Legislation Quick Search
03/28/2024 07:50 PM
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20170&cosponId=22393
Share:
Home / House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

Subscribe to PaLegis Notifications
NEW!

Subscribe to receive notifications of new Co-Sponsorship Memos circulated

By Member | By Date | Keyword Search


House of Representatives
Session of 2017 - 2018 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: January 23, 2017 01:58 PM
From: Representative Thomas P. Murt and Rep. Brian Sims
To: All House members
Subject: Automatic Renewal Provisions in Consumer Contracts (Prior HB 580)
 
In the near future, we plan to reintroduce legislation that increases protections for consumers who enter into contracts with automatic renewal provisions.

Also known as “evergreen clauses,” automatic renewal provisions allow contracts to be automatically renewed without consumer notification. Currently, Pennsylvania law does not require sellers to alert consumers to a contract’s upcoming renewal, unless the contract is for a health club membership. As a result, consumers are forced to pay for goods and services they no longer want or use if they fail to cancel by a date that may be buried in a contract’s small print.

This legislation increases protections for consumers who sign contracts with automatic renewal provisions in two ways. First, it requires automatic renewal provisions in contracts to be in a minimum font with a bold typeface. Secondly, it requires sellers to notify consumers of the upcoming automatic renewal of a contract 30 to 60 days prior to the renewal to ensure that consumers have an opportunity to cancel the contract. Failure to abide by the requirements of this legislation would be a violation of the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law.

Please join us in increasing protections for consumers who enter into contracts with automatic renewal provisions.

Previous Cosponsors: C. PARKER, MURT, HARKINS, COHEN, DRISCOLL, McNEILL, DAVIS, THOMAS, CALTAGIRONE, DONATUCCI, ACOSTA, KINSEY, FRANKEL, D. MILLER, BROWNLEE, DeLUCA, MAHONEY, JAMES, McCARTER, SIMS, KAUFFMAN and RAVENSTAHL



Introduced as HB756