Quote from @Spencer Hunter:
Anyone having problems with Furnished Finder emails and auto-renewal? Last year was our first time using them. Unfortunately, now Furnished finder is trying to auto-renew us for 2-years for $179 without our approval. We called them and asked them to cancel within 24-hours of the charge and they are not budging.
Is this common with these guys?
UPDATE: This had a whiff of fraud, IMHO. So I dusted off my law school training from 20 years ago and dug into current consumer protection law. Turns out, the law is even stronger now than it used to be — specifically requiring "clear and conspicuous" disclosures and "express informed consent" for auto-renewals.
So even if it’s not fraud, it is illegal — again, IMHO.
At this point, I’ve spent far more than $179 worth of time on this, but this is now a hill I’m willing to die on. Here's the letter I drafted to dispute the charge. If you're in the same boat, feel free to use or adapt it:
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I am writing to dispute a charge of $179.00 from Furnished Finder, LLC, posted on April 24, 2025, to my account ending in 4563. This charge appears to be the result of an automatic renewal that was not authorized and was executed without the clear and informed consent required under federal law.
Under the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA), 15 U.S.C. §§ 8401–8405, online sellers may not charge consumers using negative option features—such as automatic renewals—unless they:
- Clearly and conspicuously disclose all material terms of the transaction before obtaining billing information;
- Obtain the consumer’s express informed consent before charging; and
- Provide a simple mechanism for stopping recurring charges.
These obligations are reinforced by the FTC’s Negative Option Rule, codified at 16 C.F.R. Part 425 and recently amended in 2024 by the “Click-to-Cancel” rule, which mandates that cancellation must be as easy as enrollment.
In my case, Furnished Finder, LLC failed to provide clear disclosure of the auto-renewal terms and did not obtain my express informed consent before charging my account. I received no meaningful notice, and the charge was entirely unexpected. The fact that I was surprised by the renewal is itself compelling evidence that valid consent was not obtained, as required by law.
Moreover, this is not an isolated experience. Furnished Finder has a 2.4-star average rating on Trustpilot, and numerous reviews reflect the exact same issue: users charged without awareness or approval, often within hours of renewal, and denied cancellation or refunds. See Trustpilot reviews for Furnished Finder, where many consumers report being “surprised” by unauthorized renewals. It is logically incompatible with federal consent requirements that so many consumers would share the same experience if Furnished Finder were, in fact, providing “clear and conspicuous” disclosures and obtaining “express informed consent.”
For these reasons, I respectfully request that you reverse this unauthorized charge in accordance with your policies protecting consumers from deceptive billing practices. Please confirm receipt of this letter and advise me of the outcome.
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