Class Action Lawsuit Claims Doxo Tricks Consumers by Posing as Official Online Bill Pay Platform

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A proposed class action lawsuit alleges Doxo has deceived consumers into believing the billing platform is the authorized payment portal for service providers, and not a “completely unnecessary” third party that charges fees for otherwise free services.

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According to the 31-page case, Doxo uses dark patterns and look-alike web pages to pose as the official online payment portal for thousands of billers—including healthcare providers, utility services, mortgage lenders and more—causing consumers to falsely believe that they must use Doxo, and pay its fees, to pay their bills online.

In reality, the suit says, Doxo is not an official payment channel for most of the billers listed on its website and has caused consumers to pay millions in junk fees and for unwanted subscription services “through fraud and deceit.”

Although Doxo claims to have a bill pay network of over 120,000 service providers whose bills consumers can access and pay via Doxo.com, a complaint filed against the company by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in April 2024 states that less than two percent of the providers in Doxo’s purported network have actually authorized the company to collect payments on their behalf.

According to the Doxo lawsuit, the defendant pays millions in advertising fees for its website to appear as the first result in search engines when consumers look up how to pay their bills online, and the company’s deceptive landing pages are similar enough to billers’ actual websites that many consumers falsely believe Doxo.com is a biller’s official payment portal, the suit says. By falsely implying that a relationship exists between Doxo and the biller, the company tricks consumers into paying its delivery fees, which are not disclosed until late in the payment process and can go unnoticed or be mistaken as required by the real biller, the case argues.

Moreover, though Doxo claims to “validate” consumers’ billing information and offer “[r]eal-time” payment tracking, the company in most cases possesses no information about a consumer’s bills and when payments are posted, the suit alleges.

Citing the FTC complaint, the lawsuit claims Doxo has also duped consumers by representing that it offers payment directly to billers when, in reality, the company mails a paper check “days or weeks” after a consumer believes their bill has been paid. Per the FTC, many consumers have had their utilities shut off, had their insurance lapse, or been charged late fees and fines despite paying their bills on time.

The Doxo lawsuit further alleges that the company has signed up consumers for its paid subscription service without their knowledge or consent, and falsely represented that the subscription would help them save on fees despite charging the same fees to non-subscribers for all credit card and most debit card payments.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone in the U.S. who, at any time since January 1, 2008, provided credit card, debit card, bank account or other financial information to Doxo and was charged for Doxo products or services, including its bill pay service and monthly “doxoPLUS” subscription plan, without their prior informed authorization or consent.

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