FTC chairman says wedding site The Knot could be violating law by allegedly defrauding small businesses | Latest Tech News
Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson has warned that wedding planning site The Knot Worldwide could be violating federal law as it faces allegations of defrauding small business house owners, The Post has realized.
Ferguson despatched a letter on Feb. 18 to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who cited The Post’s exclusive reporting on alleged wrongdoing at The Knot while urging the FTC to examine the firm last October over claims that it was swindling mom-and-pop distributors like DJs and dressmakers.
At the time, Grassley said his workplace has obtained almost 200 separate complaints from wedding distributors around the nation who had accused The Knot of offering pretend or spam buyer leads, locking them into advert offers that have been troublesome to cancel or failed to present the promised advantages and other shady practices.
“As you know, the conduct you describe can potentially violate laws the FTC enforces, including Section 5 of the FTC Act, which prohibits deceptive or unfair business practices,” Ferguson wrote in his letter to Grassley, which was completely obtained by The Post.
FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said The Knot’s alleged conduct “can potentially violate laws the FTC enforces.” Getty Images
Ferguson added that while he was unable to “disclose the existence or details of any non-public investigations, I can continue to assure you that protecting small businesses from deceptive practices remains a priority for the Commission.”
An FTC spokesman declined to remark. The Knot Worldwide didn’t reply to a number of requests for remark.
Ferguson identified that the FTC has just lately taken motion against firms accused of related misdeeds.
Last September, the FTC secured a $2.5 billion judgment against Amazon as half of a settlement that required the ecommerce giant “to clearly and conspicuously disclose cancellation procedures” associated to its Prime subscription service.
Sen. Chuck Grassley had strongly urged the FTC to examine The Knot Worldwide. AP
“The commission remains committed to protecting consumers, including small businesses, from deceptive practices by holding violators accountable,” Ferguson wrote.
In a assertion, Grassley said the “hundreds of whistleblower disclosures I’ve received about The Knot’s troubling business practices, including from constituents in Iowa, demonstrate that this is a nationwide problem, not a series of isolated incidents.”
“America’s hardworking small business owners deserve fairness and honesty. I appreciate the FTC’s responsiveness to my oversight, and I’m urging the commission to conduct a thorough investigation into allegations of fraud and related misconduct at The Knot,” the Iowa senator added.
Grassley, who chairs the distinguished Senate Judiciary Committee, beforehand told the FTC that his workplace had obtained a whistleblower grievance from a small business proprietor who said they’d called up The Knot’s customer support group to “discuss why her business continued to be advertised in the wrong section of the website and hadn’t received substantive leads.”
The customer support rep allegedly “turned off the call recorder and told her that she should create fake accounts and leave her own business fake reviews to boost the credibility of her profile which would in turn help her receive a higher number of legitimate leads,” according to Grassley’s letter to the FTC on Oct. 22 of last yr.
The Knot’s manufacturers embody Wedding Wire, Hitched and others. Wedding pictures – stock.adobe.com
The Knot has strenuously denied wrongdoing and insisted it’s working laborious to mend relations with small businesses.
In response to Grassley’s letter last fall, a spokesperson for The Knot Worldwide said the company “does not engage in fraudulent or deceptive business practices.”
The Knot Worldwide is a chief in the wedding planning industry. The Knot
“We are laser-focused on innovating to help wedding professionals grow their businesses with quality leads and support millions of couples annually on their planning journey,” the spokesperson said at the time. “We remain deeply focused on continually enhancing our products, support, and safety standards so every experience reflects the values that built our brand.”
As The Post has reported, small business house owners and wedding industry insiders say they’ve little selection but to promote with the The Knot Worldwide – which consists of manufacturers The Knot, WeddingWire, WeddingProfessional and Hitched, among other websites – because it controls a major chunk of the wedding planning market.
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