Were You Charged for a Cancelled FabKids Membership?

According to reports from online shoppers, the retailer JustFab and its offshoots FabKids and Shoedazzle may be charging an automatic subscription renewal fee after shoppers have opted out of their membership.

What is FabKids?

FabKids is a subsidiary of TechStyle Fashion Group. TechStyle also owns JustFab, Shoedazzle, Fabletics, and Savage X Fenty, the lingerie line designed by pop star Rihanna.

FabKids is an online retail store that sells clothing, accessories, and shoes for children. The brand operates in the same way that other brands owned by TechStyle work. While shoppers are able to make purchases without signing up for a FabKids membership, the non-member price may be more than 5 times the price for members. This pricing model encourages shoppers to sign up for a VIP membership through the retailer in order to take advantage of special pricing.

However, some shoppers claim that they were signed up for these memberships without realizing it. According to consumers, these brands may automatically add a membership to the shopper’s cart as a hidden fee. When shoppers check out, they may not be aware that they are also signing up for a VIP subscription, for which they will be automatically billed monthly.

How Does FabKids Work?

Shoppers who are unfamiliar with the subscription model may be confused about how JustFab and FabKids work. When shoppers find an item on FabKids that they want to purchase, they will see two available prices. One price is the price for non-members. The other price, which is often a fraction of the original cost, is the price for VIPs.

n order to become a VIP, shoppers sign up for a subscription to the site. For JustFab and FabKids, the membership cost is $39.95. This fee is billed monthly. The cost of this membership fee is saved in the shopper’s account as a credit, and can be used towards any purchase totaling more than $39.95. According to the FabKids website, shoppers who do not want to purchase anything in a given month can “skip the month” by logging on before the fifth of the month and pausing their subscription until the next month.

Although this model may seem like a great deal for frequent online shoppers, some consumers claim that they have been signed up for VIP memberships without their knowledge or charged for these memberships after canceling them. Consumers have also reported that even when they skipped the month, they were still charged a $39.95 fee.

Many shoppers have not realized that they were charged these fees until they reviewed their bank statements months later and found multiple charges stemming from FabKids or other TechStyle brands.

How Can You Cancel a FabKids Membership?

According to the FabKids website, the only way to cancel a VIP FabKids membership is to call the retailer’s member services team. It does not appear to be possible to cancel a VIP membership under a shopper’s account settings, or by using an online customer service chat.

Have Any FabKids Lawsuits Been Filed?

Although it does not appear that any lawsuits have been filed specifically against FabKids, lawsuits have been filed against TechStyle and its other brands. In 2011, a California class action lawsuit filed against JustFab resulted in a payout of almost $2 million to consumers who had fallen prey to misleading advertising.

According to that lawsuit, the retailers owned by TechStyle routinely engaged in misleading advertising in order to persuade consumers to sign up for automatic subscription renewal fees. Under California law, automatic subscription renewal services must be clearly and conspicuously disclosed to consumers. Thousands of consumers who believe they were deceived into signing up for the service were able to pursue reimbursement and compensation through the case.

In 2020, the nonprofit organization Truthinadvertising.org filed letters of complaint with the Federal Trade Commision as well as the Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office, claiming that TechStyle’s lingerie brand Savage X Fenty is engaging in similarly deceptive advertising tactics. According to the complaints, a VIP membership is automatically added to customers’ carts during checkout. This membership is allegedly added without the consent of shoppers, and does not include any details about how much the subscription will cost each month.

If you have been charged automatic subscription renewal fees for a FabKids membership, or another VIP membership associated with TechStyle’s brands, you may be eligible to speak with an experienced attorney about your legal options. Some victims of deceptive membership fees may be able to pursue compensation and reimbursement through a class action lawsuit.

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This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.