Forced Continuity: Why It’s Great, Where It’s Wrong
By Anna Johnson on June 26th, 2008I love forced continuity. I love it from a marketer’s perspective. And I love it from a customer’s perspective. I think it’s great for people involved in Internet marketing and marketing in general.
As a customer, I appreciate it when various companies bill me automatically and I don’t have to remember to pay them. That includes my daughter’s kindergarten, my health insurance company, my life insurance company, my credit card company, my health club, and yes, some of the Internet marketing services I use, such as my Internet phone service, my article submission service, and my shopping cart.
Frankly, I would prefer it if MORE companies offered forced continuity. That’s because, when I’m using a service that I want on an ongoing basis, I appreciate the convenience of having payments paid automatically (without me having to think about it) and the avoidance of any risk that the service will stop because I haven’t remembered to pay the required amount by a certain date.
So why are so many Internet marketing forum members complaining about forced continuity?
Well, although some people may be against forced continuity of any kind (a view I can’t understand for the reasons given above) the main problem appears to be with hidden forced continuity. This is where a customer isn’t clearly notified before they order a given product or service that they will automatically be billed each month (or other applicable time period).
This is where forced continuity is wrong. Not just morally. It’s illegal under the misleading and deceptive laws of countries including Australia and the United States. Nor is the issue one of those “grey” areas – you either make it clear to someone that they will be automatically billed each month or you don’t. Failing to state this upfront… hiding it in fine print… or disguising it as some other kind of offer… are all attempts to mislead or deceive.
Those who attempt to hide or disguise their hidden continuity programs should stop treating their customers like idiots.
Firstly, if they have a service that people want, they should have nothing to fear from making the forced continuity obvious. I’m certainly not the only one who WANTS companies who deliver something I want to bill me automatically.
Secondly, such marketers are on shaky ground. As a lawyer who has advised in this area, I can say with some confidence that attempts to hide forced continuity constitute misleading and deceptive acts under Australian law. I’m told these are likely to fall afoul of U.S. law too.It only takes one person to make a complaint and an enthusiastic regulator for an Internet marketer who breaches such laws to be prosecuted and face heavy fines and other undesirable consequences.
