in Newswire Published on June 9, 2023

Audible Hit with Class Action Over Automatic Subscription Renewals [DISMISSED]

Last Updated on December 5, 2023

Viveros et al. v. Audible, Inc.

Filed: May 26, 2023 ◆§ 23-2-09699-1

Audible faces a class action over its alleged use of misleading tactics to trick consumers into unwittingly signing up for recurring subscription plans that are next to impossible to cancel.

Defendant(s)

Audible, Inc.

Law(s)

California Unfair Competition Law California Consumers Legal Remedies Act

State(s)

Washington

December 5, 2023 – Audible Subscription Auto-Renewal Lawsuit Dismissed

The proposed class action detailed on this page was dismissed on October 20, 2023.

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In a 28-page order, U.S. District Judge James L. Robart granted Audible’s motion to dismiss the case, ruling that the two plaintiffs failed to adequately allege any violations of California’s Automatic Renewal Law (ARL).

In particular, Judge Robart found Audible’s enrollment process to be ARL-compliant as it includes “clear and conspicuous” disclosures about the terms of its automatic renewal offer. For example, the only underlined text on Audible’s enrollment page states, “Membership continues until cancelled for $14.95/mo. + taxes. Cancel anytime via Account Details,” the judge noted.

Addressing the plaintiffs’ allegations that Audible failed to secure their affirmative consent before charging them for an automatically renewing subscription, the court found that “affirmative consent” under the ARL “merely requires that Audible conspicuously disclose its renewal policy in plain language before a customer subscribes, and the ‘Check Out’ page Plaintiffs visited does just that.”

Judge Robart also dismissed claims surrounding the company’s allegedly non-compliant confirmation emails due to the plaintiffs’ failure to provide screenshots, quotations or descriptions of their contents.

According to the judge, one plaintiff lacked standing to challenge the sufficiency of Audible’s cancellation mechanism because she failed to allege that she suffered any economic losses before she could cancel her Audible subscription online. As for the other plaintiff, Judge Robart found that she failed to allege any violation of the ARL since the only time she tried to cancel her subscription was roughly seven months before the state law went into effect on July 1, 2022.

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Audible, Inc. faces a proposed class action over its alleged use of misleading tactics to trick consumers into unwittingly signing up for recurring subscription plans that are next to impossible to cancel.

Want to stay in the loop on class actions that matter to you? Sign up for ClassAction.org’s free weekly newsletter here.

The 50-page lawsuit claims the audiobook and podcast service has run afoul of California’s Automatic Renewal Law (ARL) by charging consumers for automatically renewing subscriptions without providing “clear and conspicuous” disclosures about its terms and securing affirmative consent. Further, the case contends Audible uses a “complex, multi-step” cancellation procedure to maximize revenue by reducing customer churn, similarly in violation of the ARL.

“[The defendant] has profited handsomely from its implementation of dark patterns into its deceptive, and unlawful, automatic renewal scheme,” the filing says, citing a number of scathing online reviews from consumers who claim to have fallen victim to Audible’s “unclear” billing practices and cancellation policy.

Although the ARL states that a company’s auto-renewal practices must be prominently presented to the customer before their purchase is fulfilled, Audible’s terms are hidden in “inconspicuous and tiny” font on the “Add Card” or “Check Out” page, the suit relays. What’s more, consumers are never asked to affirmatively agree to these terms, the complaint alleges.

“Consequently,” the lawsuit says, “[Audible] uniformly fails to obtain any form of consent from, or even provide effective notice to, [its] consumers before charging their Billing Information on a recurring basis.”

The filing further claims that Audible fails to provide customers with an easy cancellation method either through a “prominently located” button or link on the consumers’ accounts or an “immediately accessible” pre-written termination email, as required under the ARL.

Instead, consumers who seek to terminate their subscriptions must wade through a series of offers, complete a survey and scroll past the company’s continuous use of “confirmshaming” buttons designed to make customers feel guilty for canceling, the case contends.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone in California who, during the applicable statute of limitations period, was assessed an automatic renewal fee associated with their Audible subscription.

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