A continuity program is a company’s sales offer where a buyer/consumer

Consumer

Consumer is a broad label for any individuals or households that use goods generated within the economy. The concept of a consumer occurs in different contexts, so that the usage and significance of the term may vary.-Economics and marketing:...

 is agreeing to receive merchandise or services automatically at regular intervals (often monthly), without advance notice, until they cancel.

How a Continuity Program Works

A consumer can join a plan simply by accepting an introductory offer of merchandise or services.

Continuity plans may offer an introductory “free trial period” to let potential consumers check out the merchandise or service and decide whether to join the plan.

If a consumer decides to keep the merchandise beyond the free trial period or fail to cancel the service within the free trial period, not only they must pay, but they automatically become a plan member.

Joining a continuity plan means the consumer agrees to the plan’s sales

Sales

A sale is the act of selling a product or service in return for money or other compensation. It is an act of completion of a commercial activity....

 method as long as they are members. They’ll automatically get periodic shipments of merchandise or delivery of services. Consumers won’t get any announcements or rejection forms before each shipment or service period. The shipments or services continue until consumers cancel their membership.

Some continuity plans give you an “approval

Approval

Approval may refer to:* Approval rating, a polling term which reflects the approval of a particular person or program* Approval voting, a voting system* Approval proofer, an output device used in Prepress proofing...

” period. That way, consumers can check out the merchandise and decide whether to keep it and pay for it. Many programs selling collectible

Collectible

A collectable or collectible is any object regarded as being of value or interest to a collector . There are numerous types of collectables and terms to denote those types. An antique is a collectable that is old...

s, like stamp

Postage stamp

A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...

s or coin

Coin

A coin is a piece of hard material that is standardized in weight, is produced in large quantities in order to facilitate trade, and primarily can be used as a legal tender token for commerce in the designated country, region, or territory....

s, work this way. Other continuity
plans require people to pay for merchandise when they receive it.

Continuity Program Obligatory Terms and Conditions

Sellers must give you information about the plan’s terms and conditions, clearly
and conspicuously, in their promotional materials.

These terms may include:
that you become a member if you accept the introductory merchandise or initial round of services — unless you cancel;

• that periodic delivery of merchandise or services will occur — with no further action on your part;
• a description of the merchandise or services you agree to buy;
• whether there’s a minimum purchase;
• how often you’ll receive the products or services;
• an explanation of the plan’s billing
  Billing
  Billing may refer to:*The process of sending a bill to customers for goods or services is called billing...
  
   procedure for each shipment or period of service.
• how much time you have to review “on approval” merchandise before you have to pay;
• the terms of the plan’s refund or return policy;
• how and when consumers can cancel their membership;

and

• the price of the goods or services if a consumer fails to cancel, including shipping and handling, if applicable.

Usually a plan will use the same billing method for future shipments that it used for the introductory merchandise or service period.

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) message to consumers

Continuity plans are promoted in newspaper

Newspaper

A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...

s, magazine

Magazine

Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...

s, TV and radio commercials, direct mail

Direct mail

Advertising mail, also known as direct mail, junk mail, or admail, is the delivery of advertising material to recipients of postal mail. The delivery of advertising mail forms a large and growing service for many postal services, and direct-mail marketing forms a significant portion of the direct...

, and over the telephone

Telephone

The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...

 and the Internet

Internet

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...

.

Before consumers agree to any plan:

• Read the terms and conditions of the plan carefully so you understand the obligations of membership before you join.

• Keep copies of plan documentation that explain the terms and conditions of the

plan. Some plans may send you this information with the introductory shipment.

• If an offer is made over the phone, listen carefully and, if you don’t understand the terms, ask the seller to repeat them. Write down important information, such as the customer service
  Customer service
  Customer service is the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase.According to Turban et al. , “Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction – that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer...
  
   telephone number or address. Don’t give in to high-pressure sales tactics; if you don’t want the offer, feel comfortable hanging up.

• Check out the seller. Contact your local consumer protection agency or the Better Business Bureau
  Better Business Bureau
  The Better Business Bureau , founded in 1912, is a corporation consisting of several private business franchises of local BBB organizations based in the United States and Canada, which work through their parent corporation, the Council of Better Business Bureaus .The Better Business Bureau, through...
  
  to find out if they have any complaints on file. A record of complaints may indicate questionable practices, but a lack of complaints doesn’t necessarily mean that the seller doesn’t have problems. Unscrupulous businesses or business people often change names and locations to hide complaint histories.