RALEIGH, NC (WBTV) -
Skechers will pay $45 million for misleading consumers about
its toning footwear line, Attorney General Roy Cooper announced Wednesday.
"Consumers looking to lose weight or get in shape deserve
accurate information about the products, not overhyped claims," Cooper
said. "Companies must be held accountable when they make claims they
can't support."
Cooper,
attorneys general from 44 other states and the Federal Trade Commission allege
that Skechers made health-related claims in marketing, packaging, advertising,
and selling its line of rocker-bottom shoe products including Shape-ups,
Tone-ups, and the Skechers Resistance Runner that were not adequately
substantiated at the time the claims were made.
According
to the Consent Judgment filed today in Wake County, the states and the FTC
maintain that Sketchers did not have adequate support to back up the company's
claims that its rocker-bottom shoe products caused consumers to lose weight,
burn calories, improve circulation, fight cellulite, and firm, tone or strengthen
leg and back muscles.
As
a part of today's settlement, Skechers is prohibited from claiming that its
shoes cause weight loss or making other health or fitness-related claims about
its products without the proper trials and disclosures.
Skechers
will provide up to $40 million in refunds to consumers who purchased the toning
shoes. As part of the settlement, Skechers will also pay $5 million to
the states including $124,027 to North Carolina for consumer protection
efforts.
North
Carolina consumers who purchased Shape-Ups, Tone-Ups, or the Skechers
Resistance Runner should go to www.ftc.gov/skechers
or call 1-866-325-4186 for information on how to obtain a partial
refund. Consumers can contact Cooper's Consumer Protection Division at
1-877-5-NO-SCAM toll-free in NC with any questions.
Besides North Carolina, the other states involved in this
settlement are: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado,
Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii,
Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New
Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont,
Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Copyright 2012 WBTV. All rights reserved.
