Lens.com Class Action: Hidden Fees Inflate Contact Lens Prices?

Online contact lens store Lens.com lures customers to its website with deceptively low prices and then gouges consumers with hidden fees, a class action lawsuit alleges.

Plaintiff Adam Nail filed the class action lawsuit against Lens.com Inc. on March 4 in a California county court, alleging violation of state and federal consumer laws. The lawsuit was moved to a California federal court on March 27. 

According to Nail’s complaint, the company runs online ads displaying “deceivingly low” prices for contact lenses to coax consumers to its website. However, by the time the customer reaches the final price for the items, the cost is up to 80 percent higher, he alleges. 

“Defendants do everything they can to hide the extra fees during the purchasing process in order to mislead consumers,” Nail says. 

Lawsuit Claims 80% Price Hikes Hidden Until Checkout

When a consumer visits Lens.com they have to go through several steps to complete their order.  First they must provide details of their prescription, doctor's information, and personal and shipping information, before finally reaching an “order summary” page with the final price, Nail says. 

It is here that the price becomes inflated, he states.

“What Defendants do not make clear on this page is that the consumer's net total includes a hidden charge for ‘Taxes & fees’ that substantially increases the amount the consumer pays for contact lenses, far exceeding the prices that defendants advertise by 50 to 80 percent,” he says. 

Any explanation of the “taxes and fees” is concealed with web design and small text, Nail says. Even if a consumer finds it they will realize it only consists of a “processing fee,” he adds, no taxes.

“Regardless, these charges are arbitrary, inflated, and untethered to any actual expense incurred by Defendants,” the lawsuit says. 

Consumer Claims Lens.com Repeatedly Duped Him with Hidden Fees

Nail alleges that he was personally harmed on January 2, 2021 when he bought two boxes of contact lenses for $64.76 (plus shipping).  According to Nail, he paid $28.78 in hidden fees.  

He says that he was harmed again on November 11, 2022 when he purchased two boxes of contact lenses for $152.95 (plus shipping) and “paid $49.47 in hidden fees.”  

This is not the first time Lens.com has faced legal action over its pricing. In May 2023, Lens.com was slapped with a class action lawsuit alleging it misrepresented its listed prices to “lure” consumers while unlawfully concealing additional surcharges.

Lens.com Joins Other Companies Facing Lawsuits Over Deceptive Pricing Practices

And Lens.com is not alone in facing legal action for hidden fees. Satellite radio service and streaming platform SiriusXM is facing a similar hidden fees class action lawsuit for allegedly tacking on a more than 20 percent fee to consumer subscriptions without warning, falsely advertising its music plan prices lower than what it actually charges consumers.

Additionally, recent class action lawsuits have also targeted online ticketing platforms BookTix, StubHub, SportsEngine, and SofarSounds for similar deceptive practices. These lawsuits allege the platforms hide processing fees until the final step of the online ticket purchase process, making tickets appear cheaper than they actually are.

In the Lens.com class action lawsuit, Nail is suing for restitution for 33 to 44 percent of the purchase price of products. He wants to represent a nationwide class of consumers who purchased products on Lens.com and is seeking statutory, treble, and punitive damages. 

Case Details

• Lawsuit: Nail v. Lens.com Inc. 
• Case Number: 2:24-cv-01149-JAD-EJY
• Court: U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. 

Plaintiffs' Attorneys

• Benjamin Kim (Boies Schiller Flexner LLP)
• Mark M. Bettilyon, Jed H. Hansen and Joseph M. Harmer (Thorpe North & Western LLP)