FTC Report Highlights 2018 Refunds to Consumers

On February 13, 2019, the FTC released its annual report on money returned to defrauded consumers between July 1, 2017 and June 30, 2018.  Issued by the FTC’s Office of Claims (Office), the report highlights, among other items, the following:

• The FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection obtained 114 court orders for nearly $563 million;
• The Office directed dozens of mailings to send $122 million in refunds, and supported refund programs administered by FTC defendants or another federal agency to deliver more than $2.3 billion in refunds;
• 2.2 million people received FTC checks;
• $12.5 million was sent to the U.S. Treasury Department; and
• In cases where the FTC used company data to mail checks, an average of 67% of people on the list cashed their checks.

For each refund mailing that occurred between July 1, 2017 and June 30, 2018, the report offers the case name, date of first check mailing, number of recipients, total amounts mailed and cashed, and the median check amount.  A national map is also included in this year’s report, which breaks down the number of checks and total redress provided to consumers on a state-by-state basis.  According to the report, the top three states that totaled the highest redress and number of checks mailed were California, Texas, and Florida respectively.