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Hi, European here. To hear these horror stories how hard it is to cancel a service in the US makes me wonder how the Americans put up with this.

by Gud 1y ago

arwhatever 1y ago
My perception is that consumer protections are much weaker in the U.S. than in the E.U. It would be interesting if anyone has made any attempt at quantifying this. We all know that there are other countries where far, far worse abuses of power take place, but I've wondered if the U.S. might be at some really unfortunate nexus of strong contract law enforcement + particularly poor consumer protections that leads to these particularly madding subscription cancellation-type services discussed in this thread.
nick238 1y ago
One of our defining American neuroses is an extreme aversion to anything remotely paternalistic.
lostlogin 1y ago
Fellow non-American: Add in the random percentage increase in price when you try to buy something in a store from hidden taxes. Also add the culture of tipping, rather than paying staff.
- drdec 1y ago
  > Add in the random percentage increase in price when you try to buy something in a store from hidden taxes. It's not random. Those of us with a state tax are familiar with the rules and the rates. Those with a modicum of arithmetic ability have a pretty good idea what the total is coming to. Not saying "this is better" just that it is not as bad as you apparently think.
  - lostlogin 1y ago
    I’ve only been to the US as a visitor, and found the percentages varied between shops and goods. I’m sure there is a pattern, but it really does seem crazy that it isn’t shown on the price tag.
    - frollogaston 1y ago
      Yeah, there's unprepared food vs prepared food (apparently this is why Subway makes a big deal about toasted vs untoasted sandwiches), also bottle CRV, also sales tax can differ between cities. I wouldn't want those taxes secretly baked into prices on receipts, but they should at least be in the advertised price.

Hi, European here. To hear these horror stories how hard it is to cancel a service in the US makes me wonder how the Americans put up with this.

by Gud 1y ago

Hi, European here. To hear these horror stories how hard it is to cancel a service in the US makes me wonder how the Americans put up with this.

arwhatever 1y ago

My perception is that consumer protections are much weaker in the U.S. than in the E.U. It would be interesting if anyone has made any attempt at quantifying this. We all know that there are other countries where far, far worse abuses of power take place, but I've wondered if the U.S. might be at some really unfortunate nexus of strong contract law enforcement + particularly poor consumer protections that leads to these particularly madding subscription cancellation-type services discussed in this thread.

nick238 1y ago

One of our defining American neuroses is an extreme aversion to anything remotely paternalistic.

lostlogin 1y ago

Fellow non-American: Add in the random percentage increase in price when you try to buy something in a store from hidden taxes. Also add the culture of tipping, rather than paying staff.

drdec 1y ago
> Add in the random percentage increase in price when you try to buy something in a store from hidden taxes. It's not random. Those of us with a state tax are familiar with the rules and the rates. Those with a modicum of arithmetic ability have a pretty good idea what the total is coming to. Not saying "this is better" just that it is not as bad as you apparently think.
- lostlogin 1y ago
  I’ve only been to the US as a visitor, and found the percentages varied between shops and goods. I’m sure there is a pattern, but it really does seem crazy that it isn’t shown on the price tag.
  - frollogaston 1y ago
    Yeah, there's unprepared food vs prepared food (apparently this is why Subway makes a big deal about toasted vs untoasted sandwiches), also bottle CRV, also sales tax can differ between cities. I wouldn't want those taxes secretly baked into prices on receipts, but they should at least be in the advertised price.