DAZN could face a class action lawsuit after the sports-streaming service was accused of violating California law. ClassAction.org has reported that a complaint has been filed alleging that the over-the-top sports streaming service did not provide the required disclosure before renewing certain subscriptions.
Kyle McNair-Robinson of Riverside, California is the Plaintiff in the 32-page lawsuit that was filed earlier this month that claims:
when customers sign up for a DAZN Subscription to gain access to a live stream through the DAZN Website, Defendant enrolls customers in a program that automatically renews customers’ DAZN Subscription on a monthly or yearly basis and results in monthly or yearly charges to customers credit card, debit card, or third-party payment account (collectively, Payment Method). In doing so, Defendant fails to provide the requisite disclosures and authorizations required to be made to to California consumers under California’s Automatic Renewal Law
Under California’s Automatic Renewal Law (ARL), businesses are required to be more transparent when subscriptions are up for renewal before charging customers for payment. The lawsuit alleges that DAZN failed in three ways and violated the ARL:
- By failing to present automatic renewal offer terms in a clear and conspicuous manner and in visual proximity to the request for consent to the offer before the subscription or purchasing agreement was fulfilled
- Charged customers without first obtaining their affirmative consent to the agreement containing the automatic renewal offer term
- failed to provide an acknowledgment that included the automatic renewal offer terms, cancellation policy, and information regarding how to cancel in a manner that is capable of being retained by the consumer
Last year, it was reported that DAZN was considering raising $1 billion in new funding to accelerate its global expansion efforts. DAZN’s revenue and subscriber count have grown, but the lawsuit alleges that it “coincides with a sharp decline in customers’ satisfaction as the DAZN Website and accompanying marketing have become riddled with dark patterns.”
One of the dark patterns alleged in the complaint is that DAZN’s website “purposefully ‘lock customers into one-year contracts using sneaky sales tactics.’” According to the lawsuit, those tactics have led to consumers unwittingly or unwillingly renewing their automatic subscriptions, which has increased DAZN’s growth and revenue. The lawsuit also says that DAZN “makes it exceedingly difficult and unnecessarily confusing for consumers to cancel their DAZN Subscriptions, which further violates the ARL.”
The McNair-Robinson’s lawsuit looks to represent “All persons in California, who, within the applicable statute of limitations period, up to and including the date of final judgment in this action, incurred renewal fee(s) in connection with Defendant’s DAZN Subscription offerings.”
Credit: ClassAction.org