I don't know how widespread problem this is, but definitely affects Germany too: companies have asymmetric requirements for signup and cancellation. We should get legislation that lets consumers cancel with the same method they used to subscribe.
In Germany companies won't accept non-payment as cancellation though, and will send your bill to collections.
PayPal is a great option for services that support it. At least you can cancel whenever you want.
One of the banks I work with let you create a virtual credit card number associated with your physical credit card. You can remove it and create a new one at any time, without having to request a new physical card. So I try to use it strategically nowadays. In the worst case, I just cancel the virtual card.
The person on the phone ended up being a ridiculously empathetic and impromptu therapist for most of the episode, but here's the punchline: https://youtu.be/Ml94NgOFxxE?t=1m22s
I now pay careful attention to cancellation procedures when signing up for stuff.