FTC Is Refunding HomeAdvisor Members $3 Million

By Dean Seal

The Federal Trade Commission is sending out more than $3 million in refunds to businesses that paid for memberships to HomeAdvisor, a company the agency has accused of using deceptive marketing tactics.

The agency said Tuesday the refunds stem from its March 2022 allegations that HomeAdvisor, a subsidiary of Angi, has used misleading tactics when selling home improvement project leads to service providers since at least mid-2014.

The FTC claims HomeAdvisor made false or unsubstantiated claims about the quality and source of the leads it was selling. The company also told businesses that their annual membership would include a free month of mHelpDesk, an optional scheduling and payment processing service, but actually charged the businesses an additional $59.99 for the first month, the FTC alleged.

HomeAdviser agreed to resolve the claims with a consent order in April, and neither admitted nor denied the allegations.

The regulator is sending more than 110,000 checks to eligible home service providers and more than 91,000 claims forms to businesses that paid for mHelpDesk.

Write to Dean Seal at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 28, 2023 12:20 ET (17:20 GMT)

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