LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) — The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced that Nutraclick, a nutritional supplement and beauty product marketer, has agreed to settle allegations that it charged consumers monthly fees without consent.
The FTC alleged Nutraclick lured consumers in with “free” samples of supplements and beauty products but did not disclose that these consumers would be enrolled in a membership program. The program allegedly cost from $29.99 to $79.99 every month unless the membership was canceled within the first 18 days. More than 70,000 consumers complained about the alleged scheme, which netted Nutraclick tens of millions of dollars from unauthorized recurring charges.
Nutraclick sells products such as Force Factor, Peak Life, ProBioSlim, SomnaPure, VolcaNO and Stages of Beauty. It sells both online, where the purported scheme was conducted, and in stores like Walgreens, Walmart, CVS and GNC.
To settle the allegations, the company will turn over $350,000, the FTC said. Additionally, Nutraclick has been banned from obtaining consumers’ billing information without first disclosing there will be a charge, failing to send consumers confirmation of a sales transaction, using consumers’ billing information to obtain payment without first receiving express written authorization and failing to provide a simple way to cancel transactions.