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marketing

Mailchimp

mailchimp.com

31 flagged clauses across 7 risk dimensions

D
🤖

AI training

clear

No flags in this category.

🔄

Auto-renewal

2 flags
  • Severity 3
    "To provide uninterrupted service, we will automatically charge for and renew a Member’s Text Messaging plan unless the Member opts out of automatic renewal in the App or by contacting customer support."

    Mailchimp automatically renews your text messaging plan unless you opt out, and they will charge you for it.

    You could be charged for a service you no longer need if you forget to cancel before the renewal date.

    ⚖️Matches FTC v. Amazon (Iliad Flow / Prime Enrollment) (2023)
  • Severity 3
    "Once you receive the notification that your short code application is approved, you will be billed on the next monthly billing cycle for your selected Short Code Text Messaging plan at the then-current price."

    Mailchimp will bill you for your selected text messaging plan in the next monthly cycle after your short code application is approved.

    You will start being charged for text messaging services on a recurring basis once your application is approved.

    ⚖️Matches People of the State of New York v. SiriusXM — settled for $4M (2023)
💸

Price hikes

3 flags
  • Severity 4
    "We may change any of our fees, including our charges for Monthly Plans and Pay as You Go Credits, at any time by posting a new pricing structure to our Mailchimp Site or in your account and/or sending you a notification by email."

    Mailchimp can change their fees for plans and credits at any time by posting new prices on their site or notifying you via email.

    You could be charged more for services than you expect without prior notice.

    ⚖️Matches FTC v. MoviePass / Helios and Matheson Analytics (2021)
  • Severity 3
    "Any additional Sending Numbers for the same country will be subject to a recurring monthly fee at Mailchimp’s then-current price."

    Additional sending numbers for the same country will cost a recurring monthly fee at Mailchimp's current price.

    You will incur ongoing costs for each additional sending number you use.

  • Severity 3
    "Short codes are not eligible for the No-Fee Sending Number allowance. All short codes, whether the first or a subsequent number in a country, are subject to recurring monthly fees at Mailchimp’s then-current price."

    Short codes are not included in the free sending number allowance and will incur recurring monthly fees at Mailchimp's current price.

    You will have to pay a recurring monthly fee for every short code you use.

🌍

Data residency

1 flag
  • Severity 4
    "When we, as a controller, process data that originates from the European Economic Area, UK, or Switzerland in a country that has not been found to provide an adequate level of protection under applicable data protection laws, we shall process such data in compliance with the standard contractual clauses between controllers annexed to the European Commission's Implementing Decision 2021/914 of 4 June 2021, or the equivalent clauses adopted by the UK Government, and currently located here (the “Controller-to-Controller Clauses”)."

    Mailchimp will process your European or UK data using standard contractual clauses if the country doesn't have adequate data protection laws.

    Your data may be transferred to countries with weaker data protection laws, relying on contractual clauses for security.

    ⚖️Matches Irish DPC v. Meta Platforms Ireland — settled for $1300M (2023)
🚪

Termination friction

7 flags
  • Severity 3
    "If you downgrade your account from one of the eligible Paid Marketing Plans, you will lose access to your short code and Text Messaging credit plan. The following billing cycle your Mailchimp Text Messaging credit plan will be deactivated and any unused credits will be forfeited."

    If you downgrade your account from an eligible Paid Marketing Plan, you will lose access to your short code and Text Messaging credit plan, and any unused credits will be forfeited.

    You will lose your short code and any remaining text message credits if you downgrade your marketing plan.

  • Severity 3
    "If your account has been terminated, the username will no longer be available for use on any future accounts and cannot be reclaimed."

    If your account is terminated, your username cannot be used again on any future accounts.

    You will permanently lose the ability to use your chosen username if your account is terminated.

    ⚖️Matches Bungie / Destiny 2 Account Termination Litigation (2023)
  • Severity 3
    "You will not receive a refund (unless you are within the 60 day money-back guarantee period)."

    You will not receive a refund for any charges billed before termination, unless you are within the 60-day money-back guarantee period.

    You cannot get money back for past payments if you cancel your service.

    ⚖️Matches Adobe Early Termination Fee Class Action (2024)
  • Severity 3
    "If you cancel Text Messaging Credit Plan or Marketing Paid Plan or downgrade your marketing plan from an eligible Paid Marketing Plan, your access to Transactional SMS will terminate immediately and unused credits will be forfeited."

    If you cancel or downgrade your text messaging or marketing plan, your access to transactional SMS will end immediately and you will lose any unused credits.

    You will immediately lose access to transactional SMS and forfeit any remaining credits if you change your plan.

