Over the past year, there’s been a slew of Terms of Service updates pushed through by various companies to prevent their users from joining class-action lawsuits. Sony’s already on the bandwagon, as is Netflix. AT&T‘s had a similar clause for some time now. Not content to let other businesses have all the fun, PayPal has finally decided that they too like this idea of not being involved in class-action lawsuits. The update hits November 1st, and they’ve made opting out of it a hassle, because of course they did.
Specifically, users have until December 1st to opt out. Unfortunately, this requires using snail mail to inform PayPal of your decision, which is just asinine and intentionally difficult. They know that the majority of users won’t bother to send off something they actually have to stamp. New users will have to do the same within 30 days of signing up.
Here’s the relevant bit from the update on how to actually send your opt-out notice:
You must mail the Opt-Out Notice to PayPal, Inc., Attn: Litigation Department, 2211 North First Street, San Jose, CA 95131.
The Opt-Out Notice must state that you do not agree to this Agreement to Arbitrate and must include your name, address, phone number, and the email address(es) used to log in to the PayPal account(s) to which the opt-out applies. You must sign the Opt-Out Notice for it to be effective.
Perhaps the oddest part here is that it doesn’t seem like PayPal will actually terminate accounts if they opt out. They still want your money, they just don’t want you joining a class-action lawsuit. If it’s important enough for you to mail them, though, sure. The whole thing’s reminiscent of Facebook’s updates where they force folks to opt out of various changes, because they know the majority of people aren’t going to care enough to do so.
In other words, it’s kind of evil.
