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by Semaphor 4648 days ago
I'm not 100% sure but I think this site would not be allowed in Germany because of consumer protection laws. In that regard it's very telling that justfab.de has a very different checkout:

http://imgur.com/uIZ5JX3

4 comments

But I am. It is illegal, to automatically opt-in for such a service during check-out.
That looks better, but doesn't mention that the membership comes with a monthly fee. Pretty sure it is illegal in Germany.

I think the law in Germany even states what kind of text is appropriate on the "buy now" button.

We can not know this from the screenshoot alone. The membership itself is mentioned.

Maybe the fee is mentioned on a other screen.

As far as i renember it is not really "illegal",but the contract is invalid.

I think the law in Germany is very specific in how obvious it has to be what is being purchased and what it costs. Some mention somewhere in the fine print is certainly not enough. I've heard they even specify texts for the buttons, it has to be something like "buy now" to make it clear that the action will lead to costs.
I didn't check what followed, they might well have mentioned the specifics clearly on a follow up page. My point was simply that this is already far clearer than the scammy .com site.
I find even that misleading because it doesn't mention the monthly fee. I'm pretty sure you could refuse to pay it and win in court.
Alas you do not get the option to refuse to pay. They keep your credit card details and charge every month.

You're then stuck arguing with your card issuer. In the UK for example, you're shit out of luck unless the transaction is > £100 where the card company becomes 'jointly and severally liable' which allows you to pursue them instead.

Obviously this varies so it all depends on where you are and where your card was issued as to how much chance you have of 'refusing to pay'.

In US, credit company would usually side with you, and if you say the charge is not authorized (esp. if there's no actual paper signature) you'll get money back. But for that you need to watch your bill closely, not everybody does that.
That's pretty astonishing actually.