Intelius Identity Protect Class Action Settlement

If You Paid To Subscribe To Identity Protect Through Intelius.Com Or A Related Internet Site Before August 21, 2012, You May Be Eligible To Receive A Payment From A Class Action Settlement, And Your Rights Will Be Affected By The Settlement.

A consumer class action settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit against Intelius, Inc. and Intelius Sales, LLC (collectively referred to as “Intelius” or “Defendants”) in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington (styled Bruce Keithly, Donovan Lee and Edith Anna Cramer v. Intelius, Inc. and Intelius Sales, LLC, Class Action Case No. 09-cv-1485-RSL), alleging, among other things, that Intelius deceived customers into signing up for an identity protection program and forwarded Plaintiffs’ credit card information to other vendors without Plaintiffs’ permission, according to the Intelius Identity Protect class action settlement notice.

The Intelius Identity Protect Class includes all Persons residing in the United States who subscribed to Identity Protect from the first day the product was offered until August 21, 2012, except for consumers who were not charged, ( e.g. who cancelled the subscription before seven days) or have received a full refund of any Identity Protect charges.

Under the Intelius Identity Protect settlement, Defendant will pay $2.5 million to establish a common fund for the benefit of the Settlement Class.  Intelius will also provide to the Settlement Class $2.5 million in benefits in the form of electronic vouchers for Intelius products. These electronic vouchers will be fully transferable and will be valid for use at the Intelius website until 24 months (two years) after the date of issue.  Class members who wish to receive these benefits must file valid claims no later than November 19, 2012.

As part of the Intelius Identity Protect Settlement Intelius also reportedly has agreed not to engage in the specific acts or practices that were alleged in the lawsuit to be deceptive, some examples of which include:

• Displaying any offer for a Membership Program involving a Free-to-pay Conversion without complying with the following requirements:
• In order for a consumer to accept the offer, the consumer must be required toprovide the complete account information for the account the consumer wishes to
  be charged for the Membership Program at the time the consumer accepts the offer.
  o The offer’s material disclosures may not be made in fine print nor be in text accessible only through a hyperlink.
  o The offer must Clearly and Conspicuously disclose a mechanism for declining the offer in a font and size as prominent as the mechanism for accepting the offer.
  o Any offer using the term “free” or similar language must disclose any condition to the “free” offer Clearly and Conspicuously and in close proximity to the offer.
  o The offer must state Clearly and Conspicuously that by accepting it, the consumer is enrolling in a paid Membership Program that will be automatically charged to
  his or her account at the end of the trial period if the consumer does not cancel during the trial period.

• Failing to provide a Clearly and Conspicuously displayed and labeled mechanism on Defendant’s websites for consumers to cancel and/or request refunds for any Membership Program owned and/or administered by Defendant.
• Failing to honor any stated or published refund policy.
• Failing to provide accessible, prompt, live or automated customer service to consumers for cancellation and refund requests relating to Membership Programs

The Court will hold a hearing at 9:00 AM, on December 6, 2012, at the United States District Courthouse, 700 Stewart Street, Courtroom 15106, Seattle, WA 98101-9906 to consider whether the Intelius Identity Protect Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate.

For additional information on the Intelius Identity Protect settlement, visit the Intelius settlement website www.identityprotectsettlement.com, or contact the Intelius Identity Protect Settlement Administrator by phone at 1-888-272-7095.

If You Have Thoughts On The Intelius Identity Protect Class Action Lawsuit Settlement, Share Your Intelius Class Action Settlement Comments Below.