Dive Brief:
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New York State attorney general Eric Schneiderman is seeking information and justification from eBay and PayPal over new user agreements that include the right to use robocalls.
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The new user agreements — effective June 15 at eBay and July 1 at PayPal — are coming ahead of the companies’ split and reserve the right to use “autodialed or prerecorded calls and text messages” for marketing, research, and debt collection.
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User agreements can be coercive, courts have found, because there’s usually no way for customers to opt out of any one provision (as one might in negotiations any other contract) and they’d have to forego a company’s goods or services to avoid being bound by the agreement. This particular policy may also run afoul of the Federal Trade Commissions “Do Not Call” regulations.
Dive Insight:
Retailers, your customers may not be reading your user agreements, but, watch out, because New York State attorney general Eric Schneiderman is.
As e-commerce has grown, companies have become increasingly bolder when it comes to adding provisions that are good for them, but not so much for some of their customers. Setting aside whether that’s good customer service, the practice is gaining scrutiny here from Schneiderman.
Both PayPal and eBay said they’re cooperating with the AG’s office regarding the issue. And a PayPal spokeswoman told the Wall Street Journal that customers can opt out of the autodialed or prerecorded messages by contacting customer service by email or phone.
“We strive to be as clear as possible with our customers,” the PayPal spokeswoman told the Journal.
But PayPal and eBay should note that robocalls and unwanted marketing or sales calls are among the easiest ways to irritate customers.