Deceptive Patterns
‹ All examples Spectrum

Spectrum: Difficult to cancel service

Author
Dark Patterns Tip Line
Date
20 Nov 2023
Type
Hard to cancel

“They wasted my time by trying to make it impossible for me to cancel the service, first a long hold time to speak to a representative on the phone (the only way to cancel), then by giving me sales pitch and question after question trying to get me to keep services. I literally had to repeat over and over again “I want to cancel the service” and the representative tried very hard to ignore my request and kept asking me things like “well what services would you like”. It was awful.”

Disclaimer: examples in the Hall of Shame are generally drawn from public submissions and cited sources; they have not been independently verified and may contain inaccuracies. They are presented as illustrations of design patterns, not findings of fact, unlawful conduct, or intent.