Rihanna’s lingerie company fined $1.2 million for misleading customers, prosecutors say

Rihanna’s lingerie company, Savage X Fenty, must pay $1.2 million for misleading customers, prosecutors in California said.

The lawsuit was brought against Lavender Lingerie, LLC, which operates Savage X Fenty, on Aug. 9, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office said in a Nov. 28 news release.

The Santa Cruz, San Diego and Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Offices, and the Santa Monica City Attorney’s Office, were also part of the lawsuit.

The company did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment on Tuesday, Nov. 29.

Savage X Fenty is accused of not disclosing automatic charges from VIP memberships, prosecutors said.

Several customers submitted complaints to the Better Business Bureau about being charged $49.95 for the VIP membership program.

“After buying two items in the summer, I was continually charged $49.95 monthly for a membership I in no way intended to sign up for. By the time I noticed the charge, several months of payment had been extracted,” one person wrote on Nov. 8.

In addition, prosecutors alleged the company didn’t “give proper notices for the automatic renewal charges, falsely advertised the ability to use store credit and misled the public over the prices of its products.”

Online businesses need to disclose all automatic charges “clearly and conspicuously” under California law, prosecutors said. This includes automatic charges for subscriptions, memberships or other recurring fees.

“Consumers have a right to know up front what they are paying for and how often,” Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Deng said in the release. “Businesses have a duty to be transparent about their automatic renewal charges.”

Savage X Fenty was ordered to pay $1 million in civil penalties, $50,000 in investigative costs and $150,000 in restitution.

California VIP members who didn’t “Skip the Month” or “purchase an item after their initial membership enrollment (or) canceled their membership and did not receive a refund for the VIP membership charges“ will receive payment.

Prosecutors said Rihanna’s company has made changes to its website, automatic renewals, store credit and advertising.

State ferry workers could have prevented deadly DUI crash in Washington, lawsuit says

School district to pay $15.75M over California 13-year-old’s asthma death, lawyer says

Professor fell to his death after running up a broken staircase. Now his wife is suing