Redlinethe fine print, decoded

Contract trap · Subscription

Pre-checked paid add-ons

Checkout pre-selects optional paid add-ons (protection plan, premium tier, personal training, insurance, 'Prime' membership) or makes the main service conditional on buying another; consent is inferred from an unticked or hidden checkbox, and button design leads to unwanted charges.

Severity
Expensive
How often it turns up
Common
Holds up?
Often void
Clause phrases
21

What it looks like in a contract

Redline matches these phrases against your document verbatim. Drafters rarely invent new wording — they copy it, which is why the same sentences turn up across unrelated contracts.

In English-language contracts

  • pre-selected
  • selected by default
  • by clicking you also agree to enroll in
  • recommended add-on
  • protection plan added to your cart
  • get FREE shipping with Prime
  • upgrade selected by default
  • includes a complimentary trial of
  • bundled with
  • required add-on

In Russian-language contracts

  • дополнительная услуга подключена по умолчанию
  • услуга подключается автоматически при оформлении
  • при оформлении также подключается
  • в пакет входит платная опция
  • отказаться от услуги можно в личном кабинете
  • стоимость дополнительной услуги включена в общую сумму заказа
  • обязательное приобретение дополнительных услуг
  • пакет услуг
  • подключена опция
  • приобретается только в комплекте с
  • условием приобретения является

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Why it bites

Small recurring lines you never chose stack up; the add-on often has its own separate cancellation route (LA Fitness personal training); Amazon's checkout enrolled millions into Prime this way per the FTC; Epic paid $245M over purchase-button design.

Is it enforceable where you are

The same clause can be routine in one country and void in another. What follows is what the law says where you are — not advice on your particular contract.

In the US, ROSCA and state automatic-renewal laws such as California's ARL apply; in the EU, Directive 93/13 Annex 1(h) and national reminder rules (Germany §309 Nr. 9 BGB, France's loi Chatel) govern renewal.

United States

Deceptive/unfair under Sec. 5 and ROSCA when consent is not express and informed (Amazon Prime checkout; Epic Games 2022 $245M for confusing purchase buttons); CA ARL requires express affirmative consent to the automatic renewal separately from other terms; FTC dark-patterns report (Sept 2022).

  • Cited
  • FTC
  • ROSCA

European Union

CRD Art 22: extra payments require express consent; pre-ticked boxes are invalid and payments refundable; tying may be unfair under UCPD; CJEU Planet49 (C-673/17, 2019): pre-ticked consent is not valid consent.

  • Cited
  • C-673/17
  • CRD Art 22
  • UCPD

United Kingdom

CCRs 2013 reg 40 mirrors Art 22 (pre-ticked boxes void, refund due); CMA principle 1 (free-standing choice); DMCC unfair practices.

  • Cited
  • CMA

Russia

Explicitly banned: ст. 16 п. 3.1 ЗоЗПП prohibits pre-set consent marks and paid additional services without written consent, puts the burden of proving consent on the seller and requires refund within three days of the demand; ст. 16 п. 2 пп. 5 voids tying; ст. 16 п. 2 пп. 6 voids paid extras without consent; штраф ч. 2.1 ст. 14.8 КоАП (навязывание) для юрлиц 200 000–500 000 ₽.

  • Cited
  • ст. 14.8 КоАП
  • ст. 16 п. 2 пп. 5
  • ст. 16 п. 2 пп. 6
  • ст. 16 п. 3

Where this has actually happened

Regulator actions, court rulings and the contracts they were fought over.

  • FTC v. Amazon (Prime enrollment via checkout interface without clear consent; 2023 complaint, $2.5B settlement 2025)
  • FTC v. Fitness International / LA Fitness (add-on personal training with separate obstructive cancellation; 2025)
  • FTC v. Epic Games, 2022 — $245M over confusing purchase-button design leading to unwanted charges
  • ФАС предупреждение Ozon, 2024 — навязывание продавцам участия в программе «Баллы за скидки»

What to do

In order, from the thing that takes a minute to the thing that takes a letter.

  1. Uncheck everything and review the order summary line by line
  2. Screenshot it
  3. For existing add-ons demand refund of unconsented charges (RU: within three days under ст. 16 п. 3.1 ЗоЗПП
  4. EU: CRD Art 22 reimbursement)
  5. Cancel each add-on separately in writing.

Check your own document

Traps that travel with it

Drafters who use one of these usually use several.

79 traps · 1789 verbatim clause phrases