Effective Date: July 5, 2025
Please read these SMS Terms & Conditions (the “SMS Terms”) carefully. By
providing your phone number, enrolling in our text message program(s),
or otherwise agreeing to receive text messages from or on behalf of
Petco, you agree and consent to these SMS Terms, as well as Petco's
Terms of Use
and
Privacy Policy, which
are incorporated herein by reference and can be viewed at the links
provided here, or at Petco.com. For purposes of these SMS Terms,
“Petco,” “the Company,” “we,” or “us” shall mean Petco Animal Supplies
Stores, Inc. and any of its subsidiaries, divisions, or affiliates.
PLEASE NOTE: SECTION 6 OF THESE SMS TERMS IS A MANDATORY DISPUTE
RESOLUTION SECTION WITH AN ARBITRATION AGREEMENT, CLASS ACTION WAIVER,
AND JURY TRIAL WAIVER THAT AFFECT YOUR RIGHTS. THE MANDATORY DISPUTE
RESOLUTION SECTION AFFECTS HOW DISPUTES WITH PETCO ARE RESOLVED. YOU
AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE MANDATORY DISPUTE RESOLUTION SECTION, INCLUDING
THE ARBITRATION AGREEMENT. IN ARBITRATION, THERE IS NO JUDGE OR JURY AND
THERE IS LESS DISCOVERY AND APPELLATE REVIEW THAN IN COURT. PLEASE READ
THESE SMS TERMS CAREFULLY.
Consent to receive texts is not a condition of purchasing any goods or
services, and you understand and agree that all text messages may be
sent using automated technology. Message and data rates may apply.
5. Participating Carriers
AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, Boost Mobile,
MetroPCS, Virgin Mobile, Alaska Communications Systems (ACS),
Appalachian Wireless (EKN), Bluegrass Cellular, Cellular One of East
Central, IL (ECIT), Cellular One of Northeast Pennsylvania, Cricket,
Coral Wireless (Mobi PCS), COX, Cross, Element Mobile (Flat Wireless),
Epic Touch (Elkhart Telephone), GCI, Golden State, Hawkeye (Chat
Mobility), Hawkeye (NW Missouri), Illinois Valley Cellular, Inland
Cellular, iWireless (Iowa Wireless), Keystone Wireless (Immix
Wireless/PC Man), Mosaic (Consolidated or CTC Telecom), Nex-Tech
Wireless, NTelos, Panhandle Communications, Pioneer, Plateau (Texas RSA
3 Ltd), Revol, RINA, Simmetry (TMP Corporation), Thumb Cellular, Union
Wireless, United Wireless, Viaero Wireless, and West Central (WCC or 5
Star Wireless). Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered
messages. Please note we may not be able to deliver messages to all
mobile carriers.
6. Mandatory Dispute Resolution (including Arbitration Agreement, Class
Action Waiver, & Jury Trial Waiver)
PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY – IT MAY SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECT YOUR
LEGAL RIGHTS, INCLUDING YOUR RIGHT TO FILE A LAWSUIT IN COURT AND TO
HAVE A JURY HEAR YOUR CLAIMS. IT CONTAINS PROCEDURES FOR A MANDATORY
EARLY RESOLUTION PROCESS, BINDING ARBITRATION, A CLASS ACTION WAIVER,
AND A JURY TRIAL WAIVER.
Arbitration Agreement:
Any dispute or claim arising out of or relating to these SMS Terms, your
use of the Services, the sending or making of any text messages between
you and Petco, or your relationship with Petco or any past, present, or
future subsidiaries, parents, affiliates, employees, officers,
directors, agents, successors, representatives, or assigns, whether
based in contract, tort, statute, fraud, misrepresentation, or any other
legal theory (each a “Dispute”) will be resolved through binding
individual arbitration (with limited exception) as set forth in these
SMS Terms. Notwithstanding the foregoing, either you or Petco may
initiate a Dispute in or take a Dispute to small claims court, so long
as that Dispute is not removed or appealed to a court of general
jurisdiction. Whether a Dispute falls within the jurisdiction of small
claims court is for a small claims court to decide in the first instance
and for a court of competent jurisdiction to otherwise decide. The term
“Dispute” shall be interpreted broadly and includes, but is not limited
to: (a) any dispute or claim that arose before the existence of these or
any prior SMS Terms (including, but not limited to, claims relating to
advertising); (b) any dispute or claim that is currently the subject of
purported class action litigation in which you are not a member of a
certified class; and (c) any dispute or claim that may arise after
termination of these SMS Terms. “Dispute,” however, does not include
disagreements or claims concerning patents, copyrights, trademarks,
trade secrets, or other intellectual property, and claims of piracy or
unauthorized use of intellectual property.
