NEW YORK (AP) -- An Internet marketing firm has agreed to pay $5.2 million to settle New York complaints that it duped consumers into signing up for discount clubs with hidden fees.
Webloyalty.com, of Norwalk, Conn., has also agreed to give some of its customers refunds and to permanently abandon some of its past sales tactics.
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced the settlement Tuesday.
Cuomo had accused the company of using fine print and cluttered text to trick customers into signing up for services that offered things like cheap movie tickets and restaurant discounts in exchange for a small monthly fee.
Webloyalty said it had always made the terms of offer clear, but many shoppers complained that they didn't know about the fees until small charges began appearing on their credit cards.
(Copyright ©2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
