Refunds in store for those who bought ‘risk-free’ products
Reprints
Want to sell golf balls and kitchen appliances on subscription with a risk-free cancellation policy wrought with confusion? Don’t try it.
That’s the message from the Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday in its announcement that it is mailing refund checks totaling $488,629 to consumers who bought golf and kitchen gadgets from a group of online marketers that allegedly used deceptive “free” and “risk-free” trials to sell their products.
The products were sold under various names, including, Kitchen Advance, Gourmet Cooking Online, Gourmet Cooking Rewards, Medicus Golf, Kick X Tour Z Golf Balls, Golf Online Academy, Golf Tour Partners and Purestrike Swing Clinic. And according to the FTC, the deals were not on par with ethical business practices.
According to a complaint filed in 2017, the marketers did not clearly disclose that consumers who accepted a “free” product would be charged for a monthly subscription if they did not cancel, and misrepresented the return, refund and cancellation policies.
Under a settlement made later that year, the defendants were required to pay for consumer refunds. The FTC is mailing 14,370 checks that average $34 each, according to a statement.
Read Next
-
Top 10 Off Beats from March
March’s most popular Off Beat story featured a surprise for 'Tiger King' fans. A story on a coronavirus lawsuit also generated considerable interest.
Related Stories
-
-
Former AIG head and risk expert pushes coronavirus sniff test
-
Arrest blows insurance cover for pastor, closes church doors
