GNC Class Action Lawsuit Says Online Pricing Is Deceptive

General Nutrition Centers Inc. has adopted the practice of using fictional “original” prices to give the impression of real deals, according to a new GNC class action lawsuit.

Plaintiff J.K. says that GNC uses a deceptive pricing scheme on its retail sales website. She claims that for certain items advertised as being discounted, the company displays both a higher original price and a lower, purportedly discount price for which the item is being offered for sale.

The GNC class action lawsuit says the website displays a “regular” price in either struck-through or greyed-out type, next to a “sale” price in bold red type.

J.K. alleges items so priced were never seriously offered for sale at the higher original price. She believes GNC merely uses a fake original price to create the illusion of a bargain that customers aren’t actually getting. The plaintiff says the alleged fake deals also put the customer under undue pressure to buy the item sooner and without shopping other providers, on the assumption that the advertised lower price is only temporary and only available from GNC.

Advertising fake deals like this puts GNC in violation of California consumer protection laws like the Consumer Legal Remedies Act, the False Advertising Law, and the Unfair Competition Law, the lawsuit claims.

J.K. says in March 2016 she bought two products off the GNC website, both at a supposed discount: a container of protein powder marked down from $49.99 to $34.99, and a bottle of garcinia cambogia extract marked down from $26.99 to $17.99. Judging by the supposed discounts offered on those items, the plaintiff believed she had saved about 33 percent on her purchase.

At the same time, the plaintiff says she found the protein powder offered for sale on more than one other website for just under $30. She also claims that GNC didn’t even offer the extract for sale in the three months before she bought it.

J.K. is proposing to represent a plaintiff Class consisting of all persons in California who made a purchase via the GNC website within the applicable statute of limitations period preceding the filing of this fake deals class action lawsuit.

In addition to an award of damages for herself and potential Class Members, J.K. is asking for a court order requiring GNC to publish corrective notices on its website and in other media. She wants GNC to honor returns for any products sold under the allegedly deceptive pricing method or to match the offered by other retailers for the same items.

The plaintiff is represented by Jeffrey R. Krinsk and Trenton R. Kashima of Finkelstein & Krinsk LLP, Tina Wolfson and Robert Ahdoot of Ahdoot & Wolfson PC, and Nick Suciu III of Barbat Mansour & Suciu PLLC.

The GNC Fake Sale Class Action Lawsuit is J.K. v. General Nutrition Centers Inc. et al., Case No. 3:16-cv-00990 , in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.