Commerce Planet, Inc.
Also known as: Online Supplier.
The FTC alleged that Commerce Planet pitched a free kit on starting an online auction business, then enrolled buyers in a program called Online Supplier and billed them up to $59.95 a month without consent. Refunds followed court orders.
Resolved. Refunded, settled, ceased operating, or the claim did not hold up. Kept for the record.
Identity
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- Registrations
- FTC v. Commerce Planet, Inc., et al. (FTC case 072-3129)
- Jurisdictions
- United States (federal)
The kit was free. The membership was not.
Commerce Planet ran a website offering a “free” kit explaining how to start a business selling products through online auction sites. According to the FTC’s amended complaint, many people who ordered the kit were unwittingly enrolled in a business opportunity program called Online Supplier and charged monthly fees without their consent, at up to $59.95 per month, unless they cancelled a trial membership.
The defendants and the orders
The FTC brought actions against Commerce Planet and three of its principals, Michael Hill, Aaron Gravitz and Charles Gugliuzza. The company, Hill and Gravitz settled. Those orders required them to pay redress and barred the deceptive negative option and unauthorized billing practices described in the complaint.
Gugliuzza did not settle. A court found him liable for the consumer injury and ordered him to pay redress. The Ninth Circuit upheld the trial court’s findings but sent the case back so the order against him could be amended.
The refunds
Money collected under those judgments funded 53,595 refund checks totaling $748,070, mailed in July 2019.
What is not established
The settlements with the company and two principals resolve allegations without any admission or finding of wrongdoing. The supplied documents do not state the total amount ordered across the defendants.
Sources
Every claim above rests on one of these. Open them and check.
- Enforcement action July 31, 2019
- Enforcement action July 31, 2019
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First recorded July 31, 2019 · Last updated July 31, 2019