The ubiquitous ads touting a $19 home cleaning service on TV and social media are hard to miss. But for some consumers who signed up for Homeaglow’s house cleanings in Illinois and elsewhere, the service was costly and hard to cancel.
More than 2,800 consumers have filed complaints about Homeaglow with the nonprofit Better Business Bureau.
The Federal Trade Commission had 2,955 complaints against the company and its related entities Cozy Maid, Bubbly Cleaning and Dazzling Cleaning, as of Aug. 20, according to Truth in Advertising, a nonprofit watchdog group that obtained FTC complaint data through a Freedom of Information Act request.
Many consumers complained that the one-time $19 cleaning came with an automatic enrollment in a six-month cleaning subscription, called ForeverClean. The subscription’s monthly fees were $49 to $59. But Homeaglow’s independent contractors also charge their own cleaning fees on top of Homeaglow’s fees, with prices varied by job.
Some consumers who tried to cancel were told they’d owe hefty early termination fees, in some cases $150 to $210.
Truth in Advertising has sent letters to the FTC and attorneys general in 12 states, including Illinois, and the District of Columbia asking them to investigate. The nonprofit organization says the automatic subscription model, which it contends is not clearly disclosed, violates state consumer protection laws and the federal Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act of 2010, which protects consumers against so-called “negative option” marketing that employs automatic subscriptions without clear disclosures of the terms.
The setup is “especially egregious” and “deceptive,” Laura Smith, legal director for Truth in Advertising, says.
Homeaglow agreed to pay $30,000 to settle a lawsuit filed last year by Pennsylvania, and it promised to clearly and conspicuously disclose its membership terms on its websites.
But consumers continue to complain, Smith says.
“They may have made some changes, but were the changes material enough to impress consumers in a positive way? No,” Smith says.
Homeaglow, based in Austin, Texas, connects consumers with independent cleaners on its online platform. The company said in a statement that it has “facilitated over 3 million cleanings” since its founding 10 years ago. Homeaglow has said it operates in 85% of U.S. ZIP codes.
A Homeaglow spokesman declined to make CEO Aaron Cheung available for an interview, saying they dispute Truth in Advertising’s characterizations.
The spokesman said in a statement: “As a technology platform connecting customers with independent cleaning professionals, we operate transparently within all applicable federal and state laws and regulations. Our promotional offers, including our introductory $19 cleaning, have clearly stated terms and conditions, with the ability for users to easily opt-out at any time. Regarding Better Business Bureau complaints: Like any service company at scale, we receive occasional complaints, which represent a small fraction of the millions of cleanings we have facilitated. We address each concern individually and use feedback to enhance our operations.”
Debra Peri, of Evanston, says she signed up for the $19 Homeaglow cleaning after a difficult pregnancy and recovery that left her unable to do housework.
She first tried hiring a cleaner recommended by family members, but they wouldn’t come to Evanston. Another cleaning company came and charged $220.
In Chicago, it can cost roughly $100 to $300 to clean an apartment or home, depending on the size. The median hourly wage for a house cleaner in the U.S. was $16.08 in 2023, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Tempted by the Homeaglow ads on social media, Peri signed up in March.
Peri says two different cleaners canceled on her, which was frustrating since she tried to time the cleaning with her baby’s schedule. She also was charged $39, not the advertised $19.
She sent a message to the company but couldn’t find anyone to help.
“It’s impossible to get through to a live person,” Peri says.
Since no one cleaned her home, Peri filed a dispute with her credit card company and was able to get the $39 fee reversed.
She considers herself lucky that she got out before any monthly fees or early termination fees kicked in.
“I think I nipped it in the bud right away,” she says.
A spokesman for Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said the office has received 16 complaints since 2024 and encourages consumers who’ve had a problem with Homeaglow to file a complaint with the state.
In its letter to the FTC, Truth in Advertising cited several Illinoisans’ complaints to the agency.
“I had paid $19 as an offer for the cleaning services provided by Homeaglow. However, the company never mentioned that they would be charging me mandatory $45 as monthly subscription fees. Now upon trying to cancel the membership they are asking me for $170 fee,” an Illinois consumer, whose name was redacted, wrote in an FTC complaint in April.
“To cancel service they are asking for $300 upfront,” another Illinois consumer wrote in March.
The Heart of Texas Better Business Bureau gives Homeaglow an “F” rating and has issued three alerts since last year.
The bureau started investigating the company in July 2024 because of the “sheer volume” of complaints and bad reviews, says Jason Meza, spokesman for the Heart of Texas BBB.
The company has responded to individual complaints filed through the BBB by allowing cancellations or refunds, Meza says.
A change last year in FTC regulations, nicknamed Click to Cancel, would have made it easier for consumers to get out of unwanted subscriptions, but the effort was paused in July after a federal appeals court said the rule change was not done properly.
Meza says Homeaglow isn’t the first company to draw complaints from consumers who say they didn’t know they were being enrolled in an expensive monthly subscription that would trigger cancellation fees.
He urges consumers to carefully read the fine print of any eye-catching offer and check complaint data and reviews on consumer sites like BBB.org.
Getting recommendations from family and friends is another way to protect yourself when hiring a service provider, he says.
If something goes sideways, first complain to the business. If the business won’t help, file complaints with the BBB, attorney general and the FTC and dispute the charge with your credit card issuer.
And write a review to help the next person, Meza says. “Let others know what you experienced, so others don’t fall into the same hole.”