FTC Sends More Than $8.1 Million to Consumers Harmed by Care.com’s Deceptive Claims About Earnings, Job Listings, and Cancellation Practices

The Federal Trade Commission is sending refunds totaling more than $8.1 million to consumers harmed by online child and older adult care gig platform Care.com (Care).

The FTC alleged that Care used deceptive advertising that vastly overstated the number of jobs available on its platform and made unsubstantiated claims about how much job seekers could expect to earn through these jobs. The complaint also alleged that Care used unlawful tactics to prevent consumers—both job posters and job seekers—from canceling their subscriptions.

As a result of the FTC’s action, Care paid more than $8.5 million that the FTC is using to compensate consumers impacted by the company’s deceptive practices. The settlement order also requires Care to make only non-misleading claims related to its earnings and job listings and provide a simple cancellation method.

The FTC is sending checks and PayPal payments to 194,207 affected consumers. Check recipients should cash their checks within 90 days, as indicated on the check. PayPal recipients should redeem their PayPal payments within 30 days.

Consumers who have questions about their payment should contact the refund administrator, Epiq Systems, at 888-867-6151, or visit the FTC website to view frequently asked questions about the refund process. The Commission never requires people to pay money or provide account information to get a refund.

The Commission’s interactive dashboards for refund data provide a state-by-state breakdown of refunds in FTC cases. In 2024, FTC actions led to more than $339 million in refunds to consumers across the country.