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Weight Watchers is facing legal scrutiny with a class action lawsuit alleging the company’s weight loss app bilks customers with fees from an impossible-to-cancel subscription service.
Lead plaintiff Lee Morrell of California is arguing the company violates the state’s protections against these types of auto-renewal services by hiding the terms and not making a cancellation option clear and easy to execute.
Morrell says he signed up for a three-month subscription through the weight loss app in January 2018. Shortly after, according to the complaint, he lost the use of his arms and legs because of an auto-immune disorder.
Morrell thought his subscription to the weight loss app would expire after the initial three months, but in April, Weight Watchers auto-renewed the service, he said. His credit card ended up being charged for 18 additional months, for a total of $384.
The plaintiff further alleges that Weight Watchers never notified him of the auto-renewing nature of the weight loss app. He was left unsure how to cancel the subscription, so he was forced to cancel the entire card associated with his weight loss app account.
It wasn’t until then, Morrell says, that Weight Watchers sent him an email with a bold headline that read, “Oops, we’re having issues with your payment!” The email was followed by easy-to-see directions on how to update payment information.
Morrell contends if the cancellation process was that easy or if the weight loss app had notified him of auto-renewal that clearly, Weight Watchers might not be facing a class action lawsuit.
“Had Defendant fully and clearly disclosed the terms associated with the WW Subscriptions, Plaintiff and the Class would have not subscribed to Weight Watchers or they would have cancelled their WW Subscriptions earlier,” the Weight Watchers class action lawsuit claims.
The lawsuit elaborates on how California’s auto renewal laws require companies to making the cancellation process easy for people who sign-up for services like the weight loss app.
Morrell cites specifically how the laws require “clear and conspicuous” terms, including how to cancel and if the service will be automatically charged. In addition, the law requires “affirmative consent” and an official acknowledgement of these policies.
Morrell claims Weight Watchers’ weight loss app “systematically violates” these California laws partly because it is a lucrative venture.
The class action lawsuit says Weight Watchers developed the first version of its weight loss app in 2009 in response to slumping revenue. By 2016, the company had invested $43 million to increase its subscriptions.
Morrell says Weight Watchers recognized the profit potential. Referring to a 2017 Tech Crunch report, he cited consumer spending on apps growing to $75.7 billion by 2022.
He further cited a Forbes article that showed subscription-based services accounted for $2.6 billion in sales in 2016.
Morrell contends the revenue these companies pull in from services such as the weight loss app is collected in part due to their customers not canceling the service.
“The real money is in the inertia,” he said, citing a Washington Post article that recounted the story of a man who continued to get monthly hair products delivered even after going bald.
Morrell goes on to describe a rash of outrage from weight loss app subscribers on social media and Weight Watchers commenting forums. The overall consensus among these customers was that they were frustration over the complicated cancelling process.
Morrell is looking to include in the Class all Californians who purchased a subscription to a Weight Watchers program and had to pay for an unwanted renewal.
He is seeking damages, restitution and declaratory relief.
Formally, Morrell is accusing Weight Watchers of violating California’s Unfair Competition and False Advertising laws and the state’s Consumers Legal Remedies Act. The class action lawsuit also is alleging unjust enrichment.
Have you used the Weight Watchers weight loss app? Let us know in the comments below.
Counsel representing the plaintiffs in the Weight Watchers weight loss app auto-renew class action lawsuit are Philip L. Fraietta, Neal J. Deckant and Frederick J. Klorczyk III of Bursor & Fisher PA.
The Weight Watchers Auto-Renew Class Action Lawsuit is Lee Morrell v. WW International Inc., Case No. 1:20-cv-09912, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
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22 thoughts onWeight Watchers Class Action Lawsuit Filed Over Automatic Renewals
Been try to cancel for months