If enrolled online, cancellation available online
Why it matters
FTC Click-to-Cancel Rule (2024, effective 2025) requires that if a consumer enrolled online, cancellation must be available through the same online mechanism — routing to email or phone is an explicit violation. California ARL enforces the same standard for California-based consumers. A 'Cancel anytime' marketing claim paired with a mailto:support@example.com cancellation path is both a deceptive trade practice and a regulatory violation. The practical consequence is that support tickets spike at billing cycle, refund rates climb, and dispute rates follow because users who cannot self-cancel dispute the charge instead.
Severity rationale
High because requiring support contact for online-enrolled subscriptions is a named violation category in the FTC Click-to-Cancel Rule, triggering enforcement without the proportionality analysis applied to step-count violations.
Remediation
Replace any mailto: or tel: cancellation links with a self-service flow in app/settings/billing/page.tsx. The minimum viable path is a form post to the Stripe Billing Portal:
<div className="billing-actions">
<form action="/api/billing-portal" method="POST">
<button type="submit">Manage subscription</button>
</form>
</div>
If using Stripe Billing Portal, verify in Stripe Dashboard → Billing → Customer portal that 'Allow customers to cancel subscriptions' is enabled — some portal configurations disable cancellation by default, which means the portal route is present but non-functional. Search src/ for mailto: links adjacent to cancel-related copy to catch any lingering support-redirect patterns.
DetectionPro
The detection method for this pattern is part of AuditBuffet Pro.
The full method (what to look for, pass and fail conditions, and how results get reported) ships inside the Subscription & Auto-Renewal Compliance Audit. The pattern definition, severity rationale, and remediation remain openly licensed under CC-BY-4.0.
External references
- external · ftc-click-to-cancel-rule-2024 — FTC Click-to-Cancel Rule (2024) § 425.6(b) — online cancellation required for online enrollments
- external · california-arl — California Automatic Renewal Law (Bus. & Prof. Code §17602(d)) — online cancellation mechanism required
Taxons
History
- 2026-04-18·v1.0.0·Initial import from subscription-compliance·automated