ATLANTA – If you sold LuLaRoe and felt duped, you might get your money back.
A class-action lawsuit seeking $1 billion has been filed in California against LuLaRoe by former consultants.
The 27-page lawsuit was filed by three Sacramento, Calif., plaintiffs on behalf of LLR consultants between 2013 until the present.
The suit alleges recruits were offered part-time and full-time pay for extra cash and pulled in through misinformation into a business model that was not profitable, amongst other claims.
In a statement from LuLaRoe, the company said it has grown exponentially over the last several years.
"Our success has made us the target of orchestrated competitive attacks and predatory litigation. We take all litigation – regardless of its lack of merit – seriously," according to a statement. "We have not been served with the recent complaints, but from what we have seen in media reports, the allegations are baseless, factually inaccurate and misinformed. We will vigorously defend against them and are confident we will prevail."
When Lacey Landin joined the ever-growing popular wholesale women’s clothing company, LuLaRoe, a year ago, she never thought she’d be stuck with thousands of dollars' worth of merchandise just taking up space and emptying her wallet. But when she resigned, she was stuck with boxes of leggings and a load full of debt to the tune of $5,000.
According to LuLaRoe paperwork and contract she showed 11Alive, the pricing for entering as a consultant is anywhere from $4,000 to $7,000.
They promised success and empowerment, she said, and she figured it would be an ideal way to make some extra money for her family.
Now, the last thing the stay-at-home mom feels is empowered.
“It is very upsetting. Because I joined that company for that reason. To feel empowered. It gives women confidence. They’re a great company. They give a lot. They still do many great things.”
Landin is one of 80,000 consultants that span across the country, from LuLaRoe's headquarters in Corona, Calif., with the bulk of its consultants residing in the Midwest, Southeast and East Coast--creating an uber competitive environment for sellers.
That's why, Landin said, she left the company because there were just too many retailers like her in metro Atlanta, all competing against each other. Money wasn’t being made, and furthermore, she revealed, the company would send her products at random. She could not handpick what she wanted to sell. Which added to the difficulty of making many sales.
Explore LuLaRoe's interactive nationwide map of consultants |
In a statement from LuLaRoe, they acknowledge the waiver that they say they provided for some of its consultants, or what they refer to as "Independent Fashion Retailers," but refute any wrongdoing on their part.
"LuLaRoe provides a fair and generous path to Independent Fashion Retailers who want to exit the business. Last week, we simply reiterated a long-term written policy that each Retailer agreed to when he or she signed up. We had temporarily provided a waiver on some of the policy requirements between April and September 2017."
>>>READ | Consumer complaints reported to the BBB
Now, that Landin has resigned, she wants the company she trusted to give her a full refund. But the company’s buy-back guarantee has changed she said.
“We would get 100 percent back of our wholesale pricing that we paid. And they would send us shipping labels to send it back to California. And, unfortunately, one night we got an email that that policy was no longer in place.”
While the company said that they are providing temporary waivers for consultants who left between April and September, Landen said, if that was true, she would have received her shipping labels in the mail already.
“I have about over $5,000 worth of inventory that I’m honestly scared to send back. If they deem it unsellable. They won’t refund my money and they won’t send the items back,” Landen said. “I feel like that’s not fair. If you are going to change your policy, you need to grandfather the people that have already submitted forms for resignation.”
In a statement from LuLaRoe provided to 11Alive, they said that they have not changed any material in their written policy.
“The only change is that the company is ending a temporary waiver offered to Independent Fashion Retailers leaving the business since April. LuLaRoe is making this change now because it has addressed issues that led to the waiver.”
>>>JOIN | This is how you join class-action lawsuit against LuLaRoe
If you were a LuLaRoe consultant between 2014-2017, call (916) 777-7777 or complete a case evaluation form, to join the class-action lawsuit, click here.