Bill Payment Firm Doxo to Pay $2.1 Million to Settle FTC Allegations It Deceived Consumers and Charged Them Add-On Fees

Online bill payment firm Doxo will pay $2.1 million to settle Federal Trade Commission allegations that the company and two of its co-founders used misleading search ads to impersonate consumers' billers and misled consumers about millions of dollars in fees they tacked on to consumers' bills.

In a 2024 complaint, the FTC alleged that Doxo and two of its co-founders, Steve Shivers and Roger Parks, used search ads and other advertisements to trick consumers into using Doxo's third-party bill payment platform to pay utility, car loan and other bills by disguising itself as the official payment channel for those bills. In fact, Doxo's landing page often featured other companies' names and sometimes even their logos. Doxo did not, however, have a relationship with the overwhelming majority of the companies it claimed were part of its payment network, according to the complaint.

The FTC alleged that Doxo added extra "delivery fees," which were not clearly disclosed, onto the bills it paid on behalf of consumers. Doxo also deceptively signed consumers up for its recurring subscription program. For example, Doxo failed to clearly and conspicuously disclose that delivery fees are waived only for certain payment methods and failed to clearly and conspicuously disclose the price of the subscription.

"Misleading search text ads thwart consumers' pursuit of information and undermine the integrity of the marketplace," said Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. "Today's action underscores the FTC's commitment to stopping deceptive search text ads so that consumers can connect confidently with legitimate businesses, avoid hidden fees and make informed decisions."

At the request of the FTC, a federal court found that Doxo violated the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act for failing to clearly disclose subscription terms and failing to obtain consumers' consent for subscription charges.

Under the proposed order settling the FTC's allegations, Doxo will be required to pay $2.1 million, which will be used for consumer redress. Doxo, Shivers and Parks also will be prohibited from:

• Misrepresenting their affiliation with billers when promoting or offering bill payment services and from using a biller's website address in any search advertisement or using the branded name or logo of any biller in a manner that misrepresents that Doxo is affiliated with the biller;
• Making misrepresentations regarding the amount consumers will pay, the nature or purpose of any fee or charge and the total cost or fees to use the defendants' bill pay platform;
• Using false representations to obtain customer's financial information;
• Making misrepresentations regarding a negative option feature, including the ability to cancel, and must notify consumers when they will be charged for a particular good or service, the deadline that customers must act to prevent or stop charges and the amount consumers will be charged unless they take steps to prevent the charges; and
• Charging consumers without obtaining their expressed informed consent.

The Commission vote approving the stipulated final order was 2-0. The FTC filed the proposed orderin the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.

NOTE: Stipulated final orders have the force of law when approved and signed by the District Court judge.

The lead staffers on this matter include James Doty, Wendy Miller and Edward Smith from the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection.