Moody's Corporation
Financials
30
out of 100. Number 392 of 512, counting from the worst.
Where Moody's Corporation does well
- Arbitration 0 of 20. Nothing found.
- Renewals 4 of 20. Few problems found.
- No forced arbitration or class-action waiver was found anywhere in the Online Terms — disputes go to courts of exclusive jurisdiction (Section 10, Governing Law), which is better than the consumer-industry norm.
- Price increases require at least 60 days' written notice before the renewal term, and regulatory-term amendments require 30 days' notice plus a right to terminate with a pro-rata refund if the change is materially adverse.
- Auto-renewal is bilateral — either party can stop it with 30 days' written notice, and breach-based termination gives a 30-day cure period. The privacy policy commits to resisting, narrowing, or challenging government data requests 'as appropriate and to the extent permitted by applicable law,' and includes a California section listing CCPA rights (know what was collected/sold, correction) plus a direct privacy contact (privacy@moodys.com).
Your Moody's data subscription auto-renews for a full year unless you give written notice at least 30 days before it ends.
The fine print
6 clauses and findings from the draft archive, dated 1 October 2026. The plain English comes first; the small print is the company's own words. None of these has been checked yet.
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Your Moody's data subscription auto-renews for a full year unless you give written notice at least 30 days before it ends. Miss the window and you're locked in for another year.
Unless otherwise stated on the Order Form, the Agreement shall automatically renew for successive terms of one (1) year each (each, a 'Renewal Term') unless either party has notified the other in writing at least thirty (30) days prior to the expiration of the then-current Initial Term or Renewal Term, as applicable, that the Agreement shall not be renewed.
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Paying customers are forbidden from using Moody's data to train AI or machine-learning models, or even combining it with other data to generate AI content. In 2024 this is a notable lock on a data product you already paid for.
Except as expressly permitted in the Agreement, Client will not: (a) use the Information in any manner for training or development of artificial intelligence technologies or tools or machine learning language models; or (b) use the Information in connection with artificial intelligence technologies or tools or machine learning language models to generate any data or content and/or to synthesize or combine the Information or any portion thereof with any other data or content for use or distribution to any person or entity other than Client.
Online Terms of Agreement, effective Feb 29, 2024 (Section 3, Grant of License)
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Moody's can raise your subscription price on renewal with just 60 days' notice — no negotiation required. And if their measurement says you exceeded your license limits, they can cut you off or bill extra fees unilaterally.
Moody's may increase the fees for any subscription service commencing on the next Renewal Term (as defined in Section 9) by providing written notice to Client at least sixty (60) days prior to the commencement of such Renewal Term. ... Use of the Information by Client that exceeds the License Parameter is strictly prohibited and Moody's reserves the right to suspend access to the Information or charge additional fees for such unlicensed usage.
Online Terms of Agreement, effective Feb 29, 2024 (Section 6, Fees)
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Moody's can change the contract by posting it on their website. You can object, but the new terms take effect at your next renewal anyway — and if you keep using the product, that counts as your agreement. Rejecting is only a temporary delay.
Moody's may amend these Terms from time to time by posting an amended version on its website ... Such amendment will be deemed accepted and become effective thirty (30) days after such notice (the 'Proposed Amendment Date') unless Client first gives Moody's written notice of rejection of the amendment prior to the Proposed Amendment Date. In the event of such rejection, ... the amendment will be deemed accepted and become effective at the start of Client's next Renewal Term following the Proposed Amendment Date. Client's continued use of the Information following the Proposed Amendment Date or commencement of the next Renewal Term, as applicable, will be deemed Client's consent thereto.
Online Terms of Agreement, effective Feb 29, 2024 (Section 16, Amendments/Severability)
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Your personal data can be passed around Moody's affiliates so they can market to you. Opting out only stops future sharing — nothing is pulled back — and you can only do it by emailing an unsubscribe address. They also ignore your browser's Do Not Track signal entirely.
In compliance with applicable laws, Moody's may transfer Personal Data among our affiliates (a list of which is available at http://www.moodys.com/Affiliates_of_Moodys) to allow our affiliates to contact you regarding products, programs, services and promotions that they believe may be of interest to you... If you would prefer that we do not share your Personal Data on a going-forward basis with our affiliates or with unaffiliated third parties for their marketing purposes, you may cease this sharing by sending an e-mail to unsubscribe@moodys.com. ... We do not respond to browser do-not-track signals at this time.
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No matter how badly wrong the data is, Moody's total liability is capped at what you paid them in the last 12 months — and if they get data wrong, your only remedy is a corrected copy. Meanwhile, Moody's can unilaterally terminate your contract if it decides a legal change costs it money; you get no equivalent escape right.
IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF THE MOODY'S PARTIES OR THE AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF CLIENT ARISING FROM THE AGREEMENT OR RELATED TO THE INFORMATION EXCEED THE AGGREGATE FEES AND CHARGES PAID OR PAYABLE BY CLIENT TO MOODY'S UNDER THE ORDER FORM DURING THE PRECEDING TWELVE MONTH PERIOD. ... Moody's may terminate the Agreement on written notice to Client in the event of any legal or regulatory change that, in Moody's judgment, imposes new and additional cost or liability risk upon Moody's and/or Moody's Affiliates.
Online Terms of Agreement, effective Feb 29, 2024 (Sections 5 and 9)
How these were found
Documents read in full: (1) Moody's Online Terms of Agreement, effective February 29, 2024, from https://www.moodys.com/web/en/us/site-assets/online-terms-of-agreement.pdf (10 pages, all sections read); (2) Moody's Analytics NewsEdge Privacy Policy, last updated January 2023, from http://newsedge.com/privacy_policy/?amp (all sections read). Note: the NewsEdge policy is issued in the name of Acquire Media U.S., LLC and Acquire Media 1 UK Limited (NewsEdge operators). The Online Terms refer to a general Privacy Policy at www.moodys.com, but no standalone main-site privacy policy page could be located/opened during this research, so the privacy findings rest on the NewsEdge policy. Moody's is a B2B credit-ratings and data company: it has no consumer subscription flows, so arbitration/autorenew scoring reflects B2B contract terms; scores kept modest accordingly.
These notes come from the original draft and are not independent verification.