Santa Monica's Beachbody Fined $3.6M For Automatic Renewals

SANTA MONICA, CA – Santa Monica-based Beachbody – a weightloss and fitness brand that sells workout videos, supplements, and more – paid $3.6 million in fines to settle a lawsuit over automatic renewals. The company will now change its sales practices after an investigation found it was applying automatic renewal charges to customers' accounts without their consent, Los Angeles Times reported.

Beachbody says it has 23 million customers, according to the City Attorney’s Office. The court judgment was approved by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff on Monday, and $1 million of the $3.6 million of fines will be in the form of restitution to nonprofit groups focusing on community health and nutrition programs, Los Angeles Business Journal Reported.

Beachbody agreed to provide a separate check-box or similar function for customers to make it clear to what they are agreeing to, said Chief Deputy City Attorney Adam Radinsky. This warning is the first of it's kind in California, according to Radinsky, and one of a few in the United States.

“A separate check-box is the key,” Radinsky, who heads Santa Monica’s Consumer Protection Division, told Santa Monica Lookout. “Otherwise, it’s too confusing. Companies have too many ways to hide the auto-renewal terms.”

Beachbody is more vulnerable to scrutiny because they're a leader in health and fitness, according to Jon Congdon, Co-Founder of Beachbody. Working with the City of Santa Monica was another step in their drive to be worthy of that scrutiny and to constantly improve, he said, and this process helped the company raise the bar to further ensure that everyone Beachbody interacts with comes away with the best experience.

"Over the last four years we’ve invested significant resources to enhance our customer interactions across all Beachbody commerce platforms. Customers can and should expect a transparent purchase process with us, one that clearly lets them know exactly what they are buying and when," Congdon said in a statement. "At the same time, operating directly with the consumer, we have always provided an industry-leading money back guarantee on all our products and services so our customers feel secure purchasing from Beachbody.”

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