New York City is Taking on Shady Subscriptions

If you’ve ever signed up for a free trial and then spent 45 minutes on hold trying to cancel it – or couldn’t even find a number to call in the first place – New York City may soon have your back.

Last month, New York City proposed a “click-to-cancel” rule that would require subscription companies to make canceling just as easy as signing up. And last week, TINA.org filed a comment urging the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection to adopt it.

The city’s proposal comes three months after it announced its Executive Order 10, “Fighting Subscription Tricks and Traps,” which directs DCWP to take action to combat deceptive subscription practices.

The problem: easy in, not-so-easy out

TINA.org has spent years investigating deceptive subscription practices, and the pattern we’ve uncovered is remarkably consistent across industries — from skin care products and meal kits to fitness memberships and legal services. Companies lure consumers in with offers for free trials or steep discounts, bury the recurring charges in fine print, and then put up obstacles when customers try to leave.

The countless consumer complaints that have been filed – with TINA.org, the FTC, state regulators and third-party review sites – speak for themselves.

One consumer described needing to speak with five different customer service representatives and still getting charged despite assurances their account was canceled. Another – a pensioner – realized too late that what she thought was a one-time order for a dietary supplement had quietly signed her up for a monthly charge, wiping out her holiday savings. A third tried for months to cancel a $50/month membership with zero response from the company.

These aren’t isolated incidents. DCWP received more than 100 complaints regarding difficult-to-cancel subscriptions in 2025 alone. And the FTC received nearly 70 subscription-related complaints per day in 2024 — up from 42 per day in 2021. The BBB logged roughly 37,000 complaints about deceptive subscriptions in just a three-year span, with an average reported loss of $186 per victim.

Why New York City specifically?

New Yorkers seem to be disproportionately affected by deceptive subscription practices. Home to 8.5 million people, NYC has an economy larger than most U.S. states, generating $2 trillion in GDP. Research shows that urban, Northeastern areas have higher concentrations of online subscribers — and NYC consumers are especially active digital shoppers, with more than 78% making at least one online purchase per week. Given this concentration of digital consumers, deceptive subscription practices disproportionately inflict costs on New York City consumers who are routinely misled into enrolling in subscription programs through deceptive marketing and then encounter unnecessary friction when attempting to cancel. Notably, a recent survey found New Yorkers underestimate their monthly subscription spending by more than $116 per month.

TINA.org’s own investigations have also uncovered numerous deceptive subscription practices impacting NYC consumers. Our 2022 complaint against meal kit company HelloFresh targeted its use of “free meal” promotions to lure and trap consumers, including those in the Big Apple, in undisclosed autorenewing subscriptions. Most recently, TINA.org filed complaints against Homeaglow, an online cleaning service that falsely advertises $19 home cleanings to draw in consumers from across the country including those in NYC – then uses dark patterns to rush consumers through improperly disclosed subscription terms before hitting them with steep cancellation fees if they try to leave within six months.

TINA.org also tracks a multitude of class-action lawsuits alleging misleading subscription practices by companies conducting business in New York City, including The New York Times, NFL Enterprises, Peacock TV and Paramount+, among many others.

The bottom line

The “click-to-cancel” rule is a commonsense fix to a persistent, costly problem. And TINA.org’s comment makes clear that the evidence supports adoption.

Stay tuned for updates.