It has been reported that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has charged DirecTV for deceptive advertising.

The American direct broadcast satellite service provider has been charged for deceptively advertising a discounted 12-month programming package, said FTC.

It also said that company is facing these charges because it failed to clearly disclose the norm that the package needs to have a two-year contract.

DirecTV also failed to clearly disclose that cost of the package will increase up to USD 45 per month in the second year. It also didn’t disclose the fact that early cancellation fees of up to USD 480 apply if consumers cancel the package before the end of the two-year period, the agency said.

FTC further told that DirecTV also did not disclose that its offer of free premium channels for three months is a negative option community plan under which consumers need to proactively cancel their plan in order to avoid automatic charges on their credit or debit cards.

Now, FTC is seeking for court orders that will permanently ban DirecTV from engaging in the allegedly illegal conduct. The court orders will also give a monetary judgment that would be used to provide refund to affected consumers.

It was found that DirecTV faced a 0.58% reduction in its share price in the recent trading session. Shares of the company, which opened at $86.51, failed to make any significant gains due to the persistent selling pressure. The share price dropped to $85.56.

The last trade of the company was registered at $85.63, down 0.5 points, and the volume was measured at 2,453,529 shares.

Shares of DirecTV closed in previous day trading session at $86.13. The company altogether has a market cap of $43,055 million.

Jessica Rich, head of the agency’s consumer protection bureau, said, “We require businesses to be truthful and to give consumers the information they need to make informed choices about goods and services”.