ICYMI: Des Moines Register: Iowa’s Grassley Urges Probe of The Knot's Alleged Deceptive Practices

ICYMI: Des Moines Register: Iowa's Grassley Urges Probe of The Knot's Alleged Deceptive Practices

Amid Small Business Month, Grassley is reiterating his call for the Federal Trade Commission to investigate The Knot's harmful business practices impacting small business vendors, including in Iowa.

Iowa's Grassley urges probe of The Knot's alleged deceptive practices
By Kevin Baskins
May 13, 2026
Des Moines Register

An email from an Iowa vendor to wedding planning website The Knot is both succinct and expressive.

"I don't want a phone call. I don't want to talk through it. I'm drowning in bills from your company for leads that were promised but never received. I'm unimpressed and dissatisfied," the author wrote. "I don't feel 'supported' ? I feel deceived. I don't want a refund. I want my contract cancelled immediately and to never pay The Knot, Wedding Wire, or Wedding Pro another dime."

The vendor, whose name was redacted, was eventually released from the contract. But the complaint has U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa renewing his pressure on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate allegations of fraudulent and deceptive business practices by The Knot.

The Republican's effort to address complaints about the widely used service dates back to March 2025. That October, he asked FTC Chair Andrew N. Ferguson for an investigation, saying he had received complaints of "repeated failures to honor contracts and deliberate attempts at fraud."

His office on Monday, May 11, put the total number of complaints received at more than 200, including some from small businesses in Iowa. Like the one Grassley cited, many allege that The Knot, which connects wedding services providers with potential clients, has charged them for providing leads that turned out to be false.

The providers, such as caterers and venue operators, also complain about failure to provide promised advertising and discounts.

In his latest letter to Ferguson, dated April 29, Grassley included the emails between the Iowa vendor and The Knot and reiterated his request for an investigation. He asked the FTC chair to "provide me with what steps you've taken to investigate all of the allegations you have received concerning The Knot's alleged deceptive and fraudulent business practices."

"Accordingly, I'm referring for your review records I received from an Iowa small business owner recounting the alleged fraudulent and deceptive business practices they were subjected to by The Knot," he wrote. "The records enclosed with this letter include emails between the Iowa small business owner and The Knot representatives detailing an alleged bait-and-switch scheme perpetrated by The Knot and screen shots of messages from allegedly fake leads..."

Read the rest HERE.

-30-

• Print
• Email
• Like
• Tweet