Several major U.S. corporations have recently altered their customer contracts by, among other things, adding fine print to their billing statements such that consumers will no longer enjoy prorated billing for their services should they choose to cancel their subscriptions. In other words, when consumers cancel a subscription, they will be charged for the entire billing cycle as opposed to just until their date of cancellation — in contravention of the terms they signed up for, and even though there is no inherent reason why a customer should pay for services not rendered. This conduct appears to violate several consumer protection statutes.
One possible way to avoid incurring these needless charges is to time to time you cancellations prior to the start of a new billing cycle. Or, perhaps, to sign up with companies still adhering to prorating policies.
The corporations that are unilaterally amending contracts to charge consumers for time after they cancel are likely relying on arbitration agreements to avoid being held accountable in court.
FBFG has successfully challenged arbitration agreements on many occasions. Please contact us to discuss your legal options if you believe you were victimized by a corporation changing its terms to charge you for an unused portion of your billing cycle.