HB 339: "An Act relating to negative option plans for sales, to charges for goods or services after a trial period, and to acts that are unlawful as unfair trade practices."
00 HOUSE BILL NO. 339 01 "An Act relating to negative option plans for sales, to charges for goods or services after 02 a trial period, and to acts that are unlawful as unfair trade practices." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 45.45 is amended by adding new sections to read: 05 Sec. 45.45.920. Charge after trial period. (a) Notwithstanding a provision 06 in AS 45.02 to the contrary, a person may not charge a consumer for goods or services 07 for which the person has given the consumer a trial period unless the person provides 08 the notice required by (b) of this section and the consumer expressly agrees to be 09 charged for the goods or services as described in the notice. 10 (b) At least 15 days before a person may charge a consumer for the purchase 11 of goods or services for which the person gave the consumer a trial period, the person 12 shall provide the consumer with a notice that contains 13 (1) a clearly written description of the sales agreement, including a 14 description of the service or product being sold, a statement of the amount that will be
01 charged, and the date when the charge will be imposed if the consumer does not 02 cancel the sale; and 03 (2) the specific steps that the consumer can take to cancel the charge 04 by telephone, by regular mail, and by electronic mail. 05 (c) A person who charges a consumer for goods or services for which the 06 person has given the consumer a trial period has the burden of proving that the person 07 gave the consumer the notice required by (b) of this section and that the consumer 08 expressly agreed to be charged for the goods or services. 09 (d) In this section, "trial period" means a period of time to try out goods or 10 services before buying the goods or services. 11 Sec. 45.45.930. Negative option plans. (a) Notwithstanding a provision in 12 AS 45.02 to the contrary, a person may not use a negative option plan to sell goods or 13 services unless the person clearly and conspicuously discloses in writing to the 14 prospective buyer before or when the goods or services are provided to the prospective 15 buyer 16 (1) the material terms of the sales agreement, including a description of 17 the goods or services being sold, a statement of the price that the person will charge 18 the buyer for the goods or services, and the date when the price will be charged if the 19 prospective buyer does not cancel the sale by using the steps identified under (2) of 20 this subsection; and 21 (2) the specific steps that the buyer must take by telephone, regular 22 mail, or electronic mail to cancel the sale. 23 (b) In (a) of this section, "negative option plan" means an arrangement under 24 which a seller provides goods or services to a person and charges the person for the 25 goods or services without confirmation from the person that the person has decided to 26 purchase the goods or services. 27 * Sec. 2. AS 45.50.471(b) is amended by adding new paragraphs to read: 28 (47) violating AS 45.45.920 (charge after trial period); 29 (48) violating AS 45.45.930 (negative option plans).