Lingerie Website To Pay $800K In Santa Clara County Lawsuit

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA — A company that sells lingerie online agreed to pay $600,000 to settle a consumer protection lawsuit filed brought against it by the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office. The lawsuit alleged the website Adore Me misled customers by not clearly disclosing automatic charges resulting from VIP memberships.

The DA's Office also alleged Adore Me did not: get proper consent or give proper notices for automatic renewal charges, falsely advertised the ability to use store credit, and had unfair cancellation practices.

"California has some of the strictest automatic renewal laws in the country," said Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Deng, who prosecuted the case. "Online businesses need to make sure the consumer is aware of the charges and agrees to it."

By law, online businesses who market to consumers in the state need to clearly and conspicuously disclose all automatic renewal charges, whether it is a subscription, membership or other recurring fee.

Adore Me also agreed to pay a minimum of $200,000 in restitution to previous or present California VIP members that lost or forfeited their store credit, according to a DA's Office news release about the settlement.

Notices are in the process of being sent to eligible customers.

Further, Adore Me agreed to donate $250,000 of merchandise, including sleepwear and activewear, to homeless and women’s shelters in California, including Salvation Army, Next Door Solutions, Bill Wilson Center, LifeMoves, Community Solutions, and YWCA in Silicon Valley, Sonoma County, San Diego and Los Angeles.

"Adore Me cooperated with the investigation and have made changes to their website, automatic renewal notices, and their store credit and cancellation practices," Deng said.

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