Legal Question in Consumer Law in California

3 months ago, I signed up with Classmates.com because there were messages left for me that I couldn't retrieve without paying a $15.00(3 month) subscription fee. About a week ago, another $15.00 was debited from my account from this site without any notification to me. I emailed them to let them know to cancel my account and refund the $15.00 to which they replied that since I didn't cancel my account prior to the payment, the account will stay active until December and that there is a no refund policy at the site. Since the site has rendered itself utterly useless to me, I am willing to let my initial $15.00 payment go but can they legally withold giving me a refund for this current transaction that I never authorized?

Thanks,

Dan Rodrigues


Asked on 9/23/09, 2:02 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Robert F. Cohen Law Office of Robert F. Cohen

Many websites have "fine print" that provides the terms to which a person must agree before becoming a member. Most people just click on "accept" and don't read all the legaleze. I am unfamiliar with this website's terms. If you believe that you were misled, you can dispute the credit card charge with your bank, and it should conduct an investigation, as well. If, upon your own investigation you don't find any terms that say they can continue your membership and charge your card, you might contact an attorney about a potential class action. Certainly, a lawsuit for only $15 wouldn't make sense. However, if it were multiplied by potentially thousands of people, such a lawsuit could get results.

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Answered on 9/23/09, 4:29 am


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