If you can sign up for cable online, you should be able to opt out online, too.
That’s the argument in California where a new bill was just introduced in the state legislature. If passed, it would require cable companies to let customers cancel their cable service online with a click of a button.
“There are times when we, as the legislature, need to step in to protect consumers and make people’s lives a little easier,” Los Angeles Assemblyman Mike Gatto wrote in a release.
Assemblyman Gatto says no one should have to suffer through the pain of an 18-minute phone debacle to quit their cable service, like former Engadget editor in chief Ryan Block did in his Comcast customer service call that went viral.
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Cable providers have a reputation for being some of consumers’ least favorite companies. Comcast has even admitted to being “embarrassed” about its own track record.
The Philadelphia-based company promises it is trying to get better at the customer service game, though. The cable provider just struck a deal with Amazon to sell TV, Internet, and phone service through the Amazon Cable Store, a move that’s meant to minimize clicks (and hassle) for customers.
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But it’s not just in California where cable companies could soon be forced to make changes to the way they do business.
The Federal Communications Commission is also considering a new rule that would let consumers buy their own set-top cable boxes, instead of being forced to rent them from their cable companies. That could propel more competition from third-party service providers such as Google and TiVo—all at a time when Time Warner and Comcast cable prices are soaring higher than ever.