The folks at Skechers have been ordered to pay $40M over false claims the company made about its toning shoes.
A federal judge approved the settlement after it was determined that Skechers intentionally misled consumers about the effectiveness of the footwear in question.
US District Judge Thomas B. Russell ordered Skechers to pay upwards of $40 million in Louisville on Monday. The settlement will reportedly cover around 520,000 claims made against the company by people who were less than satisfied with how the toning shoes performed.
The Federal Trade Commission believes that Skechers “deceived its customers” by making unfounded declarations about a handful of its products. The shoes that didn’t live up to expectations include Shape-ups, Resistance Runner, Toners, and Tone-ups.
Bureau of Consumer Protection director David Vladeck explained :
“Skechers’ unfounded claims went beyond stronger and more toned muscles. The company even made claims about weight loss and cardiovascular health. The FTC’s message, for Skechers and other national advertisers, is to shape up your substantiation or tone down your claims.”
However, Skechers doesn’t feel that it has done anything wrong. According to Chief Financial Officer David Weinberg, the advertisements for shoes were “appropriate” and in no way misleading.
Weinberg said in his own statement:
“While we vigorously deny the allegations made in these legal proceedings and looked forward to vindicating these claims in court, Skechers could not ignore the exorbitant cost and endless distraction of several years spent defending multiple lawsuits in multiple courts across the country.”
Skechers isn’t the only company that’s had to fork over a considerable amount of money over false toning shoe claims. Fellow footwear peddler Reebok had to pay around $25 million after the company was found guilty of making false statements about its EasyTone and RunTone lines.
What do you think about Skechers having to pay $40M for falsely advertising several of its toning shoes?
[Image via Shutterstock.com ]
