Bradford Exchange and Hammacher Schlemmer are two personalized gift companies against whom a class action lawsuit has been filed alleging the gift retailers of violating California law by automatically enrolling their consumers in renewing subscriptions without primarily asking for their consent. The terms of the settlement will benefit a statewide class of Californian customers who enrolled themselves with the Hammacher Schlemmer or Bradford Exchange rewards program and were charged a membership fee for at least one of these programs. The benefits of this settlement won’t be available to the employees of Hammacher and Bradford.
Settlement website – BradfordExchangeSettlement.com
Objection deadline – 12/30/2022
Exclusion deadline – 12/30/2022
Claim Form – https://www.bradfordexchangesettlement.com/LogIn
Deadline for submitting the claim – 12/30/2022
Final Hearing date – 04/07/2023
Settlement amount – $475K
Potential claim amount – Variable
Proof of purchase – Not applicable
As per the class action lawsuit, both gift retailers violated Californian law by enrolling and automatically renewing subscriptions of consumers without their consent. The plaintiffs in the case revealed that they were misled into enrolling in the rewards programs of gift retailers. The websites of both companies use a pop-up window that promises free shipping to consumers signing up for their rewards programs. Consumers were tricked into being charged with an automatic renewing subscription for $14.95 monthly.
Since Bradford Exchange and Hammacher Schlemmer enrolled consumers in their subscription-based rewards programs without consent, their actions violated California’s Automatic Renewal Law. As per the law, it is required for businesses to conspicuously disclose all the terms of the automatic renewal subscriptions before enrolling consumers in anything. This law was passed by California lawmakers to ensure that consumers don’t need to go through the fine print to understand what they were signing up for. However, these requirements couldn’t be complied with by Bradford and Hammacher. Despite not admitting any wrongdoing, both Bradford Exchange and Hammacher Schlemmer have agreed to resolve these allegations with a $475000 class action settlement.
Consumers submitting a valid claim form will be eligible for cash payments. The amount received by each class member will be equal to their share of the settlement fund. The actual payment amount will vary according to the number of participating class members and the amount deducted for costs such as attorneys’ fees from the settlement fund. The funds that remain from uncashed cheques shall be donated to a cypres recipient following the court’s approval. There is also a provision for injunctive relief under the settlement to the class members. Both Bradford Exchange and Hammacher Schlemmer have agreed to comply with the provisions of California’s Automatic Renewal Law.