Imagine being forced to give up all of the profits that your company has made in California over many years as a result of client subscriptions that have been automatically renewed regularly. This potential is not limited to the arena of ill-conceived hopes and goals held by corporations.
A real-world risk is something that every company that uses automatic renewals is exposed to if it does not precisely comply with the legislation that governs automatic renewals in the state of California. An ideal target has been created as a result of the possibility for enormous “bet the company” damages, which attorneys who work on a contingency fee basis are finding to be more appealing.
The rules and regulations that regulate automatic renewal contracts are given little attention by most people, even though these contracts have grown more commonplace in our daily lives. However, most states have rules that control automatic renewal contracts, often known as automatic renewal laws (sometimes abbreviated as “ARL”), in the same way the federal government has regulations that oversee automatic renewal contracts.
To put a stop to the practice of billing consumer credit cards without the customer’s express agreement for continued shipments of goods or delivery of a service, the state of California passed one of the most stringent ARLs in 2009. This may come as a surprise to some people.
California automatic renewal contracts Lawsuits
In the context of a paid subscription or buying agreement, the word “automatic renewal” refers to a plan or arrangement that automatically renews the subscription or agreement for a future period after a predetermined term. The term “continuous service” refers to a plan or arrangement in which a customer is bound to a subscription or purchase agreement until the consumer decides to terminate the service.
From meal kit boxes like HelloFresh and Blue Apron to monthly subscription boxes like Birchbox or LootCrate to digital subscription services like Netflix, Hulu, Apple Music, or Spotify, we come across a variety of automatic renewals or continuous services in our day-to-day lives. These definitions may appear to be esoteric, but in reality, we encounter a number of these types of services regularly.
The California Automatic renewal status, which was adopted in 2010 and may be found in Business and Professions Code §§ 17600, et seq., was created to protect customers from charges that are automatically renewed without their express authorization. More than twenty states have passed consumer protection laws that are comparable to one another.
The act in California, on the other hand, sets more stringent rules on corporations and gives plaintiffs more power in terms of getting bigger settlements than the statutes in the majority of other states. Because of this, there has been a significant increase in the number of cases filed claiming that the law has been broken, as well as some hefty settlements.
The majority of firms, regardless of their location, who provide customers in the state of California with any kind of automatic renewal or continuous service offer are subject to the legislation of California. Offers are required to disclose in a “clear and conspicuous” manner that the subscription will continue until the customer cancels it,
as well as include a description of the cancellation policy, the amounts of the recurring charges, the duration of the period for the automatic renewal, and any minimum purchase requirement. Before any charge is made, consumers are expected to provide their approval positively, and all of the necessary terms must be made accessible to them in a format that allows them to keep a record of them.
The violation of the law’s stringent details results in a severe penalty: any good or service that is provided through a contract that does not comply with the law will be considered an “unconditional gift” for all purposes. This means that any revenue that is derived from every renewed charge is considered an unjustified benefit that must be completely disgorged.
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Overview of California Automatic Contract Renewal Lawsuits
| Detail | Information |
| Topic | California Automatic Contract Renewal Lawsuits |
| Governing Body | Federal Government |
| Category | Finance |
What are the requirements that the Automatic Renewal Law of California requires?
To be able to provide a contract that is automatically renewed, a company must fulfil the following requirements:
Make the “automatic renewal offer terms” or “continuous service offer terms” of a contract known in a way that is both clear and noticeable before the contract is completed;
To get a customer’s “affirmative consent” to the “automatic renewal offer terms” or the “continuous service offer terms,” customers must be contacted.
A notification of any “material changes” to the terms of the “automatic renewal offer terms” or the “continuous service offer terms” should be provided, and any cancellation rules should be disclosed.
What Conditions Are Required to Be Disclosed According to the Automatic Renewal Law in California?
“Automatic renewal offer terms” and “continuous service offer terms” are required to be declared clearly and visibly before the contract is formed or completed, as stipulated by the California legislation governing automatic renewal. The following are the terms that must be disclosed:
- It is understood that the customer’s subscription or purchase agreement will remain in effect until the consumer cancels it;
- An explanation of the cancellation policy that applies to the deal that is being offered;
- That recurring costs that will be charged to the consumer’s credit or debit card or bank account through a third party as part of the recurring renewal plan or arrangement, as well as the ones that are included in the fee;
- The duration of the period that constitutes the automatic renewal and
- The duty to make a minimum purchase
It was revised in 2018 to add the provision that if the offer includes a free trial or a gift, the consumer must be made aware of the amount that they would be charged as well as the date that the free trial will expire clearly and noticeably.
If my company does not comply with the automatic Renewal Law of California, what consequences would I face?
A California person cannot file a direct lawsuit against a company for breaking the automatic renewal rule since the California ARL does not include a provision for a private right of action. All of the civil remedies that are available and that apply to a violation of [the California ARL] are permitted to be used, as stated by the law.
However, this does not imply that the California ARL is devoid of any action potential. A group known as the California Auto-Renewal Task Force (CART), which is comprised of District Attorneys from a wide range of counties in the state of California, has taken several legal cases against firms who are accused of breaching the ARL. The company agreed to pay $400,000 in fines and an extra $150,000 in compensation for breaching California ARL by failing to gain the consumers’ affirmative permission, as described above, as part of a recent settlement that was reached in a case that CART initiated.
Are There Any Other Concerns If My Business Engages in Automatic Renewals Contracts? Let’s know the details
Your companies have to be aware of the regulatory requirements that the federal government may impose in addition to those that are imposed by the state of California to manage contracts that automatically renew themselves. The Federal Trade Commission is entrusted with conducting investigations against firms that fail to comply with the following requirements under the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA):
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- Reveal all important provisions of the contract in a way that is both clear and obvious, such as whether or not it is a recurring agreement;
- Before imposing a fee, it is necessary to first get the direct and informed permission of the customer and
- Make available a straightforward method for putting an end to recurring payments.
After the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) asserted that ABCmouse failed to offer a method that was sufficiently easy to stop the recurrent payments for educational material, a recent lawsuit involving a corporation located in California called Age of Learning, Inc. d/b/a ABCmouse ended in a settlement of $5,000,000.
Conclusion
Since the number of class actions involving automatic renewal has been steadily increasing, businesses that provide automatically renewed products or services to customers in the state of California have to take additional precautions to appropriately protect themselves.
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Because of this, business organizations that are vulnerable to this category of litigation need to conduct a comprehensive review of the language used in their online and hardcopy contracts, as well as to take the required measures to ensure that the language used in their renewal policy is by the provisions of the legislation that are relevant.
Calista Embry is a finance journalist who graduated from Johns Hopkins University. She has a passion for writing and researching the impact of finance on social life.