Visionworks Settles BOGO Scam Class Action Lawsuits for $4.2M

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Visionworks of America Inc. has reportedly agreed to pay $4.2 million to settle two class action lawsuits alleging it engaged in a fraudulent “Buy One, Get One Free” advertising campaign.

On Tuesday, plaintiffs Karen Poteat and Cheryl Lenart asked an Ohio federal judge to preliminarily approve the proposed Visionworks class action settlement, which will provide up to $100 in cash to eligible Class Members.

The Visionworks class action lawsuit was initially filed in June 2014 in Ohio state court by plaintiff Elliott Graiser, and was removed to Ohio federal court in November 2015.

On Sept. 12, 2016, a second amended class action lawsuit was filed, adding Poteat as the putative Class representative. Graiser filed a notice voluntarily dismissing his claims, leaving Poteat as the sole representative.

The Visionworks class action lawsuit alleges Visionworks continually made the “Buy One, Get One Free” (BOGO) offers “such that, over time, the cost of the first pair of eyeglasses inflated above its regular price and covered part of the second pair of eyeglasses, which was supposed to have been free.”

Sometimes Visonworks would offer an unadvertised 40 percent off discount on a single pair of eyeglasses as an alternative to the BOGO offer if a customer seemed reluctant to purchase two pairs of eyeglasses using the BOGO offer, the Visionworks class action lawsuit alleges.

The plaintiffs assert the actual price of one pair of eyeglasses is effectively the 40 percent off discount price and that Visionworks customers who thought they were receiving a BOGO discount actually overpaid for their eyeglasses.

On June 7, 2016, Lenart filed a separate class action lawsuit against Visionworks in Illinois federal court. Lenart’s class action lawsuit was transferred to Illinois federal court and the parties engaged in settlement negotiations in an attempt to resolve Poteat’s and Lenart’s Visionworks lawsuits.

Visionworks denies any wrongdoing and maintains it acted lawfully. However, the company has agreed to settle the Visionworks class action lawsuit to avoid the expense and uncertainty of ongoing litigation. If approved, this proposed Visionworks settlement will resolve both class action lawsuits.

Class Members include consumers who purchased two pairs of eyeglasses from Visionworks under a “Buy One, Get One Free” promotion and paid the list price for one complete pair of eyeglasses from a Visionworks store in Ohio or Illinois.

To be eligible for benefits, Ohio Class Members must have made the purchase between June 25, 2012 and Sept. 15, 2016, and Illinois Class Members must have made the purchase between June 8, 2013 and Sept. 15, 2016.

Under the terms of the proposed Visionworks settlement, Class Members are eligible to receive a payment of up to $100 per BOGO transaction. If the BOGO transaction price was less than $100, Visionworks will pay the Class Member the actual BOGO transaction price for that transaction.

Top Class Actions will post updates to this class action settlement as they become available. For the latest updates, keep checking TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter. You can also receive notifications when this article is updated by using your free Top Class Actions account and clicking the green “Follow Article” button at the top of the post.

The plaintiffs are represented by Drew Legando, Jack Landskroner, Tom Merriman and Edward S. Jerse of Landskroner Grieco Merriman LLC, Douglas M. Werman and Maureen Salas of Werman Salas PC, and Mark Schlachet.

The Visionworks BOGO Scam Class Action Lawsuit is Lenart v. Visionworks of America Inc., Case No. 1:16-cv-02505, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.

UPDATE: The Visionworks BOGO class action settlement is now open! Click here to file a claim.