myCharge Class Action Says Portable Power Banks are Misrepresented

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A New York man says in a class action lawsuit that the portable power banks sold by myCharge are falsely advertised as offering more capacity – leaving consumers short on charge for their electronic devices.

Lead plaintiff Mark Mancuso alleges in his myCharge class action lawsuit that power bank consumers rely on being able to continue using their portable electronic devices for an extended time when there are no sources of electricity.

However, the plaintiff claims that testing of myCharge power banks reveals that the actual capacity of the chargers is much less than advertised.

Mancuso says he purchased a myCharge power bank based on representations that it would provide 3000mAh.

The myCharge class action states that Mancuso often uses power banks to charge his portable electronic devices on his travels; however, he discovered that the myCharge power bank he purchased provided much less power than advertised.

The myCharge power bank class action lawsuit alleges that, for consumers who pay $15 billion for power banks each year, the most important factor is its capacity, measured in milliampere-hours, or “mAh.”

“The higher the mAh, the greater the number of times a Power Bank can be used to recharge PEDs before the Power Bank itself must be recharged,” points out the myCharge class action lawsuit. “Consumers thus have a strong preference for, and pay more for, Power Banks with a higher mAh.”

RFA Brands d/b/a myCharge, according to the class action lawsuit, prominently displays the mAh of the myCharge power bank. However, the mAh advertised does not reflect the true capacity of the product, alleges the plaintiff.

The myCharge class action lawsuit contends that “testing has shown that RFA Brands has substantially inflated the Products’ mAh ratings.”

“Plaintiff tested a myCharge Power Bank represented to have 3000mAh capacity (the same model Plaintiff purchased) using a skilled and experienced testing company. Those test results revealed that the capacity was actually only 1902mAh.”

RFA Brands intentionally misrepresented the mAh provided by its myCharge power banks to be able to inflate the price of the product, alleges the myCharge class action lawsuit.

“RFA Brands has profited enormously from its false and misleading representations about the Products,” alleges the plaintiff in his myCharge power bank class action lawsuit.

The myCharge class action lawsuit seeks to represent a Class of consumers who purchased myCharge power banks in New York, California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, and Washington.

The plaintiff contends that RFA Brands has violated New York law, along with laws in other states.

According to the myCharge power bank class action lawsuit, the plaintiff “would consider purchasing the Product again if he could trust that RFA Brands’ representations about its mAh rating were correct going forward, such as if the Product was redesigned to make RFA Brands’ representations about it correct, and if the price fairly reflected the actual mAh capacity of the battery.”

The myCharge class action lawsuit is seeking damages, as well as an injunction stopping RFA Brands from its alleged false advertising of myCharge power banks.

Mancuso is represented by D. Greg Blankinship and Todd S. Garber of Finkelstein Blankinship Frei-Pearson & Garber LLP.

The myCharge Power Bank Class Action Lawsuit is Mancuso v. RFA Brands LLC, Case No. 6:18-cv-06807, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York.