Lamps Plus Inc. to Pay $4.1 Million Settling Allegations of Misleading Reference Pricing Advertisements and Price Protection Guarantee Policy

San Bernardino County District Attorney Jason Anderson announced today that Lamps Plus, Inc., a California Corporation, Illumine Midco, Inc., a Delaware Domestic Corporation, and Illumine Finco, Inc., a Delaware Domestic Corporation, entered into a Stipulated Judgment and will pay $4.1 million dollars to settle a civil law enforcement complaint that alleged Lamps Plus engaged in false advertising and unfair competition. The Consumer Protection Units of the District Attorneys of San Bernardino, San Diego, Riverside, and Los Angeles counties investigated and prosecuted this matter, and the case was filed in Riverside County Superior Court.

The civil complaint filed by prosecutors alleged that Lamps Plus unlawfully advertised price protection policies including a price match and a 120% price match guarantee without clear and conspicuous disclosures that such policies did not include Lamps Plus own-brand products and contained other exclusions. Additionally, prosecutors alleged that Lamps Plus used “Compare at”, “Comparable Value” and “Strike Through” as an advertised reference price that tended to deceive or mislead consumers.

Deputy District Attorney Rick Lal with the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Specialized Prosecutions Division prosecuted this case. He stated that the Judgment includes an injunction that prohibits Lamps Plus from offering a 120% Price Protection Policy, and from advertising any Price Match Guarantee Policy in a manner that results in the Price Protection Guarantee Policy being false or misleading.

Prosecutor Lal further noted that the Judgment also prohibits advertising of any advertised reference price based on a formula, algorithm, or other method that results in the advertised reference price being false or misleading or having the tendency or capacity to deceive or mislead.

The Judgment requires Lamps Plus to pay $3,800,000 in civil penalties and $300,000 in costs to cover investigative costs and support future enforcement of consumer protection laws. Lamps Plus has not admitted any liability or wrongdoing but cooperated with the District Attorneys’ investigation.

San Bernardino County District Attorney Anderson stated “Consumers drive prosperous economies and deserve to make informed decisions about the products they purchase. To mislead and deceive our county residents and consumers in any capacity undermines public trust and hurts our economy. I’m thankful that Lamp Plus Inc. cooperated with this investigation and supports future enforcement of consumer protection laws.”

The Consumer Protection Unit enforces consumer protection laws on behalf of its residents and serves to protect consumers and businesses by enforcing civil and/or criminal remedies to prohibit unfair business practices within the marketplace. As most consumer protection complaints are investigated by specialized agencies specific to the type of complaint, it is best to file complaints directly with the appropriate investigative agency or with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at https://www.ftc.gov/.