SB0328 EngrossedLRB103 27045 SPS 53413 b

1    AN ACT concerning business.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Automatic Contract Renewal Act is amended
5by changing Sections 5, 10, and 20 as follows:
 
6    (815 ILCS 601/5)
7    Sec. 5. Definitions. In this Act:
8    "Automatic renewal offer terms" means the following clear
9and conspicuous disclosures:
10        (1) that the paid subscription or purchasing agreement
11    will continue until the consumer cancels;
12        (2) the timeframe in which the consumer must cancel in
13    order to avoid being charged for a subsequent term;
14        (3) the recurring charges that will be charged to the
15    consumer's credit or debit card or payment account with a
16    third party as part of the automatic renewal contract, and
17    that the amount of the charge may change, if that is the
18    case, and the amount to which the charge will change, if
19    known;
20        (4) the length of the automatic renewal term or that
21    the service is continuous, unless the length of the term
22    is chosen by the consumer; and
23        (5) the minimum purchase obligation, if any.

 

 

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1    "Clear and conspicuous" means in larger type than the
2surrounding text, or in contrasting type, font, or color to
3the surrounding text of the same size, or set off from the
4surrounding text of the same size by symbols or other marks, in
5a manner that clearly calls attention to the language. In the
6case of an audio disclosure, "clear and conspicuous" means in
7a volume and cadence sufficient to be readily audible and
8understandable.
9    "Contract" means a written agreement between 2 or more
10parties.
11    "Parties" includes individuals and other legal entities,
12but does not include the federal government, this State or
13another state, or a unit of local government.
14(Source: P.A. 101-412, eff. 8-16-19; 102-558, eff. 8-20-21.)
 
15    (815 ILCS 601/10)
16    Sec. 10. Automatic renewal; requirements.
17    (a) Any person, firm, partnership, association, or
18corporation that sells or offers to sell any products or
19services to a consumer pursuant to a contract, where such
20contract automatically renews unless the consumer cancels the
21contract, shall:
22        (i) disclose the automatic renewal offer terms clause
23    clearly and conspicuously in the contract before the
24    subscription or purchasing agreement is fulfilled and in
25    visual proximity, or in the case of an offer conveyed by

 

 

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1    voice, in temporal proximity, to the request for consent
2    to the offer; , including the cancellation procedure.
3        (ii) not charge the consumer's credit or debit card or
4    other payment mechanism for an automatic renewal service
5    without first obtaining the consumer's consent to the
6    contract containing the automatic renewal offer terms;
7        (iii) provide an acknowledgment that includes the
8    automatic renewal offer terms, cancellation policy, and
9    information regarding how to cancel, which may be
10    accomplished by linking to a resource that provides
11    instructions that account for different platforms and
12    services, in a manner that is capable of being retained by
13    the consumer; and
14        (iv) if the offer includes a free gift or trial,
15    disclose how to cancel the contract, which may be
16    accomplished by linking to a resource that provides
17    instructions that account for different platforms and
18    services, and allow the consumer to cancel before the
19    consumer pays for the good or services.
20    (b) Any person, firm, partnership, association, or
21corporation that sells or offers to sell any products or
22services to a consumer pursuant to a contract, where such
23contract term is a specified term of 12 months or more, and
24where such contract automatically renews for a specified term
25of more than one month unless the consumer cancels the
26contract, shall notify the consumer in writing of the

 

 

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1automatic renewal. Written notice shall be provided to the
2consumer no less than 30 days and no more than 60 days before
3the cancellation deadline pursuant to the automatic renewal
4offer terms clause. Such written notice shall disclose clearly
5and conspicuously, in a retainable form:
6        (i) that unless the consumer cancels the contract it
7    will automatically renew; and
8        (ii) a mechanism for cancelling the contract, which
9    shall be offered in a manner in which the consumer
10    commonly interacts with the business; and where the
11    consumer can obtain details of the automatic renewal
12    provision and cancellation procedure (for example, by
13    contacting the business at a specified telephone number or
14    address or by referring to the contract).
15        (iii) the deadline by which the consumer must cancel
16    in order to avoid being charged for a subsequent term.
17    (b-5) A person, firm, partnership, association, or
18corporation that makes an automatic renewal offer or
19continuous service offer online shall provide a toll-free
20telephone number, electronic mail address, a postal address if
21the seller directly bills the consumer, or another
22cost-effective, timely, and easy-to-use mechanism for
23cancellation that shall be described in the notice required in
24subsection (b). A consumer who accepts an automatic renewal or
25continuous service offer online must be allowed to terminate
26the automatic renewal or continuous service exclusively

 

 

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1online, which may include a termination email formatted and
2provided by the business that a consumer can send to the
3business without additional information, or a link to a
4website or other online service consumers can use to cancel.
5    (c) A person, firm, partnership, association, or
6corporation will not be liable for a violation of this Act or
7the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act if
8such person, firm, partnership, association, or corporation
9demonstrates that, as part of its routine business practice:
10        (i) it has established and implemented written
11    procedures to comply with this Act and enforces compliance
12    with the procedures;
13        (ii) any failure to comply with this Act is the result
14    of error; and
15        (iii) where an error has caused a failure to comply
16    with this Act, it provides a full refund or credit for all
17    amounts billed to or paid by the consumer from the date of
18    the renewal until the date of the termination of the
19    account, or the date of the subsequent notice of renewal,
20    whichever occurs first.
21(Source: P.A. 102-517, eff. 1-1-22.)
 
22    (815 ILCS 601/20)
23    Sec. 20. Applicability.
24    (a) This Act does not apply to a contract entered into
25before the effective date of this Act.

 

 

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1    (b) This amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly does
2not apply to a contract entered into before the effective date
3of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly.
4    (c) This Act does not apply to business-to-business
5contracts.
6    (d) This Act does not apply to banks, trust companies,
7savings and loan associations, savings banks, or credit unions
8licensed or organized under the laws of any state or the United
9States, or any foreign bank maintaining a branch or agency
10licensed or organized under the laws of any state of the United
11States, or any subsidiary or affiliate thereof.
12    (e) This Act does not apply to a contract that is extended
13beyond the original term of the contract as the result of the
14consumer's initiation of a change in the original contract
15terms.
16    (f) This Act does not apply to a contract for the sale of
17any product or service by a provider that is subject to Article
18XXII of the Public Utilities Act.
19    (g) This Act does not apply to a party, or an affiliate of
20the party, regulated by the Director of the Department of
21Insurance.
22(Source: P.A. 93-950, eff. 1-1-05.)