Two bills passed by the Pennsylvania House Consumer Protection, Technology and Utilities Committee would make it easier for consumers to cancel online subscriptions. (Photo by Mayur Kakade/Getty Images)
Pennsylvania residents who purchase or sign up for free trials of online services would be able to more easily manage and cancel their subscriptions under legislation passed by the state House Consumer Protection, Technology and Utilities Committee on Monday.
State Rep. Lisa Borowski (D-Delaware) said the legislation has been developed in cooperation with the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office to strengthen protections for consumers who may find themselves being charged for a service they don’t want or unable to simply unsubscribe.
Borowski said the legislation would help protect seniors, who are especially vulnerable to deliberately unclear agreements with automatic renewals and methods for ending subscriptions that are hidden on websites or require a phone call.
“My father is 85 years old. These things come to him quite a bit in emails and things like that. And then all of a sudden he gets a charge on his credit card. And he’s not sure how that happened,” Borowski said.
Borowski is the prime sponsor of House Bill 2557, which would update the state Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law to prohibit online merchants from requiring consumers to opt out of automatic renewals without clearly providing notice and instructions on how to cancel.
Rep. Joe Cerisi (D-Montgomery) is the prime sponsor of a companion bill, H.B. 116, that would amend the consumer protection law to require online merchants to clearly provide notice of automatic renewal agreements and instructions for ending subscriptions or recurring services and charges.
Borowski said the legislation was developed with input from major online businesses to ensure that the requirements are not at odds with similar laws in other states.
Both would make violators subject to penalties under the consumer protection law which allows the attorney general’s office to investigate and pursue claims on behalf of consumers. Individuals can also file lawsuits against merchants under the law, which allows courts to award damages up to three times the actual loss.
Both bills passed with strong bipartisan support, but Rep. Brett Miller (R-Lancaster) said he supported the intent of the bills but objected to an amendment to H.B. 116 that exempts health clubs, which are covered by a 1989 law governing health club contracts. Miller voted in opposition to both bills, saying the carve out created an unfair standard.