SAN FRANCISCO—San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin announced a settlement of the civil false advertising case against Angie’s List on Tuesday, July 13. The DA’s Office alleged that Angie’s List background checks all workers of listed businesses who entered their homes in 2016.
Angie’s List, Angi as of March 17, 2021, provides home project services from repairs to renovations, according to a press release from the SFDA’s Office. Angi’s television and website advertisements included that all workers and network businesses would be background checked before entering people’s homes in 2016.
The advertisements led to this misunderstanding when instead, Angi only background checked the owners of the businesses listed on Angi’s website. The individual contractor or worker coming into people’s homes would not necessarily be background checked.
The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office settlement with Angi includes compensation to customers and permanent injunction to safeguard the public from future misinterpretations. Angi has agreed to repay 50 percent of new member subscriptions fees to customers who subscribed for its services while the misleading advertisements were being ran.
“This settlement protects consumers who make important safety decisions about whom to allow into their homes,” said DA Boudin. “Rather than providing accurate information so that consumers can make educated decisions about whom to trust, Angie’s List’s advertising misled consumers.”
Angi will pay $50,000 in civil penalties as part of the permanent injunction that will prevent future misleading of customers. $225,000 is the estimated cost of new membership subscriptions made between June 23, 2016 and February 8, 2017 while the advertisement were running.