    ⚖️Matches FTC v. Match Group (Match.com) (2019)
  • Severity 3
    "You will not receive a refund for previously billed charges."

    Mailchimp will not refund you for charges that have already been billed.

    You will not get your money back for any past subscription periods.

    ⚖️Matches Adobe Early Termination Fee Class Action (2024)
  • Severity 3
    "Once your account is terminated, you acknowledge and agree that we may permanently delete your account and all the data associated with it, including your Campaigns."

    Once your account is terminated, Mailchimp will permanently delete your account and all associated data, including campaigns.

    You will permanently lose access to all your account data and content after termination.

    ⚖️Matches Bungie / Destiny 2 Account Termination Litigation (2023)
  • Severity 3
    "If you downgrade your account from an eligible Paid Marketing Plan, you will lose access to your short code and Text Messaging credit plan. The following billing cycle your Mailchimp Text Messaging credit plan will be deactivated and any unused credits will be forfeited."

    Downgrading your marketing plan means you lose access to your short code and text messaging credit plan, and any unused credits will be forfeited.

    You will lose your short code and any remaining text message credits if you downgrade your marketing plan.

⚖️

Liability caps

4 flags
  • Severity 3
    "To the maximum extent permitted by law, you acknowledge and agree that (i) you assume full responsibility for any loss that results from your use of the Service, including any downloads from the Mailchimp Site; (ii) we and our Team won’t be liable for any indirect, punitive, special, or consequential damages, including any loss of data, profits, revenues, business opportunities, goodwill, or anticipated savings under any circumstances, even if they’re based on negligence or we’ve been advised of the possibility of those damages; and (iii) in any calendar month, the total liability of Mailchimp and our third-party providers, licensors, distributors, or suppliers to you arising out of or relating to the Agreement—whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise—will be no more than what you paid us for the Service the preceding month."

    Mailchimp's total liability to you each month is capped at the amount you paid them the previous month, and they are not liable for indirect damages.

    If Mailchimp causes a significant loss, your recovery is limited to your previous month's payment.

    ⚖️Matches Capital One Data Breach Class Action — settled for $190M (2022)
  • Severity 2
    "We are not liable for your relationship with your Contacts and how you interact with them, including your collection of personal information or your collection of consent to communicate with your Contacts via Text Messaging."

    Mailchimp is not responsible for your relationship with your contacts or how you collect their information and consent for text messages.

    You are solely responsible for complying with privacy laws and obtaining consent from your contacts.

  • Severity 2
    "You will not be entitled to any refund or credit if your short code is disabled by a SMS Provider or mobile network operator for any reason."

    You will not receive a refund or credit if your short code is disabled by a SMS provider or mobile network operator.

    You will not be compensated if your short code stops working due to issues with third-party providers.

  • Severity 2
    "Neither Mailchimp nor mobile carriers involved in the text messaging are liable for delayed or undelivered messages."

    Mailchimp and the mobile carriers are not liable for text messages that are delayed or not delivered.

    You have no recourse if your important text messages don't reach their recipients.

🛡

Indemnification

5 flags
  • Severity 4
    "You agree to indemnify and hold us and our Team harmless from any losses, damages, judgments, fines, and costs, including legal fees and expenses in connection with any claims you make that aren’t allowed under these Terms due to a “Limitation of Liability” or other provision."

    You must cover Mailchimp's losses, legal fees, and costs if you make claims that are disallowed by their limitation of liability clause.

    You could end up paying Mailchimp's legal costs if you try to sue them for damages they've excluded.

    ⚖️Matches T-Mobile Data Breach Settlement — settled for $350M (2022)
  • Severity 4
    "You also agree to indemnify and hold us harmless from any losses, damages, judgments, fines, and costs, including legal fees and expenses, in connection with any claims arising out of or relating to (i) your Content, Campaigns, or Sites, (ii) your use (or any third-party’s use) of the Service, (iii) your violation of any laws or regulations, (iv) third-party claims that you or someone using your password did something that, if true, would violate any terms of the Agreement, (v) any misrepresentations made by you, (vi) a breach of these Terms or any representations or warranties you’ve made to us, or (vii) your use of and reliance on an AI Model (defined below) including, but not limited to, your Outputs (defined below) and failure to abide by Section 30 of these Terms."

    You agree to cover Mailchimp's losses and costs for any claims related to your content, use of the service, violation of laws, or misrepresentations.

    You will be responsible for any legal claims or damages resulting from your actions or content.

    ⚖️Matches T-Mobile Data Breach Settlement — settled for $350M (2022)
  • Severity 3
    "You will reimburse and indemnify Mailchimp for any Taxes, interest, and penalties that Mailchimp may be compelled to pay on account of your non-payment."

