Savage X Fenty, the lingerie line owned by Barbadian pop artist Rihanna, will pay $1.2 million to settle a lawsuit that alleged her company defrauded customers.
Rihanna launched the lingerie line in 2018, offering a wide range of sizes and promoting body positivity.
According to The East Bay Times, Lavender Lingerie LLC, doing business as Savage X Fenty, has been accused by Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Los Angeles and San Diego counties, as well as the city of Santa Monica, of having violated California law and misled customers. automatically enrolling them in a “VIP” program that had recurring credit card charges.
“Consumers have the right to know in advance what they are paying and how often,” said Santa Clara County Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Deng, according to The Times. “Companies have a duty to be transparent about their auto-renewal fees.”
The lawsuit alleged that customers would fraudulently sign up for an automatic recurring paid VIP membership when they made purchases on the Savage X Fenty website, resulting in credit card charges that would continue until the cancellation of the subscription.
The company’s actions “were likely to mislead members of the public and were performed with that intent,” according to the complaint. Savage X Fenty has failed to obtain customer consent, clearly disclose the terms of its auto-renewal program, or offer an easy way to stop fees.
The lawsuit claimed that customers were also misled into believing that store credit earned through VIP membership could be used at will, but in reality, customers could only apply it to purchases that exceeded the value of the credit.
The Santa Clara District Attorney’s Office said Savage X Fenty cooperated with the county government’s investigation and made changes to its website, automatic renewal alerts, store credit and advertising methods.
California state law requires Internet companies that promote to consumers to prominently disclose all automatic renewal fees. In July, new state legislation required automatic subscriptions to be simple to cancel and for online retailers to clearly mark the end of free trial periods.
In addition to the $1 million fine, Savage X Fenty will pay $150,000 in restitution to former or current VIP members in California and $50,000 in state investigation costs as part of the settlement.
On the brand’s website, Rihanna boasts, “Savage X Fenty means setting your own rules and expressing your mood, character, and style for you, not someone else.
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