Home warranty company agrees to $150K settlement in Arizona over fake reviews

PHOENIX — More than 1,300 Arizonans who purchased home warranty services from a company accused of misleading consumers will get restitution as part of a consent judgment, Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s Office announced Monday.

Amazon Home Warranty – which is not related to Amazon.com – will pay $150,000 to settle a lawsuit accusing the company of posting fake five-star reviews, falsely advertising how long they had been in business and attempting to hide the true identity of the company’s officers.

The company will pay $105,000 in customer restitution as part of the consent judgment, along with $35,000 in civil penalties, $10,000 in attorneys’ fees and the cost of a claims administrator to disburse consumer restitution.

“My office is vigilant every day in the fight against deceptive practices, especially in the home warranty industry,” Brnovich said in a press release.

“All companies must be truthful at every level with their marketing and advertising.”

The consent judgment also requires Amazon Home Warranty within 60 days to remove all misleading business information and fake reviews or testimonials from all public platforms they maintain, including the company’s website, Facebook and LinkedIn pages.

It also requires the company to contact third-party platforms and ask those platforms to remove misleading information, along with all fake or unverified customer reviews.

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