FTC Issuing $2.4M in Refunds After Fashion Nova Hid Negative Online Reviews

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) went after fast fashion retailer Fashion Nova for allegedly burying negative online reviews. As a result of the investigation and settlement order, the FTC is sending refunds to over 148,300 customers, amounting to roughly $2.4 million.

Per the settlement agreement, Fashion Nova can no longer keep reviews from consumers, regardless of the commentator’s opinion. A $4.2 million fine was also levied against the retailer.

“From as early as late 2015 through mid-November 2019, Fashion Nova chose to have four- and five-star reviews automatically post to the website, but did not approve or publish hundreds of thousands lower-starred, more negative reviews,” the FTC wrote in its 2022 complaint.

Fashion Nova customers who bought merchandise before Nov. 21, 2019, may be eligible for a refund. However, anyone who did not present a “valid claim” to the FTC before Aug. 15, 2023, is out of luck as no further submissions are being accepted. Qualified customers will receive a refund of $16, on average.

Fashion Nova’s Past Legal Troubles

The recent settlement isn’t Fashion Nova’s first encounter with the FTC. Prior allegations from the agency accused the fast fashion company of not notifying customers when orders were delayed and failing to offer a reasonable method to cancel orders in such cases. Fashion Nova also purportedly compensated consumers for unshipped products with gift cards instead of issuing a proper refund. In 2020, the fashion company was ordered to pay $9.3 million for the offenses.

Fashion Nova may have been on the U.S. Labor Department’s radar as well. Per The New York Times, an investigation from 2016 to 2019 reportedly found that the company’s clothing was made in several factories that employed undocumented workers, enabling the facilities to pay them below a legal wage.

Generally, fashion companies do not directly contract with these factories, leaving the negotiations up to a third party. However, after the government agency found multiple “off-the-books” factories manufacturing Fashion Nova clothes, the company was contacted by the department.

“We have already had a highly productive and positive meeting with the Department of Labor in which we discussed our ongoing commitment to ensuring that all workers involved with the Fashion Nova brand are appropriately compensated for the work they do,” Erica Meierhans, the company’s general counsel, told The Times in 2019. 

In December 2024, the FTC took action against Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits for illegal price discrimination. The agency claimed the wine and spirits distributor violated the Robinson-Patman Act by purportedly giving large chain retailers price advantages over small, independent stores.