nakeddog asked:


so heres the deal, a friend of mine got scammed into signing up for a ‘free’ trial of some detox thing and she had to pay shipping. now it turns out she (and everyone who signs up for the ‘free’ trial) has in reality signed up for a monthly subscription of about £160 for massively overpriced herbal supplements as explained in their T&C. she has now cancelled and written off the £160. they are quite clearly a scam, exploiting the fact that people like free things and don’t read T&C. when i checked them out, i noticed that their T&C box is already checked. and hence she did not opt-in. this os the only time i have seen this and it doesn’t quite sit right with me. is this legal? if so can you tell me were you got your info from. thank you

Jay

5 Responses to “online scams and pre-checked terms and conditions boxes - what does the law say?”

1. Charlie on February 8th, 2010 7:35 am

   Debbi

   Here is the irony….
   Those detox places do that because they are willing to bet you won’t go to the authorities and tell them you ordered some detox items because of illegal drug use….And as far as not reading the T&C…Next time you will, won’t you

2. Joe Finkle on February 9th, 2010 11:56 pm

   Berta

   I don’t know anything about the British legal system, but in the US, they could be sued for that and such scammers often are. The law isn’t 100% clear, but usually these things are taken up by Attorneys General of various states who have a bit more leverage than an individual filing a single lawsuit. The Attorney General will often use that leverage to get them to sign a code of conduct guaranteeing they won’t do it again under certain contractual penalties and they’ll also have to pay back a certain percentage of the money.

   In an individual suit, this is also an area where in the US you might be able to get punitive damages far in excess of the mere £160, but it’s not definite.

   Those agreements are generally enforceable in the US only to the extent that they contain terms that are typical. If they bury a scam that significantly alters a unilateral agreement from that advertised using fine print, knowing it won’t be ready by most people, that fine print will typically be discarded by American Courts.

   Again, I don’t know British law. It may or may not be similar. Contact your regional law enforcement and a local attorney and find out what your best options are.

3. quizzard123 on February 12th, 2010 9:21 am

   Cortez

   The final box she will click is “I hereby agree that I have read and agree with the terms and conditions” (or similar wording) So she DID opt in.

   The law is not there to protect people from failing to read what they agree to, sorry.

4. Mutt on February 13th, 2010 4:58 am

   Dawne

   You need to read the “fine print” (T&C) on the web site. I don’t know what site this is, so I can’t get specific. But generally, they do explain this in the fine print, and tell you that the free trial will also sign you up for monthly subscriptions. And if you check (or don’t uncheck) the box that says you have read and agree with the T&C, you cannot later claim you didn’t know what it said.

   It’s basically a legal scam that they do. They prey on the people that just check the box without actually reading what they are agreeing to.

5. No Name on February 13th, 2010 8:49 pm

   Milan

   By reading my answer, you hereby agree to check me as “Best Answer” and give me ten points.