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Attorney General Issues Further Guidance On New Rules Governing Price Disclosures, Auto-Renewals (Retail Suppliers Not Exempt)
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The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has released updated guidance concerning newly adopted consumer protection regulations addressing, among other things, price disclosures and auto-renewals
As previously reported, while the new rules are not specific to retail electric suppliers, retail electric suppliers are not exempt from the AG's newly adopted consumer protection regulations, at 940 CMR 38.00
See a full discussion of the new rules and their applicability here
As previously reported, certain industries are exempt from the new rules. Retail energy supply is not one of the industries listed as exempt
The updated guidance specifically addresses whether the rules apply to the telecommunications industry, and the guidance provides that to the extent certain sales or activity comply with the relevant federal telecommunication laws, such federal compliance shall be deemed as compliance with the AG's new consumer protection rules.
No such provision exists for retail energy, which is also subject to a separate set of rules adopted by the AG (940 CMR 19.00), as well as DPU rules and orders, and state statute.
As previously reported, new 940 CMR 38.00 applies to acts or practices performed in connection with any Advertising or marketing, solicitation, or offer of Sale that is Targeted To or results in a Sale in Massachusetts.
The new regulations apply to Products intended for personal, family, or household use. Product is specifically defined as, "A good, whether tangible or intangible, or service available for Sale or included as part of a Sale for personal, family, or household use."
The latest guidance from the AGO includes information of note with respect to compliance for auto-renewals, which are within the rules' definition of Negative Option Feature
The rules provide that, for any contract with a Negative Option Feature (auto-renewal) that is thirty-one (31) days or less in
duration, the seller must provide to customers, "written notice through a medium substantially similar to
that used by the consumer to initiate the Negative Option Feature, or through a
commonly-used medium that is reasonably calculated to be seen and understood by
an ordinary consumer," of the following information: the amount the consumer has been charged at auto-renewal and instructions as to the mechanism by which the consumer may
cancel the Negative Option Feature and avoid incurring additional charges for
the Product
The new guidance from the AGO clarifies that if the seller already provides consumers with a bill or other form of notice that complies with the above requirement, no additional notices must be generated or provided to consumers.
As previously reported, the regulations provide that sellers must provide a "simple mechanism" to cancel an auto-renewal, and that such mechanism must be in the same medium through which the sale was executed (i.e., a telesale must offer a phone number to cancel; an online sale must offer cancellation through the same website used for enrollment, etc)
The new guidance clarifies that, for telephone sales, a seller may comply with this provision, without having someone available to answer the phone outside regular business hours, if the seller either employs an automated system that allows consumers to effectuate cancellation over a phone call, or includes an adequate voicemail system.
"An adequate voicemail system will identify the information a consumer must provide in a voicemail left with the seller to effect cancellation. Where the consumer leaves a voicemail indicating an interest in cancellation, but does not provide complete information, sellers should return calls promptly allowing a consumer to effect cancellation before a recurring charge occurs," the guidance states
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July 29, 2025
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Copyright 2025 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com
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