Vermont Statutes Title 9 Sec. 2454a
Terms Used In Vermont Statutes Title 9 Sec. 2454a
- Consumer: means any person who purchases, leases, contracts for, or otherwise agrees to pay consideration for goods or services not for resale in the ordinary course of the person's trade or business but for the person's use or benefit or the use or benefit of a member of the person's household, or in connection with the operation of the person's household or a farm whether or not the farm is conducted as a trade or business, or a person who purchases, leases, contracts for, or otherwise agrees to pay consideration for goods or services not for resale in the ordinary course of the person's trade or business but for the use or benefit of the person's business or in connection with the operation of the person's business. See
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Lessor: means a person engaged in a business of leasing goods to consumers. See
- Month: shall mean a calendar month and "year" shall mean a calendar year and be equivalent to the expression "year of our Lord. See
- Person: shall include any natural person, corporation, municipality, the State of Vermont or any department, agency, or subdivision of the State, and any partnership, unincorporated association, or other legal entity. See
- Seller: means a person regularly and principally engaged in a business of selling goods or services to consumers. See
§ 2454a. Consumer contracts; automatic renewal
(a) A contract between a consumer and a seller or a lessor with an initial term of one year or longer that renews for a subsequent term that is longer than one month shall not renew automatically unless:
(1) the contract states clearly and conspicuously the terms of the automatic renewal provision in plain, unambiguous language in bold-face type;
(2) in addition to accepting the contract, the consumer takes an affirmative action to opt in to the automatic renewal provision; and
(3) if the consumer opts in to the automatic renewal provision, the seller or lessor provides a written or electronic notice to the consumer:
(A) not less than 30 days and not more than 60 days before the earliest of:
(i) the automatic renewal date;
(ii) the termination date; or
(iii) the date by which the consumer must provide notice to cancel the contract; and
(B) that includes:
(i) the date the contract will terminate and a clear statement that the contract will renew automatically unless the consumer cancels the contract on or before the termination date; and
(ii) the length and any additional terms of the renewal period.
(b) A seller or lessor under a contract subject to subsection (a) of this section shall:
(1) provide to the consumer a toll-free telephone number, e-mail address, a postal address if the seller or lessor directly bills the consumer, or another cost-effective, timely, and easy-to-use mechanism for canceling the contract; and
(2) if the consumer accepted the contract online, permit the consumer to terminate the contract exclusively online, which may include a termination e-mail formatted and provided by the seller or lessor that the consumer can send without additional information.
(c) A person who violates a provision of this section commits an unfair and deceptive act in commerce in violation of section 2453 of this title.
(d) The provisions of this section do not apply to:
(1) a contract between a consumer and a financial institution, as defined in 8 V.S.A. § 11101, or between a consumer and a credit union, as defined in 8 V.S.A. § 30101; or
(2) a contract for insurance, as defined in 8 V.S.A. § 3301a. (Added 2017, No. 179 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. July 1, 2019; amended 2019, No. 89 (Adj. Sess.), § 6.)