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Public Act 103-0919 |
SB2764 Enrolled | LRB103 36659 SPS 66768 b |
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AN ACT concerning business. |
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, |
represented in the General Assembly: |
Section 5. The Automatic Contract Renewal Act is amended |
by changing Section 10 as follows: |
(815 ILCS 601/10) |
Sec. 10. Automatic renewal; requirements. |
(a) Any person, firm, partnership, association, or |
corporation that sells or offers to sell any products or |
services to a consumer pursuant to a contract, where such |
contract automatically renews unless the consumer cancels the |
contract, shall: |
(i) disclose the automatic renewal offer terms clearly |
and conspicuously in the contract before the subscription |
or purchasing agreement is fulfilled and in visual |
proximity, or in the case of an offer conveyed by voice, in |
temporal proximity, to the request for consent to the |
offer; |
(ii) not charge the consumer's credit or debit card or |
other payment mechanism for an automatic renewal service |
without first obtaining the consumer's consent to the |
contract containing the automatic renewal offer terms; |
(iii) provide an acknowledgment that includes the |
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automatic renewal offer terms, cancellation policy, and |
information regarding how to cancel, which may be |
accomplished by linking to a resource that provides |
instructions that account for different platforms and |
services, in a manner that is capable of being retained by |
the consumer; and |
(iv) if the offer includes a free gift or trial, |
disclose how to cancel the contract, which may be |
accomplished by linking to a resource that provides |
instructions that account for different platforms and |
services, and allow the consumer to cancel before the |
consumer pays for the good or services. |
(a-5) Any person, firm, partnership, association, or |
corporation that sells or offers to sell any products or |
services to a consumer pursuant to a contract that includes a |
free trial or a promotional period of the product or service |
that lasts 15 days or longer, where such contract |
automatically renews unless the consumer cancels the contract, |
shall notify the consumer during the free trial or the |
promotional period no less than 3 days before the cancellation |
deadline as described by the automatic renewal offer terms. |
The person, firm, partnership, association, or corporation |
shall send the notice in a method in which the consumer is |
accustomed to interacting with the person, firm, partnership, |
association, or corporation. |
(b) Any person, firm, partnership, association, or |
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corporation that sells or offers to sell any products or |
services to a consumer pursuant to a contract, where such |
contract term is a specified term of 12 months or more, and |
where such contract automatically renews for a specified term |
of more than one month unless the consumer cancels the |
contract, shall notify the consumer in writing of the |
automatic renewal. Written notice shall be provided to the |
consumer no less than 30 days and no more than 60 days before |
the cancellation deadline pursuant to the automatic renewal |
offer terms. Such written notice shall disclose clearly and |
conspicuously, in a retainable form: |
(i) that unless the consumer cancels the contract it |
will automatically renew; |
(ii) a mechanism for cancelling the contract, which |
shall be offered in a manner in which the consumer |
commonly interacts with the business; and |
(iii) the deadline by which the consumer must cancel |
in order to avoid being charged for a subsequent term. |
(b-5) A person, firm, partnership, association, or |
corporation that makes an automatic renewal offer or |
continuous service offer online shall provide a toll-free |
telephone number, electronic mail address, a postal address if |
the seller directly bills the consumer, or another |
cost-effective, timely, and easy-to-use mechanism for |
cancellation that shall be described in the notice required in |
subsection (b). A consumer who accepts an automatic renewal or |
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continuous service offer online must be allowed to terminate |
the automatic renewal or continuous service exclusively |
online, which may include a termination email formatted and |
provided by the business that a consumer can send to the |
business without additional information, or a link to a |
website or other online service consumers can use to cancel. |
(c) A person, firm, partnership, association, or |
corporation will not be liable for a violation of this Act or |
the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act if |
such person, firm, partnership, association, or corporation |
demonstrates that, as part of its routine business practice: |
(i) it has established and implemented written |
procedures to comply with this Act and enforces compliance |
with the procedures; |
(ii) any failure to comply with this Act is the result |
of error; and |
(iii) where an error has caused a failure to comply |
with this Act, it provides a full refund or credit for all |
amounts billed to or paid by the consumer from the date of |
the renewal until the date of the termination of the |
account, or the date of the subsequent notice of renewal, |
whichever occurs first. |
(Source: P.A. 102-517, eff. 1-1-22; 103-70, eff. 1-1-24 .) |