A group of local District Attorneys is stepping up efforts to stop autopay and automatic subscription renewals that have prompted a surge in consumer complaints.
The California Automatic Renewal Task Force, also known as CART, is made up of the district attorney's offices of Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara and Santa Clara. The group has been at work on the problem of deceptive subscription methods for five years now.
Duke Chau with the LA District Attorney's Office says the most common cyber abuse comes when customers click subscribe before reading complex payment terms, and companies may make those details difficult to find.
"The disclosure of the auto-renewal terms are not clear and conspicuous to the consumer," he said.
In addition to not seeing or reading the terms of the agreement, consumers may not be directly asked to subscribe. Chau describes this as lacking "affirmative consent" from consumers.
Chau also pointed to unnecessary "obstacles" consumers may face before being able to unsubscribe as another trick of deceptive companies.
The task force has already negotiated $20 million in civil settlements, but more cases continue to pop up as online purchases increase.
Nationally, federal officials are also looking to crack down on deceptive methods that unknowingly trap consumers in monthly subscriptions.
The Washington Post reported on a big win for the Federal Trade Commission.
Last year, the agency won $10 million in a settlement from a children's education company over allegations that it incorrectly billed users and made it difficult for them to cancel the service.
More than 200,000 people will receive refunds from the settlement.
Commission officials say the legislation around subscriptions need to be updated because subscription-based businesses expanded rapidly in the past years. Moreover, standards are different across the country.
The Post wrote that the "subscription economy" will grow to $1.5 trillion by 2025, more than double what it's valued at now, according to a prediction from UBS, a financial services firm.
