Classmates.com, a site that claims to be able to reunite old friends, is being sued for false advertising. Apparently, the website sent emails with false claims. One of the persons involved stated that he received an email saying an old classmate of him was looking for him and that the only way to see who this person was, was to upgrade his membership. Naturally, this upgrade didn’t come without a price. But the price was not what upset people, it was the fact that the upgrade didn’t lead to anything. This was just a “dubious marketing ploy from Classmates.com”.
I do agree that the false advertising done by this site was wrong, but how different is it from any of the other heaps of junk email and pop up ads we see daily. I have also seen these classmates.com pop up ads with the same proposals. “someone is trying to get in touch with you.” But I personally pay no attention. And even if it were a site that I was interested in, I still don’t think I’d react any differently. For example, if facebook were to email me with the same type of upgrade proposal, I still wouldn’t agree to it. And I honestly don’t believe that many other people would either.
whatever you beleive, this isnt the only legal trouble plaguing this website. the article refers to some privacy issues people were also having issues with. But the fact that classmates.com is having to pay for tactics employed by various other dating sites, might raise some interesting questions for those sites as well.
So, should people be more cautious with the email claims they receive, or should the websites be the ones to blame?
