Doxo to pay $2.1M settlement

Bill-pay platform Doxo has reached a $2.25 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) following allegations of deceptive business practices. The agency accused Doxo of using 'search engine baiting' to trick consumers into thinking they were paying their bills through official service provider websites. Instead, consumers were funneled through Doxo’s platform, where they were often charged hidden fees that were not clearly disclosed until the end of the transaction. For retailers and service providers, this is a major warning about third-party payment transparency. The FTC alleged that Doxo frequently ignored warnings from hundreds of billers who complained that the platform was confusing their customers. The settlement includes an injunction that prohibits Doxo from using deceptive designs—often called 'dark patterns'—that hide fees or misrepresent their affiliation with your brand. If you have been seeing customer complaints regarding unexpected fees or late payments linked to third-party portals, this ruling strengthens your position to demand better branding protections. It also highlights the importance of directing your customers to your own sanctioned, transparent financing and payment portals to avoid brand damage caused by predatory third-party aggregators.

Source: Payments Dive

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