LAMPS PLUS TO PAY $4.1 MILLION TO SETTLE CIVIL CASE FOR FALSE ADVERTISING AND UNFAIR COMPETITION
October 9, 2024
RIVERSIDE – Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin announced today, Oct. 9, 2024, that Lamps Plus, Inc., a California Corporation, has entered into a stipulated judgment and will pay a total of $4.1 million dollars to settle a civil law enforcement complaint alleging the company engaged in false advertising and unfair competition.
The civil complaint alleges that Lamps Plus unlawfully advertised price protection policies, including a price match and a 120 percent price match guarantee, without disclosing that such policies did not include Lamps Plus own-brand products.
Lamps Plus allegedly used the “Compare At” and “Comparable Value” sales tags to indicate a bargain price, even where the product sold was an own-brand product with no competitor in the market or where the comparable product was not of similar design and quality. Also, the “Strike Through” advertised reference price on sales tags was allegedly used to indicate a bargain price even where the advertised former price was not an actual former price.
The judgment requires Lamps Plus to pay $3,800,000 in civil penalties and $300,000 in costs to cover investigative costs and support future enforcement of consumer protection laws.
The judgment prohibits Lamps Plus from offering a 120 percent Price Protection Policy, and from advertising any Price Match Guarantee Policy in a manner that results in the Price Protection Guarantee Policy being false or misleading.
Lamps Plus has not admitted any liability or wrongdoing but cooperated with the District Attorneys’ investigation.
The Consumer Protection Units of the District Attorney Offices of Riverside, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and San Diego counties jointly investigated and prosecuted this matter. In Riverside County, the case was handled by Deputy District Attorney Evan Goldsmith of the DA’s Consumer Protection Unit.
The Consumer Protection Unit investigates and prosecutes unfair or dishonest business practices so that consumers get a dollar’s value for their dollar spent. Through jail sentences and lawsuits which levy heavy monetary penalties for fraudulent practices, the Consumer Protection Unit strives to uphold consumer protection laws.
