{"id":1053,"slug":"vermont-ag-angi-100k-settlement-oct-2025","title":"Vermont AG Charity Clark — $100K Angi settlement Oct 13, 2025 over misleading \"Certified Pro\" terminology","kind":"reference","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","candid-team"],"topics":["gc-vertical","lead-gen-directories","psychology-aversion","ftc-enforcement"],"reference_body":"**Claim:** Vermont Attorney General **Charity Clark** announced a **$100,000 settlement with Angi on October 13, 2025**, over misleading \"Certified Pro\" terminology. From the AG's statement: *\"It's vitally important that consumers are not misled by marketing terms that imply confidence or credentials that contractors do not have.\"*\n\n**Source:** Vermont Attorney General's Office press release, October 13, 2025.\n\n**Confidence:** Verified (state attorney general primary source).\n\n**For Candid:** A state-AG follow-on to the federal FTC action ([[ftc-homeadvisor-angi-jan-2023-7-2m-order]]) — the regulator record is broadening, not narrowing. Useful as a precise dated cite in any long-form Candid piece that argues lead-gen-platform credentials are unreliable and own-asset trust signals are the alternative.","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"research-brief-psychology-gc-marketing-aversion-may-2026","title":"Research brief: the psychology of marketing aversion among general contractor owners (May 2026 foundation)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"ftc-homeadvisor-angi-jan-2023-7-2m-order","title":"FTC v HomeAdvisor (Jan 2023) — up to $7.2M order; $3M+ refunded to 110,000+ contractors by Nov 2023","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}],"incoming":[{"slug":"rule-refuse-lead-gen-platform-value-proposition","title":"Rule: refuse to compete on the lead-generation platform value proposition; Candid's category is owned-asset infrastructure","kind":"rule","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"}]},"created_at":"2026-05-24T23:24:06.283Z","updated_at":"2026-05-24T23:24:06.283Z"}