Hard-to-Cancel Subscriptions: What NC Families in Charlotte and Raleigh Should Know

Signing up for a subscription usually takes one click. Canceling can take phone calls, chat windows and months of extra charges. This month, that gap is back in the news, and North Carolina families are paying for it too.

Refunds show how big the problem is

Amazon is still sending refunds to Prime members under a settlement over how people were signed up and how hard it was to cancel. Eligible members can get up to $200, sent automatically by check, Venmo or PayPal, with all refunds expected by April 2027, USA TODAY reported on October 20. If you get one, accept it within 60 days or it may expire.

Refunds help, but they come years after the charges. The bigger question is why canceling is still so hard in the first place.

What it costs families

U.S. adults spend an average of $1,080 a year on subscriptions, including about $205 on ones they no longer use, according to a CNET survey cited by CNBC. The FTC got nearly 70 complaints a day in 2024 about hard-to-cancel subscriptions, up from 42 a day in 2021.

Here at home, a Durham man told WRAL he called again and again to stop a home service plan of about $32 a month. The charges ran on his credit card for more than three years. He got a $1,300 refund only after WRAL's consumer team stepped in.

Where the rules stand

A national "click to cancel" rule was struck down by a federal appeals court in July 2025. New York City started its own rule on October 1, and more than half of states have auto-renewal laws, CNBC reported.

North Carolina's law, G.S. 75-41, requires companies to clearly disclose auto-renewal terms and how to cancel, and to send a reminder before renewals longer than 60 days. A stronger bill, House Bill 188, passed the NC House 112-0 in May 2025. It has sat in a Senate committee since.

None of these rules fixes one gap: what happens at your card company when a business keeps charging after you cancel.

How Idea 2 would help

Idea 2, Make It as Easy to Cancel a Recurring Charge as It Was to Sign Up, goes after that gap directly.

• A stop-payment right for credit cards. Debit card users already have a federal right to stop certain automatic payments. Credit card users do not. This plan gives them one, and card companies and payment networks would have to honor it.
• A yearly check-in. You approve a company once, and that approval ends after a year unless you renew it. That catches charges you forgot about.
• No surprise card updates. Card networks would need your permission before passing a new card number to a company you canceled.
• No new agency. Banks that process payments would check how companies label repeat charges, and state attorneys general and consumers could act on repeated violations.

There is a tradeoff. A yearly approval adds a little friction for services you do want. This is a draft idea, not current law.

Tell us what you think

Should canceling a charge be as easy as signing up? Vote yes, no or not sure on Idea 2, and add a private comment if you like.

If issues like this make you think about public service, our Run for Office page shows how to get started.

Paid for by MakeMeckMakeSense.