NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A6823
SPONSOR: Woerner TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the general business law, in relation to cancellation of
continuous services
PURPOSE:
To allow consumers to cancel automatic renewal offers or continuous
services offers on-line.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: amends section 527-a (2) of the general business law to allow
consumers to cancel automatic renewal or continuous service offers
on-line instead of by telephone.
Section 2: amends section 527-a (3) of the general business law to make
any such cancellation conditional on the return of property to the busi-
ness, if any, unless the business itself must remove its property from
the consumer's home or other location.
Section 3 establishes the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Many cable, internet and satellite television providers will not cancel
a customer's service unless the customer calls to request cancellation.
People often must wait on hold for long peridds, endure repeated sales
pitches by company representatives or are told that they cannot cancel
until they return equipment to the company. Older customers who are
moving to assisted living or nursing home care may try to cancel their
service through a relative or caretaker but may be forced to call the
company themselves to cancel since they are the only ones with the
"authority" to cancel. People with cochlear implants may have a hard
time understanding company representatives since the implants do not
work as well on phones as they do in personal conversations. In some
cases, people give up and are simply not able to cancel their services
at all.
This bill would require any company that maintains a public website to
provide an on-line cancellation link. If the consumer has equipment to
return to the company, the cancellation can be conditioned upon the
return and finalized as soon as the customer returns the equipment. If
the equipment cannot be returned by the customer (for example, a satel-
lite dish installed on a roof), the cancellation is immediate and the
company can pick up its property at a later date.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2024: A8453 - Referred to Consumer Affairs and Protection.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect ninety days after it shall have become a law.
