The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is sending refunds to consumers it says were affected by a case in which marketer SuperGoodDeals.com allegedly promised “next-day shipping” of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the pandemic but often did not ship the merchandise for weeks.
The agency is sending over $114,000 in checks to 4,583 consumers, the FTC said in a Wednesday (Dec. 4) press release.
SuperGoodDeals.com did not immediately reply to PYMNTS’ request for comment.
The FTC took action against the company and its owner, Kevin Lipsitz, in July 2020, alleging that the seller’s tactics violated the FTC Act and the FTC’s Mail Order Rule.
In February, the agency announced a proposed court order, agreed to by Lipsitz and SuperGoodDeals.com, that required that the company adhere to a permanent ban on selling PPE, a prohibition on misleading shipping promises, a prohibition on other deceptive practices and a turnover of about $146,000 to the FTC.
“Failing to adhere to promised fast shipping times for facemasks, or any other product for that matter, isn’t just unscrupulous — it’s illegal,” Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said at the time in a press release. “The FTC will take strong action against those engaging in such practices.”
The FTC said in June that its lawsuits resulted in over $324 million in refunds to consumers in 2023.
That total includes money returned to consumers as a result of all FTC cases, whether the refund program was administered by the FTC, other federal agencies or the defendants, according to the agency’s annual report on refunds.
The FTC itself refunded $137.7 million in 2023, and 1.4 million people cashed FTC payments.
On Monday (Dec. 2), the FTC said it ordered online sneaker and apparel retailer GOAT to pay over $2 million to consumers, alleging that the company violated the agency’s rules around shipping practices.
Among the FTC’s allegations in the complaint is one that GOAT did not give buyers the option of cancelling an order in cases in which the goods were shipped later than promised.
Reached by PYMNTS at the time, a GOAT spokesperson provided an emailed statement saying that the company settled the matter with the FTC to avoid the cost and time of litigation, and that it is “confident in the products we sell and the way we sell them.”
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