In any Dispute, the arbitrator shall decide all issues except the
following (which are for a court of competent jurisdiction to decide):
(a) issues that are reserved for a court in these SMS Terms; (b) issues
that relate to the scope, validity, and/or enforceability of the
arbitration provision, class action waiver, or any of the provisions of
this Mandatory Dispute Resolution clause; and (c) issues that relate to
the arbitrability of any Dispute. These SMS Terms and their arbitration
provision do not prevent you from bringing a Dispute to the attention of
any government agency. You and we agree that these SMS Terms evidence a
transaction in interstate commerce and that the arbitration provision
herein will be interpreted and enforced in accordance with the Federal
Arbitration Act and federal arbitration law.
You and Petco agree to work together in a good-faith effort to
informally resolve any Dispute that might arise between us using the
cearly resolution process described herein (“Early Resolution Process”).
The party initiating a Dispute must first send the other a written
notice (the “Dispute Notice”) that includes all of the following
information: (a) information sufficient to identify any transaction
and/or account at issue in the Dispute, including any loyalty account
information; (b) contact information (including your name, address,
telephone number, and email address); and (c) a detailed description of
the nature and basis of the Dispute and the relief sought, including a
calculation for such relief. The Dispute Notice must be personally
signed by the party initiating the Dispute (and their counsel, if
represented). If you are the party initiating a Dispute, you must send
us the Dispute Notice via email to
arbitration@petco.com. If
Petco has a Dispute with you, we will send a Dispute Notice to you at
the most recent contact information we have on file for you.
For a period of sixty (60) days from receipt of a completed Dispute
Notice (which can be extended by agreement of the parties), you and we
agree to negotiate in good faith in an effort to informally resolve the
Dispute. The party receiving the Dispute Notice may request a telephone
settlement conference to aid in the early resolution of the Dispute. If
such a conference is requested, you and a Petco representative will
personally attend such a telephone settlement conference (with counsel,
if represented). The conference will be scheduled for a mutually
convenient time, which may be outside of the 60-day period following
receipt of a Dispute Notice.
This informal Early Resolution Process is a condition precedent to
you or Petco commencing a formal proceeding in arbitration.
If the sufficiency of a Dispute Notice or compliance with this Early
Resolution Process is at issue, such issue may be raised with and
decided by a court of competent jurisdiction at either party’s election
and any arbitration shall be stayed pending resolution of such issue.
The court shall have the authority to enforce this condition precedent
to arbitration, which includes the power to enjoin the filing or
prosecution of arbitrations, and to enjoin the assessment or collection
of arbitration fees. Nothing in this paragraph limits the right of a
party to seek relief for non-compliance with this process in
arbitration.
All applicable limitations periods (including statutes of
limitations) will be tolled from the date of receipt of a completed
Dispute Notice through the conclusion of this Early Resolution
Process.
You or we may commence arbitration if a Dispute is not resolved through
this Early Resolution Process.
The arbitration of any Dispute shall be conducted in accordance with the
rules of the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”), including the
AAA’s Consumer Arbitration Rules and Supplementary Rules for Mass
Arbitration, as applicable (“AAA Rules”), as modified by this
arbitration provision and these SMS Terms. The AAA Rules are available
online at www.adr.org.
You and we understand and agree that the AAA’s administrative
determination that this arbitration provision comports with the Consumer
Due Process Protocol is final, and that neither a court nor an
arbitrator has the authority to revisit it. If the AAA is unavailable or
unwilling to conduct the arbitration consistent with this arbitration
provision and these SMS Terms, the parties shall agree on a replacement
arbitration administrator that will do so. If the parties cannot agree
on a replacement arbitration administrator, they shall petition a court
of competent jurisdiction to appoint an arbitration administrator that
will conduct the arbitration consistent with this arbitration provision
and these SMS Terms.
