The judgment filed in Santa Monica Superior Court will be shared equally among a task force of California prosecutors that also included district attorneys from Los Angeles, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties, as well as the city attorney of Santa Monica. The dating sites for Spark Networks USA, LLC, were automatically renewing customer payments without their express prior consent as required by federal and state law, among other alleged violations of law, according to the task force.
The judgment requires Jdate, Christian Mingle, and all of Spark's other dating sites to have full transparency with consumers about automatically renewing memberships.
According to prosecutors, online "subscriptions" and other automatically recurring charges have proliferated in the United States in recent years. Some renewals come after "free trials," where consumers need to cancel in time to avoid the charges. Federal and state law requires businesses to make auto-renewals clear to consumers, and to get their "express, affirmative consent" before collecting any money.
However, many businesses still don't follow the law, prosecutors said. Actions Facebook Tweet Email. Dating sites Jdate, Christian Mingle settle consumer protection case with California prosecutor. Copyright Getty Images.
By: City News Service. The company now must: -- clearly and conspicuously disclose the renewal terms; -- get consumers' consent, through a separate check box or similar mechanism that does not include other terms and conditions; -- send a clear summary of the renewal terms after consumers pay; and -- allow consumers to cancel easily. Spark Networks cooperated with the task force to reach the resolution. Copyright Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
