Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is asking the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the popular wedding planning website The Knot, accusing the company of fraudulent and deceptive business practices.
Grassley claims The Knot misled small businesses that advertise on the site, and that his office has received nearly 200 complaints from wedding vendors claiming the company failed to honor advertising contracts, sent fake leads and falsely promised discounts.
The Republican senator first contacted the FTC chair in March about these allegations. Grassley said his office has received more reports since his initial letter.
"One small business owner informed my investigative staff that she contacted a supervisor on The Knot’s customer support team to discuss why her business continued to be advertised in the wrong section of the website and hadn’t received substantive leads. The small business owner told my office that the supervisor said she hadn’t received legitimate leads because her small business didn’t have any reviews on the website," Grassley wrote in his letter to FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson. "The small business owner alleges that the supervisor then turned off the call recorder and told her that she should create fake accounts and leave her own business fake reviews to boost the credibility of her profile which would in turn help her receive a higher number of legitimate leads."
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The Knot denies the allegations, saying it's committed to transparency and helping wedding professionals grow their businesses.
According to The Knot's website, the platform links more than 4 million users with over 900,000 small businesses in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia.
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