Online shoe retailer hit with federal fines after Better Call 4 investigation

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Earlier this year, Buckeye Lake resident Pam Spring called Better Call 4 after she bought a pair of shoes from HEYDUDE.

"I ordered a pair that looked like a denim blue," Spring said. But when the shoes arrived, Spring said they were the wrong color. "They were dark blue, like, almost black." 

Spring went back online to set up an exchange, but said she got the runaround from customer service. Additionally, the company would not accept her return or issue a refund, which is when she called Better Call 4.

Even though things ended well for Spring, it became clear she wasn't the only customer who was wronged by the shoe company.

"There was a significant amount of consumer complaints with regard to shipping delays and difficulty getting refunds," said Delilah Vinzon, an attorney with the Federal Trade Commission.

Vinzon spoke with Better Call 4 just a few months after Spring's story aired, and after the FTC announced it began an investigation into and brought charges against HEYDUDE for violating the commission's Mail, Internet, and Telephone Order rule.

"Essentially, it sets forth requirements for online sellers like HEYDUDE to ensure that they are meeting the shipping times that they promise to consumers," Vinzon said. "And if they're not going to meet those shipping times, then they're required to notify the consumers and give them certain options."

One of those options was to cancel the order and issue a prompt refund, which many buyers -- like Spring -- did not get.

"So, that's... we found they were violating that rule," Vinzon said.

But according to the FTC, that's not the only rule HEYDUDE broke. The company was also charged "for suppressing negative consumer reviews."

"So, essentially, HEYDUDE was posting positive reviews, five-star reviews, and withholding negative reviews," Vinzon said.

To help right the wrongs, Vinzon said HEYDUDE agreed to settle the charges and will pay $1.95 million in fines, which the FTC expects to use to provide refunds to affected customers who voiced their concerns to the agency, which Vinzon encouraged.

"It is how we find out about what's going on with consumers," Vinzon said. "It's how we can start this process and ultimately get to a place where we can get companies under order when they're violating the law and get and hopefully get money back to consumers.”