Boohoo brands accused of deceptive pricing

CALIFORNIA – Boohoo and its brands BoohooMAN, PrettyLittleThing and Nasty Gal will pay US$4.75m to resolve three class action lawsuits which claimed they misled consumers with deceptively inflated prices. The lawsuits contend that the fast fashion brands used reference prices which were, “not original, regular, retail or former prices.” In short, prices on the websites were intentionally inflated in order to fool customers into thinking they were getting a good deal, the plaintiffs claim.

“As a result, customers are deceived into spending money they otherwise would not have spent, purchasing items they otherwise would not have purchased, and/or spending more money for an item than they otherwise would have absent the deceptive marketing,” one of the class action lawsuits contends.

The plaintiffs claim the pricing strategy violates California consumer protection laws. The defendants haven’t admitted any wrongdoing but agreed to pay up to US$4.75m to resolve the allegations.

Typically, in consumer law, it is illegal for a retailer to claim a price reduction unless the product in question has been on sale at the previously higher price for a set period of time.

Under the terms of the class action settlement, class members can receive one or more gift cards of US$10. These gift cards include free shipping valued at US$7.28. The cash fund for the settlement will be used to pay attorneys’ fees, court costs, administrative costs and other settlement-related expenses.

The final approval hearing for the Boohoo, PrettyLittleThing and Nasty Gal class action settlement is scheduled for Dec. 19, 2022.

No claim form is required to benefit from the settlement. Class members who do not exclude themselves will automatically receive their gift card benefit.

The settlement benefits individuals in California who made purchases on the Boohoo website since April 9, 2016, on the PrettyLittleThing website since May 19, 2016, and/or on the Nasty Gas website since March 1, 2017.

The settlement benefits individuals in California who made purchases on the Boohoo website since April 9, 2016, on the PrettyLittleThing website since May 19, 2016, and/or on the Nasty Gas website since March 1, 2017.