2023 New York Laws › GBS - General Business › Article 29-BB - Prohibited Service Offer Practices › 527-A - Unlawful Practices.

§  527-a. Unlawful practices. 1. It shall be unlawful for any business
  making an automatic renewal or continuous service offer to a consumer in
  this state to do any of the following:
a. fail to present the automatic renewal  offer  terms  or  continuous
  service  offer  terms  in  a  clear  and  conspicuous  manner 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. If  the  offer  also
  includes  a  free  gift  or  trial,  the offer shall include a clear and
  conspicuous explanation of the price that  will  be  charged  after  the
  trial  ends  or  the  manner  in  which  the  subscription or purchasing
  agreement pricing will change upon conclusion of the trial;
b. charge the consumer's  credit  or  debit  card  or  the  consumer's
  account  with  a  third  party  for  an  automatic renewal or continuous
  service without first obtaining the consumer's  affirmative  consent  to
  the agreement containing the automatic renewal offer terms or continuous
  service  offer  terms, including the terms of an automatic renewal offer
  or continuous service offer that is made at a promotional or  discounted
  price for a limited period of time; or
c.  fail  to  provide  an  acknowledgment  that includes the automatic
  renewal or continuous service  offer  terms,  cancellation  policy,  and
  information regarding how to cancel in a manner that is capable of being
  retained  by  the  consumer. If the offer includes a free gift or trial,
  the business shall also disclose in the acknowledgment how to cancel and
  allow the consumer to cancel before the consumer pays for the  goods  or
  services.
2.  A  business  that  makes  an automatic renewal offer or continuous
  service offer shall provide a  toll-free  telephone  number,  electronic
  mail  address,  a postal address only when the seller directly bills the
  consumer, or another cost-effective, timely, and  easy-to-use  mechanism
  for cancellation that shall be described in the acknowledgment specified
  in paragraph c of subdivision one of this section.
3.  a.  In  addition  to  the  requirements of subdivision two of this
  section, a consumer who  accepts  an  automatic  renewal  or  continuous
  service offer online shall 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.
b. A business that allows a consumer to accept an automatic renewal or
  continuous service offer for an initial paid term of one year or longer,
  provided that such automatic renewal or continuous service renews for  a
  paid  term  of  six months or longer, shall notify such consumer of such
  upcoming  automatic  renewal  or  continuous  service  charge  to   such
  consumer's  account  at  least  fifteen  days  before, but not more than
  forty-five days before, the cancellation  deadline  for  such  automatic
  renewal.  Such  notice  shall include instructions on how to cancel such
  renewal charge.
c. The provisions of paragraph b of this subdivision shall  not  apply
  to  any  business,  or subsidiary or affiliate thereof, regulated by the
  public service commission or the federal communications commission.
4. In the case of a material change in  the  terms  of  the  automatic
  renewal or continuous service offer that has been accepted by a consumer
  in  this state, the business shall provide the consumer with a clear and
  conspicuous notice  of  the  material  change  and  provide  information
  regarding how to cancel in a manner that is capable of being retained by
  the consumer.
5.  The  requirements  of  this  article shall apply only prior to the
  completion of the initial order for the automatic renewal or  continuous
  service, except as follows:
a.  The  requirement in paragraph c of subdivision one of this section
  may be fulfilled after completion of the initial order.
b. The requirement in  subdivision  four  of  this  section  shall  be
  fulfilled prior to implementation of the material change.
6.   In  any  case  in  which  a  business  sends  any  goods,  wares,
  merchandise, or products to  a  consumer,  under  a  continuous  service
  agreement  or  automatic  renewal of a purchase, without first obtaining
  the consumer's affirmative consent, the goods,  wares,  merchandise,  or
  products  shall  for all purposes be deemed an unconditional gift to the
  consumer, who may use or dispose of the same in any  manner  he  or  she
  sees fit without any obligation whatsoever on the consumer's part to the
  business,  including,  but  not  limited  to,  bearing  the  cost of, or
  responsibility for, shipping any goods, wares, merchandise, or  products
  to the business.
7. Whenever there shall be a violation of this section, an application
  may  be  made  by  the attorney general in the name of the people of the
  state of New York to a court or justice having jurisdiction to issue  an
  injunction, and upon notice to the defendant of not less than five days,
  to  enjoin  and  restrain  the continuance of such violations; and if it
  shall appear to the satisfaction  of  the  court  or  justice  that  the
  defendant  has  in  fact,  violated  this  section, an injunction may be
  issued by such court or justice, enjoining and restraining  any  further
  violation,  without  requiring  proof that any person has, in fact, been
  injured or damaged thereby. In any such proceeding the  court  may  make
  allowances  to  the attorney general as provided in section eighty-three
  hundred  three  of  the  civil  practice  law  and  rules,  and   direct
  restitution.  In  connection  with  any  such  proposed application, the
  attorney general is authorized to take proof and make a determination of
  the relevant facts and to issue subpoenas in accordance with  the  civil
  practice  law  and  rules.  Whenever  the  court  shall determine that a
  violation of this section has occurred, the court  may  impose  a  civil
  penalty  of not more than one hundred dollars for a single violation and
  not more than five hundred dollars  for  multiple  violations  resulting
  from a single act or incident. A knowing violation of this section shall
  be  punishable  by a civil penalty of not more than five hundred dollars
  for a single violation and  not  more  than  one  thousand  dollars  for
  multiple violations resulting from a single act or incident. No business
  shall  be deemed to have violated the provisions of this section if such
  business shows, by a preponderance of the evidence, that  the  violation
  was   not   intentional  and  resulted  from  a  bona  fide  error  made
  notwithstanding the maintenance  of  procedures  reasonably  adopted  to
  avoid such error.
8. The following are exempt from the requirements of this article:
a.  any  service  provided by a business or its affiliate where either
  the business or its affiliate is doing business pursuant to a  franchise
  issued by a political subdivision of the state;
b.  any  entity,  or subsidiary or affiliate thereof, regulated by the
  department of financial services;
c. security system alarm operators;
d. banks, bank holding companies, or the subsidiary  or  affiliate  of
  either, or credit unions or other financial institutions, licensed under
  state or federal law; and
e.  sellers  and  administrators  of  a  service  contract, as defined
  pursuant to section seven thousand nine hundred  two  of  the  insurance
  law.