Skinade Failed to Disclose Terms of Auto-Renewing Subscriptions, Class Action Alleges

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A proposed class action alleges Bottled Science Inc., who does business as Skinade, has violated California law by failing to provide required disclosures regarding the terms of its auto-renewing subscription service.

The 17-page lawsuit claims that customers who order Skinade’s oral skincare supplement drinks on us.skinade.com are not informed at any point that they are signing up for an automatically renewing subscription service and will be charged every month for shipments of the company’s products.

Per the case, California law stipulates that companies who make automatic renewal or continuous service offers to California residents must “clearly and conspicuously” disclose the terms of the offer and obtain a customer’s affirmative consent before charging their account.

The lawsuit alleges that because Skinade failed to make the required disclosures, all goods, wares, merchandise or products sent to California customers under the terms of the company’s automatic renewal agreements are “deemed to be an unconditional gift” in accordance with state law.

According to the complaint, Skinade does not disclose anywhere on its website, including on the checkout screen, the terms of its automatic renewal offer, including the following required details:

• The term of the subscription or that it will continue until the customer cancels it;
• A description of the cancellation policy;
• The amount of the recurring charges and whether that amount will change;
• The length of the automatic renewal term or that the service is continuous (unless the length is chosen by the customer); and
• The minimum purchase obligation, if applicable.

Per the lawsuit, California law requires this information to be disclosed in visual proximity to the automatic renewal offer. Skinade has nevertheless failed to include the automatic renewal offer terms on the checkout page “in a manner designed to draw attention of the customer,” the case alleges.

The suit goes on to claim that Skinade has failed to obtain customers’ affirmative consent to the automatic renewal agreement before charging their payment method. According to the complaint, affirmative consent constitutes an “express act” by the customer, such as clicking a check-box or button, that must be performed before the order can be completed. Per the case, Skinade’s checkout process contains no such mechanism for the customer to indicate that they have read, understood and affirmatively consented to the automatic renewal offer terms.

Finally, the lawsuit alleges Skinade has failed to provide the required acknowledgment after a customer places their order. More specifically, the case alleges that Skinade’s follow-up emails fail to state the automatic renewal offer terms, cancellation policy and instructions on how to cancel in a manner that is capable of being retained by the customer.

The suit looks to cover anyone in California who, within the applicable statute of limitations period and until judgment is entered in this matter, purchased any product or service in response to an offer constituting an “automatic renewal,” as defined by California’s Automatic Renewal Law, from the defendants, their predecessors or their affiliates through us.skinade.com.

Initially filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, the lawsuit was removed to California’s Central District Court on April 6, 2022.

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