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Classmates.com is one of the biggest advertisers on the ‘net.  It’s been around since before MySpace, Facebook, or Friendster grew to the popularity they have now.  They spend wicked amounts of money on their online advertising; $30 million was spent in 2005 to give you an idea.  However, now they just may have to answer for some of their “lure the customer in” tactics.

Anthony Michaels had been a free member of the Classmates.com site since last year.  Then, Classmates.com informed Michaels that his old school pals were trying to contact him.  He got that familiar to many message “Your former classmates are trying to contact you! Upgrade now to see their messages!“ sent to him from Classmates.com.  So, curious as to whether it was an old grade school buddy or that girl he was always secretly smitten by, Michaels did what many others are suckered into doing with that message. 

He coughed up his $15 for the Gold Membership and became an official subscriber.  Logging into his spanking new upgraded account, eager to see who was trying to reach him, Anthony Michaels was hit with the truth.  No one was trying to reach him.  No messages were waiting in his inbox.  He saw that the people that had checked out his profile, he didn’t even know.  They weren’t even classmates.  And he claims, he had been scammed in order to pay to subscribe.

The way Classmates.com works is that the site allows you to sign up for free—you just can’t really do anything that interesting with a free subscription.  You can’t send messages or see yours (if you get any!), you can’t see who has been viewing your profile or trying to contact you.  And that is where they get you.  They send out messages claiming someone is trying to talk to you.  I know I had signed up for a classmates account years ago,  and really not that many people were on from my school.  Yet, I too started (and still do) receiving those infamous emails from the Classmates.com site. 

Upset with the situation, Michaels decided to do something about it.  So, on behalf of both himself and any others that paid to subscribe based on those e-mails they received from Classmates.com, he sued.  In the lawsuit (.pdf), he accuses Classmates.com of “intentional misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation, negligence, and fraudulent concealment.“  He also maintains that the site violates California Business and Professional Codes.

Classmates.com “knew at all times that the individuals, members, and/or users who were making attempts to contact Plaintiff and the Class were not former classmates when they . . . made false representations regarding the attempted contacts,“ reads the complaint. “The Defendants… intended to deceive, and did deceive Plaintiff and the Class by concealing and failing to disclose the fact that the individuals, members, and/or users who were making attempts to contact Plaintiff and the Class were not former classmates.“

Michaels is hoping that his case will be approved by a judge as a class-action; and that general, special and punitive damages will be awarded to all those involved in the case.  The lawsuit (which was filed October 30th), states that there are “hundreds of thousands of Anthony Michaels around the country who were similarly duped.“  It asks for millions of dollars in restitution for the subscription dollars spent and to furthermore fine the company for deceptive advertising.

Although at first glance it may seem like no big deal, and like Michaels is just whining and making a stink over nothing; Scott A. Kamber, a plantiff’s attorney with KamberEdelson seems to disagree.  “Cases that seemingly have a similar chuckle factor are rooted in a real consumer fraud that influences a consumer purchase decision,“ Kamber said. “Sometimes people are defrauded and misled and obviously there is a financial benefit in companies making those claims or they wouldn’t do it.“

Classmates.com’s billing practices have long been taking the heat.  They are complained about just about every day on ConsumerAffairs.com.  And although luring in by “scamming” may be a practice that happens often (think of how the dating sites are well known for using this familiar trick!), many feel it obviously doesn’t make it right, and companies need to be held accountable. Eric Sinrod, an attorney and partner at Duane Morris in San Francisco, CA says “Classmates.com is not some fly-by-night company—it is a real service, not something being operated by unknown people offshore.  So they are subject to U.S. law and regulators if they are conduct themselves improperly.“

This case is not going to just be a “false advertising” claim.  If Michaels wins, it will end up being a type of landmark, since it just may force more stringent rules on how not only Classmates.com tries to lure in subscribers, but other sites (especially dating sites) as well.

via [arstechnica]

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