Yeezy Apparel Reaches Nearly $1M Settlement With Bay Area, California DAs Over Alleged Shipping Delays
OAKLAND (CBS SF) – Yeezy Apparel has reached a nearly $1 million settlement with district attorneys in California to settle a consumer protection lawsuit.
The lawsuit filed by Alameda, Los Angeles, Napa and Sonoma counties alleged that companies engaged in "unlawful business practices" by not shipping items in a timely manner.
"No one wants to wait a long time for their online order to arrive," Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley said in a statement. "When companies fail to follow the law, my office will take steps to ensure they do."
Napa County Deputy District Attorney Patrick Collins said, "online shoppers should not have to pay first, then wait an indefinite amount of time for their purchase to be shipped. If a company cannot ship products when it promises to do so, they need to clearly inform the customer of the delay and, in some cases, offer a refund. We will work to ensure that online retailers comply with California laws."
Under the settlement, Orange County-based Yeezy Apparel LLC and Yeezy LLC were ordered to pay $950,000 in civil penalties, indirect restitution and investigative costs. The companies are affiliated with musician and entertainer Ye, who was known as Kanye West until he changed his name last month.
The settlement also prohibited the companies from "making untrue or misleading statements about the time it takes to ship products and from violating the laws relating to the shipping delays," O'Malley said. Future customers would also be refunded if items aren't shipped in a timely manner.
California state law requires that unless disclosed, internet orders must be shipped within 30 days. If the company is unable to ship in that timeline, the company must inform customers about the expected length of delay and offer refunds.
Prosecutors said the companies did not admit wrongdoing and cooperated with the investigation.
