(a) It shall be unlawful for any business that makes an automatic renewal or continuous service offer to a consumer in this state to do any of the following:
(1) Fail to present the automatic renewal offer terms or continuous service offer terms in a clear and conspicuous manner before the subscription or purchasing agreement is fulfilled and in visual proximity, or in the case of an offer conveyed by voice, in temporal proximity, to the request for consent to the offer.
(2) Charge the consumer’s credit or debit card, or the consumer’s account with a third party, for an automatic renewal or continuous service without first obtaining the consumer’s affirmative consent to the agreement containing the automatic renewal offer terms or continuous service offer terms.
(3) Fail to provide an acknowledgment that includes the automatic renewal or continuous service offer terms, cancellation policy, and information regarding how to cancel in a manner that is capable of being retained by the consumer. If the offer includes a free trial, the business shall also disclose in the acknowledgment how to cancel, and allow the consumer to cancel, before the consumer pays for the goods or services.
(b) A business that makes automatic renewal or continuous service offers shall provide a toll-free telephone number, electronic mail address, a postal address if the seller directly bills the consumer, or another cost-effective, timely, and easy-to-use mechanism for cancellation that shall be described in the acknowledgment specified in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a).
(c) In the case of a material change in the terms of the automatic renewal or continuous service offer that has been accepted by a consumer in this state, the business shall provide the consumer with a clear and conspicuous notice of the material change and provide information regarding how to cancel in a manner that is capable of being retained by the consumer.
(d) The requirements of this article shall apply only prior to the completion of the initial order for the automatic renewal or continuous service, except as follows:
(1) The requirement in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) may be fulfilled after completion of the initial order.
(2) The requirement in subdivision (c) shall be fulfilled prior to implementation of the material change.
(e) This section shall remain in effect until July 1, 2018, and on January 1, 2019, is repealed.
(Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 356, Sec. 1. (SB 313) Effective January 1, 2018. Inoperative July 1, 2018. Repealed as of January 1, 2019, by its own provisions. See later operative version added by Stats. 2017, Ch. 356.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018