The Federal Trade Commission is sending refunds totaling more than $8.1 million to consumers harmed by online child and older adult care gig platform Care.com (Care).
The FTC alleged that Care used deceptive advertising that vastly overstated the number of jobs available on its platform and made unsubstantiated claims about how much job seekers could expect to earn through these jobs. The complaint also alleged that Care used unlawful tactics to prevent consumers—both job posters and job seekers—from canceling their subscriptions.
As a result of the FTC’s action, Care paid more than $8.5 million that the FTC is using to compensate consumers impacted by the company’s deceptive practices. The settlement order also requires Care to make only non-misleading claims related to its earnings and job listings and provide a simple cancellation method.