KEN KIRSCHENBAUM, ESQ
ALARM - SECURITY INDUSTRY LEGAL EMAIL NEWSLETTER / THE ALARM EXCHANGE
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Tennessee changes automatic renewal law / contracts updated in TN / do you request cash for payment / register for licensing webinar
April 21,  2022
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Tennessee changes automatic renewal law / contracts updated in TN
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Ken
          Tennessee HB 1652 alters the automatic renewal and notification requirements on continuous service contracts signed by consumers. Do the Kirschenbaum Contracts™ need to be updated or do they comply with this new law?
Anthony Vanhorn
The Security Guy
Gleason TN
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Response
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  *  Present the automatic renewal offer terms or continuous service offer
terms in a clear and conspicuous manner before the subscription or purchasing
agreement is fulfilled and in visual proximity    
  *  Obtain the consumer's affirmative consent to the agreement
containing the automatic renewal offer terms or continuous service offer terms,
… before charging the consumer's credit or debit card, or the consumer's account with a
third party, for an automatic renewal offer or continuous service offer
  *  Provide an acknowledgment that includes the automatic renewal offer
terms or continuous service offer terms, cancellation policy, and information
regarding how to cancel in a manner that is capable of being retained by the
consumer. If the automatic renewal offer or continuous service offer includes a
free gift or trial, the business shall also disclose in the acknowledgment how to
cancel, and allow the consumer to cancel, the automatic renewal or continuous
service before the consumer pays for the goods or services.
  *  A business that makes an automatic renewal offer or continuous service offer
shall provide a toll-free telephone number, electronic mail address, a postal address if
the seller directly bills the consumer, or another cost-effective, timely, and easy-to-use
mechanism for cancellation that must be described in the acknowledgment specified in
subdivision (a)(3)
  *  A business that allows a consumer to accept an automatic renewal or
continuous service offer online shall allow the consumer to terminate the automatic
renewal or continuous service exclusively online, which may include a termination email
formatted and provided by the business that a consumer can send to the business
without additional information.
          The Residential All in One in Tennessee needs to be updated immediately even though this notice law doesn’t go into effect until January 1, 2023.  Contracts entered into now will automatically renewal beyond the effective date of the new law and will likely be applied to renewals after that date.  Comply now.
          Because this Tennessee law requires an “acknowledgement” which I interpret to be something other than the consumer contract, the Disclaimer Notice for Tennessee has been updated to include this acknowledgement for the automatic renewal.  Therefore, use of the Disclaimer Notice with the Residential All in One [or other residential contracts] is no longer just recommended, it’s necessary if you want to comply with the Tennessee law.
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Here is the text of the new law on automatic renewal in consumer contracts in Tennessee
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SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 47, Chapter 18, Part 1, is amended by
adding the following as a new section:
47-18-133.
(a) A business that makes an automatic renewal offer or continuous service offer
to a consumer in this state shall:
(1) Present the automatic renewal offer terms or continuous service offer
terms in a clear and conspicuous manner before the subscription or purchasing
agreement is fulfilled and in visual proximity, or in the case of an offer conveyed
by voice, in temporal proximity, to the request for consent to the offer. If the offer
also includes a free gift or trial, the offer must include a clear and conspicuous
explanation of the price that will be charged after the trial ends or the manner in
which the subscription or purchasing agreement pricing will change upon
conclusion of the trial;
(2) Obtain the consumer's affirmative consent to the agreement
containing the automatic renewal offer terms or continuous service offer terms,
including the terms of an automatic renewal offer or continuous service offer that
is made at a promotional or discounted price for a limited period of time, before
charging the consumer's credit or debit card, or the consumer's account with a
third party, for an automatic renewal offer or continuous service offer; and
(3) Provide an acknowledgment that includes the automatic renewal offer
terms or continuous service offer terms, cancellation policy, and information
regarding how to cancel in a manner that is capable of being retained by the
consumer. If the automatic renewal offer or continuous service offer includes a
free gift or trial, the business shall also disclose in the acknowledgment how to
cancel, and allow the consumer to cancel, the automatic renewal or continuous
service before the consumer pays for the goods or services.
(b) A business that makes an automatic renewal offer or continuous service offer
shall provide a toll-free telephone number, electronic mail address, a postal address if
the seller directly bills the consumer, or another cost-effective, timely, and easy-to-use
mechanism for cancellation that must be described in the acknowledgment specified in
subdivision (a)(3).
(c) A business that allows a consumer to accept an automatic renewal or
continuous service offer online shall allow the consumer to terminate the automatic
renewal or continuous service exclusively online, which may include a termination email
formatted and provided by the business that a consumer can send to the business
without additional information.
(d) In the event of a material change in the terms of the automatic renewal or
continuous service that has been accepted by a consumer in this state, the business
shall provide the consumer with a clear and conspicuous notice of the material change
and provide information regarding how to cancel in a manner that is capable of being
retained by the consumer.
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Do you request cash for payment
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          It’s interesting that the Tennessee legislature requires a toll-free number be provided to the consumer.  Apparently in Tennessee people are still paying per local call.  Got to protect those consumers, or maybe the legislators have interest in the 800 number companies.
          I am thinking that legislators in Tennessee have too much time on their hands.  Here’s another legislative bill that was introduced by didn’t make it past the Finance Committee.  The proposed legislation would have prohibited a company offering services, like you, from accepting cash; can’t require a credit card. I suppose there are times that a credit card is requested and useful, but I haven’t had a single client call me in 50 years complaining that the customer wanted to pay in cash.
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Webinar on assistance getting licensed
Webinar Title:  Filing for and renewing your alarm license
Topic Details:  Once you know where you need the license and what license you need, and you know you’re qualified, The Cmoor Group handles the minutia details filing for the license and has the software to monitor for renewal compliance.
When:  May 3, 2022 at 12 PM ET
Presenter:  Connie Moorhead, President of The CMOOR Group. connie@cmoor.com or call 502-254-1590, ext. 101
Hosted by: Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq
Who should attend:  license holders, license compliance officers, owners, managers
Register Here:  https://global.gotowebinar.com/join/notStarted.tmpl?webinar=8242655366269110283
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Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq
Kirschenbaum & Kirschenbaum PC
Attorneys at Law
200 Garden City Plaza
Garden City, NY 11530
516 747 6700 x 301
ken@kirschenbaumesq.com
www.KirschenbaumEsq.com