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Online fashion retailer pays $1.8 million-plus to settle consumer protection suit [San Jose Mercury News](San Jose Mercury News (CA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Oct. 24--Online retailer Justfabulous paid $1.8 million this week to settle a consumer protection lawsuit that painted the company as anything but what its brand name would suggest. "A lot of people were misled" by the El Segundo-based company, said Santa Clara County prosecutor Francisca B. Allen on Friday. The lawsuit brought by Allen and her Santa Cruz counterpart Kelly Walker alleged that its four websites -- Justfab, Fabkids, Shoedazzle and Fabletics -- did not "clearly and conspicuously" explain that its advertised discounts require a monthly, automatically charged subscription fee. Justfab, for example, charges $39.95 per month. The fee was only waived if customers followed a specific process to opt out every month. Yet the prosecutors' investigation showed that some consumers who bought such items as women and children's shoes and yoga pants were not aware they were obligated to pay a monthly fee. Instead, many thought they were just taking an online fashion "quiz" that acquainted the company with their tastes, so that it could present them with merchandise they might like. The $1.875 million will be split equally between Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties, which will use it to investigate and when necessary prosecute companies that violate laws protecting consumers. Also, customers statewide who were unaware they'd signed up to pay a monthly fee will be notified they can join a class-action lawsuit and get restitution. Allen, who has worked for the District Attorney's Office for more than 20 years, and was recently assigned to the consumer protection unit has proved to be a real go-getter. She was the one who found the Justfabulous case -- by flipping diligently through websites to see if they complied. She also was the prosecutor who saw a TV news report alleging food safety violations by Sysco and organized a 10-county lawsuit that resulted in the company paying a $19.4 million settlement. "I love this assignment, I really do," Allen said, noting the widespread impact of the cases. "The consumer should get what they pay for and not pay for what they didn't." Contact Tracey Kaplan at 408-278-3482. Follow her at Twitter.com/tkaplanreport. ___ (c)2014 the San Jose Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.) Visit the San Jose Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.) at www.mercurynews.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |