“Risk Free Trials” have always been a popular way to bring in new customers for some industries. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has recently put an end to that for a group of skincare marketers in California, at least for now. The FTC worked with a federal district court to put a temporary ban on the defendants because they are allegedly using bogus risk free trial offers and deceptive marketing practices. They also froze their assets and have appointed someone to go over their business.
The group of marketers involved includes seven individuals and 15 companies that sell Auravie, Dellure, LeOR Skincare and Miracle Face Kit brand products. They are believed to be using deceptive offers, which trick consumers into giving out their credit card information. They then use that information to charge them for the full price of the product that was supposed to be free. They also enroll them in a program that has recurring fees.
The FTC’s director of Consumer Protection, Jessica Rich, said, “The sellers of AuraVie tricked people into paying a lot of extra money for skin care products. Companies need to give clear, honest information about charges. If a company advertises a ‘risk free trial,’ then that’s what it must provide.”
The defendants have been marketing and selling these skincare products through many different websites since 2010. The sites include aurviefreetrial.com, auraviewtrialkit and mymiraclekit.com. Using pop-up ads, banner ads and other marketing techniques on sites like Amazon.com, HuffingtonPost.com and Lowes.com they attracted consumers to their sites.
Once on the site they were asked to fill out their personal information for the free trial, which would only cost $4.95 (or less) for shipping. Once they were completed, the consumers were charged the full price, which was typically $97.88.
In addition to this, the FTC is accusing the defendants of misrepresenting themselves by saying that they had an A- rating with the Better Business Bureau. In reality, the company has a rating of “F.”
