America’s signature trap nightmare may be coming to an end

• The White House on Monday announced a series of efforts to save consumers time and money.

• They include a proposal to make it easier to cancel subscriptions and memberships.

• They would also address poor customer service with a rule to make it easier to talk to a human.

Tired of spending hours trying to cancel your gym membership or get money back on a flight? A solution may be coming your way.

On Monday, President Joe Biden’s administration announced a new effort to crack down subscriptions that are difficult to cancel and poor customer service in a series of proposals known as the “Time Is Money” initiative.

In partnership with several government agencies, including the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Transportation and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the administration is proposing rules to make business processes easier for consumers to navigate. These rules would ensure that people were not stuck paying subscriptions they don’t want to, wasting time and money in the process.

“Essentially, in all of these practices, companies are either delaying service for you, or actually trying to make it so difficult to cancel service that they get to hold onto your money more and more,” said the Domestic Policy Advisor. Neera Tanden he told reporters on a conference call Friday. “These seemingly small inconveniences don’t happen by accident. They have huge financial consequences. In fact, they are just taking advantage of the fact that people are very busy.”

Specifically, according to the White House fact sheet, the FTC is proposing a rule that would require companies to make canceling a subscription as easy as signing up for one; the agency is currently reviewing public comments on this proposal.

When it comes to customer service frustrations, the CFPB is beginning a rulemaking process to get rid of “doom loops” during which customers have to click through “a maze of menu options and automated recordings” to speak with a representative. The CFPB’s proposal would require companies to have a human representative available at the click of a single button.

The Department of Transport previously announced a rule This would require airlines to provide automatic refunds to customers when their flights are delayed or canceled, rather than requiring the customer to wait with the airline to get their money back.

Business Insider previously reported about why customer service is so frustrating. Economist Dan Davies has called this a “liability sinkhole,” in which companies use an algorithm or adhere to company policy so that no employee is held responsible for any customer frustration.

“This is the situation that people find incredibly frustrating,” Davies previously told BI. “Because it’s bad to have decisions going against you, but it’s absolutely psychologically intolerable to feel like you’re not being heard.”

Along with Monday’s announcement, the White House is also opening a portal where anyone can submit suggestions about what the government should address next when it comes to saving time and money.

“I think we can all relate to that. It happens to Americans every day,” Tanden said. “For example, you want to cancel your gym membership or newspaper subscription service. It took one or two clicks to sign up, but now to end your subscription or unsubscribe, you have to go in person or wait on hold for 20 minutes, 30 minutes or half an hour just to cancel.”

Have you had difficulty canceling subscriptions or subscriptions? Have you had a bad customer service experience? Share your story with this reporter at asheffey@businessinsider.com.

Read the original article at Business Insider