The encyclopedia · Advertising & PR · Marketing decision · 2021
Revive You sold a 'risk-free trial' that was a $100/month subscription
Jan 2021: Revive You Media pleaded guilty and paid $15M — its 'free trial' supplement sites secretly enrolled Canadians in subscriptions over $100 a month.
Revive You Media · 2021-01
What happened
Revive You Media (1806369 Alberta Limited) ran websites selling health and dietary supplements under 'risk-free trial' offers. The sites gave consumers the impression they were ordering a trial with no further obligation. In fact, ordering enrolled them in monthly subscriptions costing more than $100 — the subscription was the product the trial was designed to hide.
On 28 January 2021 the company pleaded guilty in the Ontario Provincial Court to promoting deceptive trial offers and was fined $15 million — plus a ten-year court order prohibiting it from promoting deceptive trial offers. The Bureau's investigation concluded the scheme was a subscription trap: the free trial was never free, and the consent to recurring charges was never given.
The case is the subscription-trap template, fully priced: a trial offer is a representation about what happens after the trial, and when the checkout silently converts to a recurring charge, the 'risk-free' promise is the misrepresentation itself.
Why it happened
- 'Risk-free trial' promised no obligation — the checkout silently enrolled a $100+/month subscription.
- Consent to recurring charges was never obtained; the trial was the bait for the subscription.
- The scheme was systematic — websites built to convert trial clickers into billed subscribers.
The lesson
A trial offer is a promise about what happens after the trial: when checkout silently converts a trial into a recurring charge, the consent was never given and the 'risk-free' label is the deception.
Aftermath
The guilty plea carried a $15M fine and a ten-year prohibition on promoting deceptive trial offers. The case is Canada's citation for subscription-trap enforcement against supplement sellers.
Sources
- Competition Bureau — Canadian company fined $15 million for subscription trap scam
- The Litigator — Bogus trial offer scheme lands business $15 million fine
spotted an error? The club wants to know.
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