Court finds eHarmony engaged in misleading conduct in relation to automatic renewal and pricing of its subscriptions

The Federal Court has found that dating site eHarmony made misleading representations to consumers about the pricing, renewal and duration of its online dating memberships in statements online and in its app, in proceedings brought by the ACCC. The Court found that eHarmony breached the Australian Consumer Law by engaging in misleading or deceptive conduct in relation to: offering free dating when a consumer could not engage in ongoing communication with other people for free one-month memberships, when the minimum period consumers could sign up for was six months consumers being able to cancel their subscription early when they could not stating monthly subscription prices which did not mention an additional mandatory fee to pay monthly. The Court also found that eHarmony had failed to display as a single price the minimum total amount a consumer would pay for their subscription alongside statements of how much a membership would cost per month, in breach of the Australian Consumer Law. “Dating platforms are an important part of Australians’ social lives. Many people use them to meet others and form valuable connections,” ACCC Commissioner Luke Woodward said. “The ACCC took thi...