Lumanelle False advertising offering a free gift if the consumer completes a short on-line survey. The consumer is advised on the first screen that they will receive a free trial if they pay a small shipping fee. Actually the company will charge the customer $89.95 for the product charged to their card after 14 days (the trial period) Savannah Georgia
Lumanelle is engaging in deceptive advertising through pop-up websites that advise the customer that they have won a free gift for doing a short survey. The survey is (falsely) linked to a heavily used website such as craigslist or an on-line newspaper. The customer answers 2 or 3 simple questions regarding their use of the site they are on which takes them to a 'free gift' screen. At this point they are invited to claim their free gift. A range of options is presented, one of which is a $50 visa gift card which has 'sold out'. The other offers involve shipping costs and signing up through a third party website.
Once the customer signs up for the trial offer, their card is charged $4.95 for shipping. They will receive the Luma skin care product. There is no additional information such as terms and conditions provided in the box. The customer will assume that this is their 'free gift' until they review their credit card statement.
After 14 days, Lumanelle charges the customer $89.95 for their trial product.