TA3 Customer Files Class Action Lawsuit Over Allegedly Hidden ‘Route Shipping Protection’ Fee

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A proposed class action lawsuit accuses luxury swimwear retailer TA3 and package tracking service Route of illegally tacking on hidden shipping charges when a consumer checks out on TA3Swim.com.

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According to the 22-page lawsuit, the fee for “Shipping Protection by Route” that is quietly added to customers’ shopping carts on TA3Swim.com is nothing more than a disguised shipping charge that is designed to go unnoticed and provides no actual value to consumers.

The suit claims Route directs online retailers to install a widget on their websites that automatically opts consumers into purchasing its package protection. The case contends that most consumers unwittingly pay the package protection fee because they are unaware that it is optional.

“ … [I]f consumers even notice a fee added to their transactions, consumers are still left entirely unaware that the added ‘Shipping Protection’ fee charge is optional, because it is presented in the cart as mandatory,” the complaint asserts.

The hidden fee is assessed despite TA3’s promises of free or flat-rate shipping on qualifying orders, the Route shipping fee lawsuit claims. In some cases, the added charge is even misleadingly listed as a line item in consumers’ shopping carts underneath a prominent free shipping banner, the filing argues.

As the suit tells it, shoppers are also unaware that the additional fee must be removed from their cart before proceeding to checkout.

“After a consumer clicks the large pink ‘PROCEED TO CHECKOUT’ button, it’s too late,” the case says. “When the consumer then selects ‘Proceed to Checkout,’ they are directed to the checkout page, which displays the Shipping Protection fee as a line item with no opportunity to eliminate it[.]”

The complaint alleges that the package protection charges are “nonsense fees” that provide virtually no additional value to consumers. The charge offers little to no extra “protection” for shipments beyond what is already provided by the retailer and third-party shipping services, the lawsuit contends.

The plaintiff, a Texas resident, says she was repeatedly informed that she would receive free shipping for her purchase on TA3Swim.com. Despite these representations, a $3.75 “Route Package Protection” fee was automatically added to her shopping cart at checkout, the suit shares. The woman claims she did not know the extra charge could be removed prior to her purchase and argues that she would not have paid the fee had she known it was optional.

The lawsuit looks to represent all individuals who, within the applicable statute of limitations period, paid a shipping protection fee or other similar fee for a service provided by Route and/or a purchase from TA3.

Learn all about the legal process: What is a class action lawsuit?