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Can I offer a free trial for my product or service in Missouri? What are the requirements?

Free Trial Requirements in Missouri

Based on the provided context documents, there are no specific laws or regulations in Missouri that prohibit offering a free trial for a product or service. However, businesses should ensure that their free trial complies with all applicable laws and regulations, including those related to consumer protection and advertising.

Promotional Practices Standards

The Promotional Practices Standards in Missouri require that all promotional practices of a public utility or its affiliate shall be just and reasonable, reasonable as a business practice, economically feasible and compensatory and reasonably calculated to benefit both the utility and its customers. No public utility or its affiliate, directly or indirectly, in any manner or by any device whatsoever, shall offer or grant to any person any form of promotional practice except as is uniformly and contemporaneously extended to all persons in a reasonable defined class. No public utility or its affiliate, in the granting of a promotional practice, shall make, offer or grant any undue or unreasonable preference or advantage to any person or subject any person to any undue or unreasonable prejudice or disadvantage. No public utility or its affiliate shall establish or maintain any unreasonable difference in the offering or granting of promotional practices either as between localities or as between classes to whom promotional practices are offered or granted [2.1].

General Provisions

The General Provisions in Missouri state that promotional practices shall mean any consideration offered or granted by a public utility or its affiliate to any person for the purpose, express or implied, of inducing the person to select and use the service or use additional service of the utility or to select or install any appliance or equipment designed to use the utility service, or for the purpose of influencing the person’s choice or specification of the efficiency characteristics of appliances, equipment, buildings, utilization patterns or operating procedures. The term promotional practices shall not include making any emergency repairs to appliances or equipment of customers, providing appliances or equipment incidental to demonstrations of sixty (60) days or less in duration, providing light bulbs, street or outdoor lighting service, wiring, service pipe or other service equipment or appliances, in accordance with tariffs filed with and approved by the commission, providing appliances or equipment to an educational institution for the purpose of instructing students in the use of the appliances or equipment, merchandising appliances or equipment at retail and, in connection therewith, the holding of inventories, making and fulfillment of reasonable warranties against defects in material and workmanship existing at the time of delivery and financing; provided that the merchandising shall not violate any prohibition contained in 4 CSR 240-14.020, inspecting and adjusting of appliances or equipment by a public utility, repairing and other maintenance to appliances or equipment by a public utility if charges are at cost or above, providing free or below-cost energy audits or other information or analysis regarding the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of improvements in the efficiency characteristics of appliances, equipment, buildings, utilization patterns or operating procedures, offering to present or prospective customers by a public utility technical or engineering assistance, and advertising or publicity by a public utility which is under its name and on its behalf and which does not in any manner, directly or indirectly, identify, describe, refer to, mention or relate to any architect, builder, engineer, subdivider, developer or other similar person, or which mentions no less than three (3) existing projects, developments or subdivisions [2.2].

Recommendations

To ensure compliance, businesses should clearly disclose any terms and conditions associated with the free trial, including any fees that may be charged after the trial period ends. Additionally, businesses should ensure that any advertising related to the free trial is truthful and not misleading. It is recommended that businesses consult with a legal professional to ensure that their free trial complies with all applicable laws and regulations [Existing Response].

Source(s):
Jurisdiction

Missouri