Key facts
- eHarmony has been found by an Australian federal court to have engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct regarding its subscription practices.
- The court found that eHarmony failed to adequately disclose automatic renewal terms and pricing, leading to customers being charged hundreds of dollars.
- One customer was charged $478.80 for an auto-renewed subscription after deleting the app, and the case was referred to debt collection.
- Between November 2019 and June 2024, over 44,000 eHarmony users in Australia had their premium memberships automatically renewed.
- The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) brought the case, citing concerns about 'subscription traps' in digital services.
Dating website eHarmony has been found by Australia's federal court to have engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct concerning its subscription practices, a ruling that could impact thousands of customers who were charged hundreds of dollars without clear disclosure.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) had sued the U.S.-based company in 2023, alleging it misled consumers about subscription costs and renewal terms, and the nature of its free basic membership. The ACCC stated it had received numerous complaints from consumers who were unaware they were signed up for automatic renewals until their credit cards were charged significant amounts.
Justice Christopher Horan found eHarmony engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct under Australian consumer law in six different aspects of its operations up until July 2024. These included representations about basic free membership allowing communication for dating purposes, pricing details, and automatic renewal information. The court noted that the dominant message on eHarmony's website suggested premium subscriptions were for finite periods, when in reality they automatically renewed at a non-discounted price.
Evidence presented in court included a case where a user who deleted the app was charged $478.80, and her case was eventually referred to a debt collection agency. Another customer faced a similar situation with a $598.80 charge also referred to debt collection.
Between November 5, 2019, and June 6, 2024, 1.3 million Australian users registered for a basic membership, with 258,956 paying for a premium subscription. Of these, approximately 20%, or 44,856 users, had their memberships automatically renewed, and 7,148 users experienced two or more automatic renewals. Justice Horan considered it unlikely that all these renewals involved a conscious decision by the member, stating that the non-refundable annual renewal at a higher price should have been disclosed more prominently and earlier in the purchase process.
A spokesperson for eHarmony said the company is carefully reviewing the judgment and considering its options, emphasizing that it has made changes to improve transparency on its platform and cooperated with the ACCC. ACCC commissioner Luke Woodward stated the regulator is concerned about subscription traps in digital services and that the ruling underscores the need for clarity in ongoing subscriptions, warning that obscuring purchase realities with confusing statements and hidden disclosures unfairly impacts consumer choice.