‘Sharing Economy' App Ordered to Pay DC Customers Who Say They Were Robbed

A so-called "sharing economy" company accused of misleading DC residents must pay them back.

Handy Technologies allows customers to use an app to get all sorts of services like furniture assembly, painting, moving and home cleaning.

The company advertises it does thorough background checks, but News4 heard from customers who noticed several items missing after hiring a Handy employee to clean their homes. One customer noticed unauthorized charges on his credit cards.

D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine filed a lawsuit against the company on behalf of a number of D.C. consumers.

The District alleged Handy engaged in unlawful trade practices, made untrue statements regarding the safety and security of its home cleaning services, and enrolled consumers without their knowledge into "cleaning plans."

Racine he announced Wednesday his office got restitution. Handy has been ordered to pay the District damages to resolve all eligible complaints from customers.

Handy denies it violated any consumer protection laws, and nothing contained in the consent judgement is an admission by the company that it did anything wrong.

“We worked closely with the D.C. Attorney General’s office to fully resolve their questions and concerns," said Brian Miller, Handy's general counsel, in a statement. "As we have done from day one, we will continue to maintain the highest consumer standards possible on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of customers and professionals who show their confidence in our platform every day.”

Those who already filed complaints with Handy of the Office of the Attorney General regarding thefts, unauthorized recurring charges, cancellation fees or the money-back guarantee, but whose complaints haven't been fully resolved, will be paid by the company.

Those who have been harmed but haven't filed complains yet have until June 20, 2018, to do so.