An arbitration demand must (a) include all of the information required
to be provided in the Dispute Notice above; (b) be accompanied by a
certification of compliance with the Early Resolution Process above; and
(c) be personally signed by the party initiating arbitration (and
counsel, if represented). When initiating arbitration, you shall
personally certify to Petco and to AAA that you are a party to this
arbitration provision and provide a copy or link to it. By submitting an
arbitration demand, the initiating party and counsel represent, as in
federal court, that they are complying with the requirements of Federal
Rule of Civil Procedure 11(b). The arbitrator is authorized to impose
any sanctions available under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11 on
represented parties and their counsel. You may choose to have the
arbitration conducted by a phone, video, or in-person hearing, or
through written submissions, except any Dispute seeking more than Ten
Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00 USD) or injunctive relief shall have an
in-person or video hearing unless the parties agree otherwise. You and
we reserve the right to request a hearing in any matter from the
arbitrator. You and a Petco representative will personally appear at any
hearing (with counsel, if represented). Any in-person hearing will be
held in the county or parish in which you reside or at another mutually
agreed-upon location. An arbitrator may award on an individual basis any
relief that would be available in a court, including injunctive or
declaratory relief only in favor of the individual party seeking relief
and only to the extent necessary to provide relief warranted by that
party’s individual claim. To the fullest extent allowable by applicable
law, you and we agree that each may bring claims against the other only
in your or our individual capacity and not as a plaintiff or class
member in any purported class, collective, consolidated, private
attorney general, or representative proceeding. Further, unless both you
and we agree otherwise, an arbitrator may not consolidate more than one
person’s claims and may not otherwise preside over any form of class,
collective, consolidated, private attorney general, or representative
proceeding. You agree that you shall personally participate, along with
your counsel if represented, in the initial conference with the
arbitrator unless the parties agree otherwise. An arbitrator must follow
and enforce these SMS Terms as a court would.
IF, AFTER EXHAUSTION OF ALL APPEALS, ANY OF THESE PROHIBITIONS ON
NON-INDIVIDUALIZED INJUNCTIVE OR DECLARATORY RELIEF AND CLASS,
COLLECTIVE, CONSOLIDATED, PRIVATE ATTORNEY GENERAL, OR REPRESENTATIVE
PROCEEDINGS ARE FOUND TO BE UNENFORCEABLE WITH RESPECT TO A PARTICULAR
CLAIM OR REQUEST FOR RELIEF (SUCH AS A REQUEST FOR PUBLIC INJUNCTIVE
RELIEF), THEN SUCH A CLAIM OR REQUEST FOR RELIEF WILL BE DECIDED BY A
COURT OF COMPETENT JURISDICTION, AFTER ALL OTHER CLAIMS AND REQUESTS FOR
RELIEF ARE ARBITRATED.
The arbitrator shall issue a reasoned written decision sufficient to
explain essential findings and conclusions. The arbitrator shall apply
the cost-shifting provisions of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 68 after
entry of an award. Judgment on any arbitration award may be entered in
any court of competent jurisdiction, except an award that has been
satisfied may not be entered. An award shall have no preclusive effect
in any other arbitration or proceeding in which you are not a named
party.
Payment of arbitration fees will be governed by the AAA Rules. You and
we agree that the parties have a shared interest in reducing the costs
and increasing the efficiencies associated with arbitration. Therefore,
you or we may elect to engage with the AAA regarding arbitration fees,
and you and we agree that the parties (and counsel, if represented) will
work together in good faith to ensure that arbitration remains
cost-effective for all parties.
- Additional Procedures for Mass Arbitration
You and we agree that the following “Additional Procedures for Mass
Arbitration” (in addition to the other provisions of Section 6) shall
apply if you choose to participate in a Mass Arbitration (as defined
below).
If twenty-five (25) or more similar Disputes (including yours) are
asserted against Petco by the same or coordinated counsel or are
otherwise coordinated (a “Mass Arbitration”), you understand and agree
that the resolution of your Dispute might be delayed and ultimately
proceed in court. The parties agree that as part of these procedures,
their counsel shall meet and confer in good faith in an effort to
resolve the Disputes, streamline procedures, address the exchange of
information, modify the number of Disputes to be adjudicated, and
conserve the parties’ and the AAA’s resources. If your claim is part of
a Mass Arbitration, any applicable limitations periods (including
statutes of limitations) shall be tolled for your Dispute from the time
that your Dispute is first submitted to the AAA until your Dispute is
selected to proceed as part of a staged process or is settled,
withdrawn, otherwise resolved, or opted out of arbitration pursuant to
this provision.
-
STAGE ONE: If at least one hundred (100) Disputes are submitted as
part of a Mass Arbitration, counsel for the claimants and counsel for
Petco shall each select fifty (50) Disputes to be filed and to proceed
as cases in individual arbitrations as part of this initial staged
process. The number of Disputes to be selected to proceed in Stage One
can be increased by agreement of counsel for the parties (and if there
are fewer than one hundred (100) Disputes, all shall proceed
individually in Stage One). Each of the one hundred (100) (or fewer)
cases shall be assigned to a different arbitrator and proceed
individually. If a case is withdrawn before the issuance of an
arbitration award, another claim shall be selected to proceed as part
of Stage One. The remaining Disputes shall not be filed or deemed
filed in arbitration nor shall any arbitration fees be assessed or
collected in connection with those claims. After this initial set of
proceedings, counsel for the parties shall participate in a global
mediation session with a retired federal or state court judge jointly
selected by counsel in an effort to resolve the remaining Disputes (as
informed by the adjudications of cases in Stage One), and Petco shall
pay the mediator’s fee.
