The Federal Trade Commission issued a proposed order that would require HomeAdvisor to pay $7.2 million for using “a wide range” of deceptive marketing tactics in its selling of leads to home improvement professionals.
HomeAdvisor, which operates as Angi Leads and HomeAdvisor Powered by Angi, has been under FTC scrutiny since March 2022, when the FTC alleged the company had for years issued false, misleading or unsubstantiated claims about the quality and source of the leads it sells to contractors.
The proposed $7.2 million payout by HomeAdvisor would go toward defrauded service providers, according to the FTC. The order would also prohibit the company from making any false or misleading claims regarding its leads, “including that they concern individuals who are ready to hire a service provider or who submitted a request for home services directly to HomeAdvisor.” It would also ban the company from “misrepresenting its products as free when they are not.”
The FTC voted 4-0 on the proposed consent agreement and is accepting public comment until March 8, 2023, on whether to make the order final.
HomeAdvisor has continued to deny any wrongdoing, recently telling Fox Business, “We’ve been in business for over 20 years and do not and would not deceive anyone, let alone customers." The company also said the proposed settlement agreement with the FTC would not admit any wrongdoing on its part.
"Finding and helping homeowners to get a job done well is the daily work of our team members, and you'll find no company working harder for the American home service professional than Angi,” the company told Fox.
