Taylor Gifts Inc. has agreed to pay $25,000 in penalties and investigation costs, and to reform its business practices. The agreement settles a lawsuit Gerald J. Pappert, the Pennsylvania Attorney General, brought against the company in February.
Taylor Gifts offers a variety of merchandise via catalogs and the Internet through its Taylor Gifts, Kitchen & Much More and Get Organized brands.
The settlement stems from a seven-count lawsuit Pappert filed, which charged Taylor Gifts with failing to deliver the products consumers ordered, delivering incorrect items to consumers or delivering products well beyond the advertised delivery time or period allowed by law.
In addition to the $20,000 in civil penalties and $5,000 in investigative costs, the Paoli, PA-based marketer is required to:
* Refrain from charging consumers’ credit cards until an order is processed. * Cease telling consumers that their credit cards will not be charged until products are shipped. * Stop maintaining a 45-day return policy, meaning the company will fulfill its satisfaction guarantee policy regardless of when the product is returned. * Provide prompt refunds if a consumer’s credit card has been charged and the consumer has not received the product ordered. * Make all reasonable efforts to ship a product promptly after an order is placed. * Offer consumers the option to delay shipment or cancel an order and receive prompt refund. * Otherwise abide by the Mail Order Rule.
At the time of the initial lawsuit, Pappert claimed in a statement that his office had received “complaints about virtually every aspect of the defendant’s sales transactions with consumers.” He maintained that merchandise was not shipped within a designated 36- or 48-hour time period; that items were shipped after consumers had canceled the orders; that the company charged credit cards before it shipped merchandise, despite claims on its made to the contrary; that a 45-day return offer was ambiguously worded regarding when it started; and that promised postage-paid return shipping labels were not sent to customers requesting them.
An attorney for Taylor Gifts was not available for comment at deadline. The company itself did not offer a statement.
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