Online fashion retailer settles for $700,000 over month-long delivery delays in California

CALIFORNIA – The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office (LADA) announced that fast fashion retailer Shein will pay $700,000 to settle a civil lawsuit alleging it took over a month to ship orders and failed to notify or refund customers as required by California law.

“In this case, fast fashion shipping was not-so-fast and in clear violation of California law,” said Los Angeles County district attorney Nathan Hochman.

He added that companies doing business in California should know that district attorneys statewide will work together to hold them accountable.

District Attorney’s Offices of Napa, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Sonoma counties filed the civil lawsuit.

Shein is banned from making false shipping claims

California law requires online orders must be shipped within thirty days of collecting payment.

If not, the business must issue a refund, send equivalent or better replacement goods, or provide written notice of delay to the buyer.

The notice must state the expected length of the delay and offer a refund upon request.

Under the judgment, Shein will pay $600,000 in civil penalties and $100,000 in investigative costs to the four District Attorney’s Offices.

Shein is also banned from making false shipping claims or violating shipping delay laws. The company worked cooperatively with prosecutors throughout the investigation, according to Hochman.

More recent settlements

LADA’s Consumer Protection Division teams with the California Attorney General and district attorneys statewide to enforce consumer laws. Recent settlements include:

AutoNation agreed on Feb. 21 to pay $650,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging thousands of late vehicle ownership transfers since 2019, violating California law.
Pure Maintenance and executives Michael and Brandon Adams agreed on June 3 to pay $425,000 to settle a lawsuit over false claims about the safety, regulatory approval and effectiveness of their disinfectants including misrepresenting “Dry Fog” and “InstaPure” as non-toxic and EPA approved, with false COVID-related claims.
On June 10, Pacific Magazine Billing agreed to pay $275,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging it sent tens of millions of fake magazine subscriptions invoices from 2016 to 2022. The company is now banned from mail-order magazine solicitations.