In March 2022 the FTC alleged HomeAdvisor (an Angi affiliate) had made false, misleading, or unsubstantiated claims about its leads since at least mid-2014. The final consent order, approved April 2023, required HomeAdvisor to pay up to $7.2 million and barred the deceptive claims; in November 2023 the FTC began returning over $3 million to affected businesses.
Contractors have complained about lead quality for years. In this one case, the federal government wrote the complaints down, filed them, and made them stick. Here's what actually happened — claims kept strictly to the record, with links.
The timeline
- March 2022 — the FTC files an administrative complaint alleging HomeAdvisor made false, misleading, or unsubstantiated claims about the quality and source of leads sold to service providers since at least mid-2014.
- January 2023 — the FTC announces a proposed order requiring HomeAdvisor to pay up to $7.2 million.
- April 2023 — the Commission approves the final consent order.
- November 2023 — the FTC announces it is returning more than $3 million to businesses that paid for HomeAdvisor memberships, with a claims process for additional refunds.
What the FTC alleged, specifically
Per the complaint: that HomeAdvisor represented leads would match a provider's service types and geographic area when many did not; that it told providers its leads converted to jobs at rates higher than it could substantiate; and that sales agents misrepresented an optional software subscription (mHelpDesk) as free for the first month when it wasn't.
What the order requires
Beyond the money: the final order prohibits HomeAdvisor from misrepresenting that its leads concern individuals ready to hire, or who submitted a request directly to HomeAdvisor; from making unsubstantiated claims about conversion rates; and from misrepresenting products as free.
What this is — and isn't
Being precise matters (it's also the law of writing about competitors): a consent order resolves allegations; it is not a verdict on every practice, then or now. What it is: the most authoritative third-party documentation that the lead-selling model's core promises — "these leads match your area," "they convert at X%" — were, in the government's view, being made without support for nearly a decade.
If you're doing the math on your own lead spend, that context belongs in the spreadsheet. Speaking of which: here's the full worked math on what leads really cost — and the alternatives if the spreadsheet comes back ugly.