FTC Enforcement

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On August 15, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and Arizona Attorney General announced a proposed settlement with an Arizona-based vehicle dealership to resolve allegations that the dealership misrepresented prices in online advertisements, engaged in unfair and deceptive practices related to the sale of add-on products, and discriminated against Latino consumers by charging higher interest rates and more expensive add-on charges.… Continue Reading

The Federal Trade Commission on August 14 announced a final trade regulation rule intended to fight fake reviews and testimonials by prohibiting their purchase or sale and by allowing the agency to seek civil penalties against violators.

The final rule, 16 CFR Part 465: Trade Regulation on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials, follows a proposed rule issued in June 2023 and an informal hearing on the proposal that was held in February.… Continue Reading

Career Step LLC, an online career training company has been ordered to pay $43.5 million in cash and debt cancellation to resolve FTC charges that the company “lured consumers, specifically servicemembers and their families, with deceptive ads that falsely touted inflated employment outcomes, job placement, and partnerships with prominent companies.”

The company will cancel $27.8 million in debt and pay $15.7 million to provide redress to consumers harmed by its deceptive advertising.… Continue Reading

CarShield, a company that sells vehicle service contracts (VSCs), will pay $10 million to settle FTC allegations that its advertisements and telemarketing pitches deceived consumers, the agency announced on July 31.

The money will be used to provide refunds to consumers who were defrauded.

The stipulated complaint filed by the FTC stated that American Auto Shield (AAS) has designed, provided and administered VSCs through CarSheld; it said that between September 2019 and November 2022, CarShield sold VSCs solely on behalf of AAS and has earned commissions of about $600 million.… Continue Reading

CFPB Director Rohit Chopra on Thursday defended his agency’s proposed rule to prohibit the listing of medical debt on credit reports, contending that such debts are not a fair indication of a person’s financial health.

“We’ve done extensive research on whether medical bills on credit reports are predictive of whether a consumer repays their other loans,” Chopra said on Reddit, where he took questions about the proposed rule.… Continue Reading

Vroom, the former used car sales website which halted vehicle sales in January 2024, has agreed to a proposed settlement with the FTC over allegations the company misrepresented that it had examined all vehicles before listing them for sale, failed to obtain customers’ consent to shipment delays and failed to provide prompt refunds when cars were not delivered on time.… Continue Reading

The FTC recently issued a report to Congress on its collaboration with state attorneys general.  Titled “Working Together to Protect Consumers: A Study and Recommendations on FTC Collaboration with the State Attorneys General,” the report was issued pursuant to the FTC Collaboration Act of 2021.  The Collaboration Act required the FTC to conduct a study “on facilitating and refining existing efforts with State Attorneys General to prevent, publicize, and penalize frauds and scams being perpetrated on individuals in the United States” and directed the FTC to report the results of the study to Congress together with recommendations for enhancing collaboration between the FTC and state AGs.… Continue Reading

On January 22, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) entered into a Stipulated Order for Permanent Injunction, Monetary Judgment, and Other Relief (the “Order”) with FloatMe Corp. (“FloatMe”), a fintech that offers short-term cash advances through its mobile app, to settle litigation brought earlier in the month against the fintech and two of its principals (collectively, “Defendants”).… Continue Reading

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently announced a proposed order settling a Complaint against California-based lead generator Response Tree LLC and its president, Derek Doherty, banning them from making or assisting anyone in making robocalls or calls to phone numbers on the FTC’s Do Not Call (DNC) Registry. The proposed order helps settle pending FTC charges that Response Tree and its president operated more than fifty (50) websites designed to trick consumers into providing personal information for supposed mortgage refinancing and other services.… Continue Reading