Fabletics VIP Membership Swindle

Lindor_2

I bought an outfit from Fabletics.co.uk (the one fronted by Kate Hudson) in November as a Christmas present for someone.


There was an offer on that I should have known was too good to be true. It said 50% off a whole outfit in the first purchase. Due to the clever marketing, I somehow missed the fact that, by going for the offer, I was automatically registering myself for the VIP membership. In my defence, there was a clock ticking down to tell me the offer would expire within the hour and I was in an online Christmas shopping frenzy. Having done some research online, it seems many others have fallen for this too.


So, in December and January, Fabletics took £44 out of my account (£88 in total). Apparently, the deal is that you can spend the £44 every month in their online store or, when the email comes (something else I managed to miss), you can choose to skip a month and save the credit. Either way, Fabletics has your money and you either have something to show for it or you don't.


I'm doubtful I'm going to get a refund but I'm going to try. Failing that, I'll spend the credit on sportswear I don't want and sell it on for a cheaper price


Does anyone know what my consumer rights are? I seriously did not know what I was signing up for and can't imagine who would ever need to buy new gym gear every month. Help!

wealdroam

Lindor wrote: »

I bought an outfit from Fabletics.co.uk (the one fronted by Kate Hudson) in November as a Christmas present for someone.


There was an offer on that I should have known was too good to be true. It said 50% off a whole outfit in the first purchase. Due to the clever marketing, I somehow missed the fact that, by going for the offer, I was automatically registering myself for the VIP membership. In my defence, there was a clock ticking down to tell me the offer would expire within the hour and I was in an online Christmas shopping frenzy. Having done some research online, it seems many others have fallen for this too.


So, in December and January, Fabletics took £44 out of my account (£88 in total). Apparently, the deal is that you can spend the £44 every month in their online store or, when the email comes (something else I managed to miss), you can choose to skip a month and save the credit. Either way, Fabletics has your money and you either have something to show for it or you don't.


I'm doubtful I'm going to get a refund but I'm going to try. Failing that, I'll spend the credit on sportswear I don't want and sell it on for a cheaper price


Does anyone know what my consumer rights are? I seriously did not know what I was signing up for and can't imagine who would ever need to buy new gym gear every month. Help!

Apparently JustFAB work in a similar manner.

To save repeating stuff posted only yesterday, have a read of this thread:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5150107

Edited to add:
In fact I have just spotted that JustFAB and Fabletics are the same company.
See here.

sinizterguy

Seen the ads on TV and it's pretty clear you're signing up for a monthly thing.

You could try asking them to cancel and refund.

bris

You had the warnings and the email and yet you ignored them, just spend the credit you have and cancel.

Country_Cousin

I have seen the ads for this company too and also found it very clear that you were signing up to some sort of subscription (did not really take much notice because I was not interested, but do remember that aspect as I thought it was quite unusual and most definitely not my kind of shopping!)

paddyrg

In fairness the ticking clock and style of promotion do sound as if they're deliberately trying to rush the consumer into not making an informed decision - which is why clocks and countdowns (when used as a marketing angle like this) will upset the ASA. OK, the ASA are fairly toothless, but will at least shame the companies involved, and rap their knuckles. [url]Http://www.ASA.org.uk[/url]. Oftentimes they get vendors to remedy the position, especially if they can effectively starve a brand of advertising space with their members.

Lindor_2

Thanks for the replies.

It does depend how you are viewing the site as to how clear the deal is. Some views (e.g. iPad view) are less clear and you have to scroll quite far down to get the full picture. There isn't an type of warning as you sign up either.

I notice the ticking clock has been removed now too, which suggests they have back-tracked from rushing people into registering.

Cheers for your help guys

fizzie1

My 17 year old just got scammed on Fabletics. She didn't read the small print and she is dyslexic. This is a hard lesson as it is going to take some of her very hard earned cash. The trouble with sites like Fabletics is that they target teenagers. A sports bra has now cost her over £50 and she is devastated!

A2602

I almost got caught out. I purchased an outfit(half price), great! Read the small print and skipped the next two months. This month bought a few things in the sale which counts as a months spending as I spent over £44. Though again it was all between 40-60% off so I don't mind. I like their goods but would not and can't justify paying full price. I'll skip the next couple of months, get some more in the sales after Christmas then end my subscription. We all know the saying, if it's too good to be true blah di blah, the following line should be, read the small print. Just to be clear. You need to skip the month(usually by the 5th) and then your card is not debited.

tomtontom

fizzie1 wrote: »

My 17 year old just got scammed on Fabletics. She didn't read the small print and she is dyslexic. This is a hard lesson as it is going to take some of her very hard earned cash. The trouble with sites like Fabletics is that they target teenagers. A sports bra has now cost her over £50 and she is devastated!

So she wasn't scammed and her dyslexia is irrelevant because she didn't read the information in the first place?

ThumbRemote

tomtontom wrote: »

So she wasn't scammed and her dyslexia is irrelevant because she didn't read the information in the first place?

It's easy to miss things though.

Like the date on posts.