Colorado To Crack Down On Automatic Subscription Renewal Charges

Colorado's attorney general is cracking down on businesses that continue to charge for canceled subscriptions, reports FOX31.

According to Attorney General Phil Weiser, some customers are charged hundreds of dollars in subscription without being aware.

Recently it was announced that DIRECTV was ordered to refund thousands of Coloradans after the company charged them for a channel they didn't have access to.

Most companies cancel charges for unwanted subscriptions and memberships. However, Weiser says some companies fail to clearly reveal the procedure for ending a free trial agreement.

“You may sign up for a gym membership, some other type of service and you think you’re signing up for a three month trial or a six month period and they keep billing you,” Weiser told FOX31.

There is now a law that requires businesses to make their policies clear.

“We passed a law to make sure that any auto renewal service has to give people clear notice about what they’re getting and have a chance to say ‘I don’t want it’,” said Weiser.

“The average person doesn’t have time to be their own auditor and to call up, wait on hold and complain, we want to be the watchdog for consumers.”

If you believe you are being charged for a canceled subscription, contact the attorney general's office.

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