NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) – Tristar Products LLC and Product Trend LLC have settled after allegations of deceptive advertising practices, New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced.
Both marketers allegedly ran misleading infomercials that advertised “buy one, get one free” deals. The marketers, according to Schneiderman’s office, did not disclose that consumers would be charged two separate processing and handling fees for the transactions – a move that significantly raised the end result prices.
“These agreements insure that consumers will not be hit with charges they did not authorize and will not be frustrated with long hold times or unresponsive customer service when they seek assistance,” Schneiderman said. “The settlements also bring much needed reforms to two major players in the direct marketing industry and insure that consumers will have a clear understanding of the charges before they place an order.”
Tristar will pay $700,000 to settle allegations, while Product Trend will pay $175,000. In the future, both marketers will need to clearly disclose the terms of their offers and let consumers confirm all details and final prices of any order before finalization.
In March, Schneiderman’s office reached a similar settlement with Allstar Marketing Group LLC.