LensCrafters Class Action Lawsuit Challenges ‘Phantom’ Deals

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Eyewear retailer LensCrafters and its parent company were hit with a class action lawsuit alleging they dupe consumers into believing they are getting a deal by using false reference prices.

Lead plaintiff Sandra Seegert claims LensCrafters uses fictitious retail prices and “buy one, get one” methods and then tells consumers they are getting a discount.

In reality, says the plaintiff, the schemes cover up a sham price disparity that misleads consumers into thinking they are getting a good deal.

Seegert argues that California legislature has banned the practice of advertising fake sales or discounts, but LensCrafters uses tactics that dupe bargain hunters into thinking they are getting a deal they can’t pass up.

“Retailers have an incentive to lie to customers and advertise false sales,” says the plaintiff in her complaint. “The resulting harm is tangible, the bargain hunter’s expectations about the product she purchased is that it has a higher perceived value and she may not have purchased the product but for the false savings.”

According to the class action lawsuit, LensCrafters advertises “Exclusive Lens Options” to customers who purchase frames at the store. LensCrafters claims that it gives customers a 40 percent discount on lenses, but Seegert says customers never see the full retail price until the transaction is complete. Further, the supposedly discounted lenses are never sold for the price LensCrafters lists, the lawsuit states.

“Lens Crafters’ deceptive pricing scheme has the effect of tricking consumers into believing they are receiving a significant deal by purchasing merchandise at a steep discount, when in reality, consumers are paying for merchandise at its regular or original price,” alleges the LensCrafters class action complaint.

The plaintiff says she fell for LensCrafters’ deceptive pricing scheme when she purchased a pair of Armani Exchange eyeglasses in April of this year. Seegert claims she was told she was saving 40 percent off the price of her prescription lenses because she purchased frames at LensCrafters. However, the plaintiff says she discovered that the lenses were never offered for sale at what was listed as the retail price.

“Plaintiff seeks to halt the dissemination of this false, misleading, and deceptive pricing scheme, to correct the false and misleading perception it has created in consumer’s minds, and to obtain redress for those who have purchased merchandise tainted by this deceptive pricing scheme,” the LensCrafters class action states.

The plaintiff seeks to represent a Class of consumers who purchased lenses at a discount with a frame purchase at a LensCrafters retail store in the state of California since July 5, 2013. The class action includes claims that LensCrafters allegedly deceptive sale scheme violates California consumer and advertising laws.

Seegert is seeking damages and disgorgement of profits, as well as an injunction against LensCrafters allegedly deceptive pricing scheme.

The plaintiff is represented by Todd D. Carpenter of Carlson Lynch Sweet Kilpela & Carpenter LLP.

The LensCrafters Deceptive Sale Scheme Class Action Lawsuit is Sandra Seegert v. LensCrafters Inc., et al., Case No. 3:17-cv-01372, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.