Follow up on Auto-renewals and Vouchers The Circulator, May 2006 Email this Article  |  Back to Articles "The Time Inc. auto-renewal case and settlement are certainly big news for our industry," writes David Rosen of Rick Hill Direct. "To what extent should the new procedures that Time Inc. agreed to now be considered 'best practices' that other circulators need to follow in order to avoid legal/regulatory agency problems?" Adequate and Meaningful Disclosure of Terms According to Anne Kottler, partner, Sage Communications, a company that does creative for several large consumer publishers, consumer marketers are approaching the wording of their auto-renewals with special care, paying close attention to their legal departments on the exact wording. In addition, CM has heard from some circulators who are making it a point to specifically explain to their customers about the auto-renewal process, including the terms of an auto-renewal subscription and what to expect with auto-billing. One way to do this is with an additional insert into the mailing. Vouchers that Look Like Invoices Rosen goes on to ask whether the appearance of the popular voucher package will also need to change to accommodate the increased scrutiny on auto-renewals. Certainly in the Time Inc. settlement, one of the main complaints was that consumers were supposedly misled by "solicitations that appeared to be invoices" without the "conspicuous disclosures required by law." We would like to hear from our readers on what they are planning to do to safeguard themselves against legal action. Please write to us at: cmedit@red7media.com. Top of Page < Back to Articles © 2006. Sage Communications. All Rights Reserved.