Retailer Fashion Nova suppressed negative online reviews, $2.4M going to customers

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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is issuing over 148,000 refunds totaling nearly $2.4 million in a settlement order involving online fast fashion retailer Fashion Nova, which is accused of hiding negative reviews.

To qualify for the refund, consumers who purchased items from Fashion Nova before Nov. 21, 2019, had to make a «valid claim» with the FTC before the August 15, 2023, deadline. Currently, the FTC is no longer accepting claims in the matter.

In the final order, Fashion Nova is explicitly prohibited from hiding reviews or endorsements, and is obligated to present them to customers «regardless of the endorser's opinion or rating.» Additionally, the retailer was ordered to pay $4.2 million.

A view of the atmosphere at Fashion Nova Presents: Party With Cardi at Hollywood Palladium on May 8, 2019, in Los Angeles. (Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for Fashion Nova)

FASHION NOVA SUED FOR COPYING JENNIFER LOPEZ'S ICONIC VERSACE DRESS

While recipients of the FTC payments in this case were spread out across the country, according to the commission’s data, Illinois had the largest number of recipients with more than 25,000. Among the 148,351 recipients, the median refund was $16, according to the FTC.

The FTC made its allegations against Fashion Nova in January 2022, kicking off the first-of-its-kind case.

«From as early as late 2015 through mid-November 2019, Fashion Nova chose to have four- and five-star reviews automatically post to the website, but did not approve or publish hundreds of thousands lower-starred, more negative reviews,» the FTC wrote in its complaint against