The Federal Trade Commission is sending more than $527,000 in refunds to consumers who bought certain Nature’s Bounty and Sundown vitamins and supplements from Amazon.com. The FTC alleged that these products were marketed deceptively by The Bountiful Company.
According to the FTC’s February 2023 complaint, Bountiful abused features on Amazon.com to deceive consumers into thinking that its newly introduced supplements had more product ratings and reviews, higher average ratings, and “#1 Best Seller” and “Amazon’s Choice” badges. The FTC’s action against Bountiful was the agency’s first time challenging “review hijacking,” a deceptive practice in which a marketer steals the reviews of another product to boost sales. The order settling the FTC’s allegations required the company to pay monetary relief and prohibits it from engaging in deceptive review tactics.
The FTC is sending 32,689 refund checks to eligible consumers. Recipients should cash their checks within 90 days, as indicated on the check. Consumers who have questions about their payment should contact the refund administrator, Analytics, at 1-844-455-2768 or visit the FTC website to view frequently asked questions about the refund process. The Commission never requires people to pay money or provide account information to get a refund.
The Commission’s interactive dashboards for refund data provide a state-by-state breakdown of refunds in FTC cases. In 2023, FTC actions led to more than $324 million in refunds to consumers across the country.
The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition and to protect and educate consumers. The FTC will never demand money, make threats, tell you to transfer money, or promise you a prize. You can learn more about consumer topics and report scams, fraud, and bad business practices online at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, get consumer alerts, read our blogs, and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.