Here’s the release from state Attorney General George Jepsen’s office:
HARTFORD – Attorney General George Jepsen said Connecticut has joined with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), 42 states and the District of Columbia in coordinated settlement agreements with Skechers USA, Inc. over allegations of deceptive advertising for certain athletic shoes.
The company, based in Manhattan Beach, Calif., agreed to pay up to $40 million in consumer refunds and an additional $5 million to the states. Once approved by the court, Connecticut’s share of the settlement would be $88,208.
The lawsuit, filed in conjunction with the settlement agreement, alleges that Skechers, the makers of rocker-bottom Shape-Ups, Tone-Ups and the Skechers Resistance Runner athletic shoes, made health-related claims in the marketing, packaging, advertising, offering and selling of those shoes that were not adequately substantiated at the time the claims were made.
“I’m pleased to participate in this settlement, which will help to reimburse consumers who relied on the company’s claims in making their purchases,” Attorney General Jepsen said.
Consumers who may be eligible for a partial refund of their purchase of Shape-Ups, Tone-Ups or the Skechers Resistance Runner athletic shoes, should submit a claim form available on the FTC website, www.ftc.gov/skechers.
The State alleged that Skechers did not have adequate support for its claims that the rocker-bottom shoe products caused consumers to lose weight, burn calories, improve circulation, fight cellulite, and firm, tone or strengthen thigh, buttock, and back muscles.
While Skechers did not admit wrongdoing and denied the factual allegations asserted in the complaint, the settlement prohibits Skechers from making these claims without adequate substantiation.Consumers who have complaints about unsubstantiated health or advertising claims or any consumer matter should contact the Office of the Attorney General at 860-808-5400.
Assistant Attorney General Thomas Saadi handled this matter for the Attorney General.
Participating with Connecticut in the settlement were the Attorneys General of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin as well as Hawaii’s Office of Consumer Protection, and the Governor’s Office of Consumer Protection in Georgia.
The stipulation agreement is linked to the press release on the OAG website.
Businesses charging high fees for otherwise low-cost and easily attained public records are attempting to lure consumers with offers and invoices delivered by mail, warns the state Department of Consumer Protection.
The scam operations try to sell homeowners copies of “grant deeds,” typically available at a town clerk’s office, even online. Land records usually cost about $1 a page, or $2 a page for a certified record. The scammers, says the DCP, ask for between $50 and $100, sometimes asking consumers to fax their credit-card information or to send a check.
The notices include addresses that are more often UPS offices or post-office boxes. One complaint to the DCP included a notice that said, “This document provides evidence that the property at _______ was in fact transferred….”
Fiskars StaySharp Reel Mower
I love the smell of lawn-mower gas fumes in the summer, the sweaty-snug fit of industrial foam earplugs, dodging the machine-gun fire of sticks and rock fragments from a mulching blade, dust clouds clinging to nose hairs and, of course, the season’s most invasive allergens.
Is it another lawn-mowing season already?
So maybe I’m ready to try something different this year. That’s why I’ve been taking a Fiskars StaySharp Max Reel Mower for a test spin lately. Fiskars calls the $250 machine the world’s most advanced reel mower. TBL will add this asterisk: also the world’s most bizarre-looking reel mower.
More . . .
A business operation that the Federal Trade Commission alleges lured consumers into spending thousands of dollars for Internet domains and advertising with promises of links to the sites of major retailers has been shut down.
The FTC used a court order in Arizona to stop the allegedly deceptive practices by North American Marketing and Associates LLC, freezing the company’s assets.
The FTC, in its complaint, said the company charged consumers $100 to $400 to build and operate the websites, which were supposed to make money when people clinked links on the sites to purchase merchandise from “Fortune 500″ sites such as Walmart and Best Buy.
Promises of free marketing assistance turned into requests for additional advertising money, from $5,000 to $20,000. As more consumers complained, the business would shut down and reopen under a new name.
The corporate defendants are North American Marketing and Associates LLC, NAMAA LLC, TM Multimedia Marketing LLC (Nevada), TM Multimedia Marketing LLC (Arizona), National Opportunities LLC (Nevada), National Opportunities LLC (Arizona), World Wide Marketing and Associates LLC, Precious Metals Resource LLC, Guaranteed Communications LLC, Superior Multimedia Group LLC, and Wide World of Marketing LLC, also doing business as WWM LLC.
The individual defendants are Kimberly Joy Birdsong, Tracy Jerome Morris, Sarah Lynne Stapel, Alyisse Maloi Tramel, and Daniel Vigil, and Joseph Wayne Lowry, also known as Joey Lowry and Joey Lowe.
The defendants are charged with violating the FTC Act and the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule.
Is a concoction known as “beauty balm” or “blemish balm” going to turn the female beauty-products market upside down?
Read here . . .
The Consumerist has this report of two Best Buy customers who say someone used their accounts and credit cards to order merchandise online that was delivered to another address.
From Windsor’s finest, NRBQ … “Wacky
Tobacky.”
(Hartford Courant File Photo)
Ending a relationship is never easy, but Vera Bruun of West Hartford thought she acted properly when she mailed a notice of contract termination in mid-March 2011 with a check for what she thought was her last delivery of home heating oil from the Kasden Fuel Co. of East Hartford.
Bruun was ready to move on. She signed a service contract and delivery agreement with Superior Plus Energy Services of Winsted. In June, Superior delivered almost 230 gallons of oil to Bruun’s house. But in November, almost eight months after she sent the termination letter, Kasden Fuel pumped 147 gallons into her tank while she was out and left a bill for almost $600.
So much for an amicable parting.
More . . .
The average fixed mortgage rates for 15- and 30-year loans hit a record low for the second straight week, according to figures released Thursday by Freddie Mac.
The national average for a 30-year loan was 3.83 percent in the past week. The 15-year rate was 3.05. Both rates were slightly higher in New England (see below).
“Following April’s weaker than expected employment report, and the French and Greek election results raising concerns over the stability of the Euro currency zone,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s vice president and chief economist, “long-term Treasury bond yields declined allowing fixed mortgage rates to ease to new all-time record lows this week.”
New England rates:
This week
30-year: 3.84 percent
15-year: 3.06 percent
Last week
30-year: 3.84
15-year: 3.07
A year ago
30-year: 4.63
15-year: 3.83
TBL lately has been getting emails like the one below with “Amazon.com – Your Cancellation” followed by a number in the subject field.
But they’re not from Amazon. TBL never ordered the book below. The scammers likely want people to click on the order number/hyperlink in the body of the email. But hover your cursor over the link and you’ll see it does not go to Amazon.com.
Dear Customer,
Your order has been successfully canceled. For your reference, here’s a summary of your order:
You just canceled order 182-6786-626 placed on May 10, 2012.
Status: CANCELED
_____________________________________________________________________
1 “Scrutinized”; 2006, Special Edition
By: James Smith
Sold by: Amazon.com LLC
_____________________________________________________________________
Thank you for visiting Amazon.com!
———————————————————————
Amazon.com
Earth’s Biggest Selection
http://www.amazon.com
———————————————————————
- -- ADVERTISEMENT --
- -- ADVERTISEMENT --
