October 29, 2014

JDI Dating Ltd., an England-based company, and its owner William Mark Thomas, agreed to settle charges alleging the company used fake, computer-generated profiles  to trick users into upgrading to paid memberships and charging these members a recurring monthly fee without their consent.  The settlement prohibits the defendants from misrepresenting material facts about any product or service and requires that, before obtaining consumers’ billing information for a product with a negative-option feature, the defendants clearly disclose the name of the seller or provider, a product description and its cost, the length of any trial period, the fact that charges will continue unless the consumer cancels, the deadline for canceling, and the mechanism to stop recurring charges. The order also requires the defendants to pay $616,165 in redress.  FTC