LAWSUITS NEWS & LEGAL INFORMATION
Online Real Estate
Seattle, WA: (Nov-06-07) The State Attorney General's office brought charges against HouseValues Inc., a Kirkland-based online real estate company, alleging that it misrepresented the quality of its real estate leads to subscribers. The suit claimed that in doing so, the company violated state consumer protection laws. Real estate agents and other customers subscribe to HouseValues' HouseValues.com and Justlisted.com to get leads for potential home sales. After prospective home sellers sign up for a free home valuation report through HouseValues.com, their names are sent to a subscribing real estate agent who then contacts them. The suit accused HouseValues of implying that more than 20 percent of the leads would result in a sale, but some leads contained inaccurate contact information or were clearly invalid.
HouseValues did not accept any liability but agreed to settle the lawsuit with a monetary payout. Apart from paying $51,000 in costs and attorneys' fees, the company agreed not to misrepresent the quality of its real estate leads to subscribers in the future. Further, according to the settlement, it agreed to waive any fees owed by consumers who complained to the Attorney General's Office, and credit or refund those subscribers who got an invalid or bad lead. [SEATTLE POST INTELLIGENCER: ONLINE REAL ESTATE]
Published on Nov-8-07
HouseValues did not accept any liability but agreed to settle the lawsuit with a monetary payout. Apart from paying $51,000 in costs and attorneys' fees, the company agreed not to misrepresent the quality of its real estate leads to subscribers in the future. Further, according to the settlement, it agreed to waive any fees owed by consumers who complained to the Attorney General's Office, and credit or refund those subscribers who got an invalid or bad lead. [
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