eHarmony Agrees to $2.3M Settlement over Auto-Renewal Terms

A nearly $2.3 million settlement will resolve claims that dating website eHarmony failed to satisfy California consumer law requirements in the way it handles automatic subscription renewals.

The settlement is the product of an enforcement action brought by the district attorneys of Napa, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara and Shasta Counties and the city attorney of Santa Monica.

Among other allegations, the municipalities claim eHarmony failed to properly represent the terms of its automatic renewal subscription service as required by federal and California consumer protection laws.

Members were not clearly notified about the automatic renewal, the amount of the recurring payments, or what they could do to cancel the service, the municipalities allege.

The settlement requires eHarmony to distribute $1 million in restitution to customers whose subscriptions were automatically renewed but who were denied refunds. This fund will be distributed by a claims administrator, similar to the way civil class action settlements are distributed. Qualifying claimants will receive either mailed checks or credits applied to their eHarmony subscriptions.

Another $1.28 million in civil penalties and investigative costs will be paid to the municipalities.

eHarmony will also be required to change the way it presents the auto-renewal terms of its memberships. The auto-renewal terms must be presented clearly and conspicuously, and they must be separate from other terms.

Customers will have to give affirmative consent to those terms by clicking a checkbox, entering a signature, or some similar mechanism in visual proximity to the presentation of the automatic renewal offer terms.

“The separate check-box is the key,” said Santa Monica Chief Deputy City Attorney Adam Radinsky in a press release. “Otherwise, it’s too confusing. Companies have too many ways to hide the auto-renewal terms. … eHarmony now will have one of the best online disclosure and consent pages in the business.”

Customers will then be entitled to receive a copy of the automatic renewal offer’s terms, notice of their right to cancel the subscription, and information on how to cancel.

eHarmony has also agreed not to take steps to collect past-due membership fees from customers that were incurred prior to the effective date of the judgment. California customers who have negative marks on their credit report due to eHarmony’s referring them to a third-party collector can have eHarmony contact the credit bureau to cancel the negative mark.

Top Class Actions will post updates to this class action settlement as they become available. For the latest updates, keep checking TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter. You can also receive notifications when this article is updated by using your free Top Class Actions account and clicking the “Follow Article” button at the top of the post.

The municipalities are represented by Santa Cruz County District Attorney Jeffrey S. Rosell, Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeffrey F. Rosen, Santa Monica City Attorney Lane Dilg, Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley, and Shasta County District Attorney Stephanie A. Bridgett, with the assistance of other attorneys in their respective offices.

The eHarmony Subscription Auto-Renewal Lawsuit is People of the State of California v. eHarmony Inc., Case No. 17-cv-03314, in the Superior Court for the State of California, County of Santa Cruz.