Consumer Reports Hit with Class Action in California Over Automatic Renewal Program

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A proposed class action lawsuit claims Consumer Reports, Inc. has violated California law by automatically renewing members’ subscriptions without providing adequate notice or securing their consent to do so.

Alleging violations of California’s Automatic Renewal Law, the complaint explains that before a customer can be locked into a legally binding automatic renewal agreement, they must be presented with the terms of the agreement in a “clear and conspicuous manner” and provide their affirmative consent to the offer. According to the case, the terms required to be disclosed to a customer prior to subscription renewal include:

• That the subscription will continue until the customer cancels;
• A description of the cancellation policy;
• The amount that the customer will be charged and a statement that the amount can change (if that is the case), as well as the amount it will change;
• The length of the automatic renewal term or that the service is continuous; and
• The minimum purchase obligation, if any.

The case alleges that Consumer Reports did not provide these disclosures to consumers when they signed up for what they believed was a fixed-term subscription to the magazine. Moreover, the case claims the defendant failed to secure customers’ consent to be charged for an automatic renewal before doing so, and never provided an acknowledgment, in a manner capable of being retained by the customer, of the automatic renewal terms and cancellation policy, nor an explanation of how to cancel.

The lawsuit seeks to represent anyone in California who was enrolled in Consumer Reports’ automatic renewal or continuous service program within the applicable statute of limitations period. The case, initially filed in San Diego County Superior Court, has been removed to California’s Southern District.