Lashing Out: Class Action Alleges Tori Belle Cosmetics Wrongfully Charges Inactive Affiliates

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A proposed class action lawsuit alleges multilevel marketing company Tori Belle Cosmetics has breached its contracts with independent affiliates by continually charging monthly access fees even after the individuals’ agreements with the company were terminated for inactivity or nonpayment. 

Per the eight-page lawsuit, Tori Belle’s affiliate contracts stipulate that the magnetic eyelash seller is to terminate the agreement and stop charging affiliates monthly $9 access fees if the individual is determined to be inactive, which the company defines as earning less than $300 in retail sales within a six-month period. The contracts also state that an affiliate’s agreement will be terminated if they do not pay the required $9 monthly access fee for three consecutive months, the case relays. 

The plaintiff, a Johnson County, Texas resident, alleges that even though she never received a single payment from the company, never sold any products and was never an active salesperson, Tori Belle, who sells its products via a “pyramid-shaped sales structure,” nevertheless charged her 26 monthly $9 payments. 

Although affiliates who sign up with Tori Belle earn a portion of the proceeds from their own sales, a large amount of their earnings comes from the sales of those who they recruit to join the multilevel marketer, the lawsuit says. According to the case, these “downline” sellers kick a portion of their product sales “up the pyramid,” and each affiliate who is higher up the chain keeps a percentage of each sale while setting aside a portion for Tori Belle, “who sits at the apex of the pyramid.” 

At issue in the suit is the $9 monthly fee affiliates are charged for access to Tori Belle’s website. The filing claims that Tori Belle charges this $9 access fee “regardless of whether an Affiliate is active in the company, and often without the Affiliate being aware of it.” 

“There is no notice of the charge, no email, SMS, or alert, or any indication whatsoever that the charge has occurred. Tori Belle provides no central portal, login, or application that would permit an Affiliate to research the amount of charges made to his or her credit card. The only way method [sic] an Affiliate would be aware of this ongoing charge would be to check his or her credit card statement.” 

Per the lawsuit, Tori Belle’s affiliate agreement provides for the termination of the agreement if an affiliate fails to pay their access fee for three straight months. The agreement also provides for an automatic termination and the cessation of all access fees should an affiliate go six consecutive months with less than $300 in retail sales, the case says. 

The suit alleges that rather than stop charging affiliates monthly fees due to inactivity or nonpayment, Tori Belle continued to charge monthly access fees, sometimes for years after a seller’s agreement had been terminated. 

“Tori Belle was so aggressive in its overcharging, that some Affiliates had to cancel their credit cards to avoid being charged because their complaints to Tori Belle were ignored,” the case states, claiming the company also does not reverse erroneous charges, opting instead to keep the money. 

The lawsuit looks to represent all current and former independent contractors of Tori Belle Cosmetics, LLC who live in the United States and who, between August 16, 2016 and the date of final judgment in the case, were charged monthly fees in violation of the company’s affiliate agreement. 

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