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The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Goat commandan online marketplace for athletic shoes and apparel, has been ordered to pay consumers more than $2 million over illegal shipping practices. The FTC also alleges that Goat failed to honor its “buyer protection” policies.
In a complaintThe agency explained that Goat failed to ship many orders on time, despite imposing additional fees on customers after promising to ship on a specific date.
Although Goat offers priority shipping for “prompt” orders, the FTC found that it shipped 37% of all such orders later than it promised. Additionally, it shipped more than 16% of all “next day” orders on the second day or later after ordering. The FTC alleges that Goat failed to ship orders on time, even after customers paid between $14.50 and $25 in shipping upgrade fees.
The FTC says Goat failed to meet its mail-in, online-or-phone merchandise rule that requires companies to give buyers the option to agree to delay or cancel an order and receive a refund in these types of cases.
As for the company’s “buyer protection” offer, the FTC noted that Goat made it seem as if customers would receive full refunds if they received defective products. Instead, the agency found that the company denied many of these return requests, and in the cases where it granted refunds, it often did so only partially or using in-store credits.
Additionally, Goat’s customer service practices are designed only to provide full refunds to customers who continue to complain about their orders, the FTC says.
“When an online company promises to protect consumers’ purchases, it must have the appropriate systems in place to make sure those protections can be enforced,” Samuel Levin, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a news release. “Forcing consumers to jump through hoops or continue to complain in order to receive a promised refund is also unacceptable under the law.”
The FTC’s proposed court order requires Goat to pay $2,013,527 to provide refunds to buyers harmed by illegal shipping practices. The Goats will also be required to stop deceptive shipping practices in the future.
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