Customers Denied Refunds After CLEAR Platforms Closed Amid COVID-19 Pandemic, Lawsuit Alleges

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A proposed class action claims the maker of biometric secure identity platform CLEAR has refused to issue refunds to customers despite failing to provide its services amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Filed against Alclear, LLC, the 34-page lawsuit explains the defendant’s CLEAR platforms are designed to store individuals’ personal information and biometric data, allowing them expedited access through security checkpoints using iris or fingerprint scans. Per the complaint, customers pay an annual fee to gain access to more than 65 CLEAR platforms across airports, stadiums, and other venues nationwide.

On March 16, 2020, however, Alclear closed its CLEAR platforms amid the growing COVID-19 pandemic, and has refused to issue refunds to customers who paid to use its services, the suit alleges.

“As of date, Defendants have not issued/offered refunds or any other type of credit,” the complaint claims. “By not doing so, Defendants are able to keep tens of millions of dollars.”

According to the case, a consumer can sign up for CLEAR through the defendant’s website, on which the company states its platform will allow users to “[f]eel peace of mind accessing our nationwide network of 65 plus airports, stadiums, and other locations.” After entering their personal and payment information, a customer must accept CLEAR’s Terms and Conditions by checking a box and clicking “submit” without reading or scrolling through the terms, the suit says.

The plaintiff claims she paid $179.00 to Alclear in December 2019 for one year of access to CLEAR but was denied access to the services for which she paid after the defendant closed all CLEAR platforms in March 2020. 

Recently removed from Los Angeles Superior Court to California’s Central District Court, the lawsuit looks to certify a class consisting of anyone in the U.S. who paid usage fees to the defendant for CLEAR between March 17, 2019 and a date to be determined, as well as a proposed subclass of those who did so in California.

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