In complaints to the Federal Trade Commission and Santa Cruz, California, District Attorney’s office, Rihanna's underwear company founded in 2017 is accused of enticing shoppers with severely discounted items, like a $25 bra and underwear set but the $25 price is only available to subscribers reports the NY Post. The real price is $81 —and it's only made clear “in a barely-legible, tiny, white font,” and which disappears from online ads after a few seconds, the watchdog says.
Customers who choose the “VIP” price get hit at checkout when Savage x Fenty discreetly adds the monthly membership to shopping bags without displaying how much it will cost, Tina.org says. Customers have been complaining about being blindsided by Savage X Fenty’s membership fees for more than a year, the group says.
“I bought from this company once because of a sale, I did enjoy what I got. HOWEVER, WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE SAVAGEXFENTY USED MY DEBIT CARD INFORMATION TO SIGN ME UP FOR THEIR MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION. this is a VIP package that costs $49.95 a month. I did not want or authorize the making of this account for me. 5 months later (because I do not use my debit card often and don’t check transaction history often) I had 5 months and $250 missing from my account. I never wanted this VIP package and never authorized SavagexFenty to sign me up for it,” one customer wrote to the Better Business Bureau in October, according to Tina.org’s investigation.
“I canceled my account. 4 months later they charge [sic] me again and said I was still a VIP…I have to change my bank account…” another customer complained.
Tina.org’s complaints take especially sharp aim at Rihanna’s e-commerce partner, TechStyle Inc., which was dinged in 2014 for deceptive advertising tied to actress Kate Hudson’s Fabletics clothing line. TechStyle paid California regulators $1.8 million over Fabletics in 2014, and $46.5 million that same year to the FTC for deceptive marketing of a weight-loss supplement called Sensa, Tina.org said.
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