The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has fined home services marketplace HomeAdvisor up to $7.2 million for its use of deceptive and misleading tactics in selling home improvement project leads to service providers, including small businesses operating in the gig economy. The fine is the first gig work-related penalty following the FTC’s fall 2022 announcement that it was prepared to crack down on unfair, deceptive, and anticompetitive practices taking place in the gig economy.
Dever-based HomeAdvisor had merged with Angie’s List in 2017 to form a new public company called “Angi.” However, the FTC’s charge against HomeAdvisor wasn’t issued until March 2022. The Commission said that since at least the middle of 2014, HomeAdvisor had made unsubstantiated, false or misleading claims about the leads it sells to service providers, like general contractors and lawn care professionals. Specifically, it claimed that the Angil affiliate had misrepresented the quality and source of leads, and the likelihood that they would result in actual jobs.
The Commission found that HomeAdvisor told service …
