Vermont Automatic Renewal Cancellation Letter

Introduction

Key Things to Know

1. 1

   This document is your written termination of a Vermont consumer contract that renews on its own, and Section 2454a covers it only when the initial term was one year or longer and each renewal runs for a subsequent term longer than one month. A subscription that began month to month is outside that section, so the letter should open with the date the contract started and the length of its first term.

2. 2

   Three conditions stand between a covered contract and an automatic renewal. Section 2454a(a) says the contract shall not renew automatically unless it states the renewal terms clearly and conspicuously in plain, unambiguous language in bold-face type, unless you took an affirmative action to opt in to the automatic renewal provision in addition to accepting the contract, and unless the seller or lessor sent the pre-renewal notice. Each one is a fact your letter can confirm or deny.

3. 3

   The pre-renewal notice in subsection (a)(3) may be written or electronic. It has to arrive not less than 30 days and not more than 60 days before the earliest of the automatic renewal date, the termination date, or the date by which you must give notice to cancel. It must include the date the contract will terminate, a clear statement that the contract will renew automatically unless you cancel on or before that date, and the length and any additional terms of the renewal period.

4. 4

   Subsection (b)(1) lists the cancellation contacts. The seller or lessor shall provide a toll-free telephone number, e-mail address, a postal address if it directly bills you, or another cost-effective, timely, and easy-to-use mechanism for canceling the contract. Paragraph (b)(2) adds that where you accepted the contract online, it must permit you to terminate exclusively online, which may include a termination e-mail it formats and provides that you can send without additional information.

5. 5

   Chapter 63 of Title 9 defines a consumer broadly. Section 2451a counts a person paying for goods or services for personal or household use or for running a household or a farm, and also a person paying for the use or benefit of the person's business, so long as the purchase is not for resale. A seller is a person regularly and principally engaged in selling goods or services to consumers, and a lessor is one engaged in leasing goods to them.

6. 6

   Subsection (c) ties the section to the state's general consumer protection ban. A person who violates any provision of Section 2454a commits an unfair and deceptive act in commerce in violation of Section 2453, which declares unfair or deceptive acts or practices in commerce unlawful. Section 2461(b) then lets a consumer who sustains damages or injury from a practice prohibited by Section 2453 sue for equitable relief, damages or the consideration given, reasonable attorney's fees and exemplary damages not exceeding three times the value of that consideration.

7. 7

   Section 2454a(d) leaves out contracts with a financial institution as defined in 8 V.S.A. Section 11101, contracts with a credit union as defined in 8 V.S.A. Section 30101, and contracts for insurance as defined in 8 V.S.A. Section 3301a. The section itself contains no free-trial notice and no rule about goods shipped without consent, so a Vermont letter rests on the opt-in, the bold-face terms, the timed notice and the listed cancellation contacts.

Vermont Requirements for Automatic Renewal Cancellation Letter

• Start Date and Length of the Initial Term

  Section 2454a(a) reaches a contract with an initial term of one year or longer that renews for a subsequent term longer than one month. Record the date you entered the contract, the length of the first term and the length of each renewal term, because a plan that began month to month is outside the section.

• Whether You Took an Affirmative Opt-In Step

  Under subsection (a)(2), a covered contract shall not renew automatically unless, in addition to accepting the contract, you took an affirmative action to opt in to the automatic renewal provision. Say whether you remember a separate checkbox, signature or click for the renewal, and give its date if you do.

• How the Renewal Terms Were Printed in the Contract

  Subsection (a)(1) requires the contract to state the automatic renewal terms clearly and conspicuously in plain, unambiguous language in bold-face type. If you have a copy, note whether those terms appeared in bold and attach the page that shows them.

• The Pre-Renewal Notice and Its Contents

  Subsection (a)(3) calls for a written or electronic notice not less than 30 and not more than 60 days before the earliest of the renewal date, the termination date or the cancel-by date, stating the termination date, that the contract renews unless cancelled, and the length and any additional terms of the renewal period. Record whether one arrived and when.

• Cancellation Contacts the Seller or Lessor Provided

  Subsection (b)(1) requires a toll-free telephone number, e-mail address, a postal address if the seller or lessor bills you directly, or another cost-effective, timely, and easy-to-use mechanism for canceling. Name the contact you used and the date you used it.

• Online Acceptance and the Exclusively Online Exit

  If you accepted the contract online, subsection (b)(2) says the seller or lessor shall permit you to terminate exclusively online, which may include a termination e-mail it formats and provides that you can send without additional information. Give the date of online acceptance and describe what online exit you found.

• Confirmation You Fit the Chapter 63 Consumer Definition

  Section 2451a defines a consumer to include a person buying for personal, household or farm use and a person buying for the use or benefit of the person's business, where the purchase is not for resale. Check also that the other party is not a financial institution, credit union or insurer excluded by Section 2454a(d).

• The Section 2453 and 2461 Reference, Stated Without Predicting an Outcome

  Section 2454a(c) makes a violation an unfair and deceptive act in commerce under Section 2453, and Section 2461(b) lets a consumer who sustains damages or injury sue for equitable relief, damages or the consideration given, reasonable attorney's fees and exemplary damages up to three times that consideration. Cite it factually; attorney review is available as an option before relying on it.