L.L. Bean Class Action Says Customers Cheated by New Return Policy

An Illinois man says thousands of L.L. Bean customers have been left in the lurch now that the outdoor retailer has suddenly changed its return policy.

Plaintiff Victor Bondi says the company has violated federal and state consumer protection laws by changing its century-old unlimited return policy.

He seeks to have the old policy enforced for all L.L. Bean customers who made a purchase before the company issued the change in terms.

Bondi, a self-described faithful L.L. Bean customer for many years, argues that purchasers like himself have a right to expect L.L. Bean to honor the warranty under which their purchases were made.

He claims that by unilaterally changing the warranty terms, L.L. Bean is in violation of the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act and the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act.

Since 1912, L.L. Bean has offered a completely unlimited return policy on all its products. Customers could return L.L. Bean goods at any time and for any reason. Bondi quotes the retailer’s namesake founder as saying that he didn’t consider a sale complete until the product was worn out and the purchaser was still satisfied.

The company finally changed that return policy last week. L.L. Bean announced on Friday that it will now accept returns only within one year of the date of purchase.

Bondi says the former, no-end-date return policy was a core reason why he and other customers made purchases from L.L. Bean. For more than 100 years, customers have relied on the company’s completely unlimited warranty in choosing to purchase L.L. Bean goods, he says. By revoking that warranty, he argues, the company is denying these customers the benefit of the bargain.

Bondi’s L.L. Bean class action lawsuit shows pictures of two L.L. Bean catalog covers from as recently as Spring 2015, showing phrases like “100% Satisfaction Guarantee. No Conditions. No End Date” and “At L.L. Bean, your satisfaction doesn’t have a time limit.”

He quotes from L.L. Bean’s website, which until recently allegedly said, “Our products are guaranteed to give 100% satisfaction in every way. Return anything purchased from us at any time if it proves otherwise.”

The company has built its valuable brand on that warranty, according to the L.L. Bean class action lawsuit. Bondi quotes an NPR article from September 2013 in which L.L. Bean’s Chief Marketing Officer cited the warranty as “great marketing for the company.”

The executive said he had never heard the value of the warranty questioned in any meeting – he had only been asked whether the company promotes the warranty enough.

Bondi is proposing to bring his claims on behalf of all persons who purchased goods from L.L. Bean before Feb. 9, 2018.

He is asking the court to enforce L.L. Bean’s original, unlimited return policy as previously warranted. He also seeks awards of damages, restitution and disgorgement, and court costs and attorneys’ fees, all with pre- and post-judgment interest.

Bondi’s attorneys are Ben Barnow, Erich P. Schork, Jeffrey Blake and Anthony Parkhill of Barnow and Associates PC.

The L.L. Bean Return Policy Class Action Lawsuit is Bondi v. L.L. Bean Inc., Case No. 1:18-cv-01101, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

UPDATE: On June 28, 2018, an Illinois federal judge dismissed a class action lawsuit accusing L.L. Bean Inc. of wrongly changing its lifetime product warranty to a one-year return policy after finding the plaintiff did not have standing to bring the case.