- The FTC, alongside Utah and Nevada, has sued Lens.com, its owner Cary Samourkachian, and an affiliated entity, Speed Commerce LLC, over allegations that the company advertised artificially low prices for contact lenses but then charges consumers much higher prices through mandatory “Taxes & fees” charges. The joint complaint alleges that Lens.com’s hidden fees routinely double the advertised price of contact lenses, costing consumers hundreds of millions of dollars.
- The complaint also alleges that this “Taxes & fees” charge is buried deep in the checkout process and is not clearly and conspicuously disclosed to consumers. According to the complaint, Lens.com has allegedly also used deceptive pricing practices in connection with its “AutoRefill” subscription plan, which automatically charges consumers for recurring shipments of contact lenses. Additionally, the complaint alleges that Lens.com entices consumers with eye-catching advertisements with artificially low prices in sponsored Google search ads when the prices bear little resemblance to what the consumer actually pays.
- The FTC, Utah, and Nevada allege that these practices violate the FTC Act, the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA), the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLB Act), the Utah Consumer Sales Practices Act (Utah CSPA), the Utah Automatic Renewal Contracts Act (Utah ARCA), and the Nevada Deceptive Trade Practices Act (Nevada DTPA).