LuLaRoe Under Fire For Quality And Overcharging Customers
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – The products of LuLaRoe, brightly colored women's fashions, have been a hit, especially with millennials.
"It's taken the world by storm, I think," says Ashley Sharek.
Wearing LuLaRoe, Sharek is like many who have a full-time day job, but, on the side, sells LuLaRoe products online or at something like an in-home Tupperware party.
"Never in a million years did I think it would turn into this," Sharek told KDKA money editor Jon Delano on Tuesday.
"I think our leggings are what people know us from, but actually the owner started by making maxi-skirts at a kitchen table," she said of the company
But now a class action lawsuit filed in Pittsburgh alleges the company overcharged customers in states like Pennsylvania.
"It's for the improper charge of sales tax on consumers in states like Pennsylvania where there can be no sales tax charged on clothing items," says attorney Bruce Carlson who filed the lawsuit.
In a statement to KDKA, LuLaRoe blamed a technology failure, adding, "We are proactively working to ensure that all affected customers are refunded for sales tax overcharges."
More on this story from CBS News
Join The Conversation On The KDKA Facebook Page
Stay Up To Date, Follow KDKA On Twitter
It's not just charging a sales tax when they don't owe one that has gotten the company in trouble. There's also been a number of complaints about product quality filed with the Better Business Bureau.
"LuLaRoe currently has an F rating with the Better Business Bureau," said Caitlin Driscoll of the BBB.
Driscoll says over 200 complaints have been filed.
"There is a pattern of complaints regarding defective merchandise, as well as poor quality products," she said.
But Sharek insists it's not a widespread problem.
"I think that those were disgruntled customers that had just one poor experience," Sharek said. "I don't think it's a reflection of the company as a whole."
