Beachbody, one of the world’s largest sellers of exercise videos, supplements, and weight-loss programs, has agreed to change its website and sales practices to better protect consumers. The Santa Monica-based company, which claims over 23 million customers, also will pay $3.6 million in penalties and restitution as part of a final court judgment. The judgment was negotiated with the Santa Monica City Attorney’s Office after lengthy discussions, which followed the prosecutors’ investigation of consumer complaints.
The Santa Monica City Attorney’s Office learned that Beachbody was charging its customers’ credit cards on an automatic, recurring basis for renewals of products and services, without their express prior consent as required by law.
The judgment includes a permanent injunction requiring full transparency with consumers. Before automatically renewing charges, Beachbody now must:
- Clearly and conspicuously disclose the renewal terms
- Get consumers’ consent, through a separate check-box (or similar mechanism) that does not include other terms and conditions
- Send a clear summary of the renewal terms after consumers pay
- Allow consumers to cancel easily, both online and by phone
- Send reminders of upcoming renewals for all subscriptions 6 months or longer
The City's full press release is here.
