"As seen on TV" fraud settlement

[DrLeftover]

Allstar to Pay $8 Million for Misleading Ads

MARCH 5, 2015

The company behind the Snuggie, Perfect Bacon Bowl and other “As Seen on TV” products has agreed to pay $8 million to settle charges that it deceived customers. The Federal Trade Commission said on Thursday that the company, the Allstar Marketing Group, promised customers buy-one, get-one-free promotions but ended up charging higher fees. The agency said customers were led to believe they would be getting two $19.95 products for less than $10 each, but actually paid $35.85. Some customers were also sold more products than they intended to buy. The New York attorney general said one customer who wanted to buy two $19.95 Perfect Brownie Pans was charged $105 for six of them after being confused by an automated phone call. Allstar will pay $7.5 million to the F.T.C. to create a fund for customer refunds. The other $500,000 will be paid to the New York attorney general’s office for penalties, costs and fees. Allstar said it had already made changes to make costs easier to understand.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/06/business/allstar-to-pay-8-million-for-misleading-ads.html

 

[Nebulous]

Pretty sure you can see your total before hitting "Submit" if you're ordering online.

Not sure about phoning in an order but they should say something like "Your card will be charged $35.85, do you accept?"

If I seen or heard an amount different than what was advertised, I'd simply not place my order.

 

[DrLeftover]

Evidently "what you agreed to" and "What They Billed To The Card" were completely different animals.

 

[Nebulous]

Evidently "what you agreed to" and "What They Billed To The Card" were completely different animals.

Oh. I say they (the customers who were fraudulently charged) all form a class action lawsuit.