Million-Dollar Payback For Nickel & Diming Consumers

Bellevue-based Intelius agreed on Tuesday to reimburse $1.3 million to Washington state consumers as part of a settlement reached with the Attorney General's office.

A.G. Rob McKenna said Intelius violated the state’s Consumer Protection Act, and that his office has received nearly 400 complaints in just the past few years.

"Simply put, Intelius chose cash over candor," he said.

Intelius is an online provider of background searches through sites like People Lookup. McKenna claims Intelius engaged in what's called "post transaction marketing,” and that consumers were "deceived" into signing up for additional services after submitting their credit cards numbers.

The AG said most consumers didn't know until they received their credit card bills: “Upfront you think you’re just agreeing to pay a buck or two to conduct a simple phone number search, for example. But one wrong turn and you’re enrolled in a membership program that costs you twenty dollars or more per month. And you don’t realize that until later on, if you happen to catch it on your credit card bill.”

As part of the settlement, Intelius is prohibited from giving consumers' financial information to any third party. Intelius can no longer sell products through this "post-transaction marketing" process, and will no longer be allowed to sign consumers up for a paid membership after a free-trial offer--- which is a common on-line sales tactic.

A spokesman for Intelius released a statement saying the company is “pleased” to have come to an agreement with the Attorney General’s office, that it will comply with the decree, and is happy to put this issue behind it.

But it’s not completely over. Intelius still faces civil lawsuits regarding this same issue.

And McKenna said, this “post-transaction marketing” practice is being closely looked-at by federal lawmakers.

For Intelius’ complete statement click here.

For the Attorney General’s website, including the full complaint, click here.

For refunds, AG McKenna said Intelius will contact consumers covered under Tuesday’s settlement.