Tag Archive for: Trebek

FTC slams maker of WordSmart — touted by Alex Trebek — for ripping off parents

The maker of educational software — touted in a 30-minute infomercial by Jeopardy host Alex Trebek — has reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over charges of deceptive marketing and abuse of the national Do Not Call Registry.

From an FTC press release:

The settlement order prohibits WordSmart and (company president) David A. Kay from misrepresenting the benefits of educational goods or services, and from violating the agency’s Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR). …

The defendants’ allegedly false and unsubstantiated claims included that, by using WordSmart for a total of 20 hours, students were guaranteed to improve letter grades by at least one GPA point, SAT scores by at least 200 points, ACT scores by at least four points, GRE and GMAT scores by at least 100 points, and IQ scores. They also falsely claimed they would provide a full refund within 30 days if the buyer was not satisfied.

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Network World Paul McNamara