Sen. Grassley Seeks FTC Investigation of The Knot Over Vendor Fraud Claims

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, has asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate wedding planning site The Knot after receiving hundreds — nearly 200 by his count — of whistleblower and small-business complaints, including from Iowans. Complainants allege The Knot repeatedly failed to honor contracts, did not advertise vendors as promised, delivered fake or illegitimate leads and failed to provide discount pricing it had promised customers. Grassley says the volume and similarity of reports indicate the issues are not isolated and that he first raised concerns with the FTC in March. The Knot Worldwide denies using fraudulent or deceptive practices, saying it operates with transparency and integrity and that Grassley has not reached out to discuss the allegations. The company connects millions of users with hundreds of thousands of vendors globally and has operations in multiple countries, underscoring the potential scale of the complaints. The senator’s referral asks the FTC to investigate those alleged deceptive business practices and determine whether enforcement action is warranted.