Lovevery Hit with Class Action Over Alleged Automatic Subscription Renewals

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A proposed class action lawsuit accuses Lovevery of unlawfully subscribing consumers to recurring paid programs and later charging them without consent when the subscription automatically renews.

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The 51-page lawsuit claims the toy company has run afoul of California law by enrolling new subscribers into automatically renewing programs despite failing to clearly state the programs’ terms and cancellation policy and provide simple ways to cancel, and by charging consumers without their affirmative consent.

The suit contends that Lovevery, which produces and ships play-kit subscription boxes of educational toys and books catering to babies’ and toddlers’ developmental needs, has relied upon “aggressive and deceptive marketing tactics” to gain dominance in the play kit market, and “consumer confusion” and inertia to make cancelling a subscription “next to impossible.”

Along with exclusive access to the Lovevery parenting app, a Lovevery subscription provides consumers with the company’s Baby Play Kits, boxes designed for an infant’s first year and shipped every two months for $80 per kit, and Toddler Play Kits, which are meant for toddlers up to four years old and shipped every three months at $120 per kit, the case explains. At the time of enrollment, consumers do not choose for themselves the renewal term or particular play kit; rather, these are automatically determined by the company after subscribers have entered their child’s birth date on Lovevery.com, the suit says.

By law, Lovevery must “clearly and conspicuously” disclose to consumers the terms of a subscription that automatically renews, including a description of the cancellation policy, the length of the renewal period and the recurring fee that will be charged to the subscriber’s credit or debit card, the case relays. According to the complaint, however, Lovevery’s online checkout page not only fails to present consumers with this information but is “riddled” with “dark patterns”—strategies meant to create confusion and prevent subscribers from cancelling.

For one, the website’s checkout page only “vaguely” references that the subscription will continue until a consumer cancels, and this information is presented in small and indistinct text that’s “easily overlooked” above the large blue “Place Your Order” button, the filing shares.

Further, the checkout page does not disclose the subscription’s full cancellation policy, as required by law, the suit adds. Although it states that consumers can cancel their subscription by “updating [their] account settings or by contacting Lovevery support,” this information is included in a “block of tiny text at the bottom,” the lawsuit describes.

Per the case, Lovevery’s checkout page is also “utterly silent” with regard to recurring charges after initial enrollment. For example, the “Order Summary” box, which might show a “Pay per Kit” subtotal of $80, creates for consumers the illusion that they are only buying a single play kit rather than being enrolled in an automatically renewing plan, the complaint claims.

“[M]ost problematically,” the online checkout page “does not even hint” that the price per play kit will automatically jump from $80 to $120 once a subscriber’s child “ages out” of the infant boxes and qualifies for the more advanced kits, the filing contends.

Per the lawsuit, the plaintiff, a California resident, signed up for a Lovevery subscription in February 2021 and was unaware that the company had enrolled her in an automatically renewing plan. Around two months later, in April, the woman’s subscription was renewed and her card charged $128.70—a fee roughly 50 percent higher than the $85.50 she paid at the time of enrollment, the suit says.

As the case tells it, the plaintiff’s subsequent attempt to cancel her subscription was hampered by the defendant’s “obscured, confusing, and time-consuming cancellation policy.”

The plaintiff is not alone in her frustrations with Lovevery’s policies, as consumers have complained on social media and left negative reviews on the Better Business Bureau website about the company’s “misleading” enrollment practices and “confusing cancellation process,” the complaint explains.

Though Lovevery was reportedly valued at more than $800 million as of October 2021 and claimed to have over 220,000 active subscribers, its dramatic growth “coincides with a sharp decline in subscriber satisfaction,” the filing charges.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone residing in California who has incurred renewal fees in connection with Lovevery subscriptions at any time during the applicable statute of limitations period.

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