Traditional Industries Reports FTC Settlement

Traditional Industries in Agoura Hills said it settled a previously disclosed dispute with the Federal Trade Commission over some of Traditional’s sales practices.

The company had denied any wrongdoing and said last week that “virtually all of the terms of the settlement” involving changes in its sales practices already have been made. It also said the FTC did not order Traditional to pay a fine, but that Traditional had set up a $250,000 trust fund for possible refunds.

Traditional sells packages of cameras, film and other photographic and video accessories directly to consumers, particularly newlyweds and new parents.

Among other things, the FTC objected to Traditional using the word custom to advertise its picture enlargements when, in fact, some enlargements were simply a standard blowup of a photograph, Traditional has said. The FTC also found that some Traditional customers were not given a 3-day cancellation period offered to other customers, the company reported.

The settlement is subject to approval by FTC commissioners.