Fashion Nova will be required to pay $4.2 million to settle allegations it blocked negative reviews of its products from being posted to its website, the Federal Trade Commission announced Tuesday.
The consumer protection agency also announced that it is sending letters to 10 companies offering review management services, placing them on notice that avoiding the collection or publication of negative reviews violates the FTC Act.
In addition, the FTC has released new guidance for online retailers and review platforms to educate them on the agency's key principles for collecting and publishing customer reviews in ways that do not mislead consumers. The case is the second action the FTC has brought against Fashion Nova in recent years. In April 2020, the FTC announced that Fashion Nova agreed to pay $9.3 million to settle allegations that the company failed to properly notify consumers and give them the chance to cancel their orders when it failed to ship merchandise in a timely manner, and that it illegally used gift cards to compensate consumers for unshipped merchandise instead of providing refunds.