§ 5-110.1 — Unconscionable and Deceptive Trade Practices Relating to Automatic Renewal and Continuous Service Offers

§ 5-110.1 Unconscionable and Deceptive Trade Practices Relating to Automatic Renewal and Continuous Service Offers.

a. It is a deceptive and unconscionable trade practice for any person to offer or provide an automatic renewal or continuous service to a consumer except in accordance with the requirements of this section. b. A person making an automatic renewal or continuous service offer to a consumer must present to the consumer, in a clear and conspicuous manner, the material terms of any automatic renewal offer or continuous service offer, including but not limited to, a description of the product or service subject to renewal, the amount of the costs that will be charged, the frequency of charges, the deadline by date or frequency by which the consumer must act to prevent or stop further charges, and cancellation mechanisms described in this subchapter, before consent to the offer or billing information has been requested 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. If the offer also includes a free gift or trial, or the price is temporary, the offer must include a clear and conspicuous explanation of how and when the price will change and the price or prices that will subsequently be charged to the consumer. c. A person making an automatic renewal or continuous service offer to a consumer must provide the consumer with the option to cancel at any time using a simple cancellation mechanism that is as easy to use as the mechanism that the consumer used to provide consent and that is through the same medium that the consumer used to provide consent. d. A person making an automatic renewal or continuous service offer to a consumer must provide the consumer with the option to cancel, at any time through all mediums by which the business allows a consumer to provide affirmative consent to, the automatic renewal, continuous service offer, or any price increase. Provided further that, where consent was obtained in-person, in addition to offering cancellation, where practical via an in-person method similar to that the consumer used to consent, the person must offer cancellation through an online mechanism, such as a website or email. e. A person making an automatic renewal or continuous service offer to a consumer must not impose unreasonable or unlawful conditions upon, refuse to acknowledge, obstruct or unreasonably delay cancellation requests or attempts to request cancellation by a consumer. Unreasonable or unlawful conditions include, but are not limited to: (1) hanging up on consumers who call to cancel, obscuring or providing false information about how to cancel, misrepresenting the consequences or costs of cancellation, or misrepresenting the reasons for delays in processing consumers’ cancellation requests; and (2) upon receiving a request to cancel, presenting the consumer with a discounted offer, retention benefit or information regarding the effect of cancellation if such offer, benefit, or presentation imposes unreasonable or unlawful conditions upon the consumer’s ability to cancel, refusing to acknowledge, obstructing or unreasonably delaying the cancellation requested. f. In any case in which a person sends any goods, wares, merchandise, or products to a consumer, under a continuous service agreement or automatic renewal of a purchase, without first obtaining the consumer’s affirmative consent, the goods, wares, merchandise, or products shall for all purposes be deemed an unconditional gift to the consumer, who may use or dispose of the same in any manner such consumer sees fit without any obligation whatsoever on the consumer’s part to the person, including, but not limited to, bearing the cost of, or responsibility for, shipping any goods, wares, merchandise, or products to the person. g. A person must notify a consumer of an automatic renewal or continuous service charge for an automatic renewal or continuous service offer with an initial paid term of one year or longer, provided that such automatic renewal or continuous service renews for a paid term of six months or longer, at least fifteen days before, but not more than forty-five days before, the cancellation deadline for such automatic renewal in the manner selected by the consumer, including text, email, app notification or any other notification channel offered by the business. Such notice must include instructions on how to cancel such renewal charge. h. A person must provide a consumer who has accepted an automatic renewal or continuous service offer with a clear and conspicuous notice of any material change to the terms of the automatic renewal or continuous service offer, including any price increases, at least five business days prior, but no more than thirty days prior, to the date of the change, in the same manner as required by subdivision g of this section; or i. A person shall not fail to notify a consumer of an automatic renewal or continuous service charge for an automatic renewal or continuous service offer if the automatic renewal or continuous service offer includes a free gift or trial for a period of more than a month, followed by an upcoming automatic renewal or continuous service charge, at least three days before but not more than twenty-one days before the cancellation deadline for the first chargeable period in the manner selected by the consumer, including text, email, app notification or any other notification channel offered by the business. Such notice must include instructions on how to cancel such renewal charge. (Added City Record 7/8/2026, eff. 10/1/2026)