Subscription terms displayed clearly before checkout
Why it matters
The FTC Negative Option Rule (2025) and California ARL both require subscription terms to be 'clear and conspicuous' before the consumer acts — not discoverable only after clicking through to Stripe. When billing frequency, price, and auto-renewal notice are absent from the pre-checkout screen, users reasonably believe they are making a one-time purchase. The resulting chargebacks and regulatory complaints are not recoverable by updating your Terms of Service retroactively; the disclosure must exist at the moment of decision. Under EU Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/EU, failure to disclose recurring payment terms before order placement can make the contract voidable.
Severity rationale
Critical because absent pre-purchase disclosure is the primary trigger for FTC enforcement actions and class-action suits under state ARL statutes, with civil penalties up to $50,120 per violation.
Remediation
Add billing frequency, auto-renewal notice, and price to every pricing card and upgrade entry point before the checkout action. In components/PricingCard.tsx, render a visible disclosure paragraph immediately below the CTA:
<p className="billing-notice text-sm text-gray-700 mt-2">
Billed monthly. Renews automatically. Cancel anytime from account settings.
</p>
If routing through Stripe Checkout (hosted), populate subscription_data.description so Stripe's own confirmation screen reflects the terms:
const session = await stripe.checkout.sessions.create({
mode: 'subscription',
subscription_data: {
description: 'Monthly subscription — renews automatically at $29/month. Cancel anytime.',
},
})
DetectionPro
The detection method for this pattern is part of AuditBuffet Pro.
The full method (what to look for, pass and fail conditions, and how results get reported) ships inside the Subscription & Auto-Renewal Compliance Audit. The pattern definition, severity rationale, and remediation remain openly licensed under CC-BY-4.0.
External references
- external · ftc-negative-option-rule-2025 — FTC Negative Option Marketing Rule (2025) — clear and conspicuous disclosure requirement
- external · california-arl — California Automatic Renewal Law (Bus. & Prof. Code §17600–17606) — material terms disclosure
- external · eu-consumer-rights-directive-2011-83-eu — EU Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/EU Art. 8 — pre-contractual information for distance contracts
Taxons
History
- 2026-04-18·v1.0.0·Initial import from subscription-compliance·automated