No Hidden Fees Claims

It goes without saying that companies shouldn’t charge hidden fees.

So when a company makes the “No Hidden Fees” claim part of their marketing, people notice. The government notice.

According to the lawsuit filed by the FTC (Federal Trade Commision) i.e. the government, Lending Club used the “No Hidden Fees” claim the centerpiece of their marketing and then charged thousands of people upfront charges.

The FTC claims that the little information available about the upfront charges is behind obscured hyperlinks or sandwich between lines of “below the fold” text.

In a nutshell – unfair and deceptive acts or practices.

So what you should do?

Make every possible charge very clear to the customer.

Sources:

https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/blogs/business-blog/2018/04/ftc-challenges-lending-clubs-no-hidden-fees-claims