FTC Refunds | April 2020

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced in April that it is sending out FTC refunds in four of its cases, compensating consumers for unfair behavior.

UrthBox FTC Refunds

The FTC is sending out 1,119 PayPal payments to consumers who signed up for a free snack box from UrthBox Inc.

The FTC says that the company did not disclose key terms of the offer, including the fact that the consumers would be automatically enrolled in a subscription plan which would charge them for a six month subscription if they did not cancel in time.

According to the FTC refunds announcement, the first round of checks were mailed in December 2019. Consumers who did not cash the check received in the first round of payments are now receiving their payments via PayPal.

The FTC complaint says that from October 2016 to November 2017, Urthbox offered a “free trial” of its snack boxes on its website for a small shipping and handling fee. 

In addition to these charges, the FTC states that UrthBox misrepresented the positive reviews that it received on the Better Business Bureau’s website as well as on other third-party sites.

The settlement with the FTC bars UrthBox from engaging in this conduct and has resulting in a settlement fund of $100,000 to compensate consumers who were charged money after signing up for the “free trial” offer.

Individuals with questions about the UrthBox FTC refunds are encouraged to contact the refund administrator Analytics Consulting by calling 1-844-954-1251.

Sellers Playbook Refunds

The agency has also announced that they are sending FTC refunds in checks totaling more than $1 million to consumers who signed up with a company called Seller Playbook.

The FTC, along with the Attorney General of Minnesota, claims that the company tricked individuals into believing that they would earn money for selling products on Amazon.

According to the FTC refund announcement, Sellers Playbook told consumers that they would earn thousands of dollars each month if they purchased the “system” that was marketed by the company. The FTC claims that few, if any, people achieved these results and most people lost money in the deal.

The FTC says that it is mailing out 350 checks worth $2,954 each to the victims of this scam who previously filed a complaint with law enforcement. 

Those who receive the FTC refunds are directed to cash their checks within 60 days. If consumers have any questions, they should contact the refund administrator, Rust Consulting, at 877-465-1469.

AAFE Products FTC Refunds

The FTC has announced that they are sending out 14,370 checks totaling $488,629 to consumers who purchased golf and kitchen gadgets from AAFE that used “free” and “risk-free” trials to sell their products.

The FTC refund announcement states that AAFE marketed their products under various names, such as Kitchen Advance, Gourmet Cooking Online, Gourmet Cooking Rewards, Medicus Golf, Kick X Tour Z Golf Balls, Golf Online Academy, Golf Tour Partners, and Purestrike Swing Clinic.

According to the FTC, the company did not clearly disclose to consumers that those who accepted a “free” product would be charged a monthly subscription fee if they did not cancel.

In addition, the FTC claims that AAFE also misrepresented their return, refund, and cancellation policies. The FTC refunds settlement with AAFE was reached in September 2017.

Consumers who receive a check in the AAFE refund case should deposit or cash the check within 60 days. Those with any questions about the FTC refunds should contact the refund administrator, JND Legal Administration at 1-833-900-1638.

DOTAuthority.com Refunds

Lastly, the FTC has announced that they are mailing refund checks to small businesses who paid DOTAuthority.com fees for commercial vehicle registrations.

According to the FTC, the company used misleading representations that they were affiliated with the Department of Transportation (DOT) and tricked businesses into utilizing their services to register their commercial vehicles.

Using official sounding names as well as law enforcement threats, DOTAuthority.com tricked businesses into using their commercial vehicle registration services and did not disclose that there were fees involved in the service, ranging from $25 to $550.

The FTC states that the first round of checks were mailed in October 2018 and a second round was mailed in August 2019.

Money still remains in the account, so the FTC is mailing out additional, third round of FTC refunds with 10,683 checks totaling more than $145,000.

The settlement with the FTC bans the defendants from the illegal conduct as noted in the complaint and requires them to disclose that they are a third-party service provider. The company is also required to disclose any fees associated with their services.

If consumers have any questions about the FTC refunds, they should contact the refund administrator, Rust Consulting Inc., at 866-303-8537.

Were you tricked by any of the companies mentioned in this article? Have you received FTC refunds? Leave a message in the comments section below.

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