The hardest US subscriptions to cancel

Cancel Planet Fitness

Gyms & Fitness · Cancellation is tied to your single "home club" — the exact franchise location where you signed up — not corporate and not any other club, even with a Black Card. Online cancellation was only rolled out across US clubs in May 2025 and is still inconsistent: many franchised locations either don't show the button or it fails, pushing members back to an in-person visit or certified mail. Email and phone are explicitly not accepted, and tight monthly billing deadlines plus a $58 buyout fee on commitment plans trap the unwary.

Cancel Comcast Xfinity

Telecom & Internet · There is no self-service "cancel" button. Xfinity's own cancel page funnels you to a phone call (1-800-934-6489), a scheduled callback, or an in-store visit; chat agents typically escalate to that same phone retention queue. The phone flow routes through a retention department trained to counter-offer (bill reductions, free premium channels), and reps frequently make you restate the cancellation request. Add 10-day equipment-return logistics, possible early termination fees on term agreements, and accelerated device-payment balances on Xfinity Mobile, and a clean exit commonly takes 20-45 minutes plus follow-up to confirm.

Cancel Adobe Creative Cloud

Software & SaaS · The online flow is multi-step (Plans → Manage plan → Cancel your plan → Continue to cancel → reason → confirm) and Adobe injects retention/discount "save" offers mid-flow. The bigger trap is money, not clicks: cancelling an Annual, Paid Monthly plan after the 14-day window triggers a 50% early-termination fee on the remaining contract — the exact practice the FTC sued Adobe over in June 2024. App Store/Google Play subscribers can't cancel on Adobe's site at all.

Cancel The New York Times

News & Publications · Most subscribers do not get a true one-click cancel button. The website routes you to a chat with a "Care Advocate" that is only staffed during limited hours, and reps run a retention script before processing the cancellation. This exact friction was the basis of the Moses v. The New York Times class action, which the company settled for about $2.375M. Digital fees are non-refundable, so timing the cancel before renewal matters. App Store / Google Play / Amazon subscribers cannot cancel on the NYT site at all and must use the original billing platform.

Cancel AT&T Internet

Telecom & Internet · For nearly all customers there is no self-serve online cancel button: you must call 800.288.2020, the call is routed to a retention team trained to keep you, and only the named account owner (with account number and PIN) can complete it. Add a non-prorated final month, a 21-day equipment-return clock with a $150 non-return fee, and a possible legacy early-termination fee, and a "simple" disconnect turns into a 15-30 minute negotiated phone call plus a trip to ship the gateway.

Cancel LA Fitness

Gyms & Fitness · There is no true one-click online cancellation. You log in to generate a cancellation form, but you must then physically mail it (certified mail recommended) or hand it to the Operations Manager in person — and per the FTC's August 2025 lawsuit, staff are trained to reject phone and email cancellation requests. The form lives in a non-public, app-inaccessible area of the site, and the 5-business-day notice window plus 7-10 day processing means a mistimed request gets billed again.

Cancel Spectrum (Charter)

Telecom & Internet · There is no self-service online or email cancellation. You must phone a live rep (or walk into a store) and sit through a mandatory retention/transfer script before they will process the disconnect. Spectrum does not prorate the final month, so timing the call matters, and you must separately return all leased equipment within ~15 days or eat unreturned-equipment fees of up to several hundred dollars.

Cancel The Wall Street Journal

News & Publications · Only California residents reliably get a working self-service "Cancel Subscription" button; everyone else is routed to a phone agent or chat, and the cancel path is buried under retention discount offers (e.g. $4/month) and multiple "are you sure?" confirmation screens designed to make you abandon the cancellation.

Cancel Crunch Fitness

Gyms & Fitness · There is no single corporate cancel button. Crunch clubs are independently owned franchises, so the method, notice period, and any fees are set by your specific home club's membership agreement. Online cancellation exists only at "some clubs" via the Member Portal; everyone else must call or visit their home gym, and many franchises historically required written/in-person notice. Nothing is cancelled until the club emails written confirmation, and members frequently report being billed after they believed they had cancelled.

Cancel Equinox

Gyms & Fitness · Club memberships carry a notice period (commonly cited as 45 days, but defined in each member's non-public Membership Agreement), bill one extra prorated cycle after you give notice, and lock first-year members in unless they relocate 25+ miles from a club or provide a physician's note. The exact terms aren't published online, the online cancel path was only added under regulatory pressure, and a 2025 NY AG settlement found the prior process "complex, difficult, and time-consuming."