QVC paying $7.5M to settle false claims case with Federal Trade Commission
New Mexico Business Weekly
Home-shopping network QVC Inc. agreed to pay $7.5 million to settle complaints that it made false claims on products, the Federal Trade Commission said Thursday.
The settlement covers “false and unsubstantiated claims” on products marketed on QVC, including For Women Only weight-loss pills; Lite Bites weight-loss food bars and shakes; Bee-Alive Royal Jelly energy supplements; and Lipofactor Cellulite Target Lotion.
QVC aired some 200 programs in which the claims were made. A complaint was first filed by the Department of Justice’s Office of Consumer Litigation in March 2004.
The settlement requires QVC to pay $6 million to consumers of the products and $1.5 million in a civil penalty.
In a statement, QVC general counsel Larry Hayes said the settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing or liability.
“From QVC’s standpoint, the settlement was driven largely by a desire to avoid further legal expenses in connection with events that occurred more than five years ago,” said Hayes. “When the vendors offered these products on air, QVC firmly believed, and still believes, there was no deception in the way they were presented.”
Companies that sold the products to QVC participated in the settlement, and QVC accordingly settled claims against them, the home-shopping network said.
QVC of West Chester, Pa., is owned by Englewood, Colo.-based Liberty Media Corp. (NASDAQ:LINTB).
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