District Attorney’s Office reaches agreement with The Bouqs Company over automatic renewals

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Santa Barbara County District Attorney Savrnoch announced on Thursday that the online flower delivery service The Bouqs Company agreed to a court-ordered judgment after charges were filed against the company for its automatic renewal subscriptions.

The charges alleged violations of the California Automatic Renewal Law and the False Advertising Law explain the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.

The District Attorney's Office of Santa Barbara County and the Santa Monica City Attorney's Office were the leads on the case on behalf of the California Automatic Renewal Task Force (CART) which also included the District Attorney's Offices of Los Angeles County, San Diego County, Santa Clara County, and Santa Cruz County state Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.

According to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office, CART's investigation found that The Bouqs Company did not clearly and conspicuously disclose required subscription terms pre-purchase, and post-purchase, the flower delivery company failed to provide required acknowledgment including clear and conspicuous disclosures of these same terms.

The lawsuit, filed in Santa Barbara County Superior Court by CART, resulted in a stipulated agreement with The Bouqs Company that imposes an injunction on the practice, assesses $210,000 in civil penalties, $21,000 in cy pres restitution, and $9,000 in costs for the investigation detail Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.

Santa Barbara County District Attorney John Savrnoch explained, “automatically renewing charges without disclosure are deceptive and harmful to consumers, and businesses that comply with the law are entitled to a level playing field with their competitors.”