SEATTLE (Legal Newsline) - Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna announced an agreement on Thursday with MyLife.com, an online people-search provider that allegedly engaged in unfair and deceptive practices.
MyLife.com allegedly used misleading commercials to lure consumers to a purportedly free website that ended up charging a monthly subscription fee of $12 to $20 per month.
The company's commercials stated that consumers could type in their names and see if someone was searching for them for free. The company's "Who's Searching for You" service allegedly revealed only the age and location of people searching for the consumers, not the people's names.
The consumers were also allegedly charged immediately for the full amount of their subscription instead of being charged on a monthly basis. The memberships were allegedly automatically renewed without the express permission of the consumers.
The assurance of discontinuance with MyLife.com requires the company to abide by specific practices or face legal consequences. Under the terms of the agreement, MyLife.com must create a clear website disclosure about how the service works, stop stating that the service is free, acknowledge that a purchase is required to access promised information, obtain consumers' consent for a payment that renews automatically prior to accepting the first payment, clearly and conspicuously disclose the amount consumers will be billed or charged before collecting a payment, and disclose that subscription services will renew automatically.
If MyLife.com violates the agreement, it will be in violation of the Consumer Protection Act, exposing itself to further litigation.
The company also agreed to pay $28,000 in attorney fees and costs.
MyLife.com settles with Wash. AG McKenna over commercials