-
STAGE TWO: If the remaining Disputes have not been resolved at the
conclusion of Stage One, counsel for the claimants and counsel for
Petco shall each select one hundred (100) Disputes per side to be
filed and to proceed as cases in individual arbitrations as part of a
second staged process. The number of Disputes to be selected to
proceed as part of this second staged process can be increased by
agreement of counsel for the parties (and if there are fewer than two
hundred (200) Disputes, all shall proceed individually in Stage Two).
No more than five (5) cases may be assigned to a single arbitrator to
proceed individually. If a case is withdrawn before the issuance of an
arbitration award, another claim shall be selected to proceed as part
of Stage Two. The remaining Disputes shall not be filed or deemed
filed in arbitration nor shall any arbitration fees be assessed or
collected in connection with those claims. After this second set of
staged proceedings, the parties shall engage in a global mediation
session of all remaining Disputes with a retired federal or state
court judge jointly selected by counsel in an effort to resolve the
remaining Disputes (as informed by the adjudications of cases in
Stages One and Two), and Petco shall pay the mediator’s fee. Upon the
completion of the mediation set forth in this Stage Two, each
remaining Dispute (if any) that is not settled or not withdrawn shall
be opted out of arbitration and may proceed in a court of competent
jurisdiction consistent with the remainder of these SMS Terms.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, counsel for the parties may mutually
agree in writing to proceed with the adjudication of some or all of
the remaining Disputes in individual arbitrations consistent with the
process set forth in Stage Two (except Disputes shall be randomly
selected and mediation shall be elective by agreement of counsel) or
through another mutually agreeable process.
A court of competent jurisdiction shall have the authority to enforce
these Additional Procedures for Mass Arbitration, including the power to
enjoin the filing or prosecution of arbitrations and the assessment or
collection of arbitration fees.
These Additional Procedures for Mass Arbitration are essential parts of
this arbitration provision. If, after exhaustion of all appeals, a court
of competent jurisdiction decides that these Additional Procedures for
Mass Arbitration apply to your Dispute and are not enforceable, then
your Dispute shall not proceed in arbitration and shall only proceed in
a court of competent jurisdiction consistent with the remainder of these
Terms.
- Opting Out of the Arbitration Provision
Petco’s updates to these SMS Terms do not provide you with a new
opportunity to opt out of arbitration if you previously agreed to and
did not validly opt out of arbitration. Petco will continue to honor any
valid opt outs if you previously opted out of arbitration with Petco. To
opt out of arbitration, you must send a personally signed, written
notice via U.S. Mail to Petco at: Petco Legal Department, 10850 Via
Frontera, San Diego CA 92127, or via email to
arbitration@petco.com, and you must provide the following information:
(a) your name, (b) your address, (c) your phone number, and (d) a clear
statement that you wish to opt out of this arbitration provision. This
opt-out notice must be sent within thirty (30) days after the date you
first become subject to this arbitration provision. If you opt out of
this agreement to arbitrate, all other provisions of these SMS Terms,
including other provisions of the Mandatory Dispute Resolution section,
will continue to apply to you. Opting out has no effect on any other
arbitration agreements or provisions that you may have entered into with
Petco or may enter into in the future with Petco.
- Future Changes to the Arbitration Provision
If Petco makes any future changes to the arbitration provision (other
than a change to our contact information), you may reject any such
change by sending your personally signed, written notice to the
following address within thirty (30) days of the change: Via U.S. Mail
to Petco at: Petco Legal Department, 10850 Via Frontera, San Diego CA
92127; or via email to
arbitration@petco.com. Such
written notice does not constitute an opt out of arbitration altogether
or impact any other portions of this Mandatory Dispute Resolution
section. By rejecting any future change, you are agreeing that you will
arbitrate any Dispute between you and Petco in accordance with this
version of the arbitration provision.
- Class Action Waiver; Jury Trial Waiver
YOU AND WE EACH AGREE THAT ANY PROCEEDING, WHETHER IN ARBITRATION OR IN
COURT, WILL BE CONDUCTED ONLY ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS AND NOT IN A CLASS,
COLLECTIVE, CONSOLIDATED, PRIVATE ATTORNEY GENERAL, OR REPRESENTATIVE
ACTION. YOU AND WE AGREE TO WAIVE ANY RIGHT TO BRING OR TO PARTICIPATE
IN SUCH AN ACTION IN ARBITRATION OR IN COURT TO THE FULLEST EXTENT
PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. NOTWITHSTANDING THE FOREGOING, THE PARTIES
RETAIN THE RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS-WIDE SETTLEMENT.
TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, YOU AND PETCO WAIVE
THE RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL.
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