), I was invited to join an online appliance retailers "Five Star Club". This could be done instantly online, and provided access to a tempting range of benefits. For _39.99 a year (and you know it will be a

subscription in their favour).

Upon (wisely as it turns out) checking the T&Cs, I notice that to *cancel* this arrangement, required a phone call at their convenience.

Needless to say I lost interest.

However it set me thinking about the possibility and practicality of a law that says if you can sign up for a contract in one medium, then they are obliged to allow a cancellation in that medium.

On a related note, it used to be possible to create one-use credit cards for such occasions. Is that still "a thing" ?

I cannot comment the cancellation medium, nor on the one-use
credit card.

However, "... at their convenience" is a very vague expression.
Depending upon how this was expressed and how it might be applied
could make this fall under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts
Regulations 1999.
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1999/2083/made

--
Iain


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On Sunday, 29 October 2023 at 18:39:54 UTC, Iain wrote:

Jethro_uk <jeth...@hotmailbin.com> Wrote in message:r

In my online purchasing journey (passim), I was invited to join an online appliance retailers "Five Star Club". This could be done instantly online, and provided access to a tempting range of benefits. For _39.99 a year (and you know it will be a

subscription in their favour).

Upon (wisely as it turns out) checking the T&Cs, I notice that to *cancel* this arrangement, required a phone call at their convenience.

Needless to say I lost interest.

However it set me thinking about the possibility and practicality of a law that says if you can sign up for a contract in one medium, then they are obliged to allow a cancellation in that medium.

On a related note, it used to be possible to create one-use credit cards for such occasions. Is that still "a thing" ?

I cannot comment the cancellation medium, nor on the one-use
credit card.

However, "... at their convenience" is a very vague expression.
Depending upon how this was expressed

It doesn't say that at all, assuming we're talking about ao.com:

"You can cancel your AO Five Star membership at any time by contacting us on 0161 235 0563 (8am-7pm Monday-Friday (Sales open at 8.30am) and 8am-5pm at weekends). Your cancellation will take effect from the anniversary of your last payment, and your
membership benefits will end from that date. "

https://ao.com/help-and-advice/finance-and-savings/ao-five-star/t-and-cs

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On Sun, 29 Oct 2023 18:39:46 +0000, Iain wrote:

Jethro_uk <jethro_uk@hotmailbin.com> Wrote in message:r

In my online purchasing journey (passim), I was invited to join an
online appliance retailers "Five Star Club". This could be done
instantly online, and provided access to a tempting range of benefits.
For _39.99 a year (and you know it will be a subscription in their
favour).

Upon (wisely as it turns out) checking the T&Cs, I notice that to
*cancel* this arrangement, required a phone call at their convenience.

Needless to say I lost interest.

However it set me thinking about the possibility and practicality of a
law that says if you can sign up for a contract in one medium, then
they are obliged to allow a cancellation in that medium.

On a related note, it used to be possible to create one-use credit
cards for such occasions. Is that still "a thing" ?

I cannot comment the cancellation medium, nor on the one-use
credit card.

However, "... at their convenience" is a very vague expression.
Depending upon how this was expressed and how it might be applied could
make this fall under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations
1999.
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1999/2083/made

They give you a phone number (standard rate, so you are paying) and a
series of times they will deign to answer.

Last time I encountered this, the outfit involved were "experiencing
unusually high call volumes" and didn't answer after 10 minutes the 3
times I tried.

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Iain <spam@smaps.net> writes:

However it set me thinking about the possibility and practicality of
a law that says if you can sign up for a contract in one medium, then
they are obliged to allow a cancellation in that medium.

The government may have beaten you to it:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-bill-to-crack-down-on-rip-offs-protect-consumer-cash-onlineand-boost-competition-in-digital-markets

"New Bill to crack down on rip-offs, protect consumer cash online and
boost competition in digital markets ...

Clamping down on subscription traps that cost consumers £1.6bn a year,
making it easier for consumers to opt out ...

New legislation will today (25 April [2023]) be introduced ...

‘Subscription traps’ in which businesses make it difficult to exit a contract will also be stopped. Under new rules, businesses must:

...

Ensure consumers can exit a contract in a straightforward,
cost-effective and timely way.
"

https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3453


--
Alan J. Wylie https://www.wylie.me.uk/ Dance like no-one's watching. / Encrypt like everyone is.
Security is inversely proportional to convenience

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