States Reach Settlement With Internet Advertising Firm
Pennsylvania and 25 other states have reached a settlement concerning alleged deceptive Internet advertising practices associated with USdirectory.com, which is owned an operated by Directory Billing LLC, based in Boca Raton, FL.
The company has been accused of mailing $3.25 checks to consumers, businesses and organizations, which if deposited entered the recipients into a contract to purchase unwanted Internet advertising services.
Payments were billed either through telephone bills or by automatic withdrawals from bank accounts for Internet advertising that the vast majority didn’t request or want, according to the office of Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett.
In Pennsylvania alone 1,240 consumers were paying for Internet advertising and in most cases didn’t realize they were being charged for it, according to Corbett.
The terms for the settlement include payment of restitution to consumers and other costs. Directory Billing has also agreed to refrain from mailing such activation checks.
Besides Pennsylvania the settlement includes Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia.
