On September 29, the FTC announced a $5.7 million proposed settlement with a business credit report provider to resolve allegations that it violated a 2022 FTC order. The order, as previously covered by InfoBytes, required the provider to notify customers of material facts before renewing paid services, prohibited unauthorized product switches, and mandated the provider retain records of telemarketing calls.
The complaint alleged the provider violated the 2022 order by: (i) failing to accurately inform some customers of their product’s list price before autorenewal; (ii) misrepresenting that purchasing fee-based products would improve business credit scores; and (iii) not retaining required call recordings for oral offers.
Under the proposed order, the provider would pay $3.7 million in refunds to affected customers and approximately $2 million in civil penalties. The FTC reported that the provider had also agreed to modify the 2022 order to maintain a third-party quality assurance program for telemarketing, implement a “comprehensive compliance program,” ensure annual leadership certification of compliance, and notify the FTC within 60 days of certain compliance failures.
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