    You will reimburse Mailchimp for any taxes, interest, or penalties they have to pay because you didn't pay them.

    You will have to pay Mailchimp back if they are fined for your tax omissions.

    ⚖️Matches T-Mobile Data Breach Settlement — settled for $350M (2022)
  • Severity 3
    "You will indemnify and hold Mailchimp harmless against any and all claims by any competent tax authority related to any such withholding or similar taxes and any penalties and/or interest thereon."

    You will indemnify Mailchimp against claims from tax authorities related to any withholding taxes you were supposed to pay.

    You are responsible for any tax-related claims Mailchimp faces due to your actions.

    ⚖️Matches T-Mobile Data Breach Settlement — settled for $350M (2022)
  • Severity 3
    "You will comply with all laws, rules, regulations, best practices, policies, or carrier requirements applicable to Text Messaging (including, but not limited to, SHAFT restrictions, quiet hours, advertising restrictions, and direct marketing rules)."

    You must follow all laws, rules, and carrier requirements for text messaging, including advertising and quiet hour restrictions.

    Failure to comply with text messaging regulations could lead to service disruptions or penalties.

👻

Silent term changes

9 flags
  • Severity 4
    "We may change any of the Terms by posting revised Terms on our Mailchimp Site. Unless you terminate your account, the new Terms will be effective immediately upon posting on the effective date indicated in the new Terms, as applicable, and apply to any continued or new use of the Service."

    Mailchimp can change the Terms by posting them on their site, and your continued use means you accept the new terms.

    You may be bound by new terms you haven't explicitly agreed to just by continuing to use the service.

    ⚖️Matches Italian DPA (Garante) v. WhatsApp — settled for $6M (2022)
  • Severity 4
    "We may change the Service, Add-ons, or any features of the Service at any time, and we may discontinue the Service, Add-ons, or any features of the Service at any time, and we are not in any way liable to you for any modification, suspension, termination, or discontinuation."

    Mailchimp can change or discontinue the service or its features at any time without being liable to you.

    Mailchimp can alter or remove features you rely on without any compensation or notice.

    ⚖️Matches X Corp. Verified User Class Action (2024)
  • Severity 4
    "Terms, conditions, pricing, special features, and service and support options subject to change without notice."

    Terms, pricing, features, and support are subject to change without notice.

    You could face unexpected changes to your service, costs, or support without any warning.

    ⚖️Matches X Corp. Verified User Class Action (2024)
  • Severity 4
    "Terms, conditions, pricing, special features, and service and support options subject to change without notice."

    Terms, conditions, pricing, special features, and service and support options are subject to change without notice.

    You could face unexpected changes to your service, costs, or support without any warning.

    ⚖️Matches X Corp. Verified User Class Action (2024)
  • Severity 4
    "Mailchimp may modify, suspend, or discontinue Transactional SMS at any time."

    Mailchimp may change, suspend, or discontinue Transactional SMS at any time.

    Your access to transactional SMS services could be altered or removed by Mailchimp without notice.

    ⚖️Matches X Corp. Verified User Class Action (2024)
  • Severity 4
    "Mailchimp may modify, suspend, discontinue, or further limit use of the AI Model at any time (without any notice to you)."

    Mailchimp can modify, suspend, or limit the AI Model at any time without notice.

    The AI tools you use could be changed or removed by Mailchimp without any warning.

    ⚖️Matches X Corp. Verified User Class Action (2024)
  • Severity 4
    "We may limit, suspend, or terminate an AI Model or your participation in or access to the AI Model at any time, with or without cause, and we may suspend or terminate your Mailchimp account if you violate any of our terms or policies."

    Mailchimp may limit, suspend, or terminate your access to an AI Model at any time, with or without cause.

    Your access to AI features could be revoked by Mailchimp at any moment.

    ⚖️Matches X Corp. Verified User Class Action (2024)
  • Severity 4
    "We may discontinue Beta Services at any time in our sole discretion, and we may decide not to make Beta Services generally available."

    Mailchimp can discontinue Beta Services at any time and may choose not to make them generally available.

    Features offered as beta may be removed or never fully released, leaving you without promised functionality.

    ⚖️Matches X Corp. Verified User Class Action (2024)
  • Severity 4
    "No Changes in Terms at Request of Member Because we have so many Members, we can’t change these Terms for any one Member or group."

    Mailchimp cannot change these Terms for any individual member or group.

    You cannot request custom changes to the terms of service.

    ⚖️Matches Italian DPA (Garante) v. WhatsApp — settled for $6M (2022)

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