But in reality, many companies make it nearly impossible to cancel a subscription, even when the customer has the right to do so. I have experienced cases where the only way to cancel is to call a designated phone number, but you're put on indefinite hold by the phone system and can never actually get through to the person who can cancel. Or you need to fax a cancellation request, and somehow the system never actually processes it, despite repeated attempts.

So, in these cases, cancelling an old card is an act of desperation, not an act of laziness.