classmates.com
Type of site | Social networking service |
---|---|
Owner | H.I.G. Capital |
Created by | Randy Conrads |
URL | www |
Commercial | Mixed |
Launched | November 17, 1995 | (as Classmates Online, Inc.)
classmates.com is a social networking service. It was founded on November 17, 1995 by Randy Conrads as Classmates Online.
It originally sought to help users find class members and colleagues from kindergarten, primary school, high school, college, workplaces, and the U.S. military. In 2010, CEO Mark Goldston described the transition of the website "to increasingly focus on nostalgic content" such as "high school yearbooks, movie trailers, music tracks, and photographic images". To this end, and to appeal more to older users, the website name was changed to Memory Lane. This change was short-lived, however. Classmates dropped the Memory Lane brand in 2011.
Corporate information
United Online, Inc. (Nasdaq: UNTD) acquired Classmates Online in 2004 and owned and operated the company as part of its Classmates Media Corporation subsidiary until 2015.
Classmates Media also operated the following international sites designed to enable users to connect with old friends:
- StayFriends.de (Germany)
- StayFriends.se (Sweden)
- StayFriends.at (Austria)
- Trombi.com (France)
In May 2016, the StayFriends sites were sold to Ströer.
In August 2015, Classmates was acquired from United Online by PeopleConnect Holdings, Inc., a portfolio company of H.I.G. Capital, for $30 million. Classmates is now operated as a division of PeopleConnect, which also owns Intelius.
Questionable "Digital yearbook" collection
The Classmates website claims an online archive of over 300,000 yearbooks, although considering the number of successful lawsuits against Classmates.com for illegal/unethical business practices, this number has never been officially verified.
Illegal automatic membership renewal
Unfortunately for consumers, it is the unethical standard practice for Classmates.com to auto-renew memberships at the end of each billing period. In December 2006, when PCWorld field tested several companies to determine how easy or difficult it was to cancel their service, Classmates.com WAS ONE OF THE COMPANIES THAT RECEIVED THEIR WORST RATING.
- The immense volume of complaints against Classmates.com, on the BBB site, give an insightful look into this unethical and fraudulent practice by CLASSMATES.COM.
- Several government agencies have sued Classmates.com for intentional, fraudulent "automatic renewal" practices, and those government entities have all won their lawsuits.
- The Los Angeles County District Attorney's office filed a successful lawsuit against Classmates.com for fraudulent automatic renewal practices.
https://da.lacounty.gov/media/news/classmatescom-settles-consumer-protection-lawsuit
- The City of San Diego also filed and won a similar suit against Classmates.com for the same fraudulent automatic renewal practices.
- The City of Santa Monica also filed and won a similar suit against Classmates.com for the same fraudulent automatic renewal practices.
- NBC NEWS: “LONG TIME NO STEAL – CLASSMATES.COM Scam Goes For Your Wallet”
https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna47798895
- Classmates.com shells out $550k for "FRAUDULENT AUTO-RENEWAL" practices.
- Classmates.com fraudulently sent deceptive emails that made people believe their old friends from high school were reaching out to connect — only to discover, after paying for a membership, that their long-lost buddies were nowhere to be found.
https://yro.slashdot.org/story/10/03/14/1551230/classmatescom-settles-lawsuit-over-phony-friends
- Classmates.com/PeopleConnect violates the Illinois Right of Publicity Act and is unjustly enriched by using names and likenesses from high school yearbooks to advertise subscriptions to Classmates.com without anyone's consent. The Court denies Classmates.com/PeopleConnect motion to dismiss.
https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/illinois/ilndce/1:2022cv00342/411783/76/
Fraudulent e-mails and settlement
Classmates.com had sent a significant number of emails that told recipients their old friends from school wished to reconnect (and the recipients would need to buy Classmates.com memberships to receive their old friends' contact information). A class action lawsuit was brought against Classmates.com in 2008. The lead plaintiffs in the case were David Catapano and Anthony Michaels. Classmates.com agreed to pay $2.5 million to its users to settle the lawsuit.
SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE investigates Piggybacking and post-transaction marketing by Classmates.com
Classmates.com was accused of piggybacking and post-transaction marketing. Parent company United Online earned $70 million from marketing practices under investigation by the Senate Commerce Committee involving piggybacking a second credit card transaction with membership to Classmates.com involving a loyalty program.
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced a settlement with six companies, including Classmates, as part of a probe into the discount club industry. Classmates was among the retailers that agreed to pay $2.1 million toward refunds and consumer education. Under the alleged practice investigated, consumers who completed online purchases were presented with discounts or cash-back offers, and accepting these offers triggered small, easy-to-overlook recurring charges billed to unfamiliar company names. Classmates' share of the settlement amounts to $960,000 and a commitment to end these practices.
See also
- Names Database, owned by Classmates.com