Gary Sgouros purchased a credit report from TransUnion’s website, hoping to use the high numbers to negotiate a favorable loan at a dealership. However, the credit score he received from TransUnion was 100 points higher than the score pulled by the dealership. Angry that he was unable to arrange an advantageous loan, Sgouros sued TransUnion under the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act for misleading consumers by failing to inform them that TransUnion’s credit score calculation could differ from the algorithms used by a dealership. 

TransUnion subsequently filed a motion to compel arbitration based on the Service Agreement that Sgouros accepted when he ordered the credit score report from TransUnion. The court acknowledged that clicking a button on a website could suffice as an acceptance of an offer and create a binding contract between two parties. In this case, the court examined the TransUnion website on which Sgouros ordered the credit report. 

Step 2 of the ordering process contained a scrollable window with the words “Service Agreement” at the top. Only three lines of text could be read, with the third line at the bottom chopped horizontally but still legible. Buried in the scroll box, there was a provision to arbitrate disputes. The printable version of the Service Agreement contained the provision on page 8 out of 10. Below the scroll box, a paragraph in bold text read:

“You understand that by clicking on the “I Accept & Continue to Step 3” button below, you are providing “written instructions” to TransUnion Interactive, Inc. authorizing TransUnion Interactive, Inc. to obtain information from your personal credit profile from Experian, Equifax and/or TransUnion. You authorize TransUnion Interactive, Inc. to obtain such information solely to confirm your identity and display your credit data to you.”

To proceed to step 3, Sgouros clicked the button immediately under the bolded paragraph that read, “I Accept & Continue to Step 3.” Do you think Sgouros’ pressing of the button established acceptance of the Service Agreement and the arbitration clause in it? How do you think the court ruled?