Some Office Depot (ODP) customers will be receiving part of a $34 million refund through a settlement ordered by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

According to the agency, Office Depot allegedly tricked consumers into buying computer repair products and services that they didn’t necessarily need. The FTC claims that Office Depot, along with software supplier, Support.com, Inc., configured a virus scanning program to report malware or infection symptoms on consumer computers even if they were not accurate.

The agency said the virus scanning program would provide a false scan that Office Depot used to “persuade” customers into buying computer repair products and services that cost “hundreds of dollars.”

A total of 541,247 checks will be mailed by the FTC to affected customers, averaging about $63.35 per person as part of the compensation. Consumers have 60 days to deposit or cash the check.

Questions about the refund can be directed to the FTC refund administrator at 1.855-915-0916.

Shares of Office Depot stock were down 0.0373% as of 10:19 a.m. EST on Friday.

Office Depot Alibaba
Office Depot has partnered up with Alibaba to sell business-to-business products and services. A customer walks out of an Office Depot store on February 19, 2013 in San Francisco, California. Shares for Office Max and Office Depot surged today after it was reported that the two office product retailers were in advanced merger talks and a deal could be struck as early as this week. Getty Images/Justin Sullivan
RELATED STORIES