Reader’s Digest Class Action Says Subscriptions Auto-Renew

A class action lawsuit alleges that the publishers of Reader’s Digest auto-renew subscriptions without adequately warning customers.

The Reader’s Digest auto-renewal class action lawsuit was filed by Dane Tovey against Trusted Media Brands Inc., the publisher of such magazines as Reader’s Digest, Taste of Home, Family Handyman, Birds & Blooms, and Reminisce.

Tovey says that he subscribed to Reader’s Digest and was unknowingly enrolled in an auto-renewal program.

Allegedly, Tovey submitted a request for a one-year subscription to Reader’s Digest in October 2017 when he was in San Diego. Tovey says that he paid $10 for the subscription, and the amount was charged to his credit card.

The plaintiff claims that he did not consent to be enrolled in an auto-renewal program for his subscription, but says that Trusted Media Brands continued his subscription nonetheless. Allegedly, on or around August 2018, the company charged him $14.98 without his consent.

The TMB auto-renewal class action lawsuit goes on to explain that Tovey disputed the charge, and was refunded.

However, the magazine subscription class action lawsuit states that Tovey was financially injured by being enrolled in an auto-renewal plan without his consent, because had he known that would happen, he would not have requested any subscription from TMB, and would not have paid them any money.

Tovey says that many consumers were similarly injured, and would not have purchased subscriptions to TMB magazines had they known that their subscriptions would automatically be renewed. Tovey seeks damages on behalf of himself and all similarly affected customers.

Allegedly, Trusted Media Brands makes a practice of misleading customers and enrolling them in auto-renewal subscription plans without their consent. The company reportedly does not disclose the required “automatic renewal offer terms” in accordance with the law, and does not disclose auto-renewal plans in a way that is “clear and conspicuous.”

Tovey’s magazine subscription class action lawsuit states that the California Automatic Renewal Law was enacted after auto-renewals became the norm in 1990s. Allegedly, before the 1990s, magazine subscriptions were traditionally renewed at the request of the customer, but in the 1990s, the “negative option” became the norm, which required customers to opt out of a renewal.

The California Automatic Renewal Law, which is part of the False Advertising Law, requires companies to disclose automatic renewals to customers in a way that is easy to understand and identify.

The law also states that if disclosers are not made in a clear manner, any products given to customers via auto-renewal are considered a gift and the customer should not be considered financially responsible for them.

Tovey is represented by James Hannink and Zach P. Dostart of Dostart Hannink & Coveney LLP.

The Reader’s Digest Auto-Renewal Class Action Lawsuit is Dane Tovey v. Trusted Media Brands Inc., Case No. 3:19-cv-01643-AJB-WVG, